bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimization of hybrid polymer composites under uniaxial traction
Authors: Conde Fábio Monteiro , Coelho Pedro Gonçalves , Tavares Rodrigo Paiva , Camanho Pedro Castro , Guedes José Miranda , Rodrigues Helder Carriço 
Published: March 2018

Purpose
This study aims to achieve a “pseudo-ductile” behaviour in the response of hybrid fibre reinforced composites under uniaxial traction by solving properly formulated optimization problems.

Design/methodology/approach
The composite material model is based on the combination of different types of fibres (with different failure strains or strengths) embedded in a polymer matrix. The composite failure under tensile load is predicted by analytical models. An optimization problem formulation is proposed and a Genetic Algorithm is used. Multi-objective optimization problems balancing failure strength and ductility criteria are solved providing optimal mixtures of fibres whose properties may come either from a pre-defined list of materials, currently available in the market, or simply assuming their continuum variation within predefined bounds, in an attempt to attain unprecedented performance levels.

Findings
Optimal solutions of hybrid fibre reinforced composites exhibiting pseudo-ductile behaviour are presented. It is found that a fibre made from a material exhibiting relatively low stiffness combined with high strength is preferred for hybridization. Furthermore, the ratio of the average failure/critical strains between the low and high elongation fibres to be hybridized must be equal or greater than two.

Originality/value
Typically, a ductile failure is an inherent property of metals, that is, their typical response curve after the linear (elastic) region exhibits a yielding plateau still followed by an increase in stress till collapse. In stark contrast, composite materials exhibit (under some loading conditions) brittle failure that may limit their widespread usage. Therefore, a “pseudo-ductility” in composites is valued and targeted through optimization which is the main original contribution here.
Evaluation of the FMBEM efficiency in the analysis of porous structures
Authors: Ptaszny Jacek , Hatłas Marcin 
Published: March 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of the fast multipole boundary element method (FMBEM) in the analysis of stress and effective properties of 3D linear elastic structures with cavities. In particular, a comparison between the FMBEM and the finite element method (FEM) is performed in terms of accuracy, model size and computation time.

Design/methodology/approach
The developed FMBEM uses eight-node Serendipity boundary elements with numerical integration based on the adaptive subdivision of elements. Multipole and local expansions and translations involve solid harmonics. The proposed model is used to analyse a solid body with two interacting spherical cavities, and to predict the homogenized response of a porous material under linear displacement boundary condition. The FEM results are generated in commercial codes Ansys and MSC Patran/Nastran, and the results are compared in terms of accuracy, model size and execution time. Analytical solutions available in the literature are also considered.

Findings
FMBEM and FEM approximate the geometry with similar accuracy and provide similar results. However, FMBEM requires a model size that is smaller by an order of magnitude in terms of the number of degrees of freedom. The problems under consideration can be solved by using FMBEM within the time comparable to the FEM with an iterative solver.

Research limitations/implications
The present results are limited to linear elasticity.

Originality/value
This work is a step towards a comprehensive efficiency evaluation of the FMBEM applied to selected problems of micromechanics, by comparison with the commercial FEM codes.
Piezoresistive strain sensor array using polydimethylsiloxane-based conducting nanocomposites for electronic skin application
Authors: Chong Yung Sin , Yeoh Keat Hoe , Leow Pei Ling , Chee Pei Song 
Published: March 2018

Purpose
This paper aims to report a stretchable piezoresistive strain sensor array that can detect various static and dynamic stimuli, including bending, normal force, shear stress and certain range of temperature variation, through sandwiching an array of conductive blocks, made of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite. The strain sensor array induces localized resistance changes at different external mechanical forces, which can be potentially implemented as electronic skin.

Design/methodology/approach
The working principle is the piezoresistivity of the strain sensor array is based on the tunnelling resistance connection between the fillers and reformation of the percolating path when the PDMS and MWCNT composite deforms. When an external compression stimulus is exerted, the MWCNT inter-filler distance at the conductive block array reduces, resulting in the reduction of the resistance. The resistance between the conductive blocks in the array, on the other hand, increases when the strain sensor is exposed to an external stretching force. The methodology was as follows: Numerical simulation has been performed to study the pressure distribution across the sensor. This method applies two thin layers of conductive elastomer composite across a 2 × 3 conductive block array, where the former is to detect the stretchable force, whereas the latter is to detect the compression force. The fabrication of the strain sensor consists of two main stages: fabricating the conducting block array (detect compression force) and depositing two thin conductive layers (detect stretchable force).

Findings
Characterizations have been performed at the sensor pressure response: static and dynamic configuration, strain sensing and temperature sensing. Both pressure and strain sensing are studied in terms of the temporal response. The temporal response shows rapid resistance changes and returns to its original value after the external load is removed. The electrical conductivity of the prototype correlates to the temperature by showing negative temperature coefficient material behaviour with the sensitivity of −0.105 MΩ/°C.

Research limitations/implications
The conductive sensor array can potentially be implemented as electronic skin due to its reaction with mechanical stimuli: compression and stretchable pressure force, strain sensing and temperature sensing.

Originality/value
This prototype enables various static and dynamic stimulus detections, including bending, normal force, shear stress and certain range of temperature variation, through sandwiching an array of conductive blocks, made of MWCNT and PDMS composite. Conventional design might need to integrate different microfeatures to perform the similar task, especially for dynamic force sensing.
Grattan Institute's Case for Sugar Tax Is Not Proven
Authors: Pincus Jonathan 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDuckett, Swerissen and Wiltshire () advocated a 40‐cent tax per 100g of sugar in sugar‐sweetened beverages (SSB), because the tax would reduce the cost burden on the non‐obese. Duckett, Swerissen and Wiltshire took these ‘third‐party’ costs as indices of market failure. However, their distributional analysis is not an appropriate framework for the assessment of economic efficiency. Moreover, they did not quantify the causal mechanisms through which a small weight loss would appreciably lower health costs and increase employment of the obese. There may be an economic case for such a tax, but Duckett, Swerissen and Wiltshire have not made it.
Towards Understanding Macrofinancial Impacts of Loan‐to‐Value Ratio Policy in New Zealand: A General Equilibrium Perspective
Authors: Fukac Martin , Greig Lucy , Snethlage Daniel 
Published: March 2018

AbstractWe use a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model as a framework for thinking about the transmission mechanism of loan‐to‐value macroprudential policy. We analyse the key channels through which the caps on loan‐to‐value ratios work to limit the speed of asset and credit cycles. We further analyse the mechanisms through which the caps support financial system resilience during asset price downturns that are of sufficient magnitude to cause financial and macroeconomic instability.
The Promise of Co‐Design for Public Policy
Authors: Blomkamp Emma 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAs a novel method for creatively engaging citizens and stakeholders to find solutions to complex problems, co‐design holds great promise for policy makers. It has been vaunted as a way to generate more innovative ideas, ensure policies and services match the needs of citizens, achieve economic efficiencies by improving responsiveness, foster cooperation and trust between different groups, meaningfully engage the ‘hard to reach’, and achieve support for change. This article considers how we might determine whether co‐design has real potential to dramatically improve policy processes and outcomes. Drawing on relevant literature on participatory design, design thinking and public sector innovation, this review explores the meaning and potential of co‐design in the context of public policy. It highlights the philosophical underpinnings and normative implications of participatory design, and questions the feasibility of achieving the promised outcomes in the challenging context of contemporary policy making.
‘I Feel Mad So I Be Bad’: The Role of Affect, Dissatisfaction and Stress in Determining Responses to Interpersonal Deviance
Authors: Michalak Rebecca T. , Kiffin‐Petersen Sandra A. , Ashkanasy Neal M. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractInterpersonal deviance relates to a range of destructive individual and organizational outcomes. To date, however, scholars have largely failed to explore this issue from the perspective of the targeted individuals; and in particular how and why such negative outcomes manifest. To provide insights into this question, and based in principles of critical realism, we utilized semi‐structured in‐depth interviews to explore employees’ interpersonal deviance experiences, their responses and determinants of response selections, including: (1) emotions and feelings; (2) dissatisfaction and stress. We found that the traditional model, where responses are driven by dissatisfaction and confined to exit, voice, loyalty and neglect (EVLN), is inadequate. We therefore extend the EVLN model to include retaliation (EVLN‐R) and identify a range of other responses, including venting and seeking social support for inclusion in the typology. Moreover, contrary to traditional theorizing, we found that responses were determined first and foremost by emotions and feelings, followed by stress, with dissatisfaction of little to no importance. We propose a new, multi‐dimensional response typology including self‐orientated responses and make suggestions for future research to test our typology, before closing with the implications for practice.
Reduction of Parenteral Opioid Use in Community Emergency Departments Following Implementation of Treatment Guidelines
Authors: Ghobadi Ali , Van Winkle Patrick J. , Menchine Michael , Chen Qiaoling , Huang Brian Z. , Sharp Adam L. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractObjectiveOpioid prescribing guidelines are commonly seen as part of the solution to America's opioid epidemic. However, the effectiveness of specific treatment guidelines on altering opioid prescribing in the emergency department (ED) is unclear. We examined provider ordering patterns before and after implementation of opioid use guidelines for ED patients overall and the specific subsets of ED patients with either chronic opioid use or fracture.MethodsWe conducted a pre–post interrupted time series analysis of adult (≥18 years old) ED encounters in 14 integrated community EDs before (2013) and after (2014) the implementation of opioid prescribing guidelines. We compared opioid use pre‐ and postintervention using segmented logistic regression for primary and secondary analyses. The primary outcome was parenteral opioid use in the ED, with additional subgroup analysis of chronic pain and fracture cohorts. We also examined ED oral opioid use and discharge prescribing.ResultsThere were 508,337 pre‐ and 531,620 postintervention encounters. The intervention was associated with an initial reduction in the odds of parenteral opioids ordered (odds ratio [OR] = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.87–0.91) and a decrease in the monthly trend compared to the preintervention period (OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.99–0.99). The immediate reduction in parenteral opioid use was significantly larger in the cohort of patients with chronic pain (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.72–0.91), whereas the fracture cohort showed no change (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.97–1.25).ConclusionThe use of an opioid ordering guideline was associated with significant reduction in parenteral opioid use in the ED and as intended subgroup comparisons suggest that acute fractures were not affected and chronic pain visits were associated with larger decreases in opioid use.
Extended‐release naltrexone (XR‐NTX) for opioid use disorder in clinical practice: Vivitrol's Cost and Treatment Outcomes Registry
Authors: Saxon Andrew J. , Akerman Sarah C. , Liu Chih‐Chin , Sullivan Maria A. , Silverman Bernard L. , Vocci Frank J. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractBackground and AimsExtended‐release naltrexone (XR‐NTX), a μ‐opioid receptor antagonist for prevention of relapse to opioid dependence, has demonstrated efficacy compared with placebo and comparative effectiveness with buprenorphine–naloxone. We report outcomes for XR‐NTX in Vivitrol's Cost and Treatment Outcomes Registry.DesignObservational, open‐label, single‐arm, multi‐center registry assessing baseline characteristics and clinical and health‐related quality‐of‐life outcomes associated with XR‐NTX treatment in clinical practice.Setting32 US treatment centers from 2011 to 2013.ParticipantsPatients with opioid dependence who were prescribed XR‐NTX treatment and then enrolled into the registry.MeasurementsMonthly visits were evaluated for the full population and for patient ubgroups retrospectively, defined by injection number, focusing on the period between baseline and month 6 (1‐, 2/3‐ or 6‐XR‐NTX).FindingsOf 403 enrolled patients, 395 were analyzed. Most patients (n = 349) received out‐patient care. On average, patients received five injections (median = 3; range = 1–25). The median number of injections administered within 6 months was higher in patients who at baseline were employed (three versus two unemployed, P = 0.02) or had private insurance (five versus two self‐payment, P = 0.005; versus two state‐funded, P < 0.001). The 1‐, 2/3‐ and 6‐XR‐NTX groups had 132, 152 and 111 patients, respectively. At baseline, the 6‐XR‐NTX patients were more likely to meet normal/minimal mental illness criteria and attend school and less likely to report recent drug use. Within 6 months, the 6‐XR‐NTX group demonstrated improvements in employment, mental health and psychosocial functioning, and decreases in opioid craving, drug use and drug‐related behavior.ConclusionsAmong opioid‐dependent people receiving XR‐NTX treatment, better mental health, higher education and lower recent drug use at baseline are associated with greater treatment duration; in turn, longer treatment duration is associated with lower relapse rates and improved outcomes generally.
Radiological and osteological study of the pelvic limbs in free‐ranging capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)
Authors: Brombini G. C. , Rahal S. C. , Schimming B. C. , Santos I. F. C. , Tsunemi M. H. , Mamprim M. J. , Alves L. S. , Filadelpho A. L. , Teixeira C. R. 
Published: March 2018

SummaryThis study aimed to describe the radiographic anatomy and osteology and to evaluate angular radiographic measurements—Norberg angle, inclination angle and anteversion angle—of the pelvic limbs in free‐ranging capybaras. Twenty cadavers of free‐ranging capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), including five adults and 15 subadults, were studied. Ventrodorsal, craniocaudal, dorsoplantar and mediolateral radiographic views of the pelvic limbs were obtained. The radiographic features were described together with bone samples. The hip bone (os coxae), shaped like an isosceles trapezoid, was elongated and narrow with the presence of an oblong obturator foramen, sagittal ilial wing and rectilinear ilial body. The femoral shaft was relatively straight, while the greater trochanter was projected above the femoral head. No sesamoid bones of the gastrocnemius and popliteus muscles were observed radiographically or for those animals used in gross macroscopy. The fibula was located lateral and parallel to the tibia. Eight tarsal bones, four metatarsal bones and three digits were identified. The mean radiographic measurements included Norberg angle of 125.9°; respective angles of femoral inclination by the Hauptman B and Tomlinson methods of 139.9 and 141°; anteversion angle of the femoral head and neck of 29.80°. The bones of the pelvic limbs in capybaras have several anatomical characters and radiological features that are shared with members of the caviomorph superfamily Cavioidea. The radiographic angles measured in this study help characterize the functional morphology of this species.
DOES GLOBAL SHAPES OF UTILITY FUNCTIONS MATTER FOR INVESTMENT DECISIONS?
Authors: Ranganathan Kavitha 
Published: March 2018

ABSTRACTThe study investigates relation between global shapes of utility functions and investor preferences towards particular asset classes for investment decisions. Global shapes that emerge are fully concave, fully convex, Reverse‐S and S‐shaped utility functions, using the certainty equivalence method for eliciting risk preferences. Investor clusters show existence of two types of investors, preference towards financial assets (bank deposits, insurance, pension and provident fund, shares and mutual funds) vs traditional assets (chit funds, gold and precious metals, real estate, postal savings, and government bonds). Investors with reverse‐S and S‐shaped utility functions prefer investment in financial assets, while investors with fully concave and fully convex utility functions prefer traditional assets. Prior studies suggest reverse‐S and S‐shaped category of investors perceive risk in terms of gains and losses, and financial assets with ready price quotes facilitate such buying and selling. In contrast, fully concave and fully convex utility functions prefer investment in traditional assets that requires long term horizon and stable risk preferences. Among demographics, males with reverse‐S shaped utility function are more likely to invest in financial assets, and increase in dependents reduces the possibility to invest in financial assets.
Prognostic significance of grade 3/4 neutropenia in Japanese prostate cancer patients treated with cabazitaxel
Authors: Kosaka Takeo , Shinojima Toshiaki , Morita Shinya , Oya Mototsugu 
Published: March 2018

The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of cabazitaxel in Japanese patients affected by metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) previously treated with a docetaxel‐containing regimen. In this retrospective study, 41 patients with mCRPC treated with cabazitaxel at Keio University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Cabazitaxel at a dose of 20‐25 mg/m² was administered every 3 or 4 weeks. Clinicopathological factors and laboratory data were collected to assess the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS). An upfront dose‐reduction was required in 52.5% of patients due to their reduced general condition or advanced age. Prophylactic G‐CSF was prescribed to all the patients. Grade ≥3 neutropenia and febrile neutropenia occurred in 21 patients (53.6%) and 3 patients (6.8%), respectively. Treatment was generally well tolerated, with a median of 5 cycles (range 1‐17). Median PFS and OS from the start of cabazitaxel treatment were 4.4 and 15.0 months (95% CI 8.9‐21.2), respectively. Waterfall plot analysis revealed that a prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) decline >50% was noticed in n = 11 patients receiving cabazitaxel (26.8%). Univariate analysis revealed that poor performance status, PSA ≥100 ng/mL prior to cabazitaxel treatment, visceral metastasis, absence of grade 3/4 neutropenia during cabazitaxel therapy and neutrophil‐lymphocyte ratio were significantly associated with shorter overall survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that poor performance status, visceral metastasis, and the absence of grade 3/4 neutropenia during cabazitaxel therapy were the independent prognostic indicators for OS. The practical implication of our results might be to tailor cabazitaxel dosing on the basis of its hematological effects.
Serum IGFBP‐2 levels are associated with reduced insulin sensitivity in obese children
Authors: Yau S. W. , Harcourt B. E. , Kao K.‐T. , Alexander E. J. , Russo V. C. , Werther G. A. , Sabin M. A. 
Published: March 2018

SummaryInsulin‐like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP‐2) may represent a critical link between body composition and insulin sensitivity. We investigated the relationship between circulating IGFBP‐2 levels, body composition, insulin sensitivity, energy intake and physical activity in children with obesity. Children were recruited via the Weight Management Service at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, as part of the Childhood Overweight BioRepository of Australia (COBRA). Comprehensive anthropometric, biochemical and environmental data were collected and compared to serum IGFBP‐2 levels (measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay). Multiple regression modelling was used to assess the influence of circulating IGFBP‐2 levels on anthropometric and biochemical measures. One hundred and ninety‐four children were included in this study (46% male). Circulating IGFBP‐2 negatively correlated with age, anthropometric measures, blood pressure and insulin concentration. Positive associations were observed between insulin sensitivity index‐homeostasis model assessment (ISI‐HOMA) and serum IGFBP‐2. In multiple regression modelling, IGFBP‐2 significantly contributes to variance in systolic blood pressure (−19%, P < 0.05), circulating triglycerides (−16%, P < 0.05) and ISI‐HOMA (18%, P < 0.05). No associations were observed between dietary energy intake or physical activity and IGFBP‐2 levels. Circulating IGFBP‐2 levels in children with obesity correlate inversely with body mass and markers of metabolic dysfunction, and positively with insulin sensitivity. These findings suggest that reduced levels of IGFBP‐2 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of obesity complications in early life.