Lately, ecological and intelligent colloidal dampers based on the liquid penetration/exudation in/from lyophobic nanoporous solids were proposed. Although colloidal dampers could be attractive for various applications, they are still under research, since some unexpected findings await satisfactory explanation. For instance, colloidal dampers are able to dissipate large amounts of mechanical energy without significant heating, and such result is surprising since traditional absorbers transform almost integrally the dissipated energy into heat. In this work, using a digital infrared-camera, the temperature distribution on the external surface of a colloidal damper is recorded versus the working time and the positions of the main heat sources are identified. Such experiments allow evaluation of the temperature inside the colloidal damper's working cylinder and the absorber's generated heat. Introducing the colloidal damper inside of an incubator, variation of the hysteresis shape and dissipated energy versus the working temperature can be found. From such experimental results, ratio of the generated heat to the dissipated energy is evaluated.

This study aims at development of a multi-directional bending mechanism with thin and long body driven by fluidic rubber actuators. Generally bending mechanisms with fluidic rubber actuators can have advantages of smooth and continuous motion, however because of their low stiffness it is difficult to generate high output force. To solve this problem, we have proposed a novel bending mechanism combined with contracting and extending rubber actuators. By bundling rubber actuators with different types, the developed bending mechanism can have the high stiffness. In this report, optimized extending and contracting rubber actuators are made basis on a McKibben actuator, then they are combined to be the bending mechanism. Experimentally stiffness of the mechanism is measured and is compared with a bending mechanism bundled with same motion type actuators. Resulting high stiffness can be recognized by the proposed mechanism. Additionally, a very long bending mechanism, which is 7m in length, is developed and its motion is demonstrated.

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Methods and Materials:Newly diagnosed patients (Յ90 days prior to REVEAL enrollment) aged Ն19 yrs were divided by reported presyncope/ syncope history: initial pre-diagnosis symptoms only (IS), first PAH-clinic visit only (FV), both IS and FV, or neither IS nor FV. Means (SD) or frequencies (%) describe characteristics at enrollment by presyncope/syncope history. Kaplan-Meier methodology estimated up to three-year survival from enrollment. Results: Patients with presyncope/syncope history at IS and FV (nϭ70) were younger, had a poorer functional class, higher mPAP and mRAP and lower cardiac index compared with patients who did not have presyncope/ syncope history (Table). Three-year survival appears worse for the IS group despite being younger and having better exercise capacity. Conclusions: PAH patients with presyncope/syncope history appear to have more severe disease. It is important to validate the effect and prognosis of reported syncope in PAH as evidence-based PAH treatment guidelines are further defined.Purpose: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) results from the imbalance of various vasoactive mediators responsible for the vasoconstriction and proliferation of pulmonary arterial (PA) endothelial and smooth-muscle cells. Targeting these neurohormonal mediators has become the mainstay of PAH therapy. In PAH rat models, the administration of relaxin, a potent vasodilatory and anti-fibrotic hormone, significantly attenuated PA remodeling and improved several hemodynamic parameters. To date, no study has measured the levels of relaxin in PAH. Additionally, while recently studied in heart failure, no study has evaluated relaxin levels in diastolic heart failure-induced pulmonary hypertension (DHF-P). As an initial step in evaluating the role of relaxin in the treatment of both PAH and DHF-P, we measured serum relaxin levels in patients with PAH and DHF-P as compared to normal controls. Methods and Materials: We measured serum relaxin levels in patients with PAH (mean PAP Ͼ25 mmHg, with PCWP Ͻ 15 mmHg) and DHF-P (mean PAP Ͼ25 mmHg with gradient PA-diastolic PCWP Յ 5 mmHg) as measured by right-heart catheterization and compared these results to normal controls. Results: Seventeen and 16 patients comprised the PAH and DHF-P groups, respectively. Serum relaxin levels were significantly elevated in the PAH group compared to the DHF-P and control groups (169.4 Ϯ 63.4, 64.0 Ϯ 18.0 and 39.2 Ϯ 22.1, respectively; p ϭ 0.002).Conclusions: This is the first study to measure serum relaxin levels in patients with PAH, and compare them to levels in patients with DHF-P.Relaxin was found to be significantly elevated in PAH as compared to DHF-P and controls, suggesting its role as a compensatory mediator in PAH and highlighting its possible role as a future therapy for PAH.

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