Browsing by Subject "Manufacturing"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Molecular Mechanisms for the Mechanical Modulation of Airway Responsiveness
    (American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019-02) Zhang, Wenwu; Gunst, Susan J.; Cellular and Integrative Physiology, School of Medicine
    The smooth muscle of the airways is exposed to continuously changing mechanical forces during normal breathing. The mechanical oscillations that occur during breathing have profound effects on airway tone and airway responsiveness both in experimental animals and humans in vivo and in isolated airway tissues in vitro. Experimental evidence suggests that alterations in the contractile and mechanical properties of airway smooth muscle tissues caused by mechanical perturbations result from adaptive changes in the organization of the cytoskeletal architecture of the smooth muscle cell. The cytoskeleton is a dynamic structure that undergoes rapid reorganization in response to external mechanical and pharmacologic stimuli. Contractile stimulation initiates the assembly of cytoskeletal/extracellular matrix adhesion complex proteins into large macromolecular signaling complexes (adhesomes) that undergo activation to mediate the polymerization and reorganization of a submembranous network of actin filaments at the cortex of the cell. Cortical actin polymerization is catalyzed by Neuronal-Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) and the Arp2/3 complex, which are activated by pathways regulated by paxillin and the small GTPase, cdc42. These processes create a strong and rigid cytoskeletal framework that may serve to strengthen the membrane for the transmission of force generated by the contractile apparatus to the extracellular matrix, and to enable the adaptation of smooth muscle cells to mechanical stresses. This model for the regulation of airway smooth muscle function can provide novel perspectives to explain the normal physiologic behavior of the airways and pathophysiologic properties of the airways in asthma.
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    Tactile Connections in a Digital Era
    (2017) Campbell, Hannah; Hudnall, Katie
    My research seeks to capture the tactile satisfaction of solving physical puzzles with the excitement of exploring new technologies by reimagining traditional carpentry techniques in a digital context. As is common with modern techniques, the possibilities are endless but I present a few scratches at the surface in the form of puzzle-like joint examples to learn the physical systems combined with demonstrative animations to give the viewer a glimpse of how the small object they are playing with could be applied in different contexts.