Anna‐Luisa Häcker^1,2, Renate Oberhoffer^1,2, Alfred Hager¹, Peter Ewert¹, Jan Müller^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.6, pp. 945-951, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12845

Abstract Aims: Age‐related cardiovascular diseases are a relevant risk in the aging population of adults with congenital heart diseases (ACHD). Risk factors such as the metabolic syndrome (MetS) impact the risk of increased carotid intima‐media thickness (cIMT) and thereby long‐term cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the study was to assess MetS in ACHD and outline a possible association to cIMT.
Methods and Results: In total, 512 ACHD (43.0 ± 9.6 years, 48.9% female) were screened for MetS by the standards of the International Diabetes Federation, and their cIMT by ultrasound from January 2017 to June 2019. MetS was prevalent in 72… More >

Benjamin S. Frank¹, Tracy T. Urban², Karlise Lewis², Suhong Tong³, Courtney Cassidy⁴, Max B. Mitchell⁵, Christopher S. Nichols⁶, Jesse A. Davidson¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 446-453, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12744

Abstract Objective: Patients undergoing surgical repair of aortic coarctation have a 50% risk of pathologic left ventricular remodeling (increased left ventricular mass or relative wall thickness). Endothelin 1, ST2, galectin 3, norepinephrine and B‐natriuretic pep‐ tide are biomarkers that have been associated with pathologic LV change in adult populations but their predictive value following pediatric coarctation repair are not known.
Hypothesis: Biomarker levels at coarctation repair will predict persistent left ven‐ tricular remodeling at 1‐year follow up.
Design: Prospective, cohort study of 27 patients’ age 2 days‐12 years with coarcta‐ tion of the aorta undergoing surgical repair. Echocardiograms were performed pre‐… More >

Xing Chen, Wu Zhou, Qinghua Hu, Lingjin Huang

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 396-402, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12733

Abstract Objective: This study explores the role of the Notch3‐HES5 signal pathway in mono‐ crotaline‐induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) using rat models.
Method: Sprague Dawley rats (n = 45) were randomly grouped into normal group, control group, and model group. Rats in the model group were used to establish the PH rat model. Four weeks after model establishment, right catheterization was used to measure the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) and right ventricular sys‐ tolic pressure (RVSP) to analyze hemodynamic changes. The severity of PH was as‐ sessed by the right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI) and percentage of media thickness (MT%). The… More >

Caining Zhang¹, Xiaopeng Guo², Xiaoya Guo³, David Molony⁴, Huaguang Li², Habib Samady⁴, Don P. Giddens^4,5, Lambros Athanasiou⁶, Dalin Tang^1*,7, Rencan Nie^2,*, Jinde Cao⁸

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.123, No.2, pp. 631-646, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2020.09718

Abstract Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new intravascular imaging technique with high resolution and could provide accurate morphological infor￾mation for plaques in coronary arteries. However, its segmentation is still com￾monly performed manually by experts which is time-consuming. The aim of this study was to develop automatic techniques to characterize plaque components and quantify plaque cap thickness using 3 machine learning methods including convolutional neural network (CNN) with U-Net architecture, CNN with Fully convolutional DenseNet (FC-DenseNet) architecture and support vector machine (SVM). In vivo OCT and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images were acquired from two patients at Emory University with informed consent… More >

Ruyuan Yang¹, Chaokun Hong², Xiaofeng Zhang¹, Quan Yuan³, Youfu Sun^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.2, pp. 113-132, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.08190

Abstract In order to enhance the bearing capacity of structural components, save materials, and reduce cost, a glued laminated timber (glulam) I-beam that is theoretically suitable for engineering application was proposed. In this study, 18 glulam specimens were fabricated using larch dimension lumber and resorcinol– formaldehyde resin. Four-point bending tests were carried out to compare the ultimate bearing capacity, strain, and deflection of various specimens. The results showed that: (1) The typical failure mode at bending is the web shear failure parallel to grain. Before the failure, cracks and sounds appear at the beam web, which represent the sudden brittle failure.… More >

Kuan-Ting Liu¹, Chun-Lin Lu¹, Nyan-Hwa Tai², Meng-Kao Yeh^{1, *}

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.122, No.2, pp. 661-674, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2020.07792

Abstract In this study, the deformation and stress distribution of printed circuit board (PCB) with different thickness and composite materials under a shock loading were analyzed by the finite element analysis. The standard 8-layer PCB subjected to a shock loading 1500 g was evaluated first. Moreover, the finite element models of the PCB with different thickness by stacking various number of layers were discussed. In addition to changing thickness, the core material of PCB was replaced from woven E-glass/epoxy to woven carbon fiber/epoxy for structural enhancement. The non-linear material property of copper foil was considered in the analysis. The results indicated… More >

Ivan V. Kazachkov^1,2,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.15, No.5, pp. 491-507, 2019, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2019.06477

Abstract Non-classical subjects relating to the dynamics of jet and film flow and related heat transfer processes are considered. These problems, which are relevant to several technological applications, cannot completely be addressed in the frame of the canonical Navier-Stokes equations. The first example deals with the formation of a film flow as a result of the hydraulic shock of a vertical jet impinging on a horizontal plane. The effective thickness of the film resulting from the hydraulic shock is much less than the value obtained using the conventional approach (relying on the assumption of smooth flow), while the corresponding speed is… More >

Long Yu¹, Kesong Xu¹, Jun Wan², Haiyan Lu^3,*, Shengzhang Wang^1,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.121, No.3, pp. 835-844, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2019.07428

Abstract Fractional flow reserve (FFR) computed from computed tomography angiography (CTA), i.e., FFR_CT has been used in the clinic as a noninvasive parameter for functional assessment of coronary artery stenosis. It has also been suggested to be used in the assessment of carotid artery stenosis. The wall thickness of the vessel is an important parameter when establishing a fluid-structure coupling model of carotid stenosis. This work studies the effect of the vessel wall thickness on hemodynamic parameters such as FFR_CT in carotid stenosis. Models of carotid stenosis are established based on CTA image data using computer-aided design software. It is assumed… More >

M. M. Rahman¹, A. K. Arrifin², M. J. M. Nor², S. Abdullah²

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.4, No.3, pp. 173-180, 2008, DOI:10.3970/sdhm.2008.004.173

Abstract This paper presents the fatigue analysis of spot-weld joints for automative structures to predict the lifetime and location of the weakest spot-welds due to the imposed loading conditions. A simple model was used to illustrate the technique of spot-weld fatigue analysis. Finite element model and analysis were carried out utilizing the finite element analysis commercial codes. Linear elastic finite element analysis was carried out to predict the stress state along the weld direction. It can be seen from the results that the predicted life greatly influence the sheet thickness, spot diameter and loading conditions of the model. Acquired results were… More >

Jai Hak Park¹, Maan Won Kim², Gennadiy P. Nikishkov³

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.68, No.3, pp. 269-296, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2010.068.269

Abstract A SGBEM-FEM alternating method had been proposed by Nikishkov, Park and Atluri for the analysis of three-dimensional planar and non-planar cracks and their growth. In the method, the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method is used for the crack solution in an infinite body and the finite element method is used to perform stress analysis for the uncracked body only. In this paper the method is extended further to analyze through-thickness cracks. Adequate shape of boundary element mesh is examined and it is found that the fictitious portion of the boundary element mesh, which is located outside the body, plays an… More >