bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Survey of Zoonotic Dermatoses in Client‐Owned Exotic Pet Mammals in Southern Italy
Authors: d'Ovidio D. , Santoro D. 
Published: February 2014

SummarySeveral ‘exotic’ mammalian species (e.g. rabbits, rodents, ferrets and hedgehogs) live in close proximity to humans as companion pets. Skin diseases (SD) are frequent causes of morbidity in exotic pet mammals, and most of those SDs have a zoonotic potential. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequencies and types of zoonotic dermatosis (ZD) in client‐owned, exotic pet mammals in Southern Italy. Six‐hundred and fifty‐five medical records of exotic pet mammals examined between 2011 and 2012, across twenty private practice veterinary clinics around the Naples area (Italy), were retrospectively evaluated and screened for animals diagnosed with SDs (rabbits n = 455, guinea pigs n = 93, ferrets n = 64, hedgehogs n = 19, chinchillas n = 13 and rats n = 11). The records of animals diagnosed with SD, whose causative agents had a zoonotic potential, were selected for analysis. The Mann–Whitney independent test was used for statistical analysis. A P value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Eighty‐two records (12.5%) of animals with ZD were identified. Of those, 56.1% (46/82) were affected by fungal infections and 42.7% (35/82) by parasitic infections. No zoonotic bacterial or viral infections were diagnosed. Dermatophytosis was significantly diagnosed more frequently in younger animals. The results of this survey indicate that exotic pet mammals may serve as active carriers for many highly contagious pathogens with zoonotic potential. Awareness and vigilance by the veterinary practitioner is crucial in the prevention of occurrences of ZDs. Children frequently come in close contact with exotic pets. To prevent the unplanned transmission of pathogen from pet to human, an active routine screening examination and preventative treatments are strongly recommended for every newly purchased pet mammal.
Sensitivity Analysis of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics in PAM-CRASH for Modeling of Soft Soils
Authors: Dhillon Ranvir , El-Gindy Moustafa , Ali Rustam , Philipps David , Öijer Fredrik , Johansson Inge 
Published: February 2014

The rapid progression of computational power and development of non-mesh particle modeling techniques provides solutions to problems which are not accurately modeled using traditional finite element analysis techniques. The field of soft soil modeling has been pressing on in recent years and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) modeling method in PAM-CRASH provides opportunity for further advancement in accuracy.
This research focuses on the development of soft soil models using SPH with verification using pressure-sinkage and shear strength criterion. Soil model parameters such as geometry and contact model are varied to determine the effect of the parameters on the behaviour of the soft soil and relationships are developed. The developed virtual soil models are compared against existing soils to determine which soils are accurately modeled and further refinements are made to validate the models with existing empirical data.
Teaching Biomimicry With an Engineering-to-Biology Thesaurus
Authors: Nagel Jacquelyn K. S. , Nagel Robert L. , Eggermont Marjan 
Published: February 2014

This paper presents research on the use of an engineering-to-biology thesaurus in an engineering classroom as an aid to teaching biomimicry. The leap from engineering to biological science has posed a challenge. Engineers often struggle with how to best use the vast amount of biological information available from the natural world around them. Often there is a knowledge gap, and terminology takes different meanings. Generally, the time required to learn and become fluent in biology poses too large a hurdle. The engineering-to-biology thesaurus was designed to allow engineers without advanced biological knowledge to leverage nature’s ingenuity during engineering design. The three key goals of this thesaurus are to (1) lessen the burden when working with knowledge from the biological domain by providing a link between engineering and biological terminology; (2) assist designers with establishing connections between the two domains; and (3) to facilitate biologically-inspired design.
In this paper, the results of a pilot study as well as a second study are presented. The pilot study was used to craft instructional materials involving the engineering-to-biology thesaurus. In the second study, sophomore engineering students enrolled in a design course were given a design task to complete using the thesaurus. The task focused on biomimetic concept development for their course project — designing a human-powered vehicle for a person with cerebral palsy. Results of the design task are presented.
Minimising Gear Losses
Authors: Stahl K. , Mayer Josef , Hinterstoißer Michael 
Published: February 2014

The emissions of CO2 worldwide are actually an often discussed topic. To reduce these emissions, gear boxes offer several starting points. There are possibilities for loss reduction in gears, bearings and oil supply. Load dependent gear losses provide a big potential to improve efficiency at operating points with high load. At no-load, bearings, oil viscosity and oil supply can be optimized.
Aim of this study was the reduction of losses in power trains by about 30%. Main target of this project was the experimental investigation and verification of measures for loss reduction within one optimized gear box. Several approaches were combined for that.
Load-dependent gear losses can be reduced by about 60% by using lowloss gears. In this case, basic idea is to concentrate the gear contact around the pitch point for lower sliding speeds. Different surface topologies were investigated. These were manufactured by deterministic laser structuring, grinding or superfinishing. Especially for running conditions at low speed power loss reduction could be achieved by very smooth superfinished tooth flank surfaces. Reduction of power losses could also be reached by applying diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings. Loss savings by DLC coatings were measured especially at higher speeds with thick surface separating lubricant films. This is caused by a thermal isolation effect of coatings.
Methodology to Identify and Analyze Optimal Cable Configurations in the Design of Cable-Driven Serial Manipulators
Authors: Bryson Joshua T. , Agrawal Sunil K. 
Published: February 2014

The choice of cable placement and routing for a cable-driven serial manipulator has profound effects on the operational workspace of the mechanism. Poor choices in cable attachment can hamper or preclude the ability of the mechanism to perform a desired task, while a clever configuration might allow for an expanded workspace and kinematic redundancies, providing additional capability and flexibility.
This paper outlines a methodology to identify and analyze optimal cable configurations for a serial manipulator which maximize operational workspace subject to mechanism design and configuration constraints. This process is first described in general terms for a generic 2-link robot and then applied to an illustrative example of a cable-driven robot leg. The methodology is used to determine the placement and routing of the cables to achieve the desired range of motion, as well as highlight the critical parameters within the cable configuration and identify possible areas of improvement in the overall robot design.
Superfinishing Rear Axle Gears: A Significant Step Toward Reducing Automotive Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Authors: Frechette Michael , Mershon Chris , Sroka Gary 
Published: February 2014

New regulations make it imperative that the European and US automotive industries meet strict, lower greenhouse gas emission standards. It is well documented that isotropic superfinishing automotive rear axle gears can play a significant role in reducing these emissions. Rear axle gears have been commercially isotropic superfinished using conventional vibratory finishing for many years, but this process has often been viewed as being too expensive and cumbersome for large-scale automotive production. After five years of development and testing, the drag finishing process has been perfected to a point that rear axle gears can be isotropic superfinished economically in a matter of minutes. The gears are rapidly mounted and dismounted to the machine via magnetic fixturing making this equipment amenable to full robotic operation.
This paper will give details on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by isotropic superfinishing, the drag finishing machine, the magnetic fixture of the rear axle gears, the achievable surface finish, and the superfinishing cycle time.
Rationale for a Modified Crutch Use Methodology for Individuals With Weak or Paralyzed Hip Abductor Muscles
Authors: Borrelli James , Haslach Henry W. 
Published: February 2014

Individuals with weak or paralyzed hip abductors may make use of two methods to reduce pathological gait kinematics as a result of their disability; reducing the need for the hip abductors or developing an equivalent torque on the body. Compensatory motions such as torso tilting or hip hiking “balance” the body reducing the need for the torque that would be developed by the hip abductors. A contralateral crutch develops a body torque that is equivalent to that developed by the hip abductors. Individuals with weak or paralyzed hip abductors intuitively adopt a wide crutch stance, contrary to the prescribed method where the crutches are vertical in the frontal plane. Using a wide stance angle in the frontal plane is hypothesized to improve gait with weak or paralyzed hip abductors more so than when using crutches in the traditional manner. Crutches develop a torque on the body that is equivalent to what would be developed by the hip abductors while standing still. A wide stance angle increases the moment arm that the crutch force acts through while standing still, increasing the torque developed, potentially increasing the positive effect of the crutch which may reduce the need for compensatory motions. However, a similar effect has not been characterized during gait.
The hypothesis is that a wide crutch stance angle improves a gait with paralyzed hip abductors more so than a crutch used vertically in the frontal plane. The assumption is that this is accomplished by decreasing energy expenditure and/or reducing the need for compensatory motions more so than a crutch used vertically in the frontal plane. A three-dimensional dynamic model is used to test the hypothesis. The model predicts that excessive pelvis depression and decreased pelvic rotation result when the hip abductors are paralyzed. Compensatory motions, hip hiking and torso tilting, and crutch use are shown to decrease the prevalence of pathological kinematics. Crutch use with a wide stance angle improves gait kinematics more than a vertical crutch with the same body weight supported on it. This study provides evidence that the need for compensatory motions and the prevalence of pathological gait kinematics may be reduced when using a wide crutch stance angle compared to a vertical crutch stance angle.
Digital Representation of Physical Artifacts: The Effect of Low Cost, High Accuracy 3D Scanning Technologies on Engineering Education, Student Learning and Design Evaluation
Authors: Vasudevan Nitish , Tucker Conrad S. 
Published: February 2014

This paper aims to address two fundamental challenges in engineering education; i) the disconnect between digital and tactile learning activities in traditional Engineering Design curricula and ii) variations in standards used to assess digital activities completed by students.
Digital 3D scanning technologies have the potential to mitigate the disconnect between digital and tactile learning activities by providing students with a real time understanding of the relationship between the digital and tactile design space in a real time, dynamic manner. In the process, students are introduced to the concept of reverse engineering as a means of understanding product assembly/disassembly as tactile activities, which can be then seamlessly represented/augmented in the digital space. The researchers of this work aim to understand the impact on the learning outcomes experienced by students when digital and tactile engineering activities are integrated in a real time dynamic manner.
To mitigate variations in standards used to assess digital activities completed by students, the authors propose employing a 3D similarity metric that quantifies the differences between digital solutions created by students and a baseline solution from which student solutions are compared against. By establishing a quantitative similarity metric to assess student solutions, variations in grading across different instructors can be minimized and scores finalized in a more timely and efficient manner.
The case study presented in this work is based on an Introduction to Engineering Design course, where freshmen students working both in individual and team based design projects are introduced to both digital and tactile activities. The research findings reveal students’ perception of 3D scanning technologies as it relates to their experiences with digital and tactile learning activities. After being introduced to digital and tactile activities, students’ performance are quantified through controlled design activities that are then assessed/graded using the proposed digital similarity metric.
Direct and Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis of Multibody Systems Using Maggi’s Equations
Authors: Dopico Daniel , Zhu Yitao , Sandu Adrian , Sandu Corina 
Published: February 2014

The importance of the sensitivity analysis of multibody systems for several applications is well known, concretely design optimization based on the dynamics of multibody systems usually requires the sensitivity analysis of the equations of motion. A broad range of methods for the dynamics of multibody systems include the state space formulations based on Maggis equations, nullspace methods or coordinate partitioning. Dynamic sensitivities, when needed, are often calculated by means of finite differences but, depending of the number of parameters involved, this procedure can be very demanding in terms of CPU time and the accuracy obtained can be very poor in many cases. In this paper, several ways to perform the sensitivity analysis are explored and analytical expressions for the direct and adjoint sensitivity analysis of multibody systems are presented, all of them based on Maggi’s formulations. Moreover, two different approaches to the adjoint sensitivity analysis of multibody systems are presented.
Although particularized to one formulation, the general expressions provided in the paper, are intended to be easily generalized and applied to any other formulation that can be expressed as an ODE-like system of equations, including penalty formulations.
Besides, to check the validity and correctness of the proposed equations, the solutions of all the methods proposed are compared: 1) between them, 2) with the third party code FATODE and 3) with the numerical solution using real and complex perturbations.
Finally, all the techniques proposed are applied to the dynamical optimization of a multibody system.
Aeroelastic Tailoring of Helicopter Blades
Authors: Cornette Donatien , Kerdreux Benjamin , Gourinat Yves , Michon Guilhem 
Published: February 2014

The dynamic loads transmitted from the rotor to the airframe are responsible for vibrations, discomfort and alternate stress of components. A new and promising way to minimize vibration is to reduce dynamic loads at their source by performing an aeroelastic optimization of the rotor.
This optimization is done thanks to couplings between the flapwise-bending motion and the torsion motion. The impact of elastic couplings (composite anisotropy) on the blade dynamic behaviour and on dynamic loads are evaluated in this paper.
Firstly, analytical results, based on a purely linear modal approach, are given to understand the influence of those couplings in terms of frequency placement, aerodynamic lift load and vertical shear modification. Then, those elastic couplings are introduced on a simplified but representative blade (homogeneous beam with constant chord) and results are presented.
Experimental Assessment of the Ride Comfort of Farm Tractors
Authors: Dominoni Stefano , Gobbi Massimiliano , Mastinu Giampiero , Previati Giorgio 
Published: February 2014

The paper is focused on the assessment of the ride comfort of that farm tractors. The problem of assessing the ride comfort is crucial due to the fact that operators spend part of their own lives on board of such machines, exposed to whole body vibrations potentially harmful for their health.
The paper deals with the experimental measurement of the relevant vibration occurring at the tractor body, at the cabin and at the seat. The focus is on which accelerations are actually relevant and have to be taken into account.
A number of farm tractors have been instrumented and run under monitored conditions. The test track was equipped with a number of cleats able to force at resonance the cabin and the seat. The six motions of the tractor body and the six motions of the cabin were measured. The motion of the seat was measured. The signals have been processed in the time domain.
Some interesting occurrence have been highlighted referring to the amplification that a badly regulated seat can provide under certain circumstances.
The comfort index was computed according with ISO 2631 and other standards. The acceleration of the seated subject was described at different positions on the body. It turned out that the acceleration of the head was particularly relevant for establishing a comparison among different tractors.
Synthetic indices have been derived from the measured data able to correlate the subjective drivers’ feeling with the measured level of vibration.
The conclusion is that for a proper comparison of the ride performance of different farm tractors a huge number of measurements are needed. There is no possibility to record only the vertical accelerations to assess the ride comfort of farm tractors.
Automatic 3D Documentation Method for Manufacturing Processes
Authors: Strang Daniel , Schüle Anselm , Anderl Reiner 
Published: February 2014

Product documentation plays an important role in product creation. Many parts of the documentation are used for manufacturing, assembly and quality assurance processes. Until today the leading document for manufacturing processes is the engineering drawing. With more complex product designs the clarity of the drawings decreases. Modern technologies enable the transition to a paperless manufacturing documentation without the need for expensive licenses. 3D-PDF technology offers a way to provide manufacturers with 3D-CAD models containing the appropriate product manufacturing information.
In this paper a generative document that provides only the essential information for certain manufacturing steps is presented. 3D-PDF technology is used to present the results to the machinist. The recommended documentation provides two different views: the input and output status of a product at a specific manufacturing station. Those views are created automatically from the ERP database containing manufacturing knowledge of the product. The presented models are supplemented with general information, e.g. material, designer, general tolerances. The limitation on necessary information for only one manufacturing step at a time increases the comprehensibility of the product documentation and thus accelerates the manufacturing process and improves product quality.
A Methodology and a Software Platform to Implement an Eco-Design Strategy in a Manufacturing Company
Authors: Germani Michele , Mandolini Marco , Marconi Marco , Dufrene Maud , Zwolinski Peggy 
Published: February 2014

During past years several eco-design methodologies have been previously defined but none can be easily integrated in the traditional design process of manufacturing companies. This paper wants to overcome this lack and aims to define a methodology, called G.EN.ESI, to help also those designers without a specific know-how on eco-design, during the development of sustainable products. The methodology has been also contextualized in the traditional product design process, re-engineering this one with new input/output data, actors and specific tools, to demonstrate the applicability in real contexts.
The re-engineered process is supported by a new set of integrated software tools, called G.EN.ESI platform. It is made of four tools for the definition of the product life cycle model, two tools for the evaluation of the environmental impact and Life Cycle Cost and a tool to guide the decision-making process during the re-design phase of a product. Furthermore, a web module to retrieve the necessary data from the supply chain subjects has been defined. Finally, the link with the CAD and PLM systems is proposed to increase the usability.
A Privacy Preserving Data Mining Methodology for Dynamically Predicting Emerging Human Threats
Authors: Manohar Gautam , Tucker Conrad 
Published: February 2014

This paper proposes a privacy preserving data mining driven methodology for predicting emerging human threats in a public space by capturing large scale, real time body movement data (spatial data represented in X, Y, Z coordinate space) using Red-Green-Blue (RGB) image, infrared depth and skeletal image sensing technology. Unlike traditional passive surveillance systems (e.g., CCTV video surveillance systems), multimodal surveillance technologies have the ability to capture multiple data streams in a real time dynamic manner. However, mathematical models based on machine learning principles are needed to convert the large-scale data into knowledge to serve as a decision support system for autonomously predicting emerging threats, rather than just recording and observing them as they occur.
To this end, the authors of this work present a privacy preserving data mining driven methodology that captures emergent behavior of individuals in a public space and classifies them as a threat or not a threat, based on the underlying body movements through space and time. An audience in a public environment is presented as the case study for this paper with the aim of classifying individuals in the audience as threats (or not), based on their temporal body behavior profiles.
Strategies for Analyzing Random Vibration of Jointed Structures
Authors: Segalman Daniel J. , Starr Michael J. , Guthrie Michael A. 
Published: February 2014

Development of mathematical models for built-up structures, particularly those with many interfaces, is still primitive. This limitation is particularly evident when complex loads and load histories are considered, an example of which is random vibration.
Two steps in simplifying this problem are explored here. First, the system response is approximated as that of the superposition of numerous decoupled modes, the coordinates of which evolve according to a constitutive model designed to capture the nonlinearity of the structure. Second, because among the categories of load for which dynamic analysis on nonlinear structures is particularly difficult is that of random loads and the resulting random vibration, and given the previous approximation, it is natural to apply the method of stochastic equivalent linearization to the governing equation of each mode. Both of these approximations are explored for the case where the nonlinear behavior of the interfaces is represented by a Masing-Prandtl-Ishlinskii-Iwan model employing a Palmov kernel.