Parallel robots with configurable platforms are a class of in which the end-effector has an inner mobility, so that its overall shape can be reconfigured: most cases, is thus closed-loop kinematic chain composed rigid links. These have greater flexibility their motion and control respect to rigid-platform parallel architectures, but kinematics more challenging analyze. In our work, we consider ...

INTRODUCTION Although adolescent cigarette use continues to decline in the United States, electronic cigarette (e‑cigarette) use among adolescents has escalated rapidly. This study assessed trends and patterns of e‑cigarette use and concurrent cigarette smoking and the relationships between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation intentions and behaviors among high school students in North Caroli...

BACKGROUND Factors influencing contraceptive use and non-use among women of advanced reproductive age have been insufficiently researched in Nigeria. This study examines factors influencing contraceptive use and non-use among women of advanced reproductive age in Nigeria. METHODS Secondary data were pooled and extracted from 2008 and 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS). The wei...

BACKGROUND Poor sleep is common in the ICU setting and may represent a modifiable risk factor for patient participation in ICU-based physical therapy (PT) interventions. This study evaluates the association of perceived sleep quality, delirium, sedation, and other clinically important patient and ICU factors with participation in physical therapy (PT) interventions. METHOD This was a secondar...

BACKGROUND Previous overviews suggested that hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins), but not other lipid-lowering therapy (LLT), may reduce stroke incidence in coronary patients. OBJECTIVE To investigate the amplitude and sources of heterogeneity of LLT effects on stroke prevention. METHODS We searched the literature from 1966 to 2001 and then conducted a meta-anal...

BACKGROUND Whether apolipoprotein B (apoB) or non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) adds to the predictive power of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) for cardiovascular risk remains controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS This meta-analysis is based on all the published epidemiological studies that contained estimates of the relative risks of non-HDL-C and apoB of fatal or non...

Since previous numbers-needed-to-treat (NNT) and relative risk reduction (RRR) report, a few studies were published to evaluate prophylactic effectiveness of neuromuscular training for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in female athletes. The purpose of the current analyses was to determine the effectiveness of neuromuscular training interventions in reducing both non-contact and overall ...

BACKGROUND Preliminary evidence has suggested the role of inflammation in development and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Most of the prognostic studies failed to account for the effects of co-morbid conditions as these might have raised the systemic inflammation. We used neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a measure of systemic inflammation and investigated its association w...

The effect of selection bias has not been well evaluated in epidemiologic studies which focus on familial aggregation. The authors illustrate this type of bias for a reconstructed cohort study. With the reconstructed cohort design, cases and controls are first selected from the population and their relatives form the exposed and unexposed cohorts, respectively. The recurrence risk ratio (RRR) i...

OBJECTIVE To compare noninvasive measures of cardiac autonomic activity during sleep. METHODS The absolute and normalized (n.u.) high and low frequency peaks from the spectral analysis of R-R intervals (HF, LF, HFn.u., LFn.u.), LF/HF ratio, pre-ejection period (PEP) from impedance cardiography, and the autocorrelation coefficient (rRR) as illustrated in Poincaré plots were measured during nig...