bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of Force-Feedback Technology for Training Clinicians to Deliver Manual Cervical Distraction
Authors: Gudavalli Maruti Ram , Yadav Vikas , Vining Robert , Seidman Michael , Salsbury Stacie , Morgenthal Paige , Patwardhan Avinash , Goertz Christine 
Published: April 2014

Objective: Neck pain is a prevalent musculoskeletal (MSK) complaint and costly societal burden. Doctors of chiropractic (DCs) provide manual therapies for neck pain patients to relieve discomfort and improve physical function. Manual cervical distraction (MCD) is a chiropractic procedure for neck pain. During MCD, the patient lies face down on a specially designed chiropractic table. The DC gently moves the head and neck in a cephalic direction while holding a gentle broad manual contact over the posterior neck, to create traction effects. MCD traction force profiles vary between clinicians making standardization of treatment delivery challenging. This paper reports on a bioengineering technology developed to provide clinicians with auditory and graphical feedback on the magnitude of cervical traction forces applied during MCD to simulated patients during training for a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Methods: The Cox flexion-distraction chiropractic table is designed with a moveable headpiece. The table allows for long axis horizontal movement of the head and neck, while the patient’s trunk and legs rest on fixed table sections. We instrument-modified this table with three-dimensional force transducers to measure the traction forces applied by the doctor. Motion Monitor software collects data from force transducers. The software displays the magnitude of traction forces graphically as a function of time. Real-time audible feedback produces a steady tone when measured traction forces are <20N, no tone when forces range between 20–50N, and an audible tone when forces exceed 50N. Peer debriefing from simulated patients reinforces traction force data from the bioengineering technology.
Results: We used audible and graphical feedback to train and certify DCs to apply traction forces to the cervical spine of simulated patients within three specific ranges. This technology supports a RCT designed to assess the ability of clinicians to deliver MCD within specified force ranges to patients randomized to different force dosages as an intervention. Future applications may include training chiropractic students and clinicians to deliver the MCD treatment.
Water Supply Sustainability Indicators for the Southern California-Baja California Area
Authors: Gil Samaniego Ramos Margarita , Campbell Ramírez Héctor Enrique , Tapia Olivas Juan Carlos 
Published: April 2014

Southern California and Baja California share, besides a dynamic social and economic exchange and 226 kilometers of borderline, an important natural resource: water from the Colorado River. Both areas have arid and semiarid climate in large zones and local fresh water sources are scarce, so water imports from the Colorado are strategic for their continued social and economic growth.
Southern California’s water supply comes from the State Water Project, the Colorado River Aqueduct and local sources; in turn, Baja California depends mostly on the water supplied by the Colorado River, with an aqueduct that serves the Pacific coastline cities of the state. Both water supply systems are considered high energy consumers, affecting the quality of life in the region.
The sustainable development of both communities is a challenge to Mexican and American public policy planners who must recognize that, to meet the future water demands to support sustainable development in this area it will require improved utilization and management of water resources.
In this paper, water supply sustainable indicators were calculated for southern California and Baja California to evaluate and compare their performance towards sustainability. Findings show big differences in the indicators like water use per person, percentage of the cost of water relative to household income, cost of electricity to convey water, etc. High contrast in both economies makes up for these differences, but as water stakeholders of an only source, that is, the Colorado River, Mexico and the United States should avoid those imbalances in water use and management efficiencies, as it might affect its availability and cost, bringing potential conflicts and disturbing the traditional friendly coexistence and growth of both communities.
Optimization Methodology for Innovative Automotive Crash Absorbers
Authors: D’Agostino Luca , Bertocchi Luca , Splendi Luca , Strozzi Antonio , Moruzzi Patrizio 
Published: April 2014

The simulation of vehicle crash impacts requires accurate and computationally expensive Finite Element analysis. An effective procedure consists in considering and establishing which improvement can be made on an equivalent sub-model of the full vehicle. In this way, all the analysis can be performed on smaller models, thus saving computational time. A full vehicle simulation is required only at the end of the design process to validate the results of the sub-model analysis.
A software based on a genetic optimization algorithm has been developed in order to optimize the geometrical parameters of a variable-thickness crash absorber. A numerical study on the folding of thin-walled aluminum tubes with variable-thickness has been performed in order to achieve the maximum energy absorption-to-mass ratio. Moreover, the performance in terms of folding length and crush load peaks have been considered.
Different optimization strategies have been implemented to find out which solution guarantees the achievement of the optimization target with the lowest computational cost.
The results show how the approach proposed by the authors allows an efficient variable-thickness crash absorber to be obtained. In fact it performs better in term of crash behavior and energy dissipation-to-mass ratio, with respect to the original constant_thickness model.
Hand Gestures in CAD Systems
Authors: Tumkor Serdar , Esche Sven K. , Chassapis Constantin 
Published: April 2014

When designing products, networked computers are increasingly used to facilitate the collaboration among team members from remote locations. Design visualization plays a critical role in understanding the design concepts shared by the design team members. CAD systems have 3D visualization capabilities that are designed to help users to understand complex structures easily and to design better products. However, 3D visualization on a 2D screen has limitations in communicating complex structures. Furthermore, gestures play a significant role in face-to-face communication but are missing in remote collaboration. Object manipulation in 3D using gestures in the real physical space without a cumbersome hand-held peripheral device may ease the visualization and understanding of the concept model. Today, peripheral devices for human-computer interfaces are not only becoming more advanced but also less expensive. Some of the game controllers are now equipped with depth cameras (RGB-D cameras) and have a great potential for complementing or even replacing the traditional keyboard and mouse interface with hand or body gestures. In this paper, new low-cost mixed reality devices for 3D user inputs and visual outputs are investigated and their possible uses with CAD systems in the process of collaborative design are discussed.
In this study, a hand tracking system built based on two Kinect sensors has been used to track the position and orientation of the user’s hands. In this system, CAD models can be manipulated and disassembled using hand gestures. The new user interface provides for a user-friendly interaction between designer and CAD system.
Composite Materials in Automotive: Improving Safety by Refining FEA Correlation
Authors: Miscia Giuseppe , Bertocchi Enrico , D’Agostino Luca , Baldini Andrea , Dolcini Enrico , Narducci Angelo 
Published: April 2014

In the last few years, the restrictive safety standards and the need for weight reduction have brought the crashworthiness research to focus on composite materials because of their high energy absortion-to-mass ratio. On the other hand, the possibility of obtaining predictive dynamic FEA models for these new materials is still an open issue: the present work aims at developing a methodology for the characterization of composite materials with particular interest for the head impact simulation.
Composite materials behavior, defined through the mathematical models implemented in FEA codes, is very complex and requires a large amount of physical and numerical setting parameters. The majority of these parameters can be obtained by an experimental campaign that involves several kind of different tests. The presented methodology allows to obtain a good numerical-experimental correlation simply performing few tests which emulate the behavior of the component during the head impact event.
A software tool based on a genetic optimization technique has been developed in order to determinate automatically the material properties values that guarantee the best numerical-experimental correlation.
Overall Structure Control for Product Design Using Geometric Skeleton Based on Functional Decomposition
Authors: Guo LianShui , Zhou Xuan , Zhao Lian , Liu Qingming 
Published: April 2014

Product conceptual design derives from the functional requirement initially, and the overall structure control for product design is one of the most difficult problems being addressed in CAD modeling.
The objective of this investigation is to present a framework on rapid modeling using rules and mechanism library for mapping between functions and mechanism structures. In this paper, it is shown that the overall structure can be achieved largely by using multi-level parametric skeleton model. In order to drive the conceptual design into a more detailed design, the intelligent master model is presented to realize the parametric feature modeling and design knowledge reuse.
The main contribution of this paper is that an integrated framework has been developed to design assembling tools of satellite by using a necessary auxiliary wizard. The case studies presented demonstrate the potential significance of this work for a wide range of engineering design problems.
Application of Arlequin Framework for the Numerical Simulation of Rotating Machinery
Authors: Nouri-Baranger Thouraya , Torkhani Mohamed , Altmeyer Guillaume 
Published: April 2014

Rotating machinery are a place where specific vibrating phenomena take place, due to particular loadings, rotating effects and damping. Numerous numerical simulation of rotating machinery are based on the use of costless beam models. These models are however insufficient to represent localized non-linear phenomena. In these zones, 3D models are more adapted to accurately represent the effects of contact or cracks. Their cost is however prohibitive for industrial applications. In this paper, development of a method coupling 1D and 3D models is proposed to simulate advanced dynamic of rotating machinery.
The bases of Arlequin method, allowing multi-model/multi-scheme connecting the different zones by a superposition technique, are developed and applied to the simulation of contact between rotor and stator. Specific operators are introduced, such as gyroscopic matrix, angular acceleration matrix and centrifugal stiffening one.
Expanding Helmet Design Methodologies Through Brain Functional Area Representative Threat Models
Authors: Ford Matthew , Matic Peter , Leung Alan 
Published: April 2014

In combat zones, warfighters may be exposed to multiple threat types that can result in impacts to the head. These head impacts can lead to traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other functional or cognitive impairments, depending on the impact location, duration, and severity. Personal protective equipment mitigates the damage to the head, and current equipment design efforts focus on high-level protective metrics such as local helmet deformations and penetrations, as well as global accelerations or rotations of the head. Advances in brain imaging and mapping have made it possible to couple brain regions with specific functions, which could lead to higher resolution injury models and a more integrated helmet design process.
The Naval Research Laboratory has developed a design tool to relate cognitive and functional brain regions from the literature to representative threat models for a head-helmet system. In this study, the philosophy and methods behind this augmented design tool and some of its applications are discussed. Through surveying detailed brain mappings and Brodmann functional areas, spatial coordinates for a coarse and a fine brain model were identified, scaled, and positioned within a three-dimensional model of the head. Projectile threats to the brain from all directions were simulated to evaluate the vulnerability of specific brain regions for a given protective helmet geometry. Using this platform, a variety of design tools were developed to investigate the functional effects of making geometric changes to the helmet.
Exergy Efficiency Optimization for Gas Turbine Based Cogeneration Systems
Authors: Ferreira Ana C. , Teixeira Senhorinha F. , Teixeira José C. , Nunes Manuel L. , Martins Luís B. 
Published: April 2014

Energy degradation can be calculated by the quantification of entropy and loss of work and is a common approach in power plant performance analysis. Information about the location, amount and sources of system deficiencies are determined by the exergy analysis, which quantifies the exergy destruction. Micro-gas turbines are prime movers that are ideally suited for cogeneration applications due to their flexibility in providing stable and reliable power. This paper presents an exergy analysis by means of a numerical simulation of a regenerative micro-gas turbine for cogeneration applications. The main objective is to study the best configuration of each system component, considering the minimization of the system irreversibilities. Each component of the system was evaluated considering the quantitative exergy balance. Subsequently the optimization procedure was applied to the mathematical model that describes the full system.
The rate of irreversibility, efficiency and flaws are highlighted for each system component and for the whole system. The effect of turbine inlet temperature change on plant exergy destruction was also evaluated. The results disclose that considerable exergy destruction occurs in the combustion chamber. Also, it was revealed that the exergy efficiency is expressively dependent on the changes of the turbine inlet temperature and increases with the latter.
Modeling Hazard and Threat Risks to Populations Surrounding Public-Use, Non-Towered Airports due to General Aviation Operations
Authors: Salmon Christian , Motevalli Vahid 
Published: April 2014

This paper considers the potential future wherein the General Aviation (GA) infrastructure of airports and aircraft becomes an integral part of the commercial aviation transportation network. Further, this paper discusses inherent individual and societal risks sourced in the very characteristic that makes the GA infrastructure attractive: accessibility and ubiquity.
Air traffic controller furloughs, mergers, surface transportation congestion and infrastructure degradation are a few examples of system discontinuities that have led to increased travel time for short and medium air travel (200–500 miles). These, amongst other constraints, are drivers of various initiatives that seek to mitigate these delays via transfer of travel demand from larger towered airport infrastructure to the General Aviation infrastructure via development of aircraft, business plans, operation oversight processes. An example being the nascent air taxi industry coupled with the development of the Very Light Jet designed to operate on 3,000 ft runways.
The development of High Volume Operations (HVO) capability in the GA infrastructure (specifically non-towered airports) will subsequently increase risks to communities situated in the vicinity of GA airports via increased potential for accidents. Modeling and understanding these inherent risks in is important if public safety and negative reaction to operational changes, particularly at community airports, is to be avoided; a negative public opinion that could forestall the development of HVO.
Similarly, the potential for security threats (i.e. use of aircraft as a missile) from unsecured community airports are greater, but qualitatively less severe than TSA regulated commercial airports.
With the potential of 4,000+ additional airports being added to the national commercial air transportation infrastructure, a risk-based allocation of security resources would need to be implemented for efficient allocation of scarce resources.
Thermal Predictions of the AGR-3/4 Experiment
Authors: Hawkes Grant L. , Sterbentz James W. , Maki John T. 
Published: April 2014

A thermal analysis was performed for the Advanced Gas Reactor test experiment number three/four (AGR-3/4) irradiated at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Several fuel irradiation experiments are planned for the AGR Fuel Development and Qualification Program which supports the development of the Very-High-Temperature gas-cooled Reactor (VHTR) under the Next-Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project.
AGR-3/4 combines two tests in a series of planned AGR experiments to test tristructural-isotropic (TRISO)-coated, low-enriched uranium oxycarbide fuel. The AGR-3/4 test was designed primarily to assess fission product transport through various graphite materials. The AGR-3/4 test was inserted in the ATR beginning in 2011 and is currently still in the reactor. Forty-eight (48) TRISO fueled compacts were inserted into twelve separate capsules for the experiment.
The purpose of this analysis was to calculate the temperatures of each compact and graphite layer to obtain daily average temperatures and to compare with experimentally measured thermocouple data. Heat rates were input from a detailed physics analysis using the MCNP code for each day during the experiment. Individual heat rates for each non-fuel component were input as well. A steady-state thermal analysis was performed for each daily calculation. A finite element model was created for this analysis using the commercial finite element heat transfer and stress analysis package ABAQUS. The fission and neutron gamma heat rates were calculated with the nuclear physics code MCNP. ATR outer shim control cylinders and neck shim rods along with driver fuel power and fuel depletion were incorporated into the daily physics heat rate calculations. Compact and graphite thermal conductivity were input as a function of temperature and neutron fluence with the field variable option in ABAQUS. Surface-to-surface radiation heat transfer along with conduction heat transfer through the gas mixture of helium-neon (used for temperature control) was used in these models. The kinetic theory of gases was used to correlate the thermal conductivity of the gas mixture. Model results are compared to thermocouple data taken during the experiment. Future thermal analysis models will consider control temperature gas gaps and fuel compact–graphite holder gas gaps varying from the original fabrication dimensions as a function of fast neutron fluence.
How Does Concrete Affect Evaporation of Cryogenic Liquids: Evaluating LNG Plant Safety
Authors: Ibarreta Alfonso , Hart Ryan J. , Ponchaut Nicolas , Morrison Delmar (Trey) , Kytömaa Harri 
Published: April 2014

With the impending natural gas boom in the U.S., many companies are pursuing DOE approval for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is a cryogenic liquid. The next decade also promises to demonstrate growth in LNG-fueled fleets of vehicles and marine vessels, as well as growth in other natural gas uses. The future expansion in the LNG infrastructure will lead to an increased focus on managing the risks associated with spills of LNG.
Risk analysis involving LNG spill scenarios and their consequences requires the determination of the size of resulting ignitable flammable vapor clouds. This in turn depends strongly on the rate of evaporation of the spilled LNG. The evaporation of a cryogenic LNG spill (and thus the flammable vapor cloud hazard) can be quite a complex process, and it is primarily controlled by the rate of spreading of the pool and by the transient conductive heat transfer from the ground to the spilled liquid. Radiative and convective heat transfer are also present, but the conductive heat transfer rate dominates in the evaporation of a cryogenic liquid spilled into a trench or sump initially at ambient temperature.
The time dependent evaporation rate can be calculated using a variety of models, such as the built-in model in PHAST (DNV) or other proprietary models that account for pool spreading, heat conduction within the substrate, and phase change. Trenches and sumps used to contain LNG spills are normally lined with various types of concrete, including insulated or aerated concrete. We have found that for a cryogenic liquid, the choice of thermal properties for concrete can greatly affect the source term.
In this work, we perform a sensitivity study of the effects of substrate properties on the evaporation rate of LNG. The study will look at the dependence for a range of sump diameters. The PHAST model results will be compared to results obtained using an in-house Shallow Water Equation (SWE) liquid propagation and heat transfer model. The results of this work will provide guidance for the selection of substrate properties during modeling; as well as a comparison of the relative evaporation rates expected for different surfaces, such as regular concrete and insulated concrete.
Mechanotransduction in Corneal Epithelial Cells
Authors: Molladavoodi Sara , Medley John B. , Gorbet Maud , Kwon H. J. 
Published: April 2014

Mechanical properties of the cornea can be affected by diseases such as keratoconus. In keratoconus, a decrease in both thickness and rigidity of the cornea is observed. It is currently not clear whether and how changes in mechanical properties of the cornea are associated with corneal epithelial cell behavior.
In the present study, polyacrylamide (PAA) gels with different elastic moduli have been prepared and human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) have been cultured on them. To investigate the effect that changes in elastic modulus may have on adhesion and migration of corneal epithelial cells, actin filament organization and expression of adhesion molecules were characterized. It was found that HCECs actin filament organization improves with increasing substrate stiffness and integrin α3 expression significantly increases on more compliant substrates.