The bicontraction of a vertex v of degree two in a graph, with precisely two neighbours v1 and v2, consists of shrinking the set {v1, v, v2} to a single vertex. The retract of a matching covered graph G, denoted by Ĝ, is the graph obtained from G by repeatedly bicontracting vertices of degree two. Up to isomorphism, the retract of a matching covered graph G is unique. If G is a brace on six or ...

Background: Rupture of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) would cause instability and disability and if left untreated. Reconstruction is performed by different techniques including patellar bone graft, as the strongest device. Application of brace after ACL reconstructions has revealed doubtful results. Methods: One hundred ACL ruptured patients randomized into two groups were reconstructed with...

The main aim of this study, is to evaluate the seismic reliability of steel concentrically braced frame (SCBF) structures optimally designed in the context of performance-based design. The Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method and neural network (NN) techniques were utilized to conduct the reliability analysis of the optimally designed SCBFs. Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) trained by back propagati...

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a debilitating condition affecting increasing numbers of individuals each year. One option for treatment is orthotic knee braces, but a little independent reviews have taken place to date on their relative outcomes for users. This study therefore evaluates the efficacy of different types of knee orthoses (braces) with regard to key aspects of use, including gait pa...