OBJECTIVES Physical activity is negatively associated with arterial stiffness. However, the relationship between sedentary behaviour and arterial stiffness is poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of sedentary behaviour with arterial stiffness among young adults. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING 34 study clinics across Australia during 2004-2006. PARTICI...

The inter-lamellar connectivity of the annulus fibrosus in the intervertebral disc has been shown to affect the prediction of the overall disc behaviour in computational models. Using a combined experimental and computational approach, the inter-lamellar mechanical behaviour of the disc annulus was investigated under conditions of radial loading. Twenty-seven specimens of anterior annulus fibro...

OBJECTIVES Liver biopsy is indispensable because liver stiffness measurement alone cannot provide information on intrahepatic inflammation. However, the presence of fibrosis highly correlates with inflammation. We constructed a noninvasive model to determine significant inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients by using liver stiffness measurement and serum markers. METHODS The training se...

Arterial stiffness can nowadays be measured easily and noninvasively around the globe. Although well established as an independent predictor of cardiovascular events, less is known about the role of arterial stiffness in the progressive loss of kidney function once chronic kidney disease (CKD) is established. In addition to measures of arterial stiffness, a number of devices now noninvasively r...

The short-range stiffness (SRS) of skeletal muscles is a critical property for understanding muscle contributions to limb stability, since it represents a muscle's capacity to resist external perturbations before reflexes or voluntary actions can intervene. A number of studies have demonstrated that a simple model, consisting of a force-dependent active stiffness connected in series with a cons...

BACKGROUND Measurement of the bending stiffness a healing fracture represents a valid variable in the assessment of fracture healing. However, currently available methods typically have high measurement errors, even for mild pin loosening. Furthermore, these methods cannot provide actual values of bending stiffness, which precludes comparisons among individual fractures. Thus, even today, littl...

This study presents micromechanical finite-element FE and discrete-element DE models for the prediction of viscoelastic creep stiffness of asphalt mixture. Asphalt mixture is composed of graded aggregates bound with mastic asphalt mixed with fines and fine aggregates and air voids. The two-dimensional 2D microstructure of asphalt mixture was obtained by optically scanning the smoothly sawn surf...

Stroke is the second leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Early intervention is of great importance in reducing disease burden. Since the conventional risk factors cannot fully account for the pathogenesis of stroke, it is extremely important to detect useful biomarkers of the vascular disorder for appropriate intervention. Arterial stiffness, a newly recognised reliable feature ...