Search results for " element"
showing 10 items of 2679 documents
Subclinical Mastitis in a European Multicenter Cohort: Prevalence, Impact on Human Milk (HM) Composition, and Association with Infant HM Intake and G…
2019
Background: Subclinical mastitis (SCM) is an inflammatory condition of the mammary gland. We examined the effects of SCM on human milk (HM) composition, infant growth, and HM intake in a mother&ndash
Effect of fall direction on the lower hip fracture risk in athletes with different loading histories : A finite element modeling study in multiple si…
2022
Physical loading makes bones stronger through structural adaptation. Finding effective modes of exercise to improve proximal femur strength has the potential to decrease hip fracture risk. Previous proximal femur finite element (FE) modeling studies have indicated that the loading history comprising impact exercises is associated with substantially higher fracture load. However, those results were limited only to one specified fall direction. It remains thus unclear whether exercise-induced higher fracture load depends on the fall direction. To address this, using magnetic resonance images of proximal femora from 91 female athletes (mean age 24.7 years with >8 years competitive career) and …
EMG-Assisted Muscle Force Driven Finite Element Model of the Knee Joint with Fibril-Reinforced Poroelastic Cartilages and Menisci.
2019
Abnormal mechanical loading is essential in the onset and progression of knee osteoarthritis. Combined musculoskeletal (MS) and finite element (FE) modeling is a typical method to estimate load distribution and tissue responses in the knee joint. However, earlier combined models mostly utilize static-optimization based MS models and muscle force driven FE models typically use elastic materials for soft tissues or analyze specific time points of gait. Therefore, here we develop an electromyography-assisted muscle force driven FE model with fibril-reinforced poro(visco)elastic cartilages and menisci to analyze knee joint loading during the stance phase of gait. Moreover, since ligament pre-st…
A finite element-based machine learning approach for modeling the mechanical behavior of the breast tissues under compression in real-time
2017
[EN] This work presents a data-driven method to simulate, in real-time, the biomechanical behavior of the breast tissues in some image-guided interventions such as biopsies or radiotherapy dose delivery as well as to speed up multimodal registration algorithms. Ten real breasts were used for this work. Their deformation due to the displacement of two compression plates was simulated off-line using the finite element (FE) method. Three machine learning models were trained with the data from those simulations. Then, they were used to predict in real-time the deformation of the breast tissues during the compression. The models were a decision tree and two tree-based ensemble methods (extremely…
Selenium status during pregnancy: Influential factors and effects on neuropsychological development among Spanish infants
2017
Selenium(Se) has been positively associated with neurodevelopment in early life. However, its margin of safety is rather narrow, and few prospective studies have evaluated its potential neurotoxic effects at intermediate levels. We aimed to explore the association between maternal Se concentrations and child neuropsychological development, including the genetic effect modification of the Se metabolizing gene INMT. Study subjects were 650 mother-child pairs from the Spanish Childhood and Environment Project (INMA, 2003-2005). Infant neuropsychological development was assessed around 12 months of age by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Sociodemographic and dietary characteristics were…
Notch‐1 signaling activation sustains overexpression of interleukin 33 in the epithelium of nasal polyps
2019
Abstract BACKGROUND: Alterations in the nasal epithelial barrier homeostasis and increased interleukin 33 (IL-33) expression contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). AIMS: As Notch-1 signaling is crucial in repair processes of mucosa, the current study assessed Notch-1/Jagged-1 signaling and IL-33 in the epithelium of nasal polyps biopsies from allergic (A-CRSwNP; n = 9) and not allergic (NA-CRSwNP; n = 9) subjects by immunohistochemistry. We also assessed, in a model of nasal epithelial cells, the effects of stimulation of Notch-1 with Jagged-1 on the expression of IL-33 (by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and immunocytochemistry), Jagged-1 (…
Kinetics and Topology of DNA Associated with Circulating Extracellular Vesicles Released during Exercise.
2021
AbstractAlthough it is widely accepted that cancer derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry DNA cargo, the association of cell-free circulating DNA (cfDNA) and EVs in plasma of healthy humans remains elusive. Using a physiological exercise model, where EVs and cfDNA are synchronously released, we aimed to characterize the kinetics and localization of DNA associated with EVs. EVs were separated from human plasma using size exclusion chromatography or immuno-affinity capture for CD9+, CD63+, and CD81+ EVs. DNA was quantified with an ultra-sensitive qPCR assay targeting repetitive LINE elements, with or without DNase digestion. This model shows that a minute part of circulating cell-free DNA…
Mechanics of pericardial effusion: A simulation study
2015
Pericardial effusion is a pathological accumulation of fluid within pericardial cavity, which may compress heart chambers with hemodynamic impairment. We sought to determine the mechanics underlying the physiology of the hemodynamic impairment due to pericardial effusion using patient-specific computational modeling. Computational models of left ventricle and right ventricle were based on magnetic resonance images obtained from patients with pericardial effusion and controls. Myocardial material parameters were adjusted, so that volumes of ventricular chambers and pericardial effusion agreed with magnetic resonance imaging data. End-diastolic and end-systolic pressure–volume relationships …
Biomechanical Determinants of Right Ventricular Failure in Pulmonary Hypertension.
2018
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a disease characterized by progressive adverse remodeling of the distal pulmonary arteries, resulting in elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and load pressure on the right ventricle (RV), ultimately leading to RV failure. Invasive hemodynamic testing is the gold standard for diagnosing PH and guiding patient therapy. We hypothesized that lumped-parameter and biventricular finite-element (FE) modeling may lead to noninvasive predictions of both PH-related hemodynamic and biomechanical parameters that induce PH. We created patient-specific biventricular FE models that characterize the biomechanical response of the heart and coupled them with a lumped-paramete…
Trace elements in scalp hair samples from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
2015
Background Epidemiological studies have suggested a possible role of trace elements (TE) in the etiology of several neurological diseases including Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Hair analysis provides an easy tool to quantify TE in human subjects, including patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Objective To compare TE levels in scalp hair from patients with MS and healthy controls from the same geographic area (Sicily). Methods ICP-MS was used to determine the concentrations of 21 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, U, V and Zn) in scalp hair of 48 patients with relapsing–remitting Multiple Sclerosis compared with 51 healthy controls. Results MS …