The KAFO described provides hemiplegics with effective and dynamic ambulation, because of its light weight, easy application, reasonably located genucentric knee and ankle joints, together with the flexibility of thigh and lower leg cuffs and arch support. The flexibility of this orthosis permits proper torsion of thigh and lower leg cuff. After application of the KAFO, hemiplegics become able ...

Most lower-limb physical assistant robots are fixed to wearers using cuffs. Hence, skin injuries beneath the cuffs are one of the major concerns of the users. A model that describes the relationship between the body posture and the interaction forces at the cuff was developed for use in assessing the risk of injury and improving user comfort. We measured the motion and interaction force beneath...

Many species of the orb-web spider genus Cyclosa often adorn their webs with decorations of prey remains, egg sacs and/or plant detritus, termed ;detritus decorations'. These detritus decorations have been hypothesised to camouflage the spider from predators or prey and thus reduce predation risk or increase foraging success. In the present study, we tested these two alternative hypotheses simu...

Use of the lowest possible cuff inflation pressure should minimize the pathogenic effects of compression beneath the pneumatic tourniquet. Curved tourniquets (designed to fit conically shaped limbs) and wider tourniquets were associated with significantly lower arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) than standard, straight tourniquets on the arms and legs of 26 normal volunteers. These tourniquets w...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To investigate safety issues associated with the reuse of sterilized endotracheal tubes (ETTs). DESIGN Prospective, randomized study. SETTING Laboratory in vivo testing. INTERVENTION Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were inoculated onto ETT cuffs. Following inoculation, ETTs were sterilized with either ethylene oxide or glutaraldehyde. Cu...

This study estimated changes in whole body oxygen stores (O(2)s) and carbon dioxide stores (CO(2)s) during steady state exercise with leg ischemia induced by leg cuff inflation. Six physically fit subjects performed 75 W steady state exercise for 15 min on a cycle ergometer. After 5 min of exercise, cuffs on the upper and lower legs were inflated to 140 mmHg. Cuffs were deflated after 5 min and...

Competitive interactions between males can affect mate-choice decisions of females, so it is important to understand the factors that underlie variation in the frequency and intensity of male–male interactions. In bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae), two hypotheses have been proposed to explain withinand between-species variation in the rate at which males steal each other’s decorations. Males may s...

In the hurried milieu of operating rooms, emergency departments, and intensive care units, contaminated sphygmomanometers (blood pressure cuffs) may not be routinely sanitized or replaced with clean cuffs between patient use. Previous investigations, though few in number, have identified blood pressure cuffs as potential sources of nosocomial infection or vehicles for transmission of contagion ...