Search results for " Vessel"
showing 10 items of 625 documents
Residence Time Distribution of Solid Particles in a High-Aspect Ratio Multiple-Impeller Stirred Vessel
2003
Despite its importance, experimental information on the Residence Time Distribution (RTD) of solid particles in continuous-flow stirred vessels is still scant. In this work, experimental data on particle RTD in a high-aspect-ratio vessel stirred by three equally-spaced Rushton turbines, was obtained by means of a special technique named Twin System Approach (TSA). Quite surprisingly, results indicate that, among the various possibilities that could have been devised (e.g. 6, or 3, or 1 ideal tanks in series), the flow model closest to reality for the particle phase, at least in the experimental range here investigated, is that of a single perfectly stirred vessel.
Influence of ocular aberrations on the diameter of retinal blood vessels
2011
Lower-order and higher-order ocular aberrations influence not only visual perception but also appearance of retinal images. We suggest that the diameter of blood vessels may differ for various patterns of aberrations based on how the maps of point spread functions are orientated to these vessels. We tested our hypothesis by a star chart simulation method and by using simulating aberrations in a real image of a living retina. We observed that broadening of the blood vessels due to ocular aberrations depends not only on the relative orientation of the wavefront but also on their actual width. The change in the diameter ratio is clinically significant and is comparable to changes in the arteri…
Electrospun PHEA-PLA/PCL Scaffold for Vascular Regeneration: A Preliminary in Vivo Evaluation
2017
Abstract Background There is increasing interest in the development of vessel substitutes, and many studies are currently focusing on the development of biodegradable scaffolds capable of fostering vascular regeneration. We tested a new biocompatible and biodegradable material with mechanical properties similar to those of blood vessels. Methods The material used comprises a mixture of α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)- d,l -aspartamide (PHEA) and polylactic acid (PLA), combined with polycaprolactone (PCL) by means of electrospinning technique. Low-molecular-weight heparin was also linked to the copolymer. A tubular PHEA-PLA/PCL sample was used to create an arteriovenous fistula in a pig model wit…
The pre-vascularisation of a collagen-chondroitin sulphate scaffold using human amniotic fluid-derived stem cells to enhance and stabilise endothelia…
2015
Abstract A major problem in tissue engineering (TE) is graft failure in vivo due to core degradation in in vitro engineered constructs designed to regenerate thick tissues such as bone. The integration of constructs post-implantation relies on the rapid formation of functional vasculature. A recent approach to overcome core degradation focuses on the creation of cell-based, pre-engineered vasculature formed within the TE construct in vitro , prior to implantation in vivo . The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether an amniotic fluid-derived stem cell (AFSC)–human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) co-culture could be used to engineer in vitro vasculature in a collag…
Heparin functionalized polyaspartamide/polyester scaffold for potential blood vessel regeneration
2013
An interesting issue in tissue engineering is the development of a biodegradable vascular graft able to substitute a blood vessel and to allow its complete regeneration. Here, we report a new scaffold potentially useful as a synthetic vascular graft, produced through the electrospinning of α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl) (2-aminoethylcarbamate)-D,L-aspartamide-graft-polylactic acid (PHEA-EDA-g-PLA) in the presence of polycaprolactone (PCL). The scaffold degradation profile has been evaluated as well as the possibility to bind heparin to electrospun fibers, being it a known anticoagulant molecule able to bind growth factors. In vitro cell compatibility has been investigated using human vascular e…
Predictors of scaffold failure and impact of optimized scaffold implantation technique on outcome: Results from the German-Austrian ABSORB RegIstRy.
2021
Aims We aimed to investigate predictors of scaffold failure and the potential impact of an optimized scaffold implantation technique by means of a learning curve on long-term clinical outcome after bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) implantation and to evaluate predictors of scaffold failure. Methods and results A total of 3326 patients were included in this prospective, observational, multi-center study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02066623) of consecutive patients undergoing BRS implantation between November 2013 and January 2016. The 3144 patients completed follow-up after 24 months, 3265 patients were eligible for time-to-event-analysis. Clinical endpoints were major adverse cardiac events-a compos…
Stable Automatic Unsupervised Segmentation of Retinal Vessels Using Self-Organizing Maps and a Modified Fuzzy C-Means Clustering
2011
In this paper an automatic unsupervised method for the segmentation of retinal vessels is proposed. Three features are extracted from the tested image. The features are scaled down by a factor of 2 and mapped into a Self-Organizing Map. A modified Fuzzy C-Means clustering algorithm is used to divide the neuron units of the map in 2 classes. The entire image is again input for the Self-Organizing Map and the class of each pixel will be the class of its best matching unit in the Self-Organizing Map. Finally, the vessel network is post-processed using a hill climbing strategy on the connected components of the segmented image. The experimental evaluation on the DRIVE database shows accurate ex…
Automatic Unsupervised Segmentation of Retinal Vessels Using Self-Organizing Maps and K-Means Clustering
2011
In this paper an automatic unsupervised method for the segmentation of retinal vessels is proposed. A Self-Organizing Map is trained on a portion of the same image that is tested and K-means clustering algorithm is used to divide the map units in 2 classes. The entire image is again input for the Self-Organizing Map, and the class of each pixel will be the class of the best matching unit on the Self-Organizing Map. Finally, the vessel network is post-processed using a hill climbing strategy on the connected components of the segmented image. The experimental evaluation on the publicly available DRIVE database shows accurate extraction of vessels network and a good agreement between our segm…
A multiscale approach to automatic and unsupervised retinal vessel segmentation using Self-Organizing Maps
2016
In this paper an automatic unsupervised method for retinal vessel segmentation is described. Self-Organizing Map, modified Fuzzy C-Means, STAPLE algorithms and majority voting strategy were adopted to identify a segmentation of the retinal vessels. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on the DRIVE database.
Gathering of aging and estrogen withdrawal in vascular dysfunction of senescent accelerated mice.
2010
The aim of this work was to characterize a mouse model of experimental menopause and cardiovascular aging that closely reflects menopause in women. Senescence accelerated mouse (SAM)-Resistant type 1 (SAMR1, n=30) and SAM-Prone type 8 (SAMP8, n=30) were separated at 5months of age into three groups: 1) sham-operated (Sham); 2) ovariectomized (Ovx); and 3) ovariectomized chronically-treated with estrogen (Ovx+E2). Contractile responses to KCl (60mM) and thromboxane A(2) were greater in aorta from SAMP8 mice compared with SAMR1 in all groups. Neither ovariectomy nor estrogen replacement modified the contractile responses from SAMR1 mice. Conversely, in Ovx SAMP8 the increased maximal contract…