NUMERICAL PREDICTION OF THE COMPONENT-RATIO-DEPENDENT COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF BONE CEMENT

Changes in the compression strength of the PMMA bone cement with a variable powder/liquid component mix ratio were investigated. The strength test data served to develop basic mathematical models and an artificial neural network was employed for strength predictions. The empirical and numerical results were compared to determine modelling errors and assess the effectiveness of the proposed methods and models. The advantages and disadvantages of mathematical modelling are discussed

APPLICATION OF NEURAL NETWORKS IN PREDICTION OF TENSILE STRENGTH OF ABSORBABLE SUTURES

The paper presents results of research on neural network application in fore-casting the tensile strength of two types of sutures. The preliminary research was conducted in order to establish the accuracy of the proposed method and will be used for formulating further research areas. The neu-ral network enabled evaluation of suture material degradation after 3-to-6-days’ exposure to Ringer’s solution. The encountered problems regarding inaccuracies show that developing a single model for sutures may be difficult or impossible. Therefore future research should be conducted for a single type of sutures only and require applying additional parameters for the neural network

THE DESIGN AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE ENDOPROSTHESIS OF THE HIP JOINT

The paper presents results of the preliminary structural analysis of model of the endoprosthesis of the hip joint. Basics of anatomy and biomecha-nical analysis of the hip joint were introduced. Based on data from atlas of human anatomy and medical imaging, the prototype of endoprosthesis was modelled using Solid Edge ST8 software. After determining physical properties of structural materials, the Finite Elements Analysis of the model was conducted using in SolidWorks software under various load conditions. Finally the results of analysis are presented

The effects of a 6-week core exercises on swimming performance of national level swimmers

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a 6-week specialized training program aimed at strengthening core muscles to improve the effectiveness of selected elements of a swimming race on a group of Polish swimmers. Sixteen male national level swimmers (21.6 ± 2.2 years) participated in the research. The competitors were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups before the data collection process: an experimental (EG, n = 8) and a control (CG, n = 8) group. Both groups of swimmers underwent the same training program in the water environment (volume and intensity), while swimmers from the EG additionally performed specific core muscle training. The task of the swimmers was an individual front crawl swim of 50 m, during which the kinematic parameters of the start jump, turn and swimming techniques were recorded using a video camera system. In both groups, a minor increase in the flight phase was observed at the start (EG = 0.06 m, 1.8%; p = 0.088; CG = 0.08 m, 2.7%; p = 0.013). The time to cover a distance of 5 mafter the turn and the recorded average speed in swimming this distance for the EG statistically significantly improved by 0.1 s (-28.6%; p < 0.001) and 3.56 m�s-1 (23.2%; p = 0.001), respectively. In the EG, a statistically significant improvement in 50m front crawl swimming performance of 0.3 s (-1.2%, p = 0.001) was observed. The results of the research show that the implementation of isolated strengthening of the stabilizing muscles seems to be a valuable addition to the standard training of swimmers

The influence of chlorine in indoor swimming pools on the composition of breathing phase of professional swimmers

Objectives: Swimming is one of the most popular forms of physical activity. Pool water is cleaned with chlorine, which - in combination with compounds contained in water - could form chloramines and trichloromethane in the swimmer’s lungs. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of swimming training in an indoor pool on the composition of swimmers’ respiratory phase metabolomics, and develop a system to provide basic information about its impact on the swimmer’s airway mucosa metabolism, which could help to assess the risk of secondary respiratory tract diseases i.e. sport results, condition, and health including lung acute and chronic diseases). Design: A group of competitive swimmers participated in the study and samples of their respiratory phase before training, immediately after training, and 2 h after training were assessed. Methods: Sixteen male national and international-level competitive swimmers participated in this study. Respiratory phase analysis of the indoor swimming pool swimmers was performed. Gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GCMS) was used in the measurements. All collected data were transferred to numerical analysis for trends of tracking and mapping. The breathing phase was collected on special porous material and analyzed using GCMS headspace. Results: The obtained samples of exhaled air were composed of significantly different metabolomics when compared before, during and after exercise training. This suggests that exposition to indoor chlorine causes changes in the airway mucosa Conclusion: This phenomenon may be explained by occurrence of a chlorine-initiated bio-reaction in the swimmers’ lungs. The obtained results indicate that chromatographic exhaled gas analysis is a sensitive method of pulmonary metabolomic changes assessment. Presented analysis of swimmers exhaled air indicates, that indoor swimming may be responsible for airway irritation caused by volatile chlorine compounds and their influence on lung metabolism

<i>Aux/IAA11</i> Is Required for UV-AB Tolerance and Auxin Sensing in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>

In order to survive, plants have, over the course of their evolution, developed sophisticated acclimation and defense strategies governed by complex molecular and physiological, and cellular and extracellular, signaling pathways. They are also able to respond to various stimuli in the form of tropisms; for example, phototropism or gravitropism. All of these retrograde and anterograde signaling pathways are controlled and regulated by waves of reactive oxygen species (ROS), electrical signals, calcium, and hormones, e.g., auxins. Auxins are key phytohormones involved in the regulation of plant growth and development. Acclimation responses, which include programmed cell death induction, require precise auxin perception. However, our knowledge of these pathways is limited. The Aux/IAA family of transcriptional corepressors inhibits the growth of the plant under stress conditions, in order to maintain the balance between development and acclimation responses. In this work, we demonstrate the Aux/IAA11 involvement in auxin sensing, survival, and acclimation to UV-AB, and in carrying out photosynthesis under inhibitory conditions. The tested iaa11 mutants were more susceptible to UV-AB, photosynthetic electron transport (PET) inhibitor, and synthetic endogenous auxin. Among the tested conditions, Aux/IAA11 was not repressed by excess light stress, exclusively among its phylogenetic clade. Repression of transcription by Aux/IAA11 could be important for the inhibition of ROS formation or efficiency of ROS scavenging. We also hypothesize that the demonstrated differences in the subcellular localization of the two Aux/IAA11 protein variants might indicate their regulation by alternative splicing. Our results suggest that Aux/IAA11 plays a specific role in chloroplast retrograde signaling, since it is not repressed by high (excess) light stress, exclusively among its phylogenetic clade

Effect of Ringer's Solution on Tensile Strength of Non-Absorbable, Medium- and Long-Term Absorbable Sutures

The paper presents an experimental and correlational study of mechanical properties of selected surgical sutures. The research methods employed in the study consisted in conducting tensile strength tests on suture material and subjecting the obtained data to statistical analysis. The changes in tensile strength of absorbable sutures measured in tests were subsequently collated with results for suture material samples that were not exposed to Ringer’s solution. The results were, furthermore, compared with manufacturer’s specifications concerning suture absorption time in the body. The detailed analysis of differences between results presented in the study allowed us to formulate conclusions regarding the impact of exposure to Ringer’s solution on the strength of surgical sutures

Retrograde Signaling: Understanding the Communication between Organelles

Understanding how cell organelles and compartments communicate with each other has always been an important field of knowledge widely explored by many researchers. However, despite years of investigations, one point&mdash;and perhaps the only point that many agree on&mdash;is that our knowledge about cellular-signaling pathways still requires expanding. Chloroplasts and mitochondria (because of their primary functions in energy conversion) are important cellular sensors of environmental fluctuations and feedback they provide back to the nucleus is important for acclimatory responses. Under stressful conditions, it is important to manage cellular resources more efficiently in order to maintain a proper balance between development, growth and stress responses. For example, it can be achieved through regulation of nuclear and organellar gene expression. If plants are unable to adapt to stressful conditions, they will be unable to efficiently produce energy for growth and development&mdash;and ultimately die. In this review, we show the importance of retrograde signaling in stress responses, including the induction of cell death and in organelle biogenesis. The complexity of these pathways demonstrates how challenging it is to expand the existing knowledge. However, understanding this sophisticated communication may be important to develop new strategies of how to improve adaptability of plants in rapidly changing environments

Seasoning Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) Bone Cements with Incorrect Mix Ratio

Cemented joint prostheses are widely used in orthopaedic surgery; however, implants/bone bonds are known to be susceptible to aseptic loosening, particularly in the case of long-term performance. The exact mechanism of this failure is under constant examination. One of the critical factors to the final mechanical functionality of bone cement can be an incorrect mix ratio of a two-component material (powdered polymer and liquid monomer). It can result in the deterioration of the final mechanical strength properties. The paper presents the results from an experimental study on the effects of the deviation from the correct mix ratio on the moisture uptake and the compression strength of cement depending on the seasoning time in Ringer&rsquo;s solution. The results were subjected to statistical analysis and a mathematical model was developed

Application of an Artificial Neural Network in the Modelling of Heat Curing Effects on the Strength of Adhesive Joints at Elevated Temperature with Imprecise Adhesive Mix Ratios

This paper is a discussion of the results of tests intended to (i) estimate the effects of component mix ratios and heat curing of an adhesive joint on the tensile strength, and (ii) to determine the adhesive component mix ratio for which heat curing is insignificant to the strength of adhesive butt joints. Experimental tests were carried out at ambient temperature and elevated temperature during which adhesive butt joints were loaded with a tensile force until failure. The variables were the mix ratio of epoxy adhesive components and the application of heat holding at the adhesive curing stage. An LSTM (long short-time memory) forecast was used to determine the point corresponding to the mix ratio of adhesive components at which heat holding of the adhesive joint no longer has a positive and significant importance to the final tensile strength of the joint