OBJECTIVE To determine the relative risk reduction associated with prophylactic knee braces in the prevention of knee injuries in collegiate football players. DATA SOURCES An exhaustive search for original research was performed using the PubMed, SportDiscus, and CINAHL databases from 1970 through November 2006, with the search terms knee brace, knee braces, knee bracing and football, prophyl...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ankle bracing on knee kinetics and kinematics during volleyball tasks. Fifteen healthy, elite, female volleyball players performed a series of straight-line and lateral volleyball tasks with no brace and when wearing an ankle brace. A 14-camera Vicon motion analysis system and AMTI force plate were used to capture the kinetic and kinematic...

In this study, topology optimization is applied to concentrically braced frames in order to find economical solutions for conventional structural steel frames. Differential Evolution Algorithm and Dolphin Echolocation Optimization are applied for structural optimization. Numerical examples are studied and results of comparison with other meta-heuristic algorithms, including Genetic Algorithm, A...

Response modification factors (R-factor) are used in current seismic building codes to reduce earthquake forces associated with seismic design level to determine force levels. In recent years, many authors have shown great interest in the development of seismic structural systems and several theoretical and experimental studies have been conducted to investigate performance of dampers but littl...

The design and behavior of a ductile structural system called a knee-braced moment frame are presented in this paper. The design of this structural system is based on a capacity-design concept that results in ductile behavior. The knee part is a fuse-like component that dissipates energy by the formation of plastic flexural and/or shear hinges at its ends and mid-span, when the building is subj...