BACKGROUND In-vitro mechanical tests are commonly performed to assess pre-clinically the effect of implant design on the stability of hip endoprostheses. There is no standard protocol for these tests, and the forces applied vary between studies. This study examines the effect of the abductor force with and without application of the anterior-posterior hip contact force in the in-vitro assessmen...

Simultaneously analyzing multivariate time series provides an insight into underlying interaction mechanisms of cardiovascular system and has recently become an increasing focus of interest. In this study, we proposed a new multivariate entropy measure, named multivariate fuzzy measure entropy (mvFME), for the analysis of multivariate cardiovascular time series. The performances of mvFME, and i...

Stair climbing can be a low-cost and relatively accessible way to add everyday physical activity, but many building stairwells are inaccessible or unpleasant and elevators are far more convenient. This study explores the use of and attitude toward stairs in an innovative office building where the main elevators for able-bodied users stop only at every third floor ("skip-stop" elevators). These ...

BACKGROUND Assessments of stair climbing in real-life situations using an optical tracking system are lacking, as it is difficult to adapt the system for use in and around full flights of stairs. Alternatively, a portable system that consists of inertial measurement units (IMUs) can be used to collect anatomical joint angles during stair ascent. The purpose of this study was to compare the anat...

OBJECTIVES This investigation examined the effect of 6 months of high- or low-intensity resistance exercise on muscular strength and endurance and stair climbing ability in adults aged 60 to 83. DESIGN A randomized controlled trial. SETTING University of Florida Center for Exercise Science. PARTICIPANTS Sixty-two men and women completed the study protocol. Subjects were matched for streng...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate weighted stair climbing exercise (SCE) as a means of increasing lower extremity muscle power in mobility-limited older people. DESIGN Single-blinded, randomized controlled pilot study. SETTING Human physiology laboratory of a metropolitan university. PARTICIPANTS Forty-five community-dwelling people aged 65 and older who had baseline mobility limitations manifested ...

In 2000, body composition, x-ray-defined knee osteoarthritis, and self-reported knee pain information from a cross-sectional, community-based study of 211 African-American and 669 Caucasian women in southeast Michigan (mean age, 47 years) was related to performance-based physical functioning measures to characterize development of functional limitations. Body composition was assessed with bioel...

M. Buehler, R. Battaglia, A. Cocosco, G. Hawker, J. Sarkis, K. Yamazaki. Centre for Intelligent Machines, McGill University, Montr eal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada Abstract A simple mechanical design for quadrupedal locomotion, termed SCOUT, is proposed, featuring only one degree of freedom per leg. This paper demonstrates experimentally that our rst prototype SCOUT-1 is capable of walking, turning, and...