bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are All Abortions Equal? Should There Be Exceptions to the Criminalization of Abortion for Rape and Incest?
Authors: Cohen I. Glenn
Published: April 2015

There was a moment in the 2012 campaign, when Mitt Romney attempted to “pivot” to the center and get away from the statements of those like Todd Akin who made comments about how in cases of “legitimate rape,” the victims’ bodies “have ways to try and shut that whole thing down.” The way Romney did it was to make clear that while he was against abortion, he would, of course, make an exception for women who had been raped or whose pregnancy was the result of incest. This has become something of a moderate orthodoxy to those who oppose abortion. Abortion should be criminalized, yes, but with these exceptions carved out. This shibboleth has found its way not only in the public position taken by many Pro-Life politicians, but also in legislation across several U.S. states, and even the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion, makes an exception for these kinds of abortions
Acoustic Separation and Biomedical Research: Lessons from Indian Regulation of Compensation for Research Injury
Authors: Larkin Megan E.
Published: April 2015

In early 2013, the Indian Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, under supervision of the Health Secretary, introduced new rules governing the conduct of clinical trials involving human participants. Among other provisions, the rules require that sponsors of research compensate participants who are injured during the course of their research participation. The rules presumably were drafted to protect citizens from harm caused by biomedical research without unduly restricting access to the benefits that research can provide. While requiring compensation for injury is widely-acknowledged as a critical component of ensuring ethical conduct of human subjects research, in this case the legal restrictions do not match the ethical justifications that support a compensation requirement. To see this, it is important to examine the context in which the rules were written, the justifications for rules of this type, and what mechanisms are available to bring the effects of the rules into alignment with the norms their passage sought to promote.
The Patient as Consumer: Empowerment or Commodification? Currents in Contemporary Bioethics
Authors: Goldstein Melissa M. , Bowers Daniel G.
Published: April 2015

Language matters. Thus when market language is imposed on the health care system, it seems natural to transform patients into consumers, and patient rights into consumer rights. But patients are not consumers who pick and choose among physicians and treatments on the basis of price and quality. Patients are sick and vulnerable people who are truly not themselves and are incapable of shopping around for the best deal.

Discussions surrounding patient engagement and empowerment often appear to use the terms “patient” and “consumer” interchangeably. But do the two terms hold the same meaning, or is a “patient” a passive actor in the health care arena and a “consumer” an informed, rational decision-maker? Has there been a shift in our usage of the two terms that aligns with the increasing commercialization of health care in the U.S.
E-Cigarettes: Policy Options and Legal Issues Amidst Uncertainty
Authors: Kaufman Nancy , Mahoney Margaret
Published: April 2015

E-cigarettes, sometimes referred to as ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems), include a broad range of products that deliver nicotine via heating and aerosolization of the drug. ENDS come in a variety of forms, but regardless of form generally consist of a solution containing humectant (e.g., propylene glycol or glycerol), flavorings, and usually nicotine (some solutions do not contain nicotine); a battery-powered coil that heats the solution into an aerosol (usually referred to as vapor) in an atomizing chamber; and a mouthpiece through which the user draws the vapor into the mouth and lungs. The devices may be closed systems containing prefilled cartridges, or open systems, where the user manually refills a 1-2 ml. tank with solution. What started as closed-system cigarette-shaped devices marketed as an adjunct for smoking cessation, has transitioned rapidly to literally thousands of hip and funky-designed open-system hookah pens, vape pens, and modifiable devices. For younger people, these forms are the “in” thing, while traditional cigarette-shaped devices are “out.”
Creating Legal Data for Public Health Monitoring and Evaluation: Delphi Standards for Policy Surveillance
Authors: Presley David , Reinstein Thomas , Webb-Barr Damika , Burris Scott
Published: April 2015

Surveillance in public health is the means by which people who are responsible for preventing or controlling threats to health get the timely, ongoing, and reliable information they need about the occurrence, antecedents, time course, geographic spread, consequences, and nature of these threats among the populations they serve. “Policy surveillance” is the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of information about laws and other policies of health importance.
Defining Commercial Speech in the Context of Food Marketing
Authors: Pomeranz Jennifer L. , Adler Sabrina
Published: April 2015

Obesity is a public health problem in the United States. Experts have identified the regulation of food marketing as a policy strategy to address obesity and poor nutrition. However, the First Amendment can be a barrier to reducing exposure to problematic food marketing. In recent years, courts have become increasingly protective of speech, and particularly of “commercial speech,” or advertising, which can make it more difficult to regulate certain marketing practices.
Navigating the Incoherence of Big Data Reform Proposals
Authors: Terry Nicolas
Published: April 2015

The health care industry will be a large customer of big data while predictive analytics already underlie important health care and public health initiatives. Yet big data are not benign. For example, data brokers, the businesses that buy, process, and sell “big data” are performing an end-run around health data protection by creating data “proxies” outside of HIPAA-protected space. From 2012-14 various branches of the federal government published five major reports on privacy. All five were in favor of increased regulation of data brokers. However, their recommendations for legislative or regulatory intervention were quite diverse. This essay describes the various proposals and offers a critical synthesis.
Hospitals, Collaboration, and Community Health Improvement
Authors: Somerville Martha H. , Seeff Laura , Hale Daniel , O'Brien Daniel J.
Published: April 2015

Medical care in the United States traditionally has focused on the treatment of disease rather than on its prevention. Heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic diseases are the primary drivers of American health care costs; compared to other high-income countries, U.S. health indices are lowest and costs are highest.

A “triple aim” — “improving the individual experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita costs of care for populations” — has gained traction, as the social determinants of health (non-genetic, non-clinical factors including health behaviors, social and economic factors, and the physical environment) are recognized as having significant effects on health outcomes.
Adventures in Nannydom: Reclaiming Collective Action for the Public's Health
Authors: Wiley Lindsay F. , Parmet Wendy E. , Jacobson Peter D.
Published: April 2015

Each of us has written about the importance of reframing the debate over public health paternalism. Our individual explorations of the many and varied paths forward from libertarian “nanny state” objections to the “new public health” have been intimately informed by collaboration. This article represents a summary of our current thinking — reflecting the ground gained through many fruitful exchanges and charting future collaborative efforts.

Our starting point is that law is a vitally important determinant of population health, and the interplay among law, social norms, cultural beliefs, health behaviors, and healthy living conditions is complex. Anti-paternalists’ efforts to limit the scope of public health law to controlling only the proximal determinants of infectious diseases are utterly unjustifiable in the face of so much preventable death, disability, and disparity. Equally important, the anti-paternalism push is deeply counter-majoritarian and undemocratic, threatening to disable communities from undertaking measures to improve their own well-being.
The Four Stages of Youth Sports TBI Policymaking: Engagement, Enactment, Research, and Reform
Authors: Harvey Hosea H. , Koller Dionne L. , Lowrey Kerri M.
Published: April 2015

This article advances, for the first time, a framework for situating public health law interventions as occurring in a predictable four-stage process. Whether the intervention is related to mandatory seat-belt laws, HIV prevention through needle-exchanges, or distracted-driving laws, these public health law interventions have generally been characterized by the following four stages. First, a series of publicized incidents, observances, or outcomes generate significant media attention, and are framed as public health harms. Then, a few select states evaluate such harms and proactively seek testimony or evidence designed to support a law-based intervention. After this initial public engagement, states enact legal frameworks designed to minimize or reduce the harm, often in the absence of full information about the scope of harm or potential effectiveness of the intervention. In contrast, scholars have proposed that at these early stages, lawmaking should be evidence-based and “developed through a continuous process that uses the best available quantitative and qualitative evidence.”5 Our experience evaluating youth sports traumatic brain injury (TBI) lawmaking suggests that, like other public health issues with sudden and intense media (and, therefore, constituent) attention, an evidence-based approach was lacking during these early stages.
Emergency Preparedness and Response for Disabled Individuals: Implications of Recent Litigation
Authors: Rutkow Lainie , Taylor Holly A. , Gable Lance
Published: April 2015

In an emergency, challenges faced by disabled individuals may be exacerbated by ineffective communication, power outages, transportation shortcomings, and inhospitable shelters. During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Gulf Coast shelters did not routinely provide closed captioning or sign language interpreters; for individuals with auditory disabilities, understanding instructions issued in these shelters was extremely difficult. Individuals with mobility-related disabilities experienced challenges evacuating from their homes due to public transportation that could not accommodate wheelchairs. After the hurricanes, difficulties arose in identifying wheelchair-accessible trailers and in communicating with disabled trailer residents. Failing to anticipate these challenges intensifies the disadvantaged situation of those with disabilities during an emergency.
Plasma concentrations of lidocaine in dogs following lidocaine patch application over an incision compared to intact skin
Authors: Joudrey S. D. , Robinson D. A. , Kearney M. T. , Papich M. G. , da Cunha A. F.
Published: April 2015

The objective was to compare plasma lidocaine concentrations when a commercially available 5% lidocaine patch was placed on intact skin vs. an incision. Our hypothesis was that greater absorption of lidocaine would occur from the incision site compared to intact skin. Ten dogs were used in a crossover design. A patch was placed over an incision, and then after a washout period, a patch was placed over intact skin. Plasma lidocaine concentrations were measured at patch placement; 20, 40 and 60 min; and 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 h after patch placement. After patch removal, the skin was graded using a subjective skin reaction system. No dogs required rescue analgesia, and no toxicity or skin reaction was noted. Mean ± SD AUC and CMAX were 3054.29 ± 1095.93 ng·h/mL and 54.1 ± 15.84 ng/mL in the Incision Group, and 2269.9 ± 1037.08 ng·h/mL and 44.5 ± 16.34 ng/mL in the No‐Incision Group, respectively. The AUC was significantly higher in the Incision Group. The results of the study demonstrate that the actual body exposure to lidocaine was significantly higher when an incision was present compared to intact skin. No adverse effects were observed from either treatment. Efficacy was not evaluated.
Pharmacokinetics of intra‐articular betamethasone sodium phosphate and betamethasone acetate and endogenous hydrocortisone suppression in exercising horses
Authors: Menendez M. I. , Phelps M. A. , Bertone A. L.
Published: April 2015

To the date, no reports exist of the pharmacokinetics (PK) of betamethasone (BTM) sodium phosphate and betamethasone acetate administered intra‐articular (IA) into multiple joints in exercising horses. The purpose of the study was to determine the PK of BTM and HYD concentrations in plasma and urine after IA administration of a total of 30 mg BTM. Eight 4 years old Thoroughbred mares were exercised on a treadmill and BTM was administered IA. Plasma and urine BTM and HYD were determined via high performance liquid chromatography spectrometry for 6 weeks. Concentration‐time profiles of BTM and HYD in plasma and urine were used to generate PK estimates for non‐compartmental analyses and comparisons among times and HYD concentrations. BTM in plasma had greater Tmax (Tmax 0.8 h) vs. urine (Tmax 7.1 h). Urine BTM concentration (ng/mL) and amount (AUClast; h × ng/mL) were greater than plasma. HYD was suppressed for at least 3 days (<1 ng/mL) for all horses. The time of last quantifiable concentration of BTM (Tlast; hour) was not significantly different in plasma than urine. Use of highly sensitive HPLC‐MS/MS assays enabled early detection and prolonged and consistent determination of BTM in plasma and urine.
Triangulating How Things Look
Authors: Morrison John
Published: April 2015

Suppose you're unable to discriminate the colors of two objects. According to the triangulation view, their colors might nonetheless look different to you, and that's something you can discover as a result of further comparisons. The primary motivation for this view is its apparent ability to solve a puzzle involving a series of pairwise indiscriminable objects. I argue that, due to visual noise, the triangulation view doesn't really solve the puzzle.
Extracellular zinc induces phosphoethanolamine addition to Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipid A via the ColRS two‐component system
Authors: Nowicki Emily M. , O'Brien John P. , Brodbelt Jennifer S. , Trent M. Stephen
Published: April 2015

Gram‐negative bacteria survive harmful environmental stressors by modifying their outer membrane. Much of this protection is afforded upon remodeling of the lipid A region of the major surface molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS). For example, the addition of cationic substituents, such as 4‐amino‐4‐deoxy‐L‐arabinose (L‐Ara4N) and phosphoehthanolamine (pEtN) at the lipid A phosphate groups, is often induced in response to specific environmental flux stabilizing the outer membrane. The work herein represents the first report of pEtN addition to Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipid A. We have identified the key pEtN transferase which we named EptAPa and characterized its strict activity on only one position of lipid A, contrasting from previously studied EptA enzymes. We further show that transcription of eptAPa is regulated by zinc via the ColRS two‐component system instead of the PmrAB system responsible for eptA regulation in E. coli and Salmonella enterica. Further, although L‐Ara4N is readily added to the same position of lipid A as pEtN under certain environmental conditions, ColR specifically induces pEtN addition to lipid A in lieu of L‐Ara4N when Zn2+ is present. The unique, specific regulation of eptAPa transcription and enzymatic activity described in this work demonstrates the tight yet inducible control over LPS modification in P. aeruginosa.
Synbiotics‐supplemented amino acid‐based formula supports adequate growth in cow's milk allergic infants
Authors: Burks A. Wesley , Harthoorn Lucien F. , Van Ampting Marleen T. J. , Oude Nijhuis Manon M. , Langford Jane E. , Wopereis Harm , Goldberg Steven B. , Ong Peck Y. , Essink Brandon J. , Scott Robert B. , Harvey Bryan M.
Published: April 2015

Background

Children with cow's milk allergy (CMA) are at risk for inadequate nutritional intake and growth. Dietary management ofCMA, therefore, requires diets that are not only hypoallergenic but also support adequate growth in this population. This study assessed growth ofCMAinfants when using a new amino acid‐based formula (AAF) with prebiotics and probiotics (synbiotics) and evaluated its safety in the intended population.

Methods

In a prospective, randomized, double‐blind controlled study, full‐term infants with diagnosedCMAreceived either anAAF(control; n = 56) orAAFwith synbiotics (oligofructose, long‐chain inulin, acidic oligosaccharides,Bifidobacterium breveM‐16V) (test; n = 54) for 16 wk. Primary outcome was growth, measured as weight, length and head circumference. Secondary outcomes included allergic symptoms and stool characteristics.

Results

Average age (±SD) of infants at inclusion was 4.5 ± 2.4 months. Both formulas equally supported growth according toWHO2006 growth charts and resulted in similar increases of weight, length and head circumference. At week 16, differences (90%CI) inZ‐scores (test–control) were as follows: weight 0.147 (−0.10; 0.39, p = 0.32), length −0.299 (−0.69; 0.09, p = 0.21) and head circumference 0.152 (−0.15; 0.45, p = 0.40). Weight‐for‐age and length‐for‐ageZ‐scores were not significantly different between the test and control groups. Both formulas were well tolerated and reduced allergic symptoms; the number of adverse events was not different between the groups.

Conclusions

This is the first study that shows that anAAFwith a specific synbiotic blend, suitable forCMAinfants, supports normal growth and growth similar to theAAFwithout synbiotics.

This clinical trial is registered asNCT00664768.
Product‐Marketing Innovation, Skills, and Firm Productivity Growth
Authors: Junge Martin , Severgnini Battista , Sørensen Anders
Published: April 2015

The role of product and marketing innovation for productivity growth is addressed using survey and register data for the Danish economy. It is hypothesized that product and marketing innovation are complementary inputs and that innovation activities are skill‐intensive. It is established that product and marketing innovation in skill‐intensive firms results in significantly faster productivity growth. Moreover, product and marketing innovation have independent roles in productivity growth, which cannot be attributed to organizational changes. Finally, we apply an instrument variable approach for firms, innovation choices to study endogeneity. The results strongly support the idea that product–marketing innovation leads to faster productivity growth in skill‐intensive firms.
Multivariate State Space Approach to Variance Reduction in Series with Level and Variance Breaks Due to Survey Redesigns
Authors: Bollineni-Balabay Oksana , van den Brakel Jan , Palm Franz
Published: April 2015

Statistics Netherlands applies a design-based estimation procedure to produce road transportation figures. Frequent survey redesigns caused discontinuities in these series which obstruct the comparability of figures over time. Reductions in the sample size and changes in the sample design resulted in variance breaks and unacceptably large sampling errors in the recent part of the series. Both problems are addressed and solved simultaneously. Discontinuities and small sample sizes are accounted for by using a multivariate structural time series model that borrows strength over time and space. The paper illustrates an increased precision when we move from univariate models to a multivariate model where the domains are jointly modelled. This increase is especially significant in the most recent period when sample sizes become smaller, with standard errors of the design-based estimator of the target variables being reduced by 40 & #x2013;70 & #x0025; with the model-based approach.
Measuring and Accounting for Strategic Abstentions in the US Senate, 1989–2012
Authors: Rodríguez Abel , Moser Scott
Published: April 2015

Strategic abstentions—in which legislators abstain from votes for ideological reasons—are a poorly understood feature of legislative voting records. The paper discusses a spatial model for legislators’ revealed preferences that accounts for abstentions when missing values are non-ignorable and allows us to measure the pervasiveness of strategic abstention by identifying legislators who consistently engage in strategic abstentions, as well as bills for which the ideology of legislators is a key driver of abstentions. We illustrate the performance of our model through the analysis of the 101st–112th US Senates.
Progressive outer retinal necrosis in immunocompromised kidney allograft recipient
Authors: Turno‐Kręcicka A. , Boratyńska M. , Tomczyk‐Socha M. , Mazanowska O.
Published: April 2015

Ocular complications in patients who underwent renal transplantation are attributed to side effects of the immunosuppressive regimen. Progressive outer retinal necrosis (PORN) syndrome is a clinical variant of necrotizing herpetic retinopathy and it occurs almost exclusively in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We present a case of a human immunodeficiency virus‐negative patient who underwent renal transplant and, after a few years, developed bilateral PORN associated with viral infections. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) and BK virus were identified by polymerase chain reaction from the vitreous fluid. It is unclear which of the viruses identified had the dominant role in the pathogenesis of PORN and other organ damage, or whether their actions were synergistic. Adequate antiviral immune surveillance, as well as pre‐transplant vaccination against VZV, may reduce the incidence of VZV infection and its complications.
Serum biochemistry reference intervals of live wild dugongs (Dugong dugon) from urban coastal Australia
Authors: Lanyon Janet M. , Wong Arthur , Long Trevor , Woolford Lucy
Published: April 2015

Background

Little is known about the baseline clinical pathology of the dugong (Dugong dugon), a vulnerable marine mammal found in tropical coastal marine systems.

Objectives

The purpose of the study was to collect and determine reference intervals (RI) for select serum biochemical variables for dugongs, and to analyze differences between males and females and different age groups.

Methods

Reference intervals were established from 103 apparently healthy, wild‐caught dugongs for 31 analytes using a Beckman Coulter AU400 Automated Chemistry Analyzer and an Olympus AU680 Chemistry‐Immuno Analyzer.

Results

Significant differences (P < .05) in some of the variables were found related to size class, sex, and pregnancy status. Adult dugongs had higher serum sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, glucose, and l‐lactate concentrations and higher anion gap, compared to sub‐adults. Male dugongs had higher triglyceride and l‐lactate concentrations than females. Pregnant females displayed higher l‐lactate levels compared to nonpregnant animals. Statistical differences in variables within the population contributed to better understanding of the physiologic differences between cohorts. Some serum biochemistry changes observed in this study here also potentially include some effects of pursuit on dugongs (eg, higher l‐lactate); however, as all dugongs were subject to similar capture and handling, serum biochemistry RI should be considered as normal for captured dugongs.

Conclusions

The serum biochemical RI documented here are considered representative of a population of healthy captured dugongs. They provide a baseline for health surveillance of this and other dugong populations.
Retrospective evaluation of risk factors and outcome predictors in cats with diabetic ketoacidosis (1997–2007): 93 cases
Authors: Cooper Rachel L. , Drobatz Kenneth J. , Lennon Elizabeth M. , Hess Rebecka S.
Published: April 2015

Objectives

To determine risk factors and outcome predictors in cats with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Design

Retrospective study. Inclusion in the DKA group required blood glucose concentration > 13.9 mmol/L (250 mg/dL), venous pH < 7.35, and urine or serum acetoacetate concentration greater than 1.5 mmol/L (15 mg/dL). Signalment and weight were recorded in all cats with uncomplicated diabetes mellitus (DM) without DKA and in all other nondiabetic cats examined during the study period. Clinicopathologic variables, concurrent disorders, and initial insulin intravenous (IV) continuous‐rate infusion (CRI) concentration of 1.1 or 2.2 U/kg/240 mL bag of 0.9% NaCl, were examined for a possible association with outcome.

Setting

University teaching hospital.

Animals

Ninety‐three cats with DKA, 682 cats with uncomplicated DM, and 16,926 cats without DM or DKA.

Interventions

None.

Measurements and Main Results

Cats with DKA were younger (median age 9.4 years; range, 1–17.9 years) than cats with uncomplicated DM (median 11.6 years; range 0.7–19.5 years,P< 0.0003). Siamese cats were overrepresented in the DKA group compared to the uncomplicated DM or nondiabetic group (P= 0.038 andP= 0.01, respectively). Poor outcome (defined as death due to disease or by euthanasia) in 36 cats with DKA (39%) was associated with increased initial creatinine, BUN, total serum magnesium, and total bilirubin concentrations (P= 0.007,P= 0.005,P= 0.03,P= 0.03, respectively). Cats treated with a higher concentration of insulin were less likely to have a poor outcome compared to cats treated with a lower concentration of insulin (odds ratio 0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.02–1.16,P= 0.02).

Conclusions

Cats with DKA are more likely to be Siamese than cats with uncomplicated DM. Poor outcome of cats with DKA is associated with increased initial creatinine, BUN, total magnesium, and total bilirubin concentrations. Good outcome was associated with a higher concentration of IV insulin CRI.
Ohmic Curing of Three-Dimensional Printed Silver Interconnects for Structural Electronics
Authors: Roberson David A. , Wicker Ryan B. , MacDonald Eric
Published: April 2015

Ohmic curing was utilized as a method to improve the conductivity of three-dimensional (3D) interconnects printed from silver-loaded conductive inks and pastes. The goal was to increase conductivity of the conductive path without inducing damage to the substrate. The 3D via/interconnect structure was routed within 3D polymeric substrates and had external and internal sections. The 3D structures were created by the additive manufacturing (AM) process of stereolithography (SL) and were designed to replicate manufacturing situations which are common in the fabrication of 3D structural electronics that involve a combination of AM and direct write (DW) processing steps. The photocurable resins the 3D substrates were made of possessed glass transition temperatures of 75 °C and 42 °C meaning that a nonthermal method to increase the conductivity of the printed traces was needed as the conductive inks tested in this study required oven cure temperatures greater than 100 °C to perform properly. Ohmic curing was shown to decrease the measured resistance of the via/interconnect structure without harming the substrate. Substrate damage was observed on thermally cured samples and was characterized by discoloration and scaling of the substrate. Resistance measurements of the via/interconnect structures revealed samples cured by the ohmic curing process performed equal or better than samples subjected to thermal curing. The work presented here demonstrates a method to overcome the thermal cure temperature limitations of polymeric substrates imposed on the processing parameters of conductive inks during the fabrication of 3D structural electronics and presents an example of overcoming a manufacturing process problem associated with this emerging technology. An ink selection process involving characterization of the compatibility of inks with the substrate material and the use of different inks for the via and interconnect sections was also discussed.
An Enhanced One-Layer Passive Microfluidic Mixer With an Optimized Lateral Structure With the Dean Effect
Authors: Zhou Teng , Xu Yifan , Liu Zhenyu , Joo Sang Woo
Published: April 2015

Topology optimization method is applied to a contraction–expansion structure, based on which a simplified lateral flow structure is generated using the Boolean operation. A new one-layer mixer is then designed by sequentially connecting this lateral structure and bent channels. The mixing efficiency is further optimized via iterations on key geometric parameters associated with the one-layer mixer designed. Numerical results indicate that the optimized mixer has better mixing efficiency than the conventional contraction–expansion mixer for a wide range of the Reynolds number.
Piston Ring and Groove Side Wear Analysis for Diesel Engines
Authors: Poort Mulyanto , Cheng Chao , Richardson Dan , Schock Harold
Published: April 2015

Piston ring wear is a major factor determining a diesel engine's life. A ring is subjected to wear between its front face and the cylinder wall as well as at the interfaces between the ring and groove top and bottom flanks. In many modern engines, ring and groove wear are becoming more of a limiting factor for ring durability than face wear. The focus of this paper is on ring to groove side wear only. In this paper, two fundamental mechanisms for ring/groove side wear are identified: (1) wear due to piston secondary motion and (2) wear due to ring twist. The time in the cycle where each of these mechanisms results in maximum wear is shown. Then, the effect of ring static twist and the resulting effect on the pressure distribution around the ring are studied. The pressure distribution affects the force acting on the ring that causes the ring/groove side wear. It is also shown that the pressure distribution and the resultant wear can be influenced by the land diameter below the piston ring. Progressive wear is also studied, showing a good correlation between predicted wear and measured wear on both ring sides and groove sides. It is noted that as the corner of the ring/groove wears, the ultimate wear of the ring side can accelerate by a phenomenon named pressure infiltration. Pressure infiltration occurs because the bottom side of the ring groove wears exposing more of bottom side of the ring to lower pressure force. This ultimately causes a higher difference between the high pressure above the ring and the low pressure below the ring. As a result, the net force acting on the ring increases and wear increases. In addition to the study of the first ring, the second ring wear was studied. A comparison was made between the top ring and second ring groove side wear (RGSW) predictions. Also, the effect of the second ring static twist on both top and second ring/groove side wear is described in detail.
Fuel-Sensitive Ignition Delay Models for a Local and Global Description of Direct Injection Internal Combustion Engines
Authors: Hyun Kwak Kyoung , Borgnakke Claus , Jung Dohoy
Published: April 2015

Models for ignition delay are investigated and fuel-specific properties are included to predict the effects of different fuels on the ignition delay. These models follow the Arrhenius type expression for the ignition delay modified with the oxygen concentration and Cetane number to extend the range of validity. In this investigation, two fuel-sensitive spray ignition delay models are developed: a global model and a local model. The global model is based on the global combustion chamber charge properties including temperature, pressure, and oxygen/fuel content. The local model is developed to account for temporal and spatial variations in properties of separated spray zones such as local temperature, oxidizer, and fuel concentrations obtained by a quasi-dimensional multizone fuel spray model. These variations are integrated in time to predict the ignition delay. Often ignition delay models are recalibrated for a specific fuel but in this study, the global ignition delay model includes the Cetane number to capture ignition delay of various fuels. The local model uses Cetane number and local stoichiometric oxygen to fuel molar ratio. The model is therefore capable of predicting spray ignition delays for a set of fuels with a single calibration. Experimental dataset of spray ignition delay in a constant volume chamber is used for model development and calibration. The models show a good accuracy for the predicted ignition delay of four different fuels: JP8, DF2, n-heptane, and n-dodecane. The investigation revealed that the most accurate form of the models is from a calibration done for each individual fuel with only a slight decrease in accuracy when a single calibration is done for all fuels. The single calibration case is the more desirable outcome as it leads to general models that cover all the fuels. Of the two proposed models, the local model has a slightly better accuracy compared to the global model. Results for both models demonstrate the improvements that can be obtained for the ignition delay model when additional fuel-specific properties are included in the spray ignition model. Other alternative fuels like synthetic oxygenated fuels were included in the investigation. These fuels behave differently such that the Cetane number does not provide the same explanation for the trend in ignition delay. Though of lower accuracy, the new models do improve the predictive capability when compared with existing types of ignition delay models applied to this kind of fuels.
Topology Optimization of Fixed-Geometry Fluid Diodes
Authors: Lin Sen , Zhao Longyu , Guest James K. , Weihs Timothy P. , Liu Zhenyu
Published: April 2015

This paper proposes using topology optimization to design fixed-geometry fluid diodes that allow easy passage of fluid flowing in one direction while inhibiting flow in the reverse direction. Fixed-geometry diodes do not use movable mechanical parts or deformations, but rather utilize inertial forces of the fluid to achieve this flow behavior. Diode performance is measured by diodicity, defined as the ratio of pressure drop of reverse flow and forward flow, or equivalently the ratio of dissipation of reverse and forward flow. Diodicity can then be maximized by minimizing forward dissipation while maximizing reverse dissipation. While significant research has been conducted in topology optimization of fluids for minimizing dissipation, maximizing dissipation introduces challenges in the form of small, mesh dependent flow channels and that artificial flow in solid region becomes (numerically) desirable. These challenges are circumvented herein using projection methods for controlling the minimum length scale of channels and by introducing an additional penalty term on flow through intermediate porosities. Several solutions are presented, one of which is fabricated by 3D printing and experimentally tested to demonstrate the diodelike behavior.
Integrated Maintenance Decision-Making and Product Sequencing in Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Authors: Celen Merve , Djurdjanovic Dragan
Published: April 2015

In highly flexible and integrated manufacturing systems, such as semiconductor manufacturing, the strong dynamic interactions between the equipment condition, operations executed on the equipment, and the resulting product quality necessitate a methodology that integrates the decision-making process across the domains of maintenance scheduling and production operations. Currently, maintenance and production operations decision-making are two decoupled processes. In this paper, we devise an integrated decision-making policy for maintenance scheduling and production sequencing, with the objective of optimizing a customizable objective function, while taking into account operation-dependent degradation models and a production target. Optimization was achieved using a metaheuristic method based on the results of discrete-event simulations of the target manufacturing system. The new approach is demonstrated in simulations of a generic cluster tool routinely used in semiconductor manufacturing. The results show that jointly making maintenance and production sequencing decisions consistently and often significantly outperforms the current practice of making these decisions separately.
A Three-Dimensional Transient Thermal Model for Machining
Authors: Islam Coskun , Lazoglu Ismail , Altintas Yusuf
Published: April 2015

This article presents an enhanced mathematical model for transient thermal analysis in machining processes. The proposed mathematical model is able to simulate transient tool, workpiece, and chip temperature fields as a function of time for interrupted processes with time varying chip loads such as milling and continuous machining processes such as turning and drilling. A finite difference technique with implicit time discretization is used for the solution of partial differential equations to simulate the temperature fields on the tool, workpiece, and chip. The model validations are performed with the experimental temperature measurement data available in the literature for the interrupted turning of Ti6Al6V–2Sn, Al2024, gray cast iron and for the milling of Ti6Al4V. The simulation results and experimental measurements agree well. With the newly introduced modeling approach, it is demonstrated that time-dependent dynamic variations of the temperature fields are predicted with maximum 12% difference in the validated cases by the proposed transient thermal model.
Economic Benefit Analysis of Cloud-Based Design, Engineering Analysis, and Manufacturing
Authors: Wu Dazhong , Terpenny Janis , Gentzsch Wolfgang
Published: April 2015

From a business perspective, cloud computing has revolutionized the information and communication technology (ICT) industry by offering scalable and on-demand ICT services as well as innovative pricing plans such as pay-per-use and subscription. Considering the economic benefits of cloud computing, cloud-based design and manufacturing (CBDM) has been proposed as a new paradigm in digital manufacturing and design innovation. Although CBDM has the potential to reduce costs associated with high performance computing (HPC) and maintaining ICT infrastructures in the context of cloud computing, it is challenging to justify the potential cost savings associated with design and manufacturing because of the complexity in the economic benefit analysis of migrating to CBDM. In response, this paper provides important insights into the economics of CBDM by identifying key cost factors and potential pricing models that can influence decision making on whether migrating to the cloud for computationally expensive analyses that are commonplace for design and manufacturing (e.g., computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided engineering (CAE)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)) is economically justifiable. This work, for the first time, identifies the key economic benefits required for a comparative study that supports organizations in determining when traditional in-house design and manufacturing versus CBDM is most appropriate. Several comparative case studies and a hypothetical application example are provided to demonstrate and quantitatively validate decision support methods. Finally, key issues and road blocks for CBDM are outlined.
Analysis of the Constraint Joint Loading in the Thumb During Pipetting
Authors: Wu John Z. , Sinsel Erik W. , Zhao Kristin D. , An Kai-Nan , Buczek Frank L.
Published: April 2015

Dynamic loading on articular joints is essential for the evaluation of the risk of the articulation degeneration associated with occupational activities. In the current study, we analyzed the dynamic constraint loading for the thumb during pipetting. The constraint loading is considered as the loading that has to be carried by the connective tissues of the joints (i.e., the cartilage layer and the ligaments) to maintain the kinematic constraints of the system. The joint loadings are solved using a classic free-body approach, using the external loading and muscle forces, which were obtained in an inverse dynamic approach combined with an optimization procedure in anybody. The constraint forces in the thumb joint obtained in the current study are compared with those obtained in the pinch and grasp tests in a previous study (Cooney and Chao, 1977, “Biomechanical Analysis of Static Forces in the Thumb During Hand Function,” J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., 59(1), pp. 27–36). The maximal compression force during pipetting is approximately 83% and 60% greater than those obtained in the tip pinch and key pinch, respectively, while substantially smaller than that obtained during grasping. The maximal lateral shear force is approximately six times, 32 times, and 90% greater than those obtained in the tip pinch, key pinch, and grasp, respectively. The maximal dorsal shear force during pipetting is approximately 3.2 and 1.4 times greater than those obtained in the tip pinch and key pinch, respectively, while substantially smaller than that obtained during grasping. Our analysis indicated that the thumb joints are subjected to repetitive, intensive loading during pipetting, compared to other daily activities.
The complete structure of the 55
S
mammalian mitochondrial ribosome
Authors: Greber Basil J. , Bieri Philipp , Leibundgut Marc , Leitner Alexander , Aebersold Ruedi , Boehringer Daniel , Ban Nenad
Published: April 2015

Resolving whole mitoribosomes

Mitochondria probably evolved from a prokaryotic cell living within a proto-eukaryotic cell. Consequently, mitochondria have lost much of their genomic DNA, except for a few genes that require highly divergent mitoribosomes for protein translation. Greber
et al.
and Amunts
et al.
have used cryo–electron microscopy to uncover the structure of this complex (see the Perspective by Beckmann and Hermann) and reveal an unusual mRNA binding channel. The structure supplies clues for how aminoglycoside antibiotics might inhibit mitoribosomes and how mutations in mitoribosomes might cause human disease.

Science
, this issue p.
303
, p.
288
; see also A. Amunts
et al., Science
, 3 April, p.
95
The role of infant appetite in extended formula feeding
Authors: Syrad Hayley , van Jaarsveld Cornelia H M , Wardle Jane , Llewellyn Clare H
Published: April 2015

Objective

Parental decision-making around extended formula feeding (12 months+) has not been explored previously. This study tested the hypotheses that extended formula milk use (i) is associated with poorer appetite and (ii) supplements lower food intake.

Methods

Appetite was assessed with the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) in 3854 twin children aged 16 months. Diet was assessed from 3-day diaries in 2714 children at 21 months. Parents reported their children's weight at 24 months. Associations between formula feeding and (1) appetite, (2) energy intake and (3) weight were examined. 35 mothers were interviewed when the children were 7 years old to explore retrospectively their reasons for extended formula feeding.

Results

Formula consumers (13% of the sample) scored significantly differently than non-formula consumers on five of the six CEBQ subscales, indicating lower appetite avidity: ‘food responsiveness’ (2.02 vs 2.22, respectively),‘enjoyment of food’ (3.99 vs 4.20), ‘satiety responsiveness’ (2.89 vs 2.65), ‘slowness in eating’ (2.63 vs 2.46) and ‘food fussiness’ (2.34 vs 2.14). Formula consumers had a significantly lower percentage of daily energy intake from food (70% vs 74%); however, total daily energy intake did not differ significantly from non-consumers (4315 vs 4373 kJ). At interview, mothers reported supplementing their child's diet with formula because of ‘picky eating’ and concerns about inadequate food intake.

Conclusions

High formula milk intake is associated with picky-eating behaviours, but seems to act as a substitute for rather than a supplement to solid food. Prospective and intervention studies are needed to determine whether extended formula feeding has an enduring impact on weight trajectories, eating behaviours or health.
What to expect when you're evaluating healthcare improvement: a concordat approach to managing collaboration and uncomfortable realities
Authors: Brewster Liz , Aveling Emma-Louise , Martin Graham , Tarrant Carolyn , Dixon-Woods Mary ,   The Safer Clinical Systems Phase 2 Core Group Collaboration & Writing Committee
Published: April 2015

Evaluation of improvement initiatives in healthcare is essential to establishing whether interventions are effective and to understanding how and why they work in order to enable replication. Although valuable, evaluation is often complicated by tensions and friction between evaluators, implementers and other stakeholders. Drawing on the literature, we suggest that these tensions can arise from a lack of shared understanding of the goals of the evaluation; confusion about roles, relationships and responsibilities; data burdens; issues of data flows and confidentiality; the discomforts of being studied and the impact of disappointing or otherwise unwelcome results. We present a possible approach to managing these tensions involving the co-production and use of a concordat. We describe how we developed a concordat in the context of an evaluation of a complex patient safety improvement programme known as Safer Clinical Systems Phase 2. The concordat development process involved partners (evaluators, designers, funders and others) working together at the outset of the project to agree a set of principles to guide the conduct of the evaluation. We suggest that while the concordat is a useful resource for resolving conflicts that arise during evaluation, the process of producing it is perhaps even more important, helping to make explicit unspoken assumptions, clarify roles and responsibilities, build trust and establish open dialogue and shared understanding. The concordat we developed established some core principles that may be of value for others involved in evaluation to consider. But rather than seeing our document as a ready-made solution, there is a need for recognition of the value of the process of co-producing a locally agreed concordat in enabling partners in the evaluation to work together effectively.
Oxygen Delivery on Medical Wards
Authors: Dickson Christopher
Published: April 2015

Oxygen is used widely used on all medical wards. It is a drug and should be prescribed. There are known problems with over and under delivery of oxygen to patients. Through national audits and recording baseline data locally, compliance with prescribing is low. This has potentially serious patient safety issues. This quality improvement project attempted to improve oxygen prescribing and subsequent dose adjusting on various medical wards. Monitoring showed a transient improvement but this was not sustained. As a result of this project further research will be put into developing the electronic observation chart to set parameters for target saturations.