Elastic stresses and plastic deformations in 'Santa Clara' tomato fruits caused by package dependent compression

The objective of this work was to study the fruit compression behavior aiming to develop new tomato packages. Deformations caused by compression forces were observed inside packages and in individual 'Santa Clara' tomato fruit. The forces applied by a transparent acrylic lever to the fruit surface caused pericarp deformation and the flattened area was proportional to the force magnitude. The deformation was associated to the reduction in the gas volume (Vg), caused by expulsion of the air from the loculus cavity and reduction in the intercellular air volume of the pericarp. As ripening advanced, smaller fractions of the Vg reduced by the compressive force were restored after the stress was relieved. The lack of complete Vg restoration was an indication of permanent plastic deformations of the stressed cells. Vg regeneration (elastic recovery) was larger in green fruits than in the red ones. The ratio between the applied force and the flattened area (flattening pressure), which depends on cell turgidity, decreased during ripening. Fruit movements associated with its depth in the container were observed during storage in a transparent glass container (495 x 355 x 220 mm). The downward movement of the fruits was larger in the top layers because these movements seem to be driven by a summation of the deformation of many fruits in all layers.

Protéinurie orthostatique et phénomène de compression de la veine rénale gauche (nutcracker syndrome) [Orthostatic proteinuria and compression of the left renal vein (nutcracker syndrome)]

INTRODUCTION: The pathogenic mechanism of orthostatic proteinuria has not yet been clearly established. OBSERVATION: In a tall, thin, 21 year-old man, isolated proteinuria was discovered during an urological control conducted one year after a bilateral orchidopexy following left testicular torsion. Proteinuria was orthostatic. Doppler examination of the kidney revealed an entrapment of the left renal vein (nutcracker phenomenon-NCP). COMMENTS: An NCP was diagnosed in a young patient presenting with orthostatic proteinuria. By provoking modifications in intraglomerular haemodynamics, the NCP may, in nearly half of the cases, be at the origin of orthostatic proteinuria. Doppler examination is the diagnostic method of choice in the screening for NCP.

Trigeminal neuralgia related to megadolichobasilar artery compression: a prospective series of twenty-nine patients treated with gamma knife surgery, with more than one year of follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) secondary to megadolichobasilar artery (MBA) compression is considerably difficult to manage surgically. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the safety/efficacy of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) in this special group of patients. METHODS: Between July 1992 and November 2010, 29 patients with >1 year of follow-up presenting with MBA compression were treated with GKS at Timone University Hospital. Radiosurgery was performed using a Gamma Knife (model B, C or Perfexion). A single 4-mm isocenter was positioned in the cisternal portion of the trigeminal nerve at a median distance of 9.1 mm (range: 6-18.2 mm) from the emergence. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 46.1 months (range: 12.9-157.9 months). Initially, all patients (100%) were pain free; the average time to complete pain relief was 13.5 days (range: 0-240 days). Their actuarial probability of remaining pain free without medication at 0.5, 1 and 2 years was 93.1, 79.3 and 75.7%, respectively, and remained stable until 13 years after treatment. The actuarial probability of hypoesthesia onset at 6 months was 4.3%; at 1 year it reached 13% and remained stable until 13 years after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: GKS proved to be reasonably safe and effective on a long-term basis as a first- and/or second-line surgical treatment for TN due to MBA compression.

Retrograde ascending aortic dissection during or after thoracic aortic stent graft placement: insight from the European registry on endovascular aortic repair complications.

BACKGROUND: Single-center reports have identified retrograde ascending aortic dissection (rAAD) as a potentially lethal complication of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). METHODS AND RESULTS: Between 1995 and 2008, 28 centers participating in the European Registry on Endovascular Aortic Repair Complications reported a total of 63 rAAD cases (incidence, 1.33%; 95% CI, 0.75 to 2.40). Eighty-one percent of patients underwent TEVAR for acute (n=26, 54%) or chronic type B dissection (n=13, 27%). Stent grafts with proximal bare springs were used in majority of patients (83%). Only 7 (15%) patients had intraoperative rAAD, with the remaining occurring during the index hospitalization (n=10, 21%) and during follow-up (n=31, 64%). Presenting symptoms included acute chest pain (n=16, 33%), syncope (n=12, 25%), and sudden death (n=9, 19%) whereas one fourth of patients were asymptomatic (n=12, 25%). Most patients underwent emergency (n=25) or elective (n=5) surgical repair. Outcome was fatal in 20 of 48 patients (42%). Causes of rAAD included the stent graft itself (60%), manipulation of guide wires/sheaths (15%), and progression of underlying aortic disease (15%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of rAAD was low (1.33%) in the present analysis with high mortality (42%). Patients undergoing TEVAR for type B dissection appeared to be most prone for the occurrence of rAAD. This complication occurred not only during the index hospitalization but after discharge up to 1050 days after TEVAR. Importantly, the majority of rAAD cases were associated with the use of proximal bare spring stent grafts with direct evidence of stent graft-induced injury at surgery or necropsy in half of the patients.

Stem straightness and compression wood in a 22-year-old stand of container-grown Scots pine trees

Abstract

Preformed Phoenix Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) Compression Joint Seals, MLR-93-02, 1999

There is an ongoing drive towards improvements and achieving success in effective and long term sealing of portland cement concrete pavement contraction joints. A variety of joint sealing products and procedures have been applied in Iowa in search of improvements in seal performance. Hot poured rubberized asphalt products were mainly used for sealing all joints in earlier years for highways. In the 1980s, silicone sealant products were becoming popular, especially for the major highways. As a high level of sealant performance was not achieved from silicones in Iowa conditions, other sealing products were tried. Preformed neoprene compression seals are being tried as a substitution for silicone sealants. Due to high costs of materials and installation with neoprene seals, the search for improvements through other joint sealing products and procedures continued. An agreement was made with Phoenix, North America, Inc., to provide and install preformed Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) compression joint seals. The research site was a 600 ft (183 m) test section of northbound I-29 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Seal installation was done August 20, 1992. Seal performance has been good over the past seven years and the seals are still showing no significant signs of decreasing performance.

The use of the SeDeM diagram expert system for the formulation of Captopril SR matrix tablets by direct compression

The SeDeM Diagram Expert System has been used to study excipients, Captopril and designed formulations for their galenic characterization and to ascertain the critical points of the formula affecting product quality to obtain suitable formulations of Captopril Direct Compression SR Matrix Tablets. The application of the Sedem Diagram Expert System enables selecting excipients with in order to optimize the formula in the preformulation and formulation studies. The methodology is based on the implementation of ICH Q8, establishing the design space of the formula with the use of experiment design, using the parameters of the SeDeM Diagram Expert System as system responses.

Effect of compression wood on surface roughness and surface absorption of medium density fiberboard

Abstract

Dissecting the compression of mortality in Switzerland, 1876-2005

This paper aims to examine changes in common longevity and variability of the adult life span, and attempts to answer whether or not the compression of mortality continues in Switzerland in the years 1876-2005. The results show that the negative relationships between the large increase in the adult modal age at death, observed at least from the 1920s, and the decrease in the standard deviation of the ages at deaths occurring above it, illustrate a significant compression of adult mortality. Typical adult longevity increased by about 10% during the last fifty years in Switzerland, and adult heterogeneity in the age at death decreased in the same proportion. This analysis has not found any evidence suggesting that we are approaching longevity limits in term of modal or even maximum life spans. It ascertains a slowdown in the reduction of adult heterogeneity in longevity, already observed in Japan and other low mortality countries.

A robust audio watermarking scheme based on MPEG 1 Layer 3 Compression

This paper describes an audio watermarking scheme based on lossy compression. The main idea is taken from an image watermarking approach where the JPEG compression algorithm is used to determine where and how the mark should be placed. Similarly, in the audio scheme suggested in this paper, an MPEG 1 Layer 3 algorithm is chosen for compression to determine the position of the mark bits and, thus, the psychoacoustic masking of the MPEG 1 Layer 3compression is implicitly used. This methodology provides with a high robustness degree against compression attacks. The suggested scheme is also shown to succeed against most of the StirMark benchmark attacks for audio.

Patterns of neurovascular compression in patients with classic trigeminal neuralgia: A high-resolution MRI-based study.

PURPOSE: To describe the anatomical characteristics and patterns of neurovascular compression in patients suffering classic trigeminal neuralgia (CTN), using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The analysis of the anatomy of the trigeminal nerve, brain stem and the vascular structures related to this nerve was made in 100 consecutive patients treated with a Gamma Knife radiosurgery for CTN between December 1999 and September 2004. MRI studies (T1, T1 enhanced and T2-SPIR) with axial, coronal and sagital simultaneous visualization were dynamically assessed using the software GammaPlan?. Three-dimensional reconstructions were also developed in some representative cases. RESULTS: In 93 patients (93%), there were one or several vascular structures in contact, either, with the trigeminal nerve, or close to its origin in the pons. The superior cerebellar artery was involved in 71 cases (76%). Other vessels identified were the antero-inferior cerebellar artery, the basilar artery, the vertebral artery, and some venous structures. Vascular compression was found anywhere along the trigeminal nerve. The mean distance between the nerve compression and the origin of the nerve in the brainstem was 3.76±2.9mm (range 0-9.8mm). In 39 patients (42%), the vascular compression was located proximally and in 42 (45%) the compression was located distally. Nerve dislocation or distortion by the vessel was observed in 30 cases (32%). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study are similar to those reported in surgical and autopsy series. This non-invasive MRI-based approach could be useful for diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in CTN, and it could help to understand its pathogenesis.