bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Subject-Specific Models of the Head and Neck for Reproducing Experimentally Obtained Head Impacts in OpenSim
Authors: Mortensen Jonathan D. , Homayounpour Mohammad , Merryweather Andrew S. 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Simulating impacts to the head that are likely to cause concussion contributes knowledge to inform efforts to reduce head injury risk in sports. Previous studies used generic models and potentially missed subject-specific factors, which when combined with experimental data may offer additional insights about an individual’s risk. This study details methods for creating more subject-specific OpenSim models of the head and neck, which can be used in future studies to evaluate head injury risk during impacts. A generic model was scaled to match subject height and weight using data available from the literature. Muscle strength and passive properties were also scaled in order to reproduce experimental data obtained during safe impacts to the head. The average error between experimental and simulation kinematic values was under 15% for all but one of the subject-models.
By applying the methods presented in this study, future work could include using subject-specific models to assess individual athletes and generate personalized training protocols to help prevent injury. Future work could also include subject-specific models to investigate the effects of posture, startle response, and auditory warnings on head injury metrics.
Enhanced Plasmonic Behavior of Metal Nanoparticles Surrounded With Dielectric Shell
Authors: Yuksel Anil , Cullinan Michael , Yu Edward T. , Murthy Jayathi 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Metal nanoparticles have attracted intense attention due to their unique optical and thermal properties in various next generation applications such as micro-nano electronics and photonics. The near-field confinement between closely packed metal nanoparticles, which is enhanced due to their plasmonic behavior, creates high thermal energy densities under visible to near-infrared wavelength laser irradiation. As metal nanoparticles tend to be oxidized or change shape under laser illumination, resulting in nonlinear optical and thermal behavior, surrounding each metal nanoparticle with a dielectric shell could be a potential way to prevent these effects as well as to engineer their plasmonic behavior. In this study, we investigate energy transport within dimer and 4 nanoparticle (chain) configurations of 50 nm radius Au nanoparticles surrounded by dielectric shells under illumination from various laser sources in different dielectric media.
Inclined Injection of Under Expanded Supersonic Gas Jet
Authors: Sheridan A. M. , Srivastava S. , Henneke M. , Raza M. S. , Sallam K. A. 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
The injection of choked gaseous jets into the still air is investigated experimentally motivated by many industrial applications including flares and burners. The objective is to study the effect of injection angle on the jet mixing with ambient air. The experimental methods consist of particle image velocimetry (PIV) using pulsed Nd:YAG lasers of a choked gas jet, seeded with aluminum oxide particles, injected into still air, seeded with water fog. The computational methods consisted of 7.7 million cells simulation using Star CCM+. The test conditions include injection angles of 0°, 15°, and 30°. The results including mean and fluctuating velocities and the flow vorticity are presented. The flow field is not symmetric along the injection axis due to the asymmetric triggering of expansion fans at the jet exit due to the inclined injection plane. Moreover, the numerical simulation reveals the complex interaction mechanism of the expansion fans and shockwaves within the injection port.
Human-Powered Desalination Unit
Authors: Williamson A. J. , Sallam K. A. 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
The objective of this research is to design a human-powered desalination unit that can provide safe drinking water for a typical household in developing countries. The hypothesis of our study is that a human-powered machine operating on a Mechanical Vapor Compression (MVC) cycle can provide economically- and technologically-affordable drinking water without the use of expensive RO membranes. Thermodynamic analysis for human-powered MVC cycle with minimized pressure difference and small surface area is conducted. The design space included the following limitations: (i) only one compressor and only pump could be used, (ii) evaporation mass ratio was less than 0.7, and (iii) the water had to reach the minimum temperature required to inactivate bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The effects of the concentration of salt in the waste brine were considered. The flow rate of clean water generated was calculated as a function of the required heat exchanger surface area; the primary cost factor in the design; as well as the compressor isentropic efficiency. The effect of the isentropic efficiency of the compressor on the unit performance was also investigated. The point of maximum efficiency in term of mass flow rate per unit surface area was calculated.
Effects of the Non-Newtonian Viscosity of Milk Flow in the Breast Ductal System
Authors: Azarnoosh Jamasp , Hassanipour Fatemeh 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Numerical simulation of human milk flow inside the breast ductal system is carried out to investigate the impact of milk flow properties, specifically viscosity, on the flow regime. The geometry of the ductal system is assumed as a rigid body with six bifurcation levels. The vacuum pressure, obtained from clinical investigations, is applied as boundary conditions for numerical analysis. The simulations are performed by considering both Newtonian and Non-Newtonian milk flow properties. The streamlines of velocity fluid, wall shear stress, and milk flow expression for these two models are discussed. The results show that the non-Newtonian fluid has a higher magnitude of velocity compared to the Newtonian fluid, which leads to a greater amount of milk expression.
Modal and Harmonic Analysis of Girth Gear With Dual Mesh Pinions by Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Venkataraman Venkatesan , Keppanan Malar Mohan , Dhanasekaran Vinoth 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
In industrial ball mills, monitoring of girth gear and dual mesh pinion gearboxes are required for successful operation. In this paper, the dynamic response of an industrial ball mill is investigated through finite element analysis using ANSYS. A half symmetry model of the ball mill drive with anti-symmetry option is considered for the Finite element study to reduce the analysis time. Modal analysis is performed to extract the fundamental frequencies. A sufficient number of modes are extracted to capture at least 80 percent of total mass in each direction. Then, a harmonic analysis is performed by introducing a periodic exciting force on the ball mill. The dynamic response of the ball mill during resonance is studied.
Open Field Heating of Green Roofs and Small Arable Land Plots Using Waste Steam and Hot Water From Geothermal, Municipal and COGEN Sources to Enhance Plant Growth
Authors: Dell Robert , Petralia Michael Thomas , Pokharel Ashish , Unnthorsson Runar 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
The authors have been developing and testing an enhanced system of heated ground agriculture that uses buried plastic pipes to cool waste hot water and steam from municipal, CHP, and geothermal sources. The average heat dissipation rate is 3.3 kW of heat per square meter in test beds under 50 square meters. Plant data indicates increased yields of up to 20% and the successful small harvest of cultivars in outdoor settings that are only native to warmer climates. A heated green roof in New York City produced a small cotton harvest and January pansies. In 2018 a small harvest of non-indigenous oregano and turnips was commercially test marketed in Iceland. Test results indicate that a larger scale study to determine economic viability is warranted.
Mechanical Strength Degradation of Carbon Fiber Polymer Matrix Composites Exposed to Constant Low-Density Direct Current
Authors: Kotikalapudi Sai Tharun , Singh Raman P. 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP) can experience two dissimilar magnitudes of direct current during a lightning strike on an aircraft, a concentrated catastrophic high current followed by low direct current spread across the surface. Low density direct current can also occur in multifunctional composite structures for resistive heating, energy harvesting and storage. These direct currents lead to material degradation. Since CFRP structures are more susceptible to a lightning strike due to weak electrical and thermal conductivity compared to metallic bodies, considerable amount of research has been done to study the effects of instantaneous high current on mechanical properties. With the ever-growing demand for tailorable multifunctional composites, the effect of low direct current on mechanical properties of CFRP should be investigated. An experiment is designed to study the long-term exposure of low-density electric field effects on CFRP which are often coupled with detrimental thermal effects. In this study, experiments have been performed using an in-house setup to study the electrical effects of low constant direct current (DC) on cross-ply CFRP laminates. A constant current study has been conducted to characterize the voltage across the laminate over a period. The strength of the polymer depends on the integrity and type of bonds, the observed resistance change is a perceptible way of demonstrating the change in mechanical properties. The combined effect of electrical and thermal fields has been studied by mapping the surface temperatures continuously on the entire length of the laminate. Preliminary research showed that the presence of non-conducting epoxy undergoes localized dielectric breakdown near the carbon epoxy interface. In order to quantify the degradation, combined loading compression (CLC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests have been performed for coupon size samples which have been electrically degraded for a definite period. Compression test results are compared with electrical characterization and glass transition temperatures from DMA results.
Motion Estimation and Path Planning for Assistive Robotic Devices
Authors: Cheng Marvin H. , Huang Po-Lin , Chu Hao-Chuan , McKenzie E. A. 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Assistive robotic devices have recently become a popular tool in various healthcare applications. To better assist users in their daily activities with robotic devices, adequate moving paths of joints need to be adopted based on user’s motions. In this paper, a motion predicting model was proposed. With the model developed using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), the corresponding type of motions can be determined efficiently in the initial state. A deriving procedure of common trajectories of desired motions has also been proposed using the approach of temporal alignment. These derived common trajectories are stored as a library. After the type of a specific motion being identified, paths are then synthesized to drive robotic devices with these derived common trajectories.
Reflections on Loss: Family Memory and the Natural Environment in 21st-Century German Novels
Authors: Kohler Sandra 
Published: January 2020

My study examines the way 21th century German authors juxtapose discussions of memory (familial and historical) with reflections on the relationship between humans and non-human nature, such as animals, plants and natural ecosystems. My examples are drawn from the following thee recent novels: Tanja Dückers’ Der längste Tag des Jahres (2006), Jenny Erpenbeck’s Heimsuchung (2008) and Judith Schalansky’s Der Hals der Giraffe (2011). These novels thematize memory of historical events or time periods while emphasizing human domination, manipulation and/or destruction of animals, plants and ecosystems for human gain and enjoyment. While the setting varies, from a wooded parcel of land in former East Germany, to miniature desert terrariums in Southern Germany to a desert landscape in the American Southwest, the way the authors portray the complex relationship between humans, animals and plants is surprisingly similar in each work.In particular, my contribution bridges an analysis of memory and an examination of the treatment of the environment in these novels by outlining the generational differences the authors present in the characters’ relationship with the environment. While one generation in a family focuses on governance of ecosystems, whether in miniature terrariums, meticulously designed garden landscapes, or fruitless agricultural experiments, the next generation reflects on the agency of natural matter as well as human destruction and greed. These different conceptions of nature juxtapose human exploitation and subjugation of natural resources with human appreciation of the power of plants and animals. In these reflections, the narrators often blur the line between what is human and what is animal.Moreover, the aesthetic quality of nature and its function as an object of human observation is present in each novel and directly linked to memories. It is nature in its many varied forms (domesticated animals, Northern European landscapes, desert terrains, the human body etc.) that enables characters to “remember” and reflect on personal experiences, historical events, and the relationship between humans and nature. Keywords: Ecocriticism, family, memory, German novels
Gewaltbereitschaft und Sprachverzicht: Die filmische Verhandlung der Nahrungsmittelproduktion in Nikolaus Geyrhalters <i>Unser täglich Brot</i>
Authors: Nöllgen Sabine 
Published: January 2020

This article explores the aesthetic and rhetorical strategies in the Austrian food documentary Unser täglich Brot (Our Daily Bread, 2005) by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, which effectively call into question a system of violence against non-human living things manifest in monoculture and factory farming. While most contemporary food documentaries heavily rely on both a voice-over and interview segments–in other words, linguistic tools–in order to put forward their particular rhetorical agenda, Unser täglich Brot exhibits a striking absence of both the spoken word and written language (such as intertitles and subtitles), resulting in a state of speechlessness that allows the film to position itself against a “monological system” (Val Plumwood) responsible for the profound and encompassing ecological crisis we are now experiencing. While Geyrhalter avoids the linguistic mode of representation altogether, he brings forward what food producers strive to hide from the consumer’s eye: the alien ways of a mechanical, industrialized food production that relies heavily on herbicides and insecticides, as well as the optimized mass slaughter of animals that leaves behind hung-up carcasses the ornamental quality of which Geyrhalter’s camera aims to capture as well. While the question of human guilt is evoked by the film’s title, a line from the Lord’s Prayer, which fully reads “Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,” Unser täglich Brot refuses to make an outspoken judgment–a rhetorical decision that makes the film’s aesthetic strategies even more effective. Keywords: film, German, Geyrhalter, food production
Lack of association of genetic variants for diabetic retinopathy in Taiwanese patients with diabetic nephropathy
Authors: Hsieh Ai-Ru , Huang Yu-Chuen , Yang Ya-Fei , Lin Hui-Ju , Lin Jane-Ming , Chang Ya-Wen , Wu Chia-Ming , Liao Wen-Ling , Tsai Fuu-Jen 
Published: January 2020

ObjectiveDiabetic nephropathy (DN) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) comprise major microvascular complications of diabetes that occur with a high concordance rate in patients and are considered to potentially share pathogeneses. In this case-control study, we sought to investigate whether DR-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) exert pleiotropic effects on renal function outcomes among patients with diabetes.Research design and methodsA total of 33 DR-related SNPs were identified by replicating published SNPs and via a genome-wide association study. Furthermore, we assessed the cumulative effects by creating a weighted genetic risk score and evaluated the discriminatory and prediction ability of these genetic variants using DN cases according to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) status along with a cohort with early renal functional decline (ERFD).ResultsMultivariate logistic regression models revealed that the DR-related SNPs afforded no individual or cumulative genetic effect on the nephropathy risk, eGFR status or ERFD outcome among patients with type two diabetes in Taiwan.ConclusionOur findings indicate that larger studies would be necessary to clearly ascertain the effects of individual genetic variants and further investigation is also required to identify other genetic pathways underlying DN.
Health-related quality of life among patients with comorbid diabetes and kidney disease attending a codesigned integrated model of care: a longitudinal study
Authors: Zimbudzi Edward , Lo Clement , Ranasinha Sanjeeva , Teede Helena , Usherwood Tim , Polkinghorne Kevan R , Fulcher Greg , Gallagher Martin , Jan Steven , Cass Alan , Walker Rowan , Russell Grant , Johnson Greg , Kerr Peter G , Zoungas Sophia 
Published: January 2020

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of an integrated diabetes and kidney disease model of care on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with comorbid diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD).Research design and methodsA longitudinal study of adult patients (over 18 years) with comorbid diabetes and CKD (stage 3a or worse) who attended a new diabetes kidney disease service was conducted at a tertiary hospital. A questionnaire consisting of demographics, clinical data, and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL-36) was administered at baseline and after 12 months. Paired t-tests were used to compare baseline and 12-month scores. A subgroup analysis examined the effects by patient gender. Multiple regression analysis examined the factors associated with changes in scores.Results179 patients, 36% of whom were female, with baseline mean±SD age of 65.9±11.3 years, were studied. Across all subscales, HRQOL did not significantly change over time (p value for all mean differences >0.05). However, on subgroup analysis, symptom problem list and physical composite summary scores increased among women (MD=9.0, 95% CI 1.25 to 16.67; p=0.02 and MD=4.5, 95% CI 0.57 to 8.42; p=0.03 respectively) and physical composite scores decreased among men (MD=−3.35, 95% CI −6.26 to −0.44; p=0.03).ConclusionThe HRQOL of patients with comorbid diabetes and CKD attending a new codesigned, integrated diabetes and kidney disease model of care was maintained over 12 months. Given that HRQOL is known to deteriorate over time in this high-risk population, the impact of these findings on clinical outcomes warrants further investigation.
Optimising acute stroke care organisation: a simulation study to assess the potential to increase intravenous thrombolysis rates and patient gains
Authors: Lahr Maarten M H , van der Zee Durk-Jouke , Luijckx Gert-Jan , Buskens Erik 
Published: January 2020

ObjectivesTo assess potential increases in intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) rates given particular interventions in the stroke care pathway.DesignSimulation modelling was used to compare the performance of the current pathway, best practices based on literature review and an optimised model.SettingFour hospitals located in the North of the Netherlands, as part of a centralised organisational model.ParticipantsIschaemic stroke patients prospectively ascertained from February to August 2010.InterventionThe interventions investigated included efforts aimed at patient response and mode of referral, prehospital triage and intrahospital delays.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome measure was thrombolysis utilisation. Secondary measures were onset-treatment time (OTT) and the proportion of patients with excellent functional outcome (modified Rankin scale (mRS) 0–1) at 90 days.ResultsOf 280 patients with ischaemic stroke, 125 (44.6%) arrived at the hospital within 4.5 hours, and 61 (21.8%) received IVT. The largest improvements in IVT treatment rates, OTT and the proportion of patients with mRS scores of 0–1 can be expected when patient response is limited to 15 min (IVT rate +5.8%; OTT −6 min; excellent mRS scores +0.2%), door-to-needle time to 20 min (IVT rate +4.8%; OTT −28 min; excellent mRS scores+3.2%) and 911 calls are increased to 60% (IVT rate +2.9%; OTT −2 min; excellent mRS scores+0.2%). The combined implementation of all potential best practices could increase IVT rates by 19.7% and reduce OTT by 56 min.ConclusionsImproving IVT rates to well above 30% appears possible if all known best practices are implemented.
Effects of presurgical interventions on chronic pain after total knee replacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Dennis Jane , Wylde Vikki , Gooberman-Hill Rachael , Blom AW , Beswick Andrew David 
Published: January 2020

ObjectiveNearly 100 000 primary total knee replacements (TKR) are performed in the UK annually. The primary aim of TKR is pain relief, but 10%–34% of patients report chronic pain. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of presurgical interventions in preventing chronic pain after TKR.DesignMEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL,The Cochrane Libraryand PsycINFO were searched from inception to December 2018. Screening and data extraction were performed by two authors. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool and quality of evidence was assessed by Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation.Primary and secondary outcomesPain at 6 months or longer; adverse events.InterventionsPresurgical interventions aimed at improving TKR outcomes.ResultsEight randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with data from 960 participants were included. The studies involved nine eligible comparisons. We found moderate-quality evidence of no effect of exercise programmes on chronic pain after TKR, based on a meta-analysis of 6 interventions with 229 participants (standardised mean difference 0.20, 95% CI −0.06 to 0.47, I2=0%). Sensitivity analysis restricted to studies at overall low risk of bias confirmed findings. Another RCT of exercise with no data available for meta-analysis showed no benefit. Studies evaluating combined exercise and education intervention (n=1) and education alone (n=1) suggested similar findings. Adverse event data were reported by most studies, but events were too few to draw conclusions.ConclusionsWe found low to moderate-quality evidence to suggest that neither preoperative exercise, education nor a combination of both is effective in preventing chronic pain after TKR. This review also identified a lack of evaluations of other preoperative interventions, such as multimodal pain management, which may improve long-term pain outcomes after TKR.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017041382.