bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Stability of small pegs for cementless implant fixation
Authors: Geraldes Diogo M. , Hansen Ulrich , Jeffers Jonathan , Amis Andrew A. 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTMost glenoid implants rely on large centrally located fixation features to avoid perforation of the glenoid vault in its peripheral regions. Upon revision of such components there may not be enough bone left for the reinsertion of an anatomical prosthesis. Multiple press‐fit small pegs would allow for less bone resection and strong anchoring in the stiffer and denser peripheral subchondral bone. This study assessed the fixation characteristics, measured as the push‐in (Pin) and pull‐out (Pout) forces, and spring‐back, measured as the elastic displacement immediately after insertion, for five different small press‐fitted peg configurations manufactured out of UHMWPE cylinders (5 mm diameter and length). A total of 16 specimens for each configuration were tested in two types of solid bone substitute: Hard (40 PCF, 0.64 g/cm3, worst‐case scenario of Pin) and soft (15 PCF, 0.24 g/cm3, worst‐case scenario of spring‐back and Pout). Two different diametric interference‐fits were studied. Geometries with lower stiffness fins (large length to width aspect ratio) were the best performing designs in terms of primary fixation stability. They required the lowest force to fully seat, meaning they are less damaging to the bone during implantation, while providing the highest Pout/Pin ratio, indicating that when implanted they provide the strongest anchoring for the glenoid component. It is highlighted that drilling of chamfered holes could minimize spring‐back displacements. These findings are relevant for the design of implants press‐fitted pegs because primary fixation has been shown to be an important factor in achieving osseointegration and longevity of secondary fixation. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2765–2772, 2017.
Intraoperative biomechanics of lumbar pedicle screw loosening following successful arthrodesis
Authors: Pearson Hope B. , Dobbs Christopher J. , Grantham Eric , Niebur Glen L. , Chappuis James L. , Boerckel Joel D. 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTPedicle screw loosening has been implicated in recurrent back pain after lumbar spinal fusion, but the degree of loosening has not been systematically quantified in patients. Instrumentation removal is an option for patients with successful arthrodesis, but remains controversial. Here, we quantified pedicle screw loosening by measuring screw insertion and/or removal torque at high statistical power (beta = 0.02) in N = 108 patients who experienced pain recurrence despite successful fusion after posterior instrumented lumbar fusion with anterior lumbar interbody fusion (L2–S1). Between implantation and removal, pedicle screw torque was reduced by 58%, indicating significant loosening over time. Loosening was greater in screws with evoked EMG threshold under 11 mA, indicative of screw misplacement. A theoretical stress analysis revealed increased local stresses at the screw interface in pedicles with decreased difference in pedicle thickness and screw diameter. Loosening was greatest in vertebrae at the extremities of the fused segments, but was significantly lower in segments with one level of fusion than in those with two or more. Clinical significance: These data indicate that pedicle screws can loosen significantly in patients with recurrent back pain and warrant further research into methods to reduce the incidence of screw loosening and to understand the risks and potential benefits of instrumentation removal. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2673–2681, 2017.
Remote measurement of sunflower seed moisture content by the use of microwaves
Authors: Litvischenko Vitali L , Nikiforov Igor Ya , Ershov Igor V 
Published: April 2017

AbstractBACKGROUNDModern agriculture demands new methods and equipment that allow operators to conduct the instant control of moisture content over a wide area of agricultural fields with the purpose of providing farmers with the optimal moment of harvesting mature seeds and crops. Here the authors propose a new method and experimentally investigate the possibility to accomplish remote sensing of the moisture content of sunflower seeds using microwave radiation in the millimeter range.RESULTSAn experimental device for measuring the coefficient of reflection of electromagnetic waves from sunflower inflorescences in the frequency range 25.9–37.5 GHz was created. The obtained results showed that the moisture content of mature sunflower seeds affected the reflected signal. A difference in the reflected signal from the front and back sides of unripe sunflower inflorescences was also found.CONCLUSIONThe results show that microwave radiation can be used to determine the degree of readiness of seeds for harvesting. The proposed new method opens up the possibility of remote instant diagnosis of sunflower seed ripeness in the field. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Can sesame consumption improve blood pressure? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of controlled trials
Authors: Khosravi‐Boroujeni Hossein , Nikbakht Elham , Natanelov Ernesta , Khalesi Saman 
Published: April 2017

AbstractHypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, stroke and renal failure. Sesame consumption may benefit blood pressure (BP) owing to its high polyunsaturated fatty acid, fibre, phytosterol and lignan contents. To clarify this, a systematic review and meta‐analysis of controlled trials was conducted. The PubMed (MEDLINE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Cochrane Library (Central) databases were systematically searched until August 2016. Eight controlled trials with a total of 843 participants met the eligibility criteria. A random effect meta‐analysis showed that sesame consumption can reduce systolic BP (−7.83 mmHg, 95% CI: −14.12, −1.54; P < 0.05, I2 = 99%) and diastolic BP (−5.83 mmHg, 95% CI: −9.58, −2.08; P < 0.01, I2 = 98%). To reduce the heterogeneity, the meta‐analysis was limited to high methodology quality trials (n = 4), which resulted in a significant reduction in systolic BP (−3.23 mmHg, 95% CI: −5.67, −0.79; I2 = 33%) and a non‐significant reduction in diastolic BP (−2.08 mmHg, 95% CI: −4.85, 0.69; I2 = 62%). This study concluded that sesame consumption can reduce systolic and diastolic BP. However, further investigations with larger sample sizes and better methodology quality are required to confirm the BP‐lowering effect of sesame consumption. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
An occupancy approach to monitoring regent honeyeaters
Authors: Crates Ross , Terauds Aleks , Rayner Laura , Stojanovic Dejan , Heinsohn Robert , Ingwersen Dean , Webb Matthew 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTConservation of rare and highly mobile species is frequently limited by a lack of monitoring data. Critically endangered regent honeyeaters (Anthochaera phrygia, population 350–400) pose a substantial conservation challenge because of their high mobility and irregular settlement throughout their estimated 600,000‐km2 range. Given an ongoing population decline, enhanced monitoring efforts to inform population management are needed. We conducted an occupancy survey of regent honeyeaters and other nectarivores over 880 km2 of the species' core range in New South Wales, Australia, during spring 2015. We located approximately 70 regent honeyeaters, potentially representing 20% of the population. Presence of regent honeyeaters was best predicted by high local nectar abundance. Detectability of regent honeyeaters when breeding (0.59) was similar to common, co‐occurring nectarivores and was sufficient to distinguish absence from non‐detection. For rare and highly mobile species, monitoring approaches that prioritize sampling extent over site visit duration and explicitly accommodate their life‐history attributes can provide valuable population data, with subsequent benefits for conservation. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
Contrasting nest survival patterns for ducks and songbirds in northern mixed‐grass prairie
Authors: Grant Todd A. , Shaffer Terry L. , Madden Elizabeth M. , Nenneman Melvin P. 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTManagement actions intended to protect or improve habitat for ducks may benefit grassland‐nesting passerines, but scant information is available to explore this assumption. During 1998–2003, we examined nest survival of ducks and songbirds to determine whether effects of prescribed fire and other habitat features (e.g., shrub cover and distance to habitat edges) were similar for ducks and passerines breeding in North Dakota. We used the logistic‐exposure method to estimate survival of duck and songbird nests (n = 3,171). We used an information‐theoretic approach to identify factors that most influenced nest survival. Patterns of nest survival were markedly different between taxonomic groups. For ducks, nest survival was greater during the first postfire nesting season (daily survival rate [DSR] = 0.957, 85% CI = 0.951–0.963), relative to later postfire nesting seasons (DSR = 0.946, 85% CI = 0.942–0.950). Furthermore duck nest survival and nest densities were inversely related. Duck nest survival also was greater as shrub cover decreased and as distance from cropland and wetland edges increased. Passerines had lower nest survival during the first postfire nesting season (DSR = 0.934, 85% CI = 0.924–0.944), when densities also were low compared to subsequent postfire nesting seasons (DSR = 0.947, 85% CI = 0.944–0.950). Parasitism by brown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) reduced passerine nest survival and this effect was more pronounced during the first postfire nesting season compared to subsequent nesting seasons. Passerine nest survival was greater as shrub cover decreased and perhaps for more concealed nests. Duck and songbird nest survival rates were not correlated during this study and for associated studies that examined additional variables using the same dataset, suggesting that different mechanisms influenced their survival. Based on our results, ducks should not be considered direct surrogates for passerines when predicting effects of prescribed fire, shrub cover, and habitat edges on nest survival. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
Greater sage‐grouse habitat selection, survival, and wind energy infrastructure
Authors: LeBeau Chad W. , Johnson Gregory D. , Holloran Matthew J. , Beck Jeffrey L. , Nielson Ryan M. , Kauffman Mandy E. , Rodemaker Eli J. , McDonald Trent L. 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTIncreasing concern for environmental sustainability, the demand for domestic energy, and an impetus on reducing dependence on fossil fuels have led to substantial investment in renewable energies including wind energy over the last 2 decades. Increases in wind energy development are especially noticeable in prairie habitats with high wind capacity. This has raised concerns over effects on grouse species including greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). We monitored 346 female greater sage‐grouse via telemetry from 2009 to 2014 in southeastern Wyoming, within a control area and an area influenced by a wind energy development to estimate the potential effects of wind energy infrastructure on greater sage‐grouse habitat selection and demography. We developed resource selection functions by comparing habitats used to habitats available relative to the wind energy development during the nesting, brood‐rearing, and summer periods. In addition, we used survival models to estimate the variability in nest, brood, and female survival relative to the wind energy development. The relative probability of greater sage‐grouse selecting brood‐rearing and summer habitats decreased as percentage of surface disturbance associated with the facility infrastructure increased. We did not, however, detect a negative effect of the wind energy facility on nest site selection or on nest, brood‐rearing, or female survival during the study. Future wind energy developments should consider the potential effects of wind energy development on sage‐grouse habitat selection patterns and survival parameters ≤1.20 km from any occupied sage‐grouse nesting, brood‐rearing, or summer habitats. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
How open access is crucial to the future of science: A reply
Authors: Romesburg H. Charles 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTI explained how publishing wildlife research in open access (OA) journals like PLOS ONE makes wildlife science less reliable. Subsequently, several researchers rejected my explanation, opining that OA journals have top publishing standards and are crucial for the future of wildlife science because researchers in developing countries can access them for free, better enabling them to contribute. Consequently, some opined that research societies should consider remaking their society journals into OA journals, in particular the Journal of Wildlife Management (JWM) sponsored by The Wildlife Society (TWS) becoming an OA journal. In this, my response to them, I show that their opinions are misguided and explain 1) how OA journals unquestionably have inferior publishing standards; 2) why OA is not crucial to the future of wildlife science; 3) why wildlife science's investing its limited resources in certain areas other than OA publishing is crucial to its future; 4) why changing JWM into an OA journal would quite possibly result in losing both TWS and JWM as we know them, leaving us with much less effective replacements; 5) how universities push for open access not because OA leads to better science (it does not) but because OA saves university libraries money, serves egalitarian attitudes among faculty and students, and provides graduate students with the quickest and easiest way of getting their articles into print; and 6) how the goal of growing science in developing countries requires growing the countries’ economies as prerequisite to growing their science, irrespective of the availability of OA articles. As well, these ideas hold beyond wildlife science, including throughout the natural resources and environmental sciences. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
Strengthening Phosphoric Acid Doped Polybenzimidazole Membranes with Siloxane Networks for Using as High Temperature Proton Exchange Membranes
Authors: Yang Jingshuai , Gao Liping , Wang Jin , Xu Yixin , Liu Chao , He Ronghuan 
Published: April 2017

Two silane compounds, i.e., ((chloromethyl)phenylethyl)trimethoxysilane (Ph‐Si) and 3‐chloropropyltriethoxysilane (Pr‐Si), are employed as covalent crosslinkers to fabricate high temperature proton exchange membranes based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) in order to better understand the correlation between the structure and the property of the crosslinked membranes. All the crosslinked PBI membranes display longer morphology durability over the neat PBI membrane toward the radical oxidation. The crosslinked membranes with the crosslinker containing a rigid group of phenylene (PBI‐Ph) show superior acid doping level, high conductivity, and excellent mechanical strength simultaneously, comparing to those with the crosslinker having a flexible alkyl chain (PBI‐Pr) and the pristine PBI based membrane. The technical feasibility for using as high temperature proton exchange membranes is demonstrated by the acid doped crosslinked PBI‐Ph membranes via fuel cell tests.
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Electrospinning of Xanthan Polysaccharide
Authors: Shekarforoush Elhamalsadat , Faralli Adele , Ndoni Sokol , Mendes Ana C. , Chronakis Ioannis S. 
Published: April 2017

Electrospun pure xanthan polysaccharide nanofibers are prepared using formic acid as a solvent. Morphological studies by scanning electron microscopy show that uniform fibers with average diameters ranging from 128 ± 36.7 to 240 ± 80.7 nm are formed depending on the polysaccharide concentration (0.5 to 2.5 wt/vol%). The correlation between the concentration and the rheological properties of xanthan solutions, with the morphology of the nanofibers is investigated. At the polysaccharide concentrations where nanofiber formation is observed, an increase of the elastic modulus and first normal stress differences is observed. The typical “weak gel‐like” and thixotropic properties known for aqueous xanthan solutions, are not observed for the xanthan solutions in formic acid. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic and circular dichroism studies verify that an esterification reaction takes place, where formic acid reacts with the pyruvic acid groups of xanthan. Hence, formate groups neutralize the pyruvic charges which in turn stabilize the helical conformation of xanthan. The results obtained from size‐exclusion chromatography reveal a small difference in the molecular weight of the polysaccharide when dissolved in distilled water or in formic acid.
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Scalable Synthesis and Multi‐Electron Transfer of Aniline/Fluorene Copolymer for Solution‐Processable Battery Cathodes
Authors: Li Fei , Zou Yang , Wang Shaoyang , Fang Lei , Lutkenhaus Jodie L. 
Published: April 2017

In this study, the authors report the highly efficient, multigram‐scale synthesis of an ester‐functionalized, poly(aniline‐co‐fluorene) polymer. The excellent solubility and film‐forming ability of this polymer facilitate its application as a reversible battery cathode. Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring confirms a multi‐electron transfer process, resulting in a specific discharge capacity of 51 mAh g−1 and a high reversible doping level of 0.69. Galvanostatic cycling at 1 C demonstrates excellent electrode stability with a capacity retention of 95.2% after 100 cycles. Therefore, this work demonstrates a novel electroactive polymer that exemplifies how chemical functionality may be used to properly balance processability and electroactivity of macromolecular battery cathodes.
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A three‐dimensional micromechanically based model
Authors: Xiong H. , Nicot F. , Yin Z. Y. 
Published: April 2017

SummaryGranular materials react with complicated mechanical responses when subjected to external loading paths. This leads to sophisticated constitutive formulations requiring large numbers of parameters. A powerful and straightforward way consists in developing micro‐mechanical models embedding both micro‐scale and meso‐scale. This paper proposes a 3D micro‐mechanical model taking into account an intermediate scale (meso‐scale) that makes it possible to describe a variety of constitutive features in a natural way. The comparison between experimental tests and numerical simulations reveals the predictive capability of this model. Particularly, several simulations are carried out with different confining pressures and initial void ratios, based on the fact that the critical state is quantitatively described without requiring any critical state formulations and parameter. The model mechanism is also analyzed from a microscopic view, wherein the evolution of some key microscopic parameters is investigated. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimization design of the CUSUM and EWMA charts for autocorrelated processes
Authors: Osei‐Aning Richard , Abbasi Saddam Akber , Riaz Muhammad 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThe traditional control charts produce frequent false alarm signals in the presence of autocorrelation. The implementation of the modified chart scheme is a way of handling the problem of autocorrelation in control charts. In modified charts, the standard control limits of the traditional charts are adjusted to offset the influence because of the autocorrelation. The exponentially weighted moving average– and cumulative sum–modified charts are 2 widely used charts for monitoring autocorrelated data. These charts have design parameters in their formulation, and the choice of these parameters play significant roles in the detection of out‐of‐control situations. In reality, the magnitude of the mean shift is uncertain, and this leads to a difficulty in the choice of design parameters by the practitioner. The use of optimal parameters can enhance process performance in such situations. In this paper, we determine optimal design parameters for the charts using an exhaustive search procedure. In the optimization process, we determine the parameters that produce the smallest extra quadratic loss (EQL) value for each autocorrelation coefficient. This criterion measures the anticipated loss attributed to poor quality in the process. The loss in quality is lowered by minimizing the EQL and the combination of parameters in the chart that yields the smallest EQL has a better detection ability over the entire shift range. For the purpose of this work, we concentrate on autocorrelation that can be specifically modelled with autoregressive models. This article provides the practitioner with optimal parameters that can be used to enhance the overall effectiveness of the charts over an entire shift range.
Monte Carlo simulation of a Knudsen effusion mass spectrometer sampling system
Authors: Radke Michael J. , Jacobson Nathan S. , Copland Evan H. 
Published: April 2017

RationaleKnudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS) shows improved performance with the "restricted collimation" method of Chatillon and colleagues, which consists of two apertures between the Knudsen cell orifice and the ionizer. These apertures define the shape and position of the molecular beam independently of the sample and effusion orifice and as a result reduce background and improve sampling from the Knudsen cell. Modeling of the molecular beam in restricted collimation allows optimization of the apertures' diameters and spacing.MethodsKnudsen flow is easily simulated with a Monte Carlo method. In this study a Visual Basic for Excel (VBA) code is developed to simulate the molecular beam originating from a vaporizing condensed phase in a Knudsen cell and passing through the cell orifice and the two apertures.ResultsThe code is able to calculate the transmission coefficient through the cell orifice, through the cell orifice and the first aperture, and through the cell orifice and first and second apertures. Also calculated are the angular distributions of the effusate density emerging from the cell and average number of collisions with the orifice walls.ConclusionsThis code allows the geometry (aperture spacing and diameters) of the sampling system to be optimized for maximum transmission. The calculated effusate distributions and low average number of orifice wall collisions illustrated the advantages of restricted collimation. Calculated transmission factors are also compared to literature values calculated via the analytical method of Chatillon and colleagues. Published in 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.