Despite continuous efforts to improve the robustness of cardiac valve implants,neither bioprosthetic nor mechanical valves fulfill both hemodynamic and durability requirements.This study discussed novel flexible leafl...Despite continuous efforts to improve the robustness of cardiac valve implants,neither bioprosthetic nor mechanical valves fulfill both hemodynamic and durability requirements.This study discussed novel flexible leaflet designs,focusing on polymeric materials with proven hemocompatibility,such as polyether ether ketone,of much higher stiffness than native tissue,aiming at optimal valve implants.A biomimetic valve with a single-curvature belly-curve(B-C)was used as a reference for new design variants with a double-curvature B-C with varying radii.Soft(13.2 MPa)and stiff(2.4 GPa)leaflet materials and different thicknesses were studied using lean simulations and in vitro experiments under physiologic hemodynamic conditions.The performance was assessed using opening pressure(OP)and orifice area(OA).The latter was determined by a newly developed automatized image processing tool.Experimental trends are in agreement with simulations and demonstrated that a buckling-inspired double-curvature leaflet design significantly enhances the trileaflet valve opening behavior,which is particularly advantageous for stiffer leaflet materials.Compared to the reference,the best-performing variant showed an OP improvement of 47%and 44%based on simulations and experiments,respectively.In contrast,the achieved mean pressure differential was directly comparable to state-of-the-art bioprosthetic valves.The OA was slightly reduced for new variants but still in the satisfying range.展开更多
On the sunny days, there were little diurnal changes in both azimuth and directional angle for either sun_ or shade_leaflet. However, there existed a significant diurnal change in midrib angle that reflected movements...On the sunny days, there were little diurnal changes in both azimuth and directional angle for either sun_ or shade_leaflet. However, there existed a significant diurnal change in midrib angle that reflected movements regarding evasion of light stress around noon hours. On the cloudy day, a very little diurnal difference was found in azimuth, directional and midrib angle. It is suggested that changing light environment is the main factor for inducing leaflet movement of Robinia pseudoacacia , and the rhythmical movement does not attribute to the leaflet movement. Leaf orientation control test showed that the photosynthetic rate ( Pn ), stomatal conductance ( g s ) and transpiration ( Tr ) of the artificial fixed_leaflets were significantly lower than that of control_leaflets. And the leaf temperature ( Tl ) of the fixed leaflets significantly exceeded that of control_leaflets, which may attribute to the significant difference of light interception between the fixed and control_leaflets. The light_dependent leaflet movement is the morphological adjustment of maintaining optimal physiological status.展开更多
It has been hypothesized that leaflet substrates with a trilayer structure and anisotropicmechanical properties could be useful for the production of functional and long-lasting tissue-engineered leaflets.To investiga...It has been hypothesized that leaflet substrates with a trilayer structure and anisotropicmechanical properties could be useful for the production of functional and long-lasting tissue-engineered leaflets.To investigate the influence of the anisotropic structural and mechanical characteristics of a substrate on cells,in this study,we electrospun trilayer anisotropic fibrous substrates and randomly oriented isotropic fibrous substrates(used as controls)from polycaprolactone polymers.Consequently,the random substrates had higher radial and lower circumferential tensile properties than the trilayer substrates;however,they had similar flexural properties.Porcine valvular interstitial cells cultured on both substrates produced random and trilayer cell-cultured constructs,respectively.The trilayer cell-cultured constructs had more anisotropic mechanical properties,17%higher cellular proliferation,14%more extracellular matrix(i.e.,collagen and glycosaminoglycan)production,and superior gene and protein expression,suggesting that more cells were in a growth state in the trilayer constructs than in the random constructs.Furthermore,the random and radial layers of the trilayer constructs had more vimentin,collagen,transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-ß1),transforming growth factor-beta 3(TGF-ß3)gene expression than in the circumferential layer of the constructs.This study verifies that the differences in structural,tensile,and anisotropic properties of the trilayer and random substrates influence the characteristics of the cells and ECM in the constructs.展开更多
The mechanisms of systolic anterior motion(SAM)of the mitral valve in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy(HOCM)remain unclear.To investigate the angle of attack between blood flow and mitral valve leaflets at pre-...The mechanisms of systolic anterior motion(SAM)of the mitral valve in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy(HOCM)remain unclear.To investigate the angle of attack between blood flow and mitral valve leaflets at pre-SAM time point,patient-specific CT-based computational models were constructed for 5 patients receiving septal myectomy surgery to obtain pre-and post-operative 2D vector flow mapping.The comparisons between pre-and post-operative angles of attack based on 2D vector flow mapping of 5 patients were performed.It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between pre-and post-operative angles of attack(61.1±t wa o vs.56.2±56.o,p=0.306,n=5).Therefore,we propose that the angle of attack might not play an important role in the initiation of SAM.展开更多
基金provided by Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of TechnologyUniversitat Zürichthe Laboratory of Composite Materials and Adaptive structures。
文摘Despite continuous efforts to improve the robustness of cardiac valve implants,neither bioprosthetic nor mechanical valves fulfill both hemodynamic and durability requirements.This study discussed novel flexible leaflet designs,focusing on polymeric materials with proven hemocompatibility,such as polyether ether ketone,of much higher stiffness than native tissue,aiming at optimal valve implants.A biomimetic valve with a single-curvature belly-curve(B-C)was used as a reference for new design variants with a double-curvature B-C with varying radii.Soft(13.2 MPa)and stiff(2.4 GPa)leaflet materials and different thicknesses were studied using lean simulations and in vitro experiments under physiologic hemodynamic conditions.The performance was assessed using opening pressure(OP)and orifice area(OA).The latter was determined by a newly developed automatized image processing tool.Experimental trends are in agreement with simulations and demonstrated that a buckling-inspired double-curvature leaflet design significantly enhances the trileaflet valve opening behavior,which is particularly advantageous for stiffer leaflet materials.Compared to the reference,the best-performing variant showed an OP improvement of 47%and 44%based on simulations and experiments,respectively.In contrast,the achieved mean pressure differential was directly comparable to state-of-the-art bioprosthetic valves.The OA was slightly reduced for new variants but still in the satisfying range.
文摘On the sunny days, there were little diurnal changes in both azimuth and directional angle for either sun_ or shade_leaflet. However, there existed a significant diurnal change in midrib angle that reflected movements regarding evasion of light stress around noon hours. On the cloudy day, a very little diurnal difference was found in azimuth, directional and midrib angle. It is suggested that changing light environment is the main factor for inducing leaflet movement of Robinia pseudoacacia , and the rhythmical movement does not attribute to the leaflet movement. Leaf orientation control test showed that the photosynthetic rate ( Pn ), stomatal conductance ( g s ) and transpiration ( Tr ) of the artificial fixed_leaflets were significantly lower than that of control_leaflets. And the leaf temperature ( Tl ) of the fixed leaflets significantly exceeded that of control_leaflets, which may attribute to the significant difference of light interception between the fixed and control_leaflets. The light_dependent leaflet movement is the morphological adjustment of maintaining optimal physiological status.
基金supported by the National Institute of Health(No.NIH R00HL134823).
文摘It has been hypothesized that leaflet substrates with a trilayer structure and anisotropicmechanical properties could be useful for the production of functional and long-lasting tissue-engineered leaflets.To investigate the influence of the anisotropic structural and mechanical characteristics of a substrate on cells,in this study,we electrospun trilayer anisotropic fibrous substrates and randomly oriented isotropic fibrous substrates(used as controls)from polycaprolactone polymers.Consequently,the random substrates had higher radial and lower circumferential tensile properties than the trilayer substrates;however,they had similar flexural properties.Porcine valvular interstitial cells cultured on both substrates produced random and trilayer cell-cultured constructs,respectively.The trilayer cell-cultured constructs had more anisotropic mechanical properties,17%higher cellular proliferation,14%more extracellular matrix(i.e.,collagen and glycosaminoglycan)production,and superior gene and protein expression,suggesting that more cells were in a growth state in the trilayer constructs than in the random constructs.Furthermore,the random and radial layers of the trilayer constructs had more vimentin,collagen,transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-ß1),transforming growth factor-beta 3(TGF-ß3)gene expression than in the circumferential layer of the constructs.This study verifies that the differences in structural,tensile,and anisotropic properties of the trilayer and random substrates influence the characteristics of the cells and ECM in the constructs.
基金The authors would like to acknowledge the research support from Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China(Grant No.2017J01009)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.20720180004)National Heart,Lung and Blood Institute grants R01 HL089269,and National Sciences Foundation of China(Grant No.11672001,81571691).
文摘The mechanisms of systolic anterior motion(SAM)of the mitral valve in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy(HOCM)remain unclear.To investigate the angle of attack between blood flow and mitral valve leaflets at pre-SAM time point,patient-specific CT-based computational models were constructed for 5 patients receiving septal myectomy surgery to obtain pre-and post-operative 2D vector flow mapping.The comparisons between pre-and post-operative angles of attack based on 2D vector flow mapping of 5 patients were performed.It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between pre-and post-operative angles of attack(61.1±t wa o vs.56.2±56.o,p=0.306,n=5).Therefore,we propose that the angle of attack might not play an important role in the initiation of SAM.
