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The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an ensemble of non-cellular components present within all tissues and organs of the human body. The ECM provides structural support for scaffolding cellular constituents and biochemical and biomechanical support for those events leading to tissue morphogenesis, differentiation and homeostasis. Essential components of all ECMs are water, proteins and polysaccharides. However, their composition, architecture and bioactivity greatly vary from tissue to tissue in relation to the specific role the ECM is required to assume. This book overviews the role of the ECM in different tissues and organs of the human body.

Extracellular matrix. --- Cement substance (Anatomy) --- Ground substance (Anatomy) --- Ground substance (Histology) --- Intercellular matrix --- Interstitial substance --- Matrix, Extracellular --- Connective tissues --- Extracellular space --- Human biology

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Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic zinc-containing enzymes involved in physiological as well as in pathological processes in the human organism. MMPs play a key role in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Such a process may occur because of tissue homeostasis, morphogenesis, and tissue repair. However, remodeling could also be a part of many pathological states such as arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, or impaired development in congenital anomalies. This book overviews the role of MMPs in different pathologies affecting the human body.

Metalloproteinases. --- Metalloproteases --- Metalloenzymes --- Proteinase --- Life Sciences --- Human Genetics --- Molecular Genetics --- Genetics and Molecular Biology --- Biochemistry

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This book collects the theoretical derivation of a recently presented general variational macroscopic continuum theory of multiphase poroelasticity (VMTPM), together with its applications to consolidation and stress partitioning problems of interest in several applicative engineering contexts, such as in geomechanics and biomechanics. The theory is derived based on a purely-variational deduction, rooted in the least-Action principle, by considering a minimal set of kinematic descriptors. The treatment herein considered keeps a specific focus on the derivation of most general medium-independent governing equations. It is shown that VMTPM recovers paradigms of consolidated use in multiphase poroelasticity such as Terzaghi's stress partitioning principle and Biot's equations for wave propagation. In particular, the variational treatment permits the derivation of a general medium-independent stress partitioning law, and the proposed variational theory predicts that the external stress, the fluid pressure, and the stress tensor work-associated with the macroscopic strain of the solid phase are partitioned according to a relation which, from a formal point of view, turns out to be strictly compliant with Terzaghi's law, irrespective of the microstructural and constitutive features of a given medium. Moreover, it is shown that some experimental observations on saturated sandstones, generally considered as proof of deviations from Terzaghi's law, are ordinarily predicted by VMTPM. As a peculiar prediction of VMTPM, the book shows that the phenomenon of compression-induced liquefaction experimentally observed in cohesionless mixtures can be obtained as a natural implication of this theory by a purely rational deduction. A characterization of the phenomenon of crack closure in fractured media is also inferred in terms of macroscopic strain and stress paths. Altogether the results reported in this monograph exemplify the capability of VMTPM to describe and predict a large class of linear and nonlinear mechanical behaviors observed in two-phase saturated materials. .

Mechanics, Applied. --- Solids. --- Materials --- Solid Mechanics. --- Characterization and Analytical Technique. --- Analysis.

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This book collects the theoretical derivation of a recently presented general variational macroscopic continuum theory of multiphase poroelasticity (VMTPM), together with its applications to consolidation and stress partitioning problems of interest in several applicative engineering contexts, such as in geomechanics and biomechanics. The theory is derived based on a purely-variational deduction, rooted in the least-Action principle, by considering a minimal set of kinematic descriptors. The treatment herein considered keeps a specific focus on the derivation of most general medium-independent governing equations. It is shown that VMTPM recovers paradigms of consolidated use in multiphase poroelasticity such as Terzaghi's stress partitioning principle and Biot's equations for wave propagation. In particular, the variational treatment permits the derivation of a general medium-independent stress partitioning law, and the proposed variational theory predicts that the external stress, the fluid pressure, and the stress tensor work-associated with the macroscopic strain of the solid phase are partitioned according to a relation which, from a formal point of view, turns out to be strictly compliant with Terzaghi's law, irrespective of the microstructural and constitutive features of a given medium. Moreover, it is shown that some experimental observations on saturated sandstones, generally considered as proof of deviations from Terzaghi's law, are ordinarily predicted by VMTPM. As a peculiar prediction of VMTPM, the book shows that the phenomenon of compression-induced liquefaction experimentally observed in cohesionless mixtures can be obtained as a natural implication of this theory by a purely rational deduction. A characterization of the phenomenon of crack closure in fractured media is also inferred in terms of macroscopic strain and stress paths. Altogether the results reported in this monograph exemplify the capability of VMTPM to describe and predict a large class of linear and nonlinear mechanical behaviors observed in two-phase saturated materials. .

Mechanics, Applied. --- Solids. --- Materials --- Solid Mechanics. --- Characterization and Analytical Technique. --- Analysis.