The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of voluntary sub-maximal activation of the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) during singing on PFM strength and compliance with the exercise regime. The participants in this pilot interventional study were a convenience sample of 11 asymptomatic (eight at follow-up) and seven symptomatic (five at follow-up) individuals. The primary outcome meas...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study is to characterize the phenomenon of evoked tactile sensation (ETS) on the stump skin of forearm amputees using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). APPROACH We identified the projected finger map (PFM) of ETS on the stump skin in 11 forearm amputees, and compared perceptual attributes of the ETS in nine forearm amputees and eight able-bodied su...

Background: The reliability and safety of gas refineries are strongly associated with the reliability of other parts of the system. Defect and failure in one part of a system can cause total system breakdown or accident. The failure and damage in these equipment such as transformers and boilers results in not only the equipment damage and human injuries but also productivity reduction. The purp...

BACKGROUND Motivated patients are more likely to adhere to treatment resulting in better outcomes. Virtual reality rehabilitation (VRR) is a treatment approach that includes video gaming to enhance motivation and functional training. AIMS The study objectives were (1) to evaluate the feasibility of using a combination of pelvic floor muscles (PFM) exercises and VRR (PFM/VRR) to treat mixed ur...

BACKGROUND Central fat mass (CFM) correlates with insulin resistance and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications; however, peripheral fat mass (PFM) is associated with insulin sensitivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of absolute and relative regional adiposity to insulin resistance index and adipokines in type 2 diabetes. METHODS Total ...

AIMS Compare vaginal resting pressure (VRP), pelvic floor muscle (PFM) strength, and endurance in women with and without diastasis recti abdominis at gestational week 21 and at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. Furthermore, to compare prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in the two groups at the same assessment points. METHODS This is a prospectiv...

Communicating failure mode information during design and manufacturing is a crucial task for failure prevention. Most processes use Failure Modes and Effects types of analyses, as well as prior knowledge and experience, to determine the potential modes of failures a product might encounter during its lifetime. When new products are being considered and designed, this knowledge and information i...

CONTEXT Obesity is a growing health care problem worldwide and is a major underlying risk factor for common diseases such as diabetes. Parent-of-origin effect has been reported to be involved in the development of obesity. But the genes with imprinting effects related to obesity are largely unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to identify obesity-related genetic loci, both with a...

In this thesis a predefined design parameters are used to present theoretical guidelines for design of low voltage, and low power DC-DC converter with high power efficiency and low levels of EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference). This converter is used to alter the DC voltage supplied by the power source. Several DC-DC converters of different types and topologies are described and analyzed. Switc...

BACKGROUND A precise experimental identification of transcription factor binding motifs (TFBMs), accurate to a single base pair, is time-consuming and diffcult. For several databases, TFBM annotations are extracted from the literature and stored 5' --> 3' relative to the target gene. Mixing the two possible orientations of a motif results in poor information content of subsequently computed pos...