Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 339)

This bibliography lists 105 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during July 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Observations on Drug Metabolism and Liver Disease

A summary of the experimental chapters is included at the start of each of these chapters, however for the ease of the reader these are also compiled in this summary. The aim of this thesis is to explore the relationship between hepatic drug metabolism and liver disease and in particular to determine if the parameters of drug elimination provide useful information as liver function tests

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 148 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in December 1984

A wearable mechatronic device for extracorporeal blood ultrafiltration

The interest in the design of portable and wearable medical devices is related to both the relevant clinical and social benefits for patients and the potential economic savings for national health services. Biomedical technologies are improving at a very fast rate and represent an extraordinary means to develop innovative portable and wearable devices which can help people live in a prosperous way, in particular reducing sorrow in case of disease. This leads to a widespread effort to develop devices which can execute at home therapies that are usually performed in hospitals. This thesis presents a new wearable and portable device for extracorporeal blood ultrafiltration, named WUF (Wearable UltraFiltration device), able to remove excess fluids from fluid overload patients with chronic kidney disease and/or congestive heart failure. The design requirements that a modern wearable device for extracorporeal ultrafiltration must meet have been identified thanks to a thorough literature review on previous similar proposals followed by an extensive risk analysis. The design of the WUF prototype has faced several difficulties, ranging from the identification or conceivement of safe and reliable components to the design of a compact and neat layout. For most components it was possible to identify commercial (off-the-shelf) products meeting the requirements, nonetheless for some others, specific investigations, studies and developments were needed and led to the design of customized solutions or the formulation of original approaches. The design of an effective, efficient, safe and reliable control architecture, based on two microcontrollers and one microcomputer, the implementation of the control logic and of a graphical user interface have been carried out too being essential features of such a mechatronic device. A backpack/trolley design has been chosen as the layout for the device, since such a solution guarantees the best tradeoff between miniaturization and ergonomics. The design introduces an original positioning of the vast majority of components in three independent planar panels: one for disposable components, one for non-disposable devices and one for electronic boards and controllers. This arrangement of components can drastically simplify and speed up the in-hospital operations needed before and after a therapy with the WUF

Mechanisms of drug addiction: focus on positive reinforcing properties of morphine

http://www.ester.ee/record=b1053314~S1*es

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is one of the most debilitating diseases affecting millions of people worldwide. However, there is no FDA approved disease modifying drug specifically for OA. Surgery remains an effective last resort to restore the function of the joints. As the aging populations increase worldwide, the number of OA patients increases dramatically in recent years and is expected to increase in many years to come. This is a book that summarizes recent advance in OA diagnosis, treatment, and surgery. It includes wide ranging topics from the cutting edge gene therapy to alternative medicine. Such multifaceted approaches are necessary to develop novel and effective therapy to cure OA in the future. In this book, different surgical methods are described to restore the function of the joints. In addition, various treatment options are presented, mainly to reduce the pain and enhance the life quality of the OA patients

Review Article: Osteophytes

An osteophyte is a fibrocartilage-capped bony outgrowth that is one of the features of osteoarthritis. This study reviewed the types, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical presentations, and medical and surgical treatment of osteophytes. Extraspinal osteophytes are classified as marginal, central, periosteal, or capsular, whereas vertebral osteophytes are classified as traction or claw. Risk factors for development of osteophytes include age, body mass index, physical activity, and other genetic and environmental factors. Transforming growth factor β plays a role in the pathophysiology of osteophyte formation. Osteophytes can cause pain, limit range of motion, affect quality of life, and cause multiple symptoms at the spine. Medical treatment involves the use of bisphosphonates and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Surgical treatment in the form of cheilectomy for impingement syndromes during joint replacement is recommended.published_or_final_versio

Mechanical restitution in isolated human myocardium: A study of underlying mechanisms and myocardial hypertrophy

The phenomenon of mechanical restitution is investigated in isolated strips of human, guinea-pig and ferret ventricular myocardium. Species differences, together with the effects of interventions known to influence the cellular handling of calcium, provide some insight into the mechanisms underlying mechanical restitution. Mechanical restitution in human myocardium is described by three exponential processes; two recovery and one decay. The data presented support the hypothesis that the faster of the two recovery phases represents a combination of recovery of releasable calcium by the sarcoplasmic reticulum and reactivation of the slow inward current. Decay would seem to be a function of trans-sarcolemmal ionic gradients. Hypertrophic human myocardium exhibits a slowed recovery phase of restitution. The data is compatible with the hypothesis that the sarcoplasmic reticulum of hypertrophic human myocardium has a reduced rate of uptake and an increased capacity for calcium. The time course of mechanical restitution provides a possible explanation for a cellular mechanism of pulsus alternans