Diss.--Techn. Hochsch--Aachen, 1998. / Bibliogr. p. 185-202.

Thesis--Bonn. / Bibliography: p. [v]-vi.

The Noble Outlaw or Krafkerl is the main hero of many of the masterpieces belonging to the Sturm und Drang and the early romantic period, but whereas this character is easily recognisable within German literature, he is not so in Italian literature, or at least, many pages thereof have never been studied with this character in mind. An excellent example is given by Vittorio Alfieri's Saul. This tragedy bases itself on the biblical story of the Hebrew king (I Samuel , 8--31), but focuses on the last hours of the protagonist, which makes it very difficult to identify Saul as a Krafkerl. Yet this is exactly the purpose of our study, which will begin by examining the critical history of the main character spanning nearly two centuries, then give the main characteristics of the Noble Outlaw as he appears in German literature, and conclude by showing how the character of Alfieri's Saul meets the profile of this protoromantic hero type; all this to strengthen the historical, albeit totally coincidental ties that bind Alfieri to his contemporaries of the Sturm und Drang preestablished at the beginning of our century by Benedetto Croce.

No description available.

Vittorio Alfieri (1749-1803) usava nel creare le sue tragedie un piano particolare: dapprima 'ideava', cioè fissava rapidamente la struttura dell'opera; in seguito, 'stendeva', e metteva su carta tutto ciò che gli passava per la mente, in prosa, con impeto e furore; in ultimo, 'verseggiava', ed ogni pensiero veniva cambiato in endecasillabi, ed attentamente limava tutte le imperfezioni: nasceva così la tragedia.

No description available.

No description available.

As the most commonly diseased valve of the heart, the mitral valve has been the subject of extensive research for many years. Prior research has focused on the development of surgical repair techniques and mainly consists of in vivo clinical studies into the efficacy and long-term effects of different procedures. There is a need for a means of studying the mitral valve ex vivo, incorporating patient data and the effects of different repair techniques on the valve prior to surgery. In this study, a method was developed for reconstructing the mitral valve from patient-specific data. Three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TTE and 3D-TEE) were used to obtain ultrasound images from a normal subject and a patient with mitral valve regurgitation. Geometric information was extracted from the images defining the primary structures of the mitral valve and a special program in MATLAB was created to automatically construct a finite element model of a valve. A dynamic finite element analysis solver, LS-DYNA 971, was used to simulate the dynamics of the valves and the non-linear, anisotropic behaviour of biological tissue. The two models were successful in simulating the dynamics of the mitral valve, with the subject model displaying normal function and the patient model showing the dysfunction displayed in the ultrasound images. A method was then developed to modify the original patient model, in a way that maintains its patient-specific nature, to model mitral valve repair. Four mitral valve repair techniques were simulated using the patient model: the annuloplasty ring, the double-orifice Alfieri stitch, the paracommissural Alfieri stitch, and the quadrangular resection. The former was coupled with the other three techniques, as is standard protocol in mitral valve repair. The effects of these techniques on the mitral valve were successfully determined, with varying degrees of improvement in valve function.

As the most commonly diseased valve of the heart, the mitral valve has been the subject of extensive research for many years. Prior research has focused on the development of surgical repair techniques and mainly consists of in vivo clinical studies into the efficacy and long-term effects of different procedures. There is a need for a means of studying the mitral valve ex vivo, incorporating patient data and the effects of different repair techniques on the valve prior to surgery. In this study, a method was developed for reconstructing the mitral valve from patient-specific data. Three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TTE and 3D-TEE) were used to obtain ultrasound images from a normal subject and a patient with mitral valve regurgitation. Geometric information was extracted from the images defining the primary structures of the mitral valve and a special program in MATLAB was created to automatically construct a finite element model of a valve. A dynamic finite element analysis solver, LS-DYNA 971, was used to simulate the dynamics of the valves and the non-linear, anisotropic behaviour of biological tissue. The two models were successful in simulating the dynamics of the mitral valve, with the subject model displaying normal function and the patient model showing the dysfunction displayed in the ultrasound images. A method was then developed to modify the original patient model, in a way that maintains its patient-specific nature, to model mitral valve repair. Four mitral valve repair techniques were simulated using the patient model: the annuloplasty ring, the double-orifice Alfieri stitch, the paracommissural Alfieri stitch, and the quadrangular resection. The former was coupled with the other three techniques, as is standard protocol in mitral valve repair. The effects of these techniques on the mitral valve were successfully determined, with varying degrees of improvement in valve function.

As the most commonly diseased valve of the heart, the mitral valve has been the subject of extensive research for many years. Prior research has focused on the development of surgical repair techniques and mainly consists of in vivo clinical studies into the efficacy and long-term effects of different procedures. There is a need for a means of studying the mitral valve ex vivo, incorporating patient data and the effects of different repair techniques on the valve prior to surgery. In this study, a method was developed for reconstructing the mitral valve from patient-specific data. Three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TTE and 3D-TEE) were used to obtain ultrasound images from a normal subject and a patient with mitral valve regurgitation. Geometric information was extracted from the images defining the primary structures of the mitral valve and a special program in MATLAB was created to automatically construct a finite element model of a valve. A dynamic finite element analysis solver, LS-DYNA 971, was used to simulate the dynamics of the valves and the non-linear, anisotropic behaviour of biological tissue. The two models were successful in simulating the dynamics of the mitral valve, with the subject model displaying normal function and the patient model showing the dysfunction displayed in the ultrasound images. A method was then developed to modify the original patient model, in a way that maintains its patient-specific nature, to model mitral valve repair. Four mitral valve repair techniques were simulated using the patient model: the annuloplasty ring, the double-orifice Alfieri stitch, the paracommissural Alfieri stitch, and the quadrangular resection. The former was coupled with the other three techniques, as is standard protocol in mitral valve repair. The effects of these techniques on the mitral valve were successfully determined, with varying degrees of improvement in valve function.