bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Approaches Towards Efficient Use of Boar Semen in the Pig Industry
Authors: Roca J , Parrilla I , Rodriguez‐Martinez H , Gil MA , Cuello C , Vazquez JM , Martinez EA 
Published: March 2012

ContentsThe current cervical artificial insemination (CAI) procedure, involving deposition of excessive sperm numbers, is uneconomical for pig industry. The most obvious alternative requires uterine deposition in combination with fixed‐time AI, which would reduce the number of sperm required per pregnant sow, thus allowing the best use of valuable boars and, ultimately, the commercial integration of frozen–thawed and sexed sperm. This review depicts possible best ways to implement an efficient use of liquid‐stored, frozen–thawed and sexed sperm by the pig industry.
Review on International Trade with Boar Semen
Authors: Riesenbeck A 
Published: March 2012

ContentsFor more than 40 years, AI (artificial insemination) has been carried out with pigs. In some countries, it constitutes since the 1990s the dominant procedure with piglet production to fertilize the sow. This procedure of insemination with fresh semen has become prevalent in all countries on a worldwide basis with an important pig meat production, with the exception of China. Meanwhile, up to 90% of the sows have been artificially inseminated. The trend is still upwards. As the need of pig meat and thus the production continues to increase, one can proceed on the assumption that the number of semen doses, which is necessary for this procedure, will likewise increase correspondingly. Until now, the trade beyond borders has only been marginal. An improvement in the sense of a longer shelf life for semen doses is indispensable for the trade over longer distances.
Feedback interventions for improving self‐awareness after brain injury: A protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial
Authors: Schmidt Julia , Fleming Jennifer , Ownsworth Tamara , Lannin Natasha , Khan Asad 
Published: March 2012

BackgroundOccupational therapists working in brain injury rehabilitation use functional tasks as a means of providing feedback to improve self‐awareness of people who have a brain injury and ultimately improve their occupational performance.PurposeTo compare the effectiveness of video, verbal and experiential feedback for improving self‐awareness in people with traumatic brain injury.MethodsA randomised controlled trial will be conducted to compare the efficacy of video and verbal feedback during occupational therapy. Fifty‐four participants with traumatic brain injury will be randomly allocated into three intervention groups: (i) video plus verbal feedback, (ii) verbal feedback and (iii) experiential feedback (control condition). Participants will receive the allocated intervention based on performance of a meal preparation task. The intervention sessions will occur four times during a two‐week period. Blinded assessment will occur at baseline, post‐intervention, and two months follow up. The primary outcome will be a measure of on‐line self‐awareness (number of self‐corrected and therapist corrected errors). Secondary outcomes to be assessed include levels of intellectual self‐awareness, emotional distress, and acceptance of disability. Data will be analysed using an intention to treat approach. Linear mixed effects models will be used to investigate the intervention effects.Findings and ImplicationsResults will contribute to evidence‐based guidelines to support therapists to choose the most effective form of feedback for people with decreased self‐awareness after traumatic brain injury.
Collaboration with teachers: A survey of South Australian occupational therapists' perceptions and experiences
Authors: Kennedy Sarah , Stewart Hugh 
Published: March 2012

Background/aimEarly intervention and the development of integrated coordinated services in schools has created a greater need for effective collaboration between health and education professionals. The present study aimed to explore South Australian occupational therapists' perceptions and experiences of collaboration with school teachers in providing services to kindergarten and school‐aged children.MethodsA survey was employed to capture the perceptions and experiences of 45 occupational therapists, working with kindergarten and school‐aged children in South Australia. Descriptive exploratory statistical analysis of the data obtained was performed using SPSS version 17, followed by thematic analysis for extended text responses to compile and identify predominant themes.ResultsThe results indicated a high level of consensus among participants for what constitutes collaborative practice, low levels of implementation indicated that differences exist between perceptions and experiences of best practice. Participants showed ambivalence about the success of, and satisfaction with, their own collaborative practice.ConclusionsThe present study has confirmed consistency with existing literature that the best practice principles for collaboration are not implemented in the field. The findings have implications for current practice to address the challenges of collaborative work. Further research into the efficacy of collaboration and investigation of appropriate models and systems, which support collaboration is proposed to facilitate best practice in South Australia.
Lymph node count threshold for optimal pelvic lymph node staging in prostate cancer
Authors: Abdollah Firas , Sun Maxine , Thuret Rodolphe , Jeldres Claudio , Tian Zhe , Briganti Alberto , Shariat Shahrokh F , Perrotte Paul , Montorsi Francesco , Karakiewicz Pierre I 
Published: March 2012

Objectives:  To test the relationship between the extent of pelvic lymph node dissection at radical prostatectomy and the rate of lymph node metastases, and to identify the ideal number of lymph nodes that should be removed to achieve an optimal staging.Methods:  We assessed 20 789 prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection between 2004 and 2006. Receiver operating characteristics analyses were used to define the probability of correctly staging lymph node metastases patients according to lymph node count. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses tested the relationship between lymph node count and lymph node metastases rate.Results:  The average lymph node count was 6.4 (median 5.0). Overall, the lymph node metastases rate was 2.5%; and it resulted to be 0.2, 1.5 and 6.7% in low, intermediate and high‐risk tumors, respectively. The rate of lymph node metastases was 3.5 and 6.7% in patients with 10 and 20 lymph node count, respectively. Removing 20 lymph nodes yielded a 90% probability of correctly staging lymph node metastases, regardless of risk group. In multivariable analysis, lymph node count was an independent predictor of lymph node metastases stage (odds ratio: 1.07, P < 0.001).Conclusions:  A direct relationship might exist between the extent of pelvic lymph node dissection and the lymph node metastases rate. An extended pelvic lymph node dissection with at least 20 lymph nodes would offer correct lymph node staging in 90% of cases, regardless of tumor characteristics. This cut‐off might be considered adequate by most surgeons. Such a high lymph node yield necessitates an anatomically extended pelvic lymph node dissection.
Gonadotropin‐releasing hormone: An update review of the antagonists versus agonists
Authors: Van Poppel Hein , Klotz Laurence 
Published: March 2012

AbstractGonadotropin‐releasing hormone agonists and antagonists provide androgen‐deprivation therapy for prostate cancer. Unlike agonists, gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonists have a direct mode of action to block pituitary gonadotropin‐releasing hormone receptors. There are two licensed gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonists, degarelix and abarelix. Of these, degarelix is the more extensively studied and has been documented to be more effective than the well‐established, first‐line agonist, leuprolide, in terms of substantially faster onset of castration, faster suppression of prostate‐specific antigen, no risk for testosterone surge or clinical flare, and improved prostate‐specific antigen progression‐free survival, suggesting a delay in castration resistance. Other than minor injection‐site reactions, degarelix is generally well tolerated, without systemic allergic reactions and with most adverse events consistent with androgen suppression or the underlying condition. In conclusion, degarelix provides a rational, first‐line androgen‐deprivation therapy suitable for the treatment of prostate cancer, with faster onset of castration than with agonists, and no testosterone surge. Furthermore, data suggest that degarelix improves disease control compared with leuprolide, and might delay the onset of castration‐resistant disease. In view of these clinical benefits and the lack of need for concomitant anti‐androgen treatment, gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonists might replace gonadotropin‐releasing hormone agonists as first‐line androgen‐deprivation therapy in the future.
Detection and localization of multiple cracks in a stepped shaft
Authors: SINGH S. K. , TIWARI R. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTThe presence of a crack in a shaft causes a slope discontinuity in the elastic line of the shaft. There are crack detection techniques, available in the literature, exploiting the slope discontinuity arising because of the crack in the shaft. Steps present in a shaft are expected to interfere with the results obtained through these identification techniques based upon slope discontinuity. It would be even more difficult to identify a crack if it is near a step as both the step and the crack will cause slope discontinuities. A multi‐crack identification technique has been developed (Singh S. K. and Tiwari R. (2010). Mech. Machine Theory 45, 1813–1827; Singh S. K., Tiwari R. and Talukdar S. (2009). IUTAM Proc. in Recent Trends in Rotor Dynamics, March 23–26, IIT Delhi, India) which uses shaft‐forced responses at several frequencies to identify the number of cracks and their locations over the shaft. The algorithm uses normalization of quadratic coefficients obtained from measured responses of a cracked shaft and from simulated responses of the intact shaft for detecting the slope discontinuity. In the present work, the effect of steps in the shaft on crack identification has been analysed. Cracks are assumed to be both near the step and far from the step. The identification algorithm works well for both the simulation cases.
Fracture analysis of functionally graded materials with U‐ and V‐notches under mode I loading using the averaged strain‐energy density criterion
Authors: MEHRAN S. , ROUHI S. , RAMZANI B. , BARATI E. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTOne of the most powerful criteria to predict the critical fracture load in plates with notches is the strain‐energy density averaged over a well‐defined control volume ahead of the notch tip. Although the averaged strain‐energy density (ASED) criterion has been proposed for homogeneous materials, it has been shown in this paper that this criterion can also be applied for non‐homogeneous materials, especially for functionally graded materials (FGMs). A numerical method has been used to evaluate the control volume boundary, the averaged strain‐energy density over the control volume, and also the critical fracture load in FGMs under mode I loading. A new set of experimental results on fracture of blunt V‐notched samples made of austenitic–martensitic functionally graded steel under mode I loading have been provided.
A cumulative damage model for fatigue life estimation of high‐strength steels in high‐cycle and very‐high‐cycle fatigue regimes
Authors: SUN C. , XIE J. , ZHAO A. , LEI Z. , HONG Y. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTA cumulative fatigue damage model is presented to estimate fatigue life for high‐strength steels in high‐cycle and very‐high‐cycle fatigue regimes with fish‐eye mode failure, and a simple formula is obtained. The model takes into account the inclusion size, fine granular area (FGA) size, and tensile strength of materials. Then, the ‘equivalent crack growth rate’ of FGA is proposed. The model is used to estimate the fatigue life and equivalent crack growth rate for a bearing steel (GCr15) of present investigation and four high‐strength steels in the literature. The equivalent crack growth rate of FGA is calculated to be of the order of magnitude of 10−14–10−11 m/cycle. The estimated results accord well with the present experimental results and prior predictions and experimental results in the literature. Moreover, the effect of inclusion size on fatigue life is discussed. It is indicated that the inclusion size has an important influence on the fatigue life, and the effect is related to the relative size of inclusion for FGA. For the inclusion size close to the FGA size, the former has a substantial effect on the fatigue life. While for the relatively large value of FGA size to inclusion size, it has little effect on the fatigue life.
Mechanical and fracture–mechanical properties of geosynthetic reinforced asphalt systems
Authors: JAMEK M. , TSCHEGG E. K. , LUGMAYR R. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTGeosynthetic interlayers in asphalt systems have become a convenient technology for lifetime prolongation in road construction engineering. Established testing methods for characterizing construction materials can be used to describe and evaluate these innovative systems. This study compares three groups of asphalt interlayer systems (stress absorbing membrane interlayer = SAMI, asphalt reinforcement, SAMI + asphalt reinforcement) represented by 10 different geosynthetic interlayers in terms of crack growth resistance and strength. The results will be presented in relation to asphalt reference systems without interlayer. The mechanical and fracture–mechanical properties were determined by means of the wedge splitting test (WST) according to Tschegg and partially by the pull‐out test. Due to temperature dependences of the material properties of asphalt, the tests have been performed at −10 °C, 0 °C and +10 °C specimen temperature.
Fatigue and Impact Behaviour of Carbon Fibre Composite Bicycle Forks
Authors: SISNEROS P. M. , YANG P. , EL‐HAJJAR R. F. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTThe use of carbon fibre‐based polymeric composites in bicycle components has dramatically increased in the last few decades. This paper presents the results of fatigue and impact testing on bicycle forks that are known to have quality‐related manufacturing defects. In the investigation performed, acoustic emission testing is used to monitor crack growth during fatigue loading and impact. The results show three distinct stages in composite fatigue failure related to initiation, propagation and final growth. Implications of the results on design and testing of composite bicycle components are addressed pointing to a greater need in understanding current design procedures.
Fatigue damage analysis based on energy parameters in reinforced polyamide
Authors: CARRASCAL I. A. , CASADO J. A. , DIEGO S. , POLANCO J. A. , GUTIÉRREZ‐SOLANA F. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTThis article proposes an analysis method for the identification of the damage caused in a reinforced polyamide fatigue process through the evolution of the generated energy per cycle. Monotonous fatigue tests have been carried out at different stress levels using Polyamide 6 reinforced with short fibre glass tensile specimens. The loss of mechanical properties is measured using a damage parameter, defined as the variation in energy per cycle with respect to the initial conditions. Three clearly differentiated zones can be distinguished in the evolution of damage as a function of the energy per cycle. The first zone is one of deaccelerated rapid growth; in the second, the damage grows linearly, so that the damage growth speed can be determined as a function of the potential of variation of the stress applied; and finally, the third is a zone of accelerated growth of the damage until fracture.
Numerical and experimental studies on fracture process of recycled concrete
Authors: XIAO J. , LIU Q. , WU Y. C. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTIn this paper, an improved lattice model of heterogeneous cohesive frictional solids is developed to simulate the fracture process of recycled concrete under tensile and compressive loadings. In this numerical simulation, the recycled concrete is considered as a composite material of five phases, including natural aggregates, old hardened mortar (HM), new HM, new interfacial transition zone (ITZ) and old ITZ. In addition to the numerical simulation, a series of laboratory tests are designed to investigate the failure process of the recycled concrete. The fracture process of the numerical simulation is in a satisfactory agreement with the experimental observations. It is demonstrated that the cracks always appear around ITZs at first, extend to old HM secondly and then to new HM in the recycled concrete. Under the condition of this investigation, the simulated stress–strain relationship of recycled concrete is fit well with the laboratory test results under tensile loadings.
Monitoring airborne biotic contaminants in the indoor environment of pig and poultry confinement buildings
Authors: Hong Pei‐Ying , Li Xiangzhen , Yang Xufei , Shinkai Takumi , Zhang Yuanhui , Wang Xinlei , Mackie Roderick I. 
Published: March 2012

SummaryGiven the growing concerns over human and animal health issues related to confined animal feeding operations, an in‐depth examination is required to monitor for airborne bacteria and associated antibiotic resistance genes. Our 16S rRNA‐based pyrosequencing revealed that the airborne microbial community skewed towards a higher abundance of Firmicutes (> 59.2%) and Bacteroidetes (4.2–31.4%) within the confinement buildings, while the office environment was predominated by Proteobacteria (55.2%). Furthermore, bioaerosols in the confinement buildings were sporadically associated with genera of potential pathogens, and these genera were more frequently observed in the bioaerosols of pig and layer hen confinement than the turkey confinement buildings and office environment. High abundances of tetracycline resistance genes (9.55 × 102to 1.69 × 106copies ng−1DNA) were also detected in the bioaerosols sampled from confinement buildings. Bacterial lineages present in the poultry bioaerosols clustered apart from those present in the pig bioaerosols and among the different phases of pig production, suggesting that different livestock as well as production phase were associated with a distinct airborne microbial community. By understanding the diversity of biotic contaminants associated with the different confinement buildings, this study facilitates the implementation of better management strategies to minimize potential health impacts on both livestock and humans working in this environment.
Renal haemorrhage risk after extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy: results from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination Database
Authors: Sugihara Toru , Yasunaga Hideo , Horiguchi Hiromasa , Nishimatsu Hiroaki , Hirano Yoshikazu , Matsuda Shinya , Homma Yukio 
Published: March 2012

Study Type – Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?Renal haemorrhage is a severe adverse event of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy with an incidence of about 0.5%. This rarity had made comparative studies among lithotripter models difficult. This study examines a large number of cases and models to reveal risk factors for postoperative renal haemorrhage.OBJECTIVE
To assess clinical and mechanical risk factors of clinically significant renal haemorrhage after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patient data were extracted from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database from 6 months per each year, 2006–2008. The availability of lithotripters in each hospital was identified. We performed logistic regression analysis, which included the generator type (electrohydraulic, electromagnetic or piezoelectric), age, gender, laterality of stones (right, left or uncertain), location of stones (kidney, ureter or uncertain), total number of treatment sessions, anaesthesia and hospital volume (HV), focal size (greater or less than 400 mm3) and F2 angle (greater or less than 70°). Renal haemorrhage events were identified within the database.
RESULTS
Overall, 81 renal haemorrhage events in 26 969 patients (32 476 ESWL sessions) at 482 hospitals with 38 lithotripter models were identified. The incidence of events was 0.50% with renal stones and 0.14% with ureter stones. Specifications of 34 lithotripter models were available. Use of piezoelectric lithotripters (vs electromagnettic, OR 0.13, P= 0.044) and high HV (≥140/year, vs ≤70/year, OR 0.49, P= 0.012) significantly decreased the risk of renal haemorrhage events. Age, gender, focal size and F2 angle did not show statistical significance.
CONCLUSION
There is a low incidence of renal haemorrhage after ESWL. The less invasive nature of piezoelectric lithotripters and an inverse volume–outcome relationship with ESWL procedures was revealed. Age, focal size and F2 angle do not appear to have a significant impact on renal haemorrhage.
Use of the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument as a measure of distal symmetrical peripheral neuropathy in Type 1 diabetes: results from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications
Authors: Herman W. H. , Pop‐Busui R. , Braffett B. H. , Martin C. L. , Cleary P. A. , Albers J. W. , Feldman E. L. ,   The DCCT/EDIC Research Group
Published: March 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 937–944 (2012)AbstractAims  The Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) is used to assess distal symmetrical peripheral neuropathy in diabetes. It includes two separate assessments: a 15‐item self‐administered questionnaire and a lower extremity examination that includes inspection and assessment of vibratory sensation and ankle reflexes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the MNSI in detecting distal symmetrical peripheral neuropathy in patients with Type 1 diabetes and to develop new scoring algorithms.Methods  The MNSI was performed by trained personnel at each of the 28 Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications clinical sites. Neurologic examinations and nerve conduction studies were performed during the same year. Confirmed clinical neuropathy was defined by symptoms and signs of distal symmetrical peripheral neuropathy based on the examination of a neurologist and abnormal nerve conduction findings in ≥ 2 anatomically distinct nerves among the sural, peroneal and median nerves.Results  We studied 1184 subjects with Type 1 diabetes. Mean age was 47 years and duration of diabetes was 26 years. Thirty per cent of participants had confirmed clinical neuropathy, 18% had ≥ 4 and 5% had ≥ 7 abnormal responses on the MNSI questionnaire, and 33% had abnormal scores (≥ 2.5) on the MNSI examination. New scoring algorithms were developed and cut points defined to improve the performance of the MNSI questionnaire, examination and the combination of the two.Conclusions  Altering the cut point to define an abnormal test from ≥ 7 abnormal to ≥ 4 abnormal items improves the performance of the MNSI questionnaire. The MNSI is a simple, non‐invasive and valid measure of distal symmetrical peripheral neuropathy in Type 1 diabetes.