Background & objectives Uncertainty often arises in differentiating seasonal variation from outbreaks of malaria. The present study was aimed to generalize the theoretical structure of sine curve for detecting an outbreak so that a tool for early warning of malaria may be developed. Methods A 'case/mean-ratio scale' system was devised for labelling the outbreak in respect of two diverse distr...

Postural disturbances are one of the first reported symptoms in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of supervised resistance training on postural control in MS patients. Postural control was assessed using amount of sway variability [Root Mean Square (RMS)] and temporal structure of sway variability [Lyapunov Exponent (LyE)] from 15 MS ...

BACKGROUND Adaptive postural control can be impaired in the presence of frailty syndrome, given that this condition causes homeostatic dysregulation in physiological systems. OBJECTIVES To compare the center of pressure (CoP) displacements of non-frail, pre-frail, and frail elderly subjects in the standing position before and after postural transition of sitting and rising from a chair, using...

Purpose. To evaluate the intrasession repeatability of corneal curvature, eccentricity, and aberrometric measurements obtained with a multidiagnostic device in healthy eyes. Methods. This study enrolled 107 eyes of 107 patients ranging in age from 23 to 65 years. All of them underwent a complete anterior segment examination with the VX120 system (Visionix-Luneau Technologies, Chartres, France)....

Certain aspects of balance control change with age, resulting in a slight postural instability. We examined healthy subjects between 20-82 years of age during the quiet stance under static conditions: at stance on a firm surface and/or on a compliant surface with eyes either open or closed. Body sway was evaluated from centre of foot pressure (CoP) positions during a 50 sec interval. The seven ...

Postactivation potentiation (PAP) is known to enhance force production. Maximal isometric strength assessment protocols usually consist of two or more maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVCs). The objective of this study was to determine if PAP would influence isometric strength assessment. Healthy male volunteers (n = 23) performed two five-second MVCs separated by a 180-seconds interva...

The aim of this study was to obtain the 3-D qualitative and quantitative nanoscale data of the surface topography and surface roughness of glazed and unglazed feldspathic ceramics. Twelve samples composed of Ni-Cr alloy (Wiron 99, Bego Germany) and feldspathic ceramics (IPS Classic, Ivoclar-Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein) were prepared, and divided into two groups, dependent of the surface fin...

This Letter presents a novel, computationally efficient interpolation method that has been optimised for use in electrocardiogram baseline drift removal. In the authors' previous Letter three isoelectric baseline points per heartbeat are detected, and here utilised as interpolation points. As an extension from linear interpolation, their algorithm segments the interpolation interval and utilise...

BACKGROUND The aim was to assess the agreement in the measurement of ocular aberrations between a new Adaptive Optics Vision Analyzer (AOVA, Voptica, Murcia, Spain) and a commercial aberrometer (KR-1 W, Topcon, Tokyo, Japan), both based on the Hartmann-Shack technique. METHODS One experienced examiner measured 29 healthy right eyes nine consecutive times with the two instruments. The individu...

The use of esophageal recordings of the diaphragm electromyogram (EMG) signal strength to evaluate diaphragm activation during voluntary contractions in humans has recently been criticized because of a possible artifact created by changes in lung volume. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is an artifactual influence of lung volume on the strength of the diaphra...