Fouad A. Zouein¹, Mazen Kurdi^1,2, George W. Booz¹

European Cytokine Network, Vol.24, No.1, pp. 11-19, 2013, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2013.0335

Abstract Multiple studies have shown that the cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is protective of the myocardium in the acute stress of ischemia-reperfusion. All three major intracellular signaling pathways that are activated by LIF in cardiac myocytes have been linked to actions that protect against oxidative stress and cell death, either at the level of the mitochondrion or via nuclear transcription. In addition, LIF has been shown to contribute to post-myocardial infarction cardiac repair and regeneration, by stimulating the homing of bone marrow-derived cardiac progenitors to the injured myocardium, the differentiation of resident cardiac stem cells… More >

Brian Kunzel¹, William Small², Michael Goodman³, John Pattaras¹, Viraj Master¹, Kenneth Ogan¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.20, No.2, pp. 6714-6720, 2013

Abstract Introduction: To determine whether preoperative computed tomography (CT)-based renal parenchymal volume (RPV) measurements would be predictive of postoperative chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Materials and methods: From 2005 to 2010, 189 patients with preoperative CT imaging performed at Emory University Hospital underwent renal tumor surgery. Preoperative and postoperative renal function was determined by estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using standard Cockcroft-Gault (CG) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations. Preoperative CT-measured RPV was calculated to determine the association of predicted preserved renal parenchyma with postoperative renal function and the development of CKD (GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m²).
… More >

Jay D. Raman

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.20, No.5, pp. 6938-6938, 2013

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >

T. Ganier, J. Hu, A. Pizzi^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 79-82, 2013, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2012.634101

Abstract Linear vibration welding of extractive rich Paduk wood from central Africa containing a high proportion of a native mixture of water-insoluble extractives, or of low water solubility, has been shown to yield joints of much upgraded water resistance. This has been shown to be due to the protecting infl uence the extractives from the wood itself has on the welded interphase, due to their inherent water repellence. Joints of unusually high percentage wood failure but modest strength were obtained; Paduk wood brittleness apparently yielding weld line strengths always higher than that of the surrounding wood More >

A. Riccio¹, M. Zarrelli², F. Caputo¹

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.9, No.1, pp. 21-42, 2013, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2013.009.021

Abstract In the present paper a three-dimensional Progressive Damage Approach (PDA) for laminated composites will be presented. This approach is based on the use of a progressive damage finite element with the geometrically non-linear finite element formulation for stress calculation. The FEM element has been integrated with Hashin's failure criteria to split fibre and matrix failure modes and to simulate stiffness degradation within each ply by means of the Ply Discount Method (PDM). FEM code previsions, in the case of complex structures with different mesh densities and element types, were compared with the results obtained using More >

Zichun Yang^1,2,3, Kunfeng Li^1,4, Qi Cai¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.95, No.2, pp. 143-171, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2013.095.143

Abstract The conventional probabilistic reliability model for structures is based on the “probability assumption” and “binary-state assumption”. These assumptions are often offset the reality of practical engineering and lead to a wrong conclusion. In fact, besides randomness, fuzziness which is different from randomness in nature is also a prevalent uncertainty factor and plays an important role in structural reliability assessment. In this paper, a novel structural reliability model with random variables and fuzzy variables is established by using the fuzzy set theory, possibility theory and probability measure for fuzzy events, based on the “mixed probability and More >

E. Ferretti¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 293-322, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.036.293

Abstract The Cell Method is applied in order to model the debonding mechanism in ceramic floor tiles subjected to positive thermal variation. The causes of thermal debonding, very usual in radiant heat floors, have not been fully clarified at the moment. There exist only a few simplified analytical approaches that assimilate this problem to an eccentric tile compression, but these approaches introduce axial forces that, in reality, do not exist. In our work we have abandoned the simplified closed form solution in favor of a numerical solution, which models the interaction between tiles and sub-base more… More >

R. R. Valisetty¹, A.M. Dongare², A.M. Rajendran³, R. R. Namburu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 231-255, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.036.231

Abstract Materials used in soldier protective structures, such as armor, vehicles and civil infrastructures, are being improved for performance in extreme dynamic environments. Nanocrystalline metals show significant promise in the design of these structures with superior strengths attributed to the dislocation-based and grain-boundary-based processes as compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. An optimization of these materials, however, requires a fundamental understanding of damage evolution at the atomic level. Accordingly, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are performed using an embedded-atom method (EAM) potential on three nano-crystalline aluminum atom systems, one a Voronoi-based nano-crystalline system with an average grain size More >

M. Chatiri¹, A. Matzenmiller²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.35, No.3, pp. 255-283, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.035.255

Abstract This article presents a three dimensional constitutive model for anisotropic damage to describe the elastic-brittle behavior of unidirectional fibrereinforced laminated composites. The primary objective of the article focuses on the three dimensional relationship between damage of the material and the effective elastic properties for the purpose of stress analysis of composite structures, in extension to the two dimensional model in Matzenmiller, Lubliner and Taylor (1995). A homogenized continuum is adopted for the constitutive theory of anisotropic damage and elasticity. Damage initiation criteria are based on Puck failure criterion for first ply failure and progressive micro More >

A. Ataş¹, C. Soutis²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 199-226, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.034.199

Abstract A strength prediction method is presented for double-lap single fastener bolted joints of cross-ply carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates using cohesive zone elements (CZEs). Three-dimensional finite element models were developed and CZEs were inserted into subcritical damage planes identified from X-ray radiographs. The method makes a compromise between the experimental correlation factors (dependant on lay-up, stacking sequence and joint geometry) and three material properties (fracture energy, interlaminar strength and nonlinear shear stress-strain response). Strength of the joints was determined from the predicted load-displacement curves considering sub-laminate and plylevel scaling effects. The predictions are More >