We describe a framework for robust kinematic design based on tolerance analysis and parametric design via configuration space manipulation. The input is a parametric model of a planar mechanical system comprised of lower and higher kinematic pairs in open or closed loops. The robust synthesis task is to find a nominal design that functions correctly despite small parameter variations. This task...

The application of ergonomics in product design is essential to its accessibility and usability. The development of manual devices should be based on ergonomic principles. Effort perception analysis is an essential approach to understand the physical and subjective aspects of the interface. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effort perception during a simulated task with diff...

DesignScript, as the name suggests, is positioned at the intersection of design and programming. DesignScript can be viewed as part of the continuing tradition of the development of parametric and associative modeling tools for advanced architectural design and building engineering. Much of the thought processes that contribute to the effective use of DesignScript builds on the tradition of par...

BACKGROUND To establish whether a previously validated scoring system (Habib) for the prediction of risk or likelihood of posterior capsule rupture during phacoemulsification surgery could be used to: 1. Predict the difficulty of a phacoemulsification case, and 2. Select appropriate phacoemulsification cases for trainees. METHODS The study sample was consecutive phacoemulsification cases unde...

The Audit Commission in the UK recommends that patient information leaflets (PILs) should be audited by health professionals using a formal readability test. However, no such study on antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) has been identified in a Medline search. The aim of this study was to audit the readability of PILs prepared for marketed proprietary AEDs in the UK. Twelve PILs were compared with six a...

When you are assessing the quality of the evidence, it’s not how the data are analyzed that’s important. Far more important is how the data are collected. Don’t agonize over whether the researchers should have used a non-parametric test or whether a random effects meta-analysis is appropriate (just to cite two obscure examples). These are important issues and they generate a lot of debate. But ...

BACKGROUND There are inconsistent reports about multiple sclerosis (MS) risk among migrants from low to high MS risk geographical regions. This study assessed the overall MS incidence and evaluated seasonality in birth and subsequent MS risk later in the life in second generation of migrants born and lived in Kuwait. METHODS We assessed the overall and gender-specific MS risk in second genera...

BACKGROUND Although non-normal data are widespread in biomedical research, parametric tests unnecessarily predominate in statistical analyses. METHODS We surveyed five biomedical journals and - for all studies which contain at least the unpaired t-test or the non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test - investigated the relationship between the choice of a statistical test and other variables ...

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