BACKGROUND A motor vehicle seat belt use law for the driver and front-seat passenger was implemented in Taiwan on June 1, 2001. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of motor vehicle seat belt use on the severity of traumatic brain injuries because of motor vehicle accidents. METHODS Data were collected from 27 major teaching hospitals four years before June 1, 2001 and until ...

OBJECTIVES Latino children are more likely to be unrestrained passengers in motor vehicles than non-Latino children, but little is known about the use of booster seats in Latino families. This study investigates Latino parents' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about booster seats, barriers to booster seat use, and effective strategies for message delivery in the Latino community. METHODS Two ...

[Purpose] This research analyzed how seat distance and gender affect maximal torque and muscle strength when driving to present base data for the optimal driving posture. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were 27 college students in their 20's, 15 males and 12 females. After had been measured, the subjects sat in front of a steering wheel with the distance between the steering wheel and the s...

Of 2,275 cases of non-fatal injuries sustained by all categories of road users 185 were inflicted on back seat passengers. Twenty-six such passengers sustained severe and 66 moderately severe injuries. Only two patients (aged 18 months and 3 years) wore any form of restraint. Back seat passengers may be injured by impact with the rear of the front seat or other objects in the rear compartment; ...

Providing new generations of airbags with reliable information about the vehicle inner space occupancy in order to minimize inappropriate inflation is a real challenge. Within this paper 2 techniques to rebuilt the 3D cockpit scene, are presented; beside the well-known stereoscopic vision principles, 3D reconstruction based on matricial sensor combined with an infrared structured light emitter ...

So, what's the final word on how possible it is to catch a disease from a toilet seat? I'm in college and live in the dorms, so essentially every bathroom I use is a public one. My school has no sanitary seat covers and uses only commercial-grade one-ply toilet paper. I refuse to believe disgusting microorganisms can't penetrate that flimsy stuff. How likely is it to catch a disease (STD or oth...

The causes of seat change in midterm elections have been debated for decades. Some political scientists believe seat change is caused by heightened national conditions; others argue seat change is a result of conditions within districts. Political scientists agree however that candidate quality affects election outcomes. In general, the party that recruits the highest quality candidates and run...

In road traffic accidents, a car-seat and its occupant can be subjected to various crash pulses in the case of a rear impact. This study investigates the influence of crash pulse shape on seat-occupant response and evaluates the corresponding risk of whiplash injury. For this purpose, a rigorously validated seat-occupant system model is used to study different carseat designs and crash pulses. ...

OBJECTIVE To identify the effect of chair seat height and turning direction on the Timed Up and Go scores of patients after stroke. DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTING A geriatric day hospital in Hong Kong. SUBJECTS Twenty-five patients with sub-acute stroke. METHODS The time taken to complete the Timed Up and Go test with various chair seat heights (65%, 90% and 115% of each subjec...

A mathematical model of a vehicle dynamic system capable of predicting ride comfort can be a useful tool for vehicle design and development engineers at the concept design stage. The aim of this study was to develop a simple mathematical model of a vehicle with seat and occupant to investigate how vehicle dynamic parameters affect the vibration transmission and ride quality. A 13 degrees-offree...