Search results for "stiffness"

Estimating the Patient-Specific Relative Stiffness Between a Hepatic Lesion and the Liver Parenchyma

2017

This paper presents a novel non-invasive methodology to obtain the patient-specific relative stiffness between a hepatic lesion and the liver parenchyma in vivo. This relative stiffness can be used as a biomarker about the type of lesion. This biomarker together with the rest of pathological information can be used to plan a biopsy, an image-guide intervention or a radiation therapy. This relative stiffness is estimated by means of the finite element simulation of the breathing process, which is embedded in an optimization routine based on genetic algorithms. This routine was aimed at finding the patient-specific relative stiffness between a hepatic lesion and the liver parenchyma for the p…

AB0691 INCREASED CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN MIXED CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE: EVALUATION OF MACROVASCULAR INVOLVEMENT AND ITS PREDICTORS BY AORTIC PULSE W…

2019

Background: Macrovascular involvement and cardiovascular (CV) risk have not been sufficiently studied in patients with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). In particular, the gold standard assessment method of aortic stiffness carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) (1) has never been evaluated in patients with this disease. Objectives: Aims of the present study were to examine cfPWV in MCTD and to evaluate its associations with MCTD associated parameters and traditional CV risk factors. Methods: cfPWV measurements were performed in 43 MCTD patients and 107 healthy controls. The difference between cfPWV in the two groups was statistically examined and subsequently controlled for the …

THU0520 Assessment of cardiovascular risk in patients with fibromyalgia by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity – results of a prospective study

2018

Background Autonomic dysfunction, a basic element of fibromyalgia (FM), has been in some cases related to increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. CV risk associates with aortic stiffness, which can be reliably assessed by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). Objectives Aims of this study were to test the hypothesis of increased cfPWV in a group of patients with FM and to examine its association with FM associated parameters and selected traditional CV risk factors. Methods We performed measurements of cfPWV in 99 FM patients and 102 healthy controls. The difference between cfPWV values in the two groups after controlling for possible confounding factors was evaluated through …

Robotic Rehabilitation and Multimodal Instrumented Assessment of Post-stroke Elbow Motor Functions-A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

2020

Background: The reliable assessment, attribution, and alleviation of upper-limb joint stiffness are essential clinical objectives in the early rehabilitation from stroke and other neurological disorders, to prevent the progression of neuromuscular pathology and enable proactive physiotherapy toward functional recovery. However, the current clinical evaluation and treatment of this stiffness (and underlying muscle spasticity) are severely limited by their dependence on subjective evaluation and manual limb mobilization, thus rendering the evaluation imprecise and the treatment insufficiently tailored to the specific pathologies and residual capabilities of individual patients. Methods: To ad…

One-dimensional compression and consolidation of shales

2016

This paper presents a comprehensive methodology for analysing the compression and consolidation behaviour of shales. An apparatus was designed to perform oedometric high-pressure tests by applying a maximum vertical total stress of 100 MPa and simultaneously controlling the pore water pressure of the specimen. An analytical method was formulated to analyse the shale consolidation behaviour, which allows information to be gathered on the coefficient of consolidation, stiffness, poroelastic properties, secondary compression and permeability of the tested material as a function of the applied stress conditions. Results obtained on Opalinus Clay shale using the developed methodology are present…

AORTIC STIFFNESS IS INCREASED IN NORMOTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS Abstracts from the 17th National Congress of the Italian Soc…

2019

Introduction: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) events. A marker of early vascular aging (EVA) is aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) which is a measure of arterial stiffness. Aim: To evaluate aPWV and the prevalence of EVA in a group of normotensive patients with SLE and to compare these values with those obtained in age- and gender-matched control subjects. Method: Aortic PWV was measured by a validated oscillometric device (Arteriograph). EVA was identified when the age-adjusted z-score of aPWV exceeded ? 1.96 (EVA1). The aPWV z-score was calculated using the ratio ‘‘Observed PWV–Predicted PWV/SD Predicted’’ and we obt…

InBO3 and ScBO3 at high pressures: an ab initio study of elastic and thermodynamic properties

2016

We have theoretically investigated the elastic properties of calcite-type orthoborates ABO(3) (A= Sc and In) at high pressure by means of ab initio total-energy calculations. From the elastic stiffness coefficients, we have obtained the elastic moduli (B, G and E), Poisson's ratio (nu), B/G ratio, universal elastic anisotropy index (A(U)), Vickers hardness, and sound wave velocities for both orthoborates. Our simulations show that both borates are more resistive to volume compression than to shear deformation (B > G). Both compounds are ductile and become more ductile, with an increasing elastic anisotropy, as pressure increases. We have also calculated some thermodynamic properties, like D…

Structure and function of human triceps surae muscle and tendon in aging

2016

A SYMMETRIC AND POSITIVE DEFINITE BEM FOR 2-D FORCED VIBRATIONS

1997

A BEM formulation for 2D elastodynamics in the time domain has been presented. The formulation gives a resolving system that involves boundary displacements only. The stiffness and mass matrices of the boundary discretized body are frequency independent, symmetric and positive definite

Standalone sauna vs exercise followed by sauna on cardiovascular function in non‐naïve sauna users: A comparison of acute effects

2021

Background and aimsSauna bathing and aerobic exercise have each been shown to affect cardiovascular function. However, direct comparisons between standalone sauna bathing and a combination of exercise and sauna on vascular indices remain limited. Therefore, we conducted a cross-over study using matched durations to explore the hemodynamic changes of sauna exposure when compared to a combination of aerobic exercise and sauna exposure.MethodsParticipants (N = 72) with at least one cardiovascular risk factor underwent, on two separate occasions: (a) a 30-minute sauna at 75°C (SAUNA) and (b) the combination of a 15-minute cycling exercise at 75% maximum heart rate followed by 15-minute sauna ex…