SUMMARY Objective: Myocardial infarction has unfavorable effect on structural and functional properties of the myocardium, referred to as cardiac remodeling. Left ventricular mass, left ventricular mass index, and relative wall thickness are important predictors of cardiac remodeling. In this study, we investigated the effect of candesartan treatment in comparison with zofenopril treatment on echocardiographic indices of cardiac remodeling in post myocardial infarction patients. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, patients who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention were randomly assigned to a candesartan or zofenopril treatment. After randomization, echocardiographic indices of cardiac remodeling including left ventricular mass, left ventricular mass index, and relative wall thickness were evaluated before the start of treatment along with 1- and 6-month follow-ups. Results: According to our study, candesartan group showed significant reduction of estimated left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index at 6-month follow-up visit compared to baseline values (199.53±38.51 g vs. 212.69±40.82 g; 99.05 g/m2 (90.00–116.5) vs. 106.0 g/m2 (96.0∼123.00), p<0.05, respectively). This trend was also observed in zofenopril group during the 6-month period (201.22±40.07 g vs. 207.52±41.61 g; 101.0 g/m2 (92.25–111.75.0) vs. 104.50 g/m2 (95.0∼116.75), p<0.05, respectively). Although both classes of drugs had favorable effects on post-myocardial infarction cardiac remodeling, the absolute benefit was more prominent in candesartan group as compared to zofenopril group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that candesartan treatment following myocardial infarction may potentially be useful in terms of improving post-myocardial infarction cardiac remodeling.

Abstract: Shear walls are one of the envelopes of light-frame wooden buildings where thermal insulation is most required. The thermal performance of shear walls can vary according to the type, properties and thickness of the wood and insulation materials used in their production. This study, it was aimed to compare the thermal performances of plywood shear walls produced with different thermal insulation materials. For this aim, the archetype walls with properties similar to commonly used plywood shear walls were designed and produced for each thermal insulation material type and wood specie. The shear wall groups were formed by using Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), black pine (Pinus nigra) and spruce (Picea orientalis) as wood species and cellulose, flax, felt, XPS, EPS, sheep’s, rock and glass wool as thermal insulation materials. The thermal conductivity of the shear wall groups was determined according to the standard. Thermal resistance and other thermal performance parameters were calculated using the thermal conductivity values. As a result of the study, rock wool was the best thermal insulation material among the Scots pine shear wall groups while glass wool was the best thermal insulation material among the black pine and spruce shear wall groups. The shear walls produced with EPS foam boards indicated the worst thermal performance among all groups.

Abstract In this paper, a fully coupled fluid structure interaction (FSI) method is used to investigate the hydro-elastic response of a fully submerged standing structure under seismic excitations. Two different domains (solid and fluid) are modelled by mesh based and meshless methods, respectively. Solid domain is modeled by finite element method (FEM) and fluid domain is modeled by smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Coupling between FEM and SPH is implemented via contact mechanics, and this method differs from others in the way of coupling mechanism. Invading SPH particles are solved together with finite elements by using contact mechanics, then, a fully coupled method is achieved. In the scope of this research, different seismic excitations are applied to a rectangular tank. Half of the tank is filled with water and a submerged rubber plate is attached to its mid bottom. Thus, two-dimensional motion of rubber plate and water is investigated experimentally and simulated numerically.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the efficacy of local nitroglycerin application in preventing and treating flap complications after modified radical mastectomy in a large patient cohort. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1993 and 2008, 6 426 patients undergoing surgery for stage II breast cancer were enrolled in this prospective study. Patients were randomised into treatment and control groups. In the treatment group a nitroglycerin preparation (Nitroderm) was applied to the flap area. Major complications, recovery periods, menopausal status, additional diseases (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease) and adverse effects related to nitroglycerin use were recorded. RESULTS: The recovery rate without major complications was statistically significantly higher in the nitroglycerin-treated group than in the controls (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that topical nitroglycerin reduces flap complications after breast surgery.