Mechanical properties of the adventitia are largely determined by the organization of collagen fibers. Measurements on the waviness and orientation of collagen, particularly at the zero-stress state, are necessary to relate the structural organization of collagen to the mechanical response of the adventitia. Using the fluorescence collagen marker CNA38-OG488 and confocal laser scanning microscopy, we imaged collagen fibers in the adventitia of rabbit common carotid arteries ex vivo. The arteries were cut open along their longitudinal axes to get the zero-stress state. We used semi-manual and automatic techniques to measure parameters related to the waviness and orientation of fibers. Our results showed that the straightness parameter (defined as the ratio between the distances of endpoints of a fiber to its length) was distributed with a beta distribution (mean value 0.72, variance 0.028) and did not depend on the mean angle orientation of fibers. Local angular density distributions revealed four axially symmetric families of fibers with mean directions of 0 • , 90 • , 43 • and −43 • , with respect to the axial direction of the artery, and corresponding circular standard deviations of 40 • , 47 • , 37 • and 37 • . The distribution of local orientations was shifted to the circumferential direction when measured in arteries at the zero-load state (intact), as compared to arteries at the zero-stress state (cutopen). Information on collagen fiber waviness and orientation, such as obtained in this study, could be used to develop structural models of the adventitia, providing better means for analyzing and understanding the mechanical properties of vascular wall.

A distributed model of the human arterial tree including all main systemic arteries coupled to a heart model is developed. The one-dimensional (1-D) form of the momentum and continuity equations is solved numerically to obtain pressures and flows throughout the systemic arterial tree. Intimal shear is modeled using the Witzig-Womersley theory. A nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive law for the arterial wall is considered. The left ventricle is modeled using the varying elastance model. Distal vessels are terminated with three-element windkessels. Coronaries are modeled assuming a systolic flow impediment proportional to ventricular varying elastance. Arterial dimensions were taken from previous 1-D models and were extended to include a detailed description of cerebral vasculature. Elastic properties were taken from the literature. To validate model predictions, noninvasive measurements of pressure and flow were performed in young volunteers. Flow in large arteries was measured with MRI, cerebral flow with ultrasound Doppler, and pressure with tonometry. The resulting 1-D model is the most complete, because it encompasses all major segments of the arterial tree, accounts for ventricular-vascular interaction, and includes an improved description of shear stress and wall viscoelasticity. Model predictions at different arterial locations compared well with measured flow and pressure waves at the same anatomical points, reflecting the agreement in the general characteristics of the "generic 1-D model" and the "average subject" of our volunteer population. The study constitutes a first validation of the complete 1-D model using human pressure and flow data and supports the applicability of the 1-D model in the human circulation.

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Cytoskeletal rearrangement occurs in a variety of cellular processes and involves a wide spectrum of proteins. Among these, the gelsolin superfamily proteins control actin organization by severing filaments, capping filament ends and nucleating actin assembly [1]. Gelsolin is the founding member of this family, which now contains at least another six members: villin, adseverin, capG, advillin, supervillin and flightless I. In addition to their respective role in actin filament remodeling, these proteins have some specific and apparently non-overlapping particular roles in several cellular processes, including cell motility, control of apoptosis and regulation of phagocytosis (summarized in table 1). Evidence suggests that proteins belonging to the gelsolin superfamily may be involved in other processes, including gene expression regulation. This review will focus on some of the known functions of the gelsolin superfamily proteins, thus providing a basis for reflection on other possible and as yet incompletely understood roles for these proteins.

In earlier studies we found that the three-element windkessel, although an almost perfect load for isolated heart studies, does not lead to accurate estimates of total arterial compliance. To overcome this problem, we introduce an inertial term in parallel with the characteristic impedance. In seven dogs we found that ascending aortic pressure could be predicted better from aortic flow by using the four-element windkessel than by using the three-element windkessel: the root-mean-square errors and the Akaike information criterion and Schwarz criterion were smaller for the four-element windkessel. The three-element windkessel overestimated total arterial compliance compared with the values derived from the area and the pulse pressure method ( P = 0.0047, paired t-test), whereas the four-element windkessel compliance estimates were not different ( P = 0.81). The characteristic impedance was underestimated using the three-element windkessel, whereas the four-element windkessel estimation differed marginally from the averaged impedance modulus at high frequencies ( P = 0.0017 and 0.031, respectively). When applied to the human, the four-element windkessel also was more accurate in these same aspects. Using a distributed model of the systemic arterial tree, we found that the inertial term results from the proper summation of all local inertial terms, and we call it total arterial inertance. We conclude that the fourelement windkessel, with all its elements having a hemodynamic meaning, is superior to the three-element windkessel as a lumped-parameter model of the entire systemic tree or as a model for parameter estimation of vascular properties.

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Seven classic and recently proposed methods used for the estimation of total arterial compliance have been evaluated for their accuracy and applicability in different physiological conditions. The pressure and flow data are taken from a computer model that provides realistic simulations of the nonlinear-distributed systemic arterial tree. Besides the great flexibility in simulating different physiological or pathological cases, the major advantage of the computer model is that it allows precise knowledge of the pressure-dependent total arterial compliance, which is the variable of interest. The results show that the methods based on the two-element windkessel (WK) model are more accurate than those based on the three-element WK model. The classic exponential decay and the diastolic area method yield essentially similar results, and their compliance estimates are accurate within 10% except at high heart rates. The later part of diastole, i.e., from the time that the systolic pressure wave has reached all peripheral beds, gives the best results. The newly proposed two-area and pulse pressure methods, both based on the two-element WK model, are accurate (errors in general < 10%) and can be applied to other locations in the arterial tree where the decay time and area method cannot. Methods based on the three-element WK model consistently overestimate total arterial compliance (> or = 25%). The errors in the methods based on the three-element WK model arise from the fact that the input impedance in that model deviates significantly from the true input impedance at low frequencies. The strong dependence of compliance on pressure (elastic nonlinearity) does not invalidate the compliance estimates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)