Screen-Printed PVDF Piezoelectric Pressure Transducer for Unsteadiness Study of Oblique Shock Wave Boundary Layer Interaction.

Shock wave boundary/layer interactions (SWBLIs) are critical in high-speed aerodynamic flows, particularly within supersonic regimes, where unsteady dynamics can induce structural fatigue and degrade vehicle performance. Conventional measurement techniques, such as pressure-sensitive paint (PSP), face limitations in frequency response, calibration complexity, and intrusive instrumentation. Similarly, MEMS-based sensors, like Kulite sensors, present challenges in terms of intrusiveness, cost, and integration complexity.

A digital twin approach for stroke risk assessment in Atrial Fibrillation Patients.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with a fivefold increased risk of cerebrovascular events, contributing to 15-18 % of all strokes. Stroke prevention in clinical practice is typically guided by the CHADS-VASc score, which depends on general clinical risk factors but falls short in predicting risk at an individual patient level. In this study, we introduce a digital twin model of the left atrium (LA) combined with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to enhance personalized stroke risk assessment.

Role of Preservation Solution in Human Aneurysmatic Aorta Harvest and Transport: A Comparative Analysis of Different Solutions for Tissue Injury Protection.

Introduction: Human aortic tissues in vitro are tools to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms of the cardiovascular system, cell culture, and transplants. Therefore, this study aims to analyze and compare the preservation of human aneurysmatic aortic tissues in three different solutions.

Methods: Six human abdominal aortic aneurysms were obtained from patients after surgical ablation.

Patient-specific left atrium contraction quantification associated with atrial fibrillation: A region-based approach.

Background And Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a widespread cardiac arrhythmia that significantly impacts heart function. AF disrupts atrial mechanical contraction, leading to irregular, uncoordinated, and slow blood flow inside the atria which favors the formation of clots, primarily within the left atrium (LA). A standardized region-based analysis of the LA is missing, and there is not even any consensus about how to define the LA regions.

Challenges of Implementing a Human Multi-Tissue Bank in a Public Hospital in the Interior of São Paulo: Under the Light of the Quality Management System.

Background: Human multi-tissue banks (HMTB) are important health institutions specialized in the capture, processing, and distribution of human tissues for transplants and research, aiming for safety and quality in the supply of their products, intended for reconstructive surgeries and injury repair, in addition to contributing to the advancement of research developed in regenerative medicine. This study aims to report and share the experience of implementing an HMTB, as well as creating an institution's own quality management system.

Methods: This is a descriptive study, an experience report type, which identifies historical aspects of an HMTB's actions in the 5 years of implementing and operating the service.

Alpha 1-acid glycoprotein is upregulated in severe COVID-19 patients and decreases neutrophil NETs in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Orosomucoid, or alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), is a major acute-phase protein expressed in response to systemic injury and inflammation. AGP has been described as an inhibitor of neutrophil migration on sepsis, particularly its immunomodulation effects. AGP's biological functions in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are not understood.

"Nothing but a rope to hang yourself:" The toll of mass supervision on mental well-being.

While incarceration has proven detrimental to mental well-being, it remains unknown if community supervision is better for mental well-being than incarceration. Our objective was to explore the individual- and community-level relationships between community supervision and mental well-being and to examine inequities by race. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with individuals on community supervision (e.

A detailed mathematical model of the human atrial cardiomyocyte: integration of electrophysiology and cardiomechanics.

Mechano-electric regulations (MER) play an important role in the maintenance of cardiac performance. Mechano-calcium and mechano-electric feedback (MCF and MEF) pathways adjust the cardiomyocyte contractile force according to mechanical perturbations and affects electro-mechanical coupling. MER integrates all these regulations in one unit resulting in a complex phenomenon.

Temperature Monitoring of Two Different Thermal Boxes for the Transport of Biological Samples.

Background: According to the Resolutions of the Collegiate Board of Directors RDC No. 20/2014, 214/2018, and 707/2022, validation of the temperature of thermal boxes for the transport of biological samples must be based on standardized procedures and tested by the Tissue Banks, guaranteeing safety and quality. Therefore, they can be simulated.

Educational Actions to Raise Student Awareness About the Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues.

Background: In Brazil, family refusal to donate organs and tissues is the main reason for not performing transplants, making it necessary to implement different educational strategies in diverse populations on this topic. Thus, this study aimed to raise awareness among school-aged adolescents about the method of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

Methods: This is a descriptive experience report with a quantitative and qualitative approach to educational actions in the school environment, mediated by the action research method, carried out with 936 students aged between 14 and 18 years from public schools in the interior of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Isolation and primary culture of human abdominal aorta smooth muscle cells from brain-dead donors: an experimental model for vascular diseases.

Primary cell cultures are essential tools for elucidating the physiopathological mechanisms of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, a primary culture growth protocol of cardiovascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) obtained from human abdominal aortas was standardized. Ten abdominal aorta samples were obtained from patients diagnosed with brain death who were organ and tissue donors with family consent.

Retention strategies among those on community supervision in the South: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Cohort studies must implement effective retention strategies to produce internally valid and generalizable results. Ensuring all study participants are retained, particularly those involved in the criminal legal system, ensures study findings and future interventions will be relevant to this group, who are often lost to follow-up: critical to achieving health equity. Our objective was to characterize retention strategies and describe overall retention among an 18-month longitudinal cohort study of persons on community supervision prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collateral consequences of COVID-19 for people on probation and parole.

Background: While the severe detrimental impact of COVID-19 on incarcerated people is well known, little is known about the experience of COVID-19 on those on community supervision. Our objective was to better understand the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and its collateral consequences for those on community supervision (e.g.

Models of Quality Management Systems Applied in Specialized Services for the Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues.

Background: Quality management tools and models are used to improve processes and products, including those related to organ and tissue donation and transplantation protocols. This study aims to map, discuss, and disseminate models/tools of quality management systems applied in health services, specializing in the donation and/or transplantation of human organs and tissues.

Methods: This is an integrative literature review over the last 10 years, operationalized through searches carried out on the PubMed portal and the databases: SciVerse Scopus (SCOPUS), Scielo, Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), Nursing Database (BDENF), and the Virtual Health Library (BVS).

The Significance of the Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) to Prevent Viral Contamination in Musculoskeletal Tissue Transplantation.

 The present study aims to highlight the significance of the nucleic acid test (NAT) for musculoskeletal tissue donation and to compare the sensitivity of this test on the different available platforms.  The present study is a retrospective survey in a human tissue bank database and an integrative literature review encompassing the last 10 years. The PubMed portal and the SCOPUS, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases were queried for articles.

Preliminary findings on left atrial appendage occlusion simulations applying different endocardial devices.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most investigated arrhythmias since it is associated with a five-fold increase in the risk of strokes. Left atrium dilation and unbalanced and irregular contraction caused by AF favour blood stasis and, consequently, stroke risk. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is the site of the highest clots formation, increasing the incidence of stroke in AF population.

A Study of the Radiation Tolerance and Timing Properties of 3D Diamond Detectors.

We present a study on the radiation tolerance and timing properties of 3D diamond detectors fabricated by laser engineering on synthetic Chemical Vapor Deposited (CVD) plates. We evaluated the radiation hardness of the sensors using Charge Collection Efficiency (CCE) measurements after neutron fluences up to 1016 n/cm2 (1 MeV equivalent.) The radiation tolerance is significantly higher when moving from standard planar architecture to 3D architecture and increases with the increasing density of the columnar electrodes.

Assessment of physicians' knowledge about brain death and organ donation and associated factors.

Precocity and assertiveness when diagnosing brain death are essential for identifying potential donors. To assess the knowledge of physicians about brain death and organ donation, cross-sectional web-based survey was carried out with physicians from different specialties. The knowledge about brain death and organ donation was assessed by a questionnaire with 12 multiple-choice or multiple-answer questions (possible range from 0 to 12).

Computational Analysis of Mapping Catheter Geometry and Contact Quality Effects on Rotor Detection in Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and catheter mapping has been proved to be an effective approach for detecting AF drivers to be targeted by ablation. Among drivers, the so-called rotors have gained the most attention: their identification and spatial location could help to understand which patient-specific mechanisms are acting, and thus to guide the ablation execution. Since rotor detection by multi-electrode catheters may be influenced by several structural parameters including inter-electrode spacing, catheter coverage, and endocardium-catheter distance, in this study we proposed a tool for testing the ability of different catheter shapes to detect rotors in different conditions.

Functioning of children and adolescents with Down syndrome and the association with environmental barriers and facilitators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To compare functioning and environmental aspects before and during physical distancing (DPD) and to determine which social, physical, behavioral and functioning aspects of DPD are correlated.

Methods: Sixteen parents of children/adolescents with Down syndrome (11.38 ± 3.

MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels in plasma are altered and associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Respiratory symptoms are one of COVID-19 manifestations, and the metalloproteinases (MMPs) have essential roles in the lung physiology. We sought to characterize the plasmatic levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9 (MMP-2 and MMP-9) in patients with severe COVID-19 and to investigate an association between plasma MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels and clinical outcomes and mortality. MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels in plasma from patients with COVID-19 treated in the ICU (COVID-19 group) and Control patients were measured with the zymography.

A global benchmark of algorithms for segmenting the left atrium from late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Segmentation of medical images, particularly late gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) used for visualizing diseased atrial structures, is a crucial first step for ablation treatment of atrial fibrillation. However, direct segmentation of LGE-MRIs is challenging due to the varying intensities caused by contrast agents. Since most clinical studies have relied on manual, labor-intensive approaches, automatic methods are of high interest, particularly optimized machine learning approaches.

Quantification and classification of potassium and calcium disorders with the electrocardiogram: What do clinical studies, modeling, and reconstruction tell us?

Diseases caused by alterations of ionic concentrations are frequently observed challenges and play an important role in clinical practice. The clinically established method for the diagnosis of electrolyte concentration imbalance is blood tests. A rapid and non-invasive point-of-care method is yet needed.