Found in 1-2% of the population, bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital cardiovascular disease and is associated with increased risk of aortic valve dysfunction and aortic disease. Current treatment is focused on surgical intervention either after the development of symptomatic aortic stenosis/regurgitation or aortic diameter thresholds. However,...
Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally-invasive treatment method that aims to destroy undesired tissue by exposing it to alternating current in the 100 kHz to 800 kHz frequency range and heating it until it is destroyed via coagulative necrosis. Ablation treatment is gaining momentum especially in cancer research, where the undesired...
The dynamics of human joints are fundamental characteristic of the human motor system, and altered joint impedance can hinder mobility. Individuals with transtibial amputation typically experience slower and energetically costly gait, while individuals with chronic stroke experience persisting gait deficits arising from spasticity, hypertonia and paresis. Investigating joint impedance of...
A one-time, unilateral injury to the developing brain can interrupt the typical process of development and result in motor impairments that evolve over the course of the whole life-span. The timing of injury relative to neural development has implications for the continued refinement of the nervous system and the descending...
Everyday tasks, such as putting on a jacket or reaching up to a shelf, often become more challenging for older adults. These tasks rely on the ability to generate three-dimensional torques about the shoulder and to adapt these torques across activities. Shoulder strength and muscle coordination impact shoulder torque production,...
4D Flow MRI is a phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging method that enables direct measurement of velocities in three orthogonal directions throughout the heartbeat. This permits direct quantification of hemodynamic parameters, including flow, mean velocity, peak velocity, and pulsatility, for individual cerebral vessels. Despite ongoing research into neurovascular applications of 4D...
Fluorescence microscopy has become a widely used tool in many research areas. However, its spatial resolution, limited to 250 nm by the diffraction limit of light, has restricted direct observation of details of ultrastructural biology. In recent years, spectroscopic single-molecule localization microscopy (sSMLM), one of super-resolution imaging techniques, has been...
We rely on the properties of our skeletal muscles to traverse our world, interact with objects, and complete everyday tasks. The macroscopic properties of muscles that endow us with these abilities arise from the material properties of muscle fibers and the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as how they...
Decisions in naturalistic environments usually feature delayed and uncertain outcomes that can only be reached after a sequence of actions are performed. For example, canonical stalking and pursuit strategies used by terrestrial predators often involve stages of concealment, pauses where the predator remains motionless, and high speed chase sequences. The...
In nature, materials with complex architectures are formed through hierarchical self-assembly. Therefore, the study and design of hierarchically assembling materials is important in producing materials that mimic biological structures and is a key challenge in biomaterials science and engineering. In articular cartilage, hierarchical assembly of extracellular matrix (ECM) components provides...