JOINT KINEMATICS AND MUSCLE ACTIVITIES TO ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL BANK-SHOTS IN BASKETBALL FREE-THROW

The study purpose was to investigate joint kinematics and muscle activations and compare clean-shot (CS) and bank-shot (BS) in men’s basketball free-throw. Ten high school male basketball athletes were recruited and asked to perform 10 CS and 10 BS, respectively, in random order. Kinematic results indicated that the range of motions (ROM) of knee, hip, and elbow joints for BS were greater (2.9 to 15.1%) than those of CS. During the projection phase, peak angluar velocities of all joints except the wrist of BS were greater than those of CS. The muscle activity of the triceps brachii increased by about 10.5% across all phases of BS compared to CS. In conclusion, the strategy of successful BS depends on increased joint ROMs and muscle activations of the triceps but similar peak angular velocity of the wrist to CS during the projection phase

Drug-eluting stents for ST-elevation myocardial infarction: ready for prime time?

Primary percutaneus coronary intervention, performed in a timely manner, is currently the standard of care for patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Numerous clinical trials have shown the superiority of balloon angioplasty over thrombolytic therapy in decreasing the composite endpoint of death, reinfarction, and stroke in patients with STEMI The culprit plaques in STEMI patients usually contain a large necrotic core, a thin fibrous cap, and heavy inflammatory cell infiltration, together with extensive thrombus formation. Strut penetration into the necrotic core is apparently related to delayed endothelization and healing at the site of DES placement It is now accepted that DESs can markedly reduce the risk of restenosis and, accordingly, DES use has again been expanded to STEMI patients. Two randomized trials published in 2006 showed the benefits of DESs over baremetal stents in patients undergoing a primary percutaneous coronary intervention for STEM

REACTION CHARACTERISTICS OF TWO WATER GAS SHIFT CATALYSTS IN A BUBBLING FLUIDIZED BED REACTOR FOR SEWGS PROCESS

Reaction characteristics of two WGS catalysts for SEWGS process were investigated in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor. The commercial low temperature WGS catalyst produced by Süd-chemie and new catalyst produced by spray-drying method were used as bed materials. Reaction temperature, steam/CO ratio, and gas velocity were considered as experimental variables. Moreover, long-term operation results of two WGS catalysts were compared as well

Remifentanil-induced preconditioning has cross-talk with A1 and A2B adenosine receptors in ischemic-reperfused rat heart

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a cross-talk between opioid receptors (OPRs) and adenosine receptors (ADRs) in remifentanil preconditioning (R-Pre) and, if so, to investigate the types of ADRs involved in the cross-talk. Isolated rat hearts received 30 min of regional ischemia followed by 2 hr of reperfusion. OPR and ADR antagonists were perfused from 10 min before R-Pre until the end of R-Pre. The heart rate, left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP),velocity of contraction (+dP/dtmax), and coronary flow (CF) were recorded. The area at risk and area of necrosis were measured. After reperfusion, the LVDP, +dP/dtmax,and CF showed a significant increase in the R-Pre group compared with the control group (no intervention before or after regional ischemia). These increases in the R-Pre group were blocked by naloxone, a nonspecific ADR antagonist, an A1 ADR antagonist, and an A2B ADR antagonist. The infarct size was reduced significantly in the R-Pre group compared with the control group. The infarct-reducing effect in the R-Pre group was blocked by naloxone, the nonspecific ADR antagonist, the A1 ADR antagonist, and the A2B ADR antagonist. The results of this study demonstrate that there is cross-talk between ADRs and OPRs in R-Pre and that A1 ADR and A2B ADR appear to be involved in the cross-talk

Effects of production parameters on microstructure and densification of iron/glass syntactic foam by conventional powder metallurgy

Iron and steel matrix syntactic foams have received a lot of attention owing to their high strength, temperature capability, and corrosion resistance. However, high melting point of the iron and steels complicates applications of some conventional production processes. Since few casting methods were proposed to fabricate iron and steel syntactic foams embedded with the ceramic and metal hollow spheres having macro diameters, most of the foams having micro ceramic and glass hollow spheres were fabricated through powder metallurgy (PM) process, which allows reduction of temperature levels by about 30~40% compared to the casting. Metal injection molding (MIM) was mostly used toward the iron and steel matrix foams because of requiring only limited adaptations for switching from making solid parts to syntactic foams and its capabilities for producing various geometries and sizes. However, if the shape allows the production of the part by conventional PM (pressing and sintering), MIM would in most cases be too expensive. To date, detailed fundamental researches on conventional PM process to fabricate the iron or steel syntactic foams have not been reported. Difficulties of the conventional PM process to fabricate the iron and steel syntactic foams are working pressures and temperatures. For compacting powders to make green bodies, high working pressures can assist the densification of the matrix during sintering while this can deform or fracture the hollow spheres embedded. In case of the foams with the glass hollow spheres, softening of the glass occurs at high temperature thus original shape of the hollow spheres cannot be preserved. Therefore, to overcome the difficulties and to produce sound sintered bodies, the investigation on the production parameters of the conventional PM to fabricate the iron and steel syntactic foams is necessary. In this study, the iron/glass hollow spheres syntactic foams were fabricated via the conventional PM process. Fabrications were conducted with considering different production parameters, which included the compaction pressures and sintering temperatures in conjunction with various volume fractions and particle sizes of the hollow spheres. The microstructures and densification behaviors of the fabricated syntactic foams were characterized by X-ray diffraction, optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersion spectroscope

Incidence, Predictors, Treatment, and Long-Term Prognosis of Patients With Restenosis After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation for Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence, predictors, and long-term outcomes of patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) for unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease.BackgroundFew data on the clinical course and management of patients experiencing restenosis after DES treatment for unprotected LMCA disease have appeared.MethodsBetween February 2003 and November 2007, 509 consecutive patients with unprotected LMCA disease underwent DES implantation, with 402 (80.1%) undergoing routine surveillance or clinically driven angiographic follow-up. A major adverse cardiac event was defined as the composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), or target-lesion revascularization.ResultsThe overall incidence of angiographic ISR in LMCA lesions was 17.6% (71 of 402 patients, 57 with focal-type and 14 with diffuse-type ISR. Forty patients (56.3%) underwent repeated PCI, 10 (14.1%) underwent bypass surgery, and 21 (29.6%) were treated medically. During long-term follow-up (a median of 31.7 months), there were no deaths, 1 (2.2%) MI, and 6 (9.5%) repeated target-lesion revascularization cases. The incidence of major adverse cardiac event was 14.4% in the medical group, 13.6% in the repeated PCI group, and 10.0% in the bypass surgery group (p = 0.91). Multivariate analysis showed that the occurrence of DES-ISR did not affect the risk of death or MI.ConclusionsThe incidence of ISR was 17.7% after DES stenting for LMCA. The long-term clinical prognosis of patients with DES-ISR associated with LMCA stenting might be benign, given that these patients were optimally treated with the clinical judgment of the treating physician

Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of Sirolimus- Versus Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Patients With Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease Analysis of the MAIN-COMPARE (Revascularization for Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Stenosis: Comparison of Percutaneous Coronary Angioplasty Versus Surgical Revascularization) Registry

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes after implantation of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) or paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) among patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease.BackgroundThere have been few comparisons of long-term outcomes among currently available drug-eluting stents (DES) for the treatment of LMCA disease.MethodsA total of 858 consecutive patients with unprotected LMCA stenosis were treated with SES (n = 669) or PES (n = 189) between May 2003 and June 2006. Primary outcome was the composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), or target vessel revascularization (TVR).ResultsBaseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were similar in the 2 groups. During 3 years of follow-up, the adjusted risk of primary composite outcome was similar among the groups (SES vs. PES: 25.8% vs. 25.7%, hazard ratio [HR]: 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64 to 1.41, p = 0.79). The 2 groups also showed a comparable adjusted rate of each component of outcome: death (9.1% vs. 11.0%, HR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.47 to 1.80, p = 0.82), MI (8.1% vs. 8.0%, HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.43 to 1.48, p = 0.47), and TVR (12.1% vs. 10.6%, HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.53 to 2.29, p = 0.81). The 3-year rates of definite or probable stent thrombosis were 0.6% in the SES group and 1.6% in the PES group (adjusted p = 0.18).ConclusionsIn consecutive patients with unprotected LMCA disease undergoing DES implantation, SES and PES showed similar long-term clinical outcomes in terms of death, MI, repeat revascularization, and stent thrombosis

Complexity of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease and Long-Term Outcomes in Patients With Unprotected Left Main Disease Treated With Drug-Eluting Stents or Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to compare treatment effects of drug-eluting stents (DES) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease according to the complexity of atherosclerotic disease burden.BackgroundLimited information is available on the relationships between the extent of coronary atherosclerosis and very long-term outcomes of surgical or percutaneous LMCA revascularization.MethodsA total of 1,146 patients with unprotected LMCA disease who received DES (n = 645) or underwent CABG (n = 501) were evaluated. The extent of atherosclerotic disease burden was measured using the SYNTAX (Synergy Between PCI With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score; a low-risk score was defined as ≤22, an intermediate-risk score as 23 to 32, and a high-risk score as ≥33.ResultsAfter multivariate adjustment with the inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting method, the 5-year risks for death (6.1% for DES vs. 16.2% for CABG; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.21 to 1.28; p = 0.15) and the composite of death, Q-wave myocardial infarction, or stroke (6.4% vs. 16.2%; HR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.22 to 1.34; p = 0.18) favored DES in patients with low-risk SYNTAX scores; in contrast, the 5-year risks for death (26.9% vs. 17.8%; HR: 1.46; 95% CI: 0.92 to 2.30; p = 0.11) and the composite outcome (27.6% vs. 19.5%; HR: 1.36; 95% CI: 0.87 to 2.12; p = 0.18) favored CABG in patients with high-risk SYNTAX scores (interaction p = 0.047 for death, interaction p = 0.08 for composite outcome). Patients undergoing CABG consistently had lower rates of target vessel revascularization.ConclusionsAccording to the complexity of concomitant coronary disease, there were differential treatment effects on long-term mortality in patients with unprotected LMCA disease who received DES or underwent CABG