bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Correlation between Subcutaneous Knee Fat Thickness and Chondromalacia Patellae on Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Knee
Authors: Kok Hong Kuan , Donnellan John , Ryan Davinia , Torreggiani William C. 
Published: August 2012

Purpose Chondromalacia patellae is a common cause of anterior knee pain in young patients and can be detected noninvasively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The purpose of our study was to evaluate the correlation between subcutaneous fat thickness around the knee joint on axial MRIs as a surrogate marker of obesity, with the presence or absence of chondromalacia patellae. Methods A retrospective review was conducted of knee MRIs in 170 patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria. Imaging was performed over a 12-month period on a 1.5T MRI system with a dedicated extremity coil. Two radiologists experienced in musculoskeletal imaging assessed each examination in consensus for the presence or absence of chondromalacia patellae and graded positive studies from 0 (absent) to 3 (full cartilage thickness defect). Measurement of subcutaneous knee fat thickness was obtained on the medial aspect of the knee. Results MRI findings of chondromalacia patellae were present in 33 patients (19.4%), of which, there were 11 grade 1 lesions (33.3%), 9 grade 2 lesions (27.3%), and 13 grade 3 lesions (39.4%). The mean subcutaneous knee fat thickness was significantly higher in the chondromalacia patellae group for all grades compared with the normal group ( P < .001), and there was a significant correlation between subcutaneous knee fat thickness and grades of chondromalacia patellae ( R = 0.48 [95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.68]; P < .001). Female patients had thicker subcutaneous knee fat and more severe grades of chondromalacia patellae. Conclusion Subcutaneous knee fat thickness as a surrogate marker of obesity was positively associated with the presence and severity of chondromalacia patellae on MRI.
Physical Activity Patterns and Quality of Life of Overweight Boys: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Lin Chung-Ying , Su Chia-Ting , Ma Hui-lng 
Published: August 2012

Objective We compared the physical activity (PA) patterns and the quality of life (QoL) between overweight and normal-weight boys, and examined the relationship between PA and QoL of overweight boys. Methods Eighteen overweight boys (age range: 8–10 years, mean ± standard deviation: 9.36 ± 0.82 years) and 18 age-matched, normal-weight counterparts (age range: 8–10 years, mean ± standard deviation: 9.01 ± 0.65 years) participated in this study. All participants were in the 3rd or 4th grade. Each boy completed a QoL questionnaire and wore an accelerometer on his waist for a week to measure his PA during that period. Independent t tests were used to examine the differences in QoL and PA between the overweight and normal-weight boys. Paired t tests were used to test the differences in PA between weekdays and weekend days for each group. Finally, Pearson correlations were used to analyze the relationships between PA and QoL in overweight boys. Results Overweight boys reported a significantly lower QoL, and participated in significantly less PA on weekends than did normal-weight boys. A moderate and marginally significant correlation was found between PA on weekends and QoL in overweight boys. Conclusion Our findings suggest the importance of increasing weekend PA for overweight boys. Occupational therapists should encourage overweight boys to engage in PA that the boys are interested in on weekends, and conduct a PA program for overweight boys.
The role of agencies in policy-making
Authors: Bach Tobias , Niklasson Birgitta , Painter Martin 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThere is an extensive literature on the proliferation of agencies and the delegation of authority to such bodies across different countries. Much of this research asks whether New Public Management (NPM)-style agencification reforms have been implemented according to the original objectives, and what consequences – intended or unintended – the reforms have produced. Yet much of this research lacks an explicit link to the literature on the policymaking functions of public bureaucracies and their interactions with elected politicians. What are the consequences of agencification for the policy process at large? What policy relevant tasks do agencies perform, to what extent are they involved in policy-making, and what factors influence the quality and quantity of their participation? This introductory article gives an overview of key concepts such as “public agencies” and “policy autonomy” and the research literature. Moreover, it critically discusses relevant theoretical perspectives, outlines the articles included in this themed issue and argues for a more systematic and theoretically guided analysis of agencies’ role in policy-making.
Finite Element Based Point Stress Criterion for Predicting the Notched Strengths of Composite Plates
Authors: Tsai K.-H. , Hwan C.-L. , Lin M.-J. , Huang Y. S. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn this study, a novel procedure has been developed for predicting the notched strengths of composite plates each with a center hole. In this approach, the stress distribution of a composite plate with a center hole is first obtained by a finite element analysis, in which the experimental notched strength is applied at the boundary of the finite element model. Secondly, the point stress criterion (PSC) is used to find the characteristic length for each plate with different size of hole by an interpolation of the finite element analysis results. The characteristic length is then expressed as an empirical function of the hole size as well as the width of the plate. Finally, the notched strengths of composite plates are predicted based on the empirical function and the finite element analysis results incorporated with the principle of superposition in elasticity. For validation, three different cases from the literatures are adopted for comparison. It is shown that the predicted notched strengths by this new methodology agree well with both the experimental results and the results from analytical solutions based PSC.
Parallel Iterative Solution Schemes for the Analysis of Air Foil Bearings
Authors: Wang N. , Chang S.-H. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn an air foil bearing analysis the model is usually solved iteratively due in part to the nonlinearity of the modeling Reynolds equation and the compliance of the bearing surface. The solution procedure requires a multiple-level-deep nested iteration, which involves extended solution time and convergence difficulty. In this study, a simple air foil bearing model is used and the compressible-fluid Reynolds equation for modeling gas lubrication is linearized by Newton's method. The discretized equation is solved by one of the two parallel iterative methods, red-black or strip partition successive-over-relaxation (SOR) method. The parallel programming is conducted using OpenMP programming in an eight-core work-station. Then, a numerical damping scheme for the film-profile convergence is presented. Finally, a root-finding process is conducted to iteratively attain the eccentricity of the bearing for a given load. It is found that the numerical damping step is crucial, which allows the use of a larger relaxation factor to have a fast rate of convergence. Both the parallel SOR methods are easy to implement and the red-black SOR method exhibits better efficiency in the studied cases. This study presents a parallel computing scheme for analyzing air foil bearing of bump-type by today's shared-memory multicore platforms.
The Influence of Diameter-to-Thickness Ratios on the Response and Collapse of Sharp-Notched Circular Tubes under Cyclic Bending
Authors: Lee K.-L. , Hsu C.-M. , Pan W.-F. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThis paper discusses an experimental investigation of the behavior of sharp-notched circular tubes subjected to cyclic bending. The sharp-notched circular tubes of 304 stainless steel with three different diameter-to-thickness ratios (Do / t) were tested under symmetric curvature-controlled cyclic bending. It has been shown that the moment-curvature curves exhibited the loops with cyclic hardening and gradually becoming steady after a few cycles for all tested tubes. The ovalization-curvature curves revealed unsymmetric, ratcheting and increasing behavior with the number of cycles. In addition, five almost parallel lines corresponding to five different notch depths for each Do / t ratio were found from the experimental relationship between the cyclic controlled curvature and the number of cycles necessary to produce buckling on a log-log scale. Finally, an empirical relationship was proposed so it could be used for simulating the aforementioned relationship. By comparing with the experimental finding, the derived empirical relationship was in good agreement with the experimental data.
Buckling Equations of Orthotropic Thin Plates
Authors: Kuo S.-R. , Yau J. D. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractConventionally, only three components of stress, i.e., the membrane stresses (1σxx, 1σyy, 1σxy) in x-y plane along span directions, are considered in deriving the buckling equations of thin plates using energy approaches. Of particular interest in this study is to take all the six components of stress into account in formulating the potential energy for an orthotropic plate. By invoking the conditions of stress equilibrium for the plate and Green's theorem to relate the potential energy to external virtual works, all the instability potential terms associated with the non-conventional stresses (1σxz, 1σyz, 1σzz) can either cancel those terms conventionally referred to as higher-order terms or combine with them to yield some new but meaningful terms. For this reason, the present approach contains more physical and compact meaning than conventional ones in the process of derivation. With the present governing differential equations, bending buckling problems of orthotropic rectangular plates will be investigated in this study.
Nurbs-Based Profile Reconstruction using Constrained Fitting Techniques
Authors: Imani B. M. , Hashemian S. A. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractOrdered data point cloud obtained by laser-scanning, image processing or contact digitizing techniques is widely used for reconstructing a cross section profile in the field of reverse engineering. In this research, a comprehensive algorithm for reconstruction of 2D profile is developed based on NURBS parametric curve theory. In this regard, the line, arc and B-spline segments are firstly extracted from the set of ordered data points using a developed segment detection algorithm. Then, the final profile is reconstructed using the newly proposed algorithm of constrained local fitting which approximates these segments by NURBS curves with appropriate geometric continuity conditions. The validity, capability and functionality of the developed method are investigated by some practical case studies. Results show that developed algorithm can be integrated and improve the functionality of exiting reverse engineering systems.
THE DISCRETENESS OF SPECTRUM FOR HIGHER-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS IN WEIGHTED FUNCTION SPACES
Authors: ZHANG MAOZHU , SUN JIONG , AO JIJUN 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn this paper we consider the discreteness of spectrum for higher-order differential operators in weighted function spaces. Using the method of embedding theorems of weighted Sobolev spaces Hnp in weighted spaces Ls,r, we obtain a new sufficient and necessary condition to ensure that the spectrum is discrete, which can be easily used to judge the discreteness of some differential operators.
Highly viscous guar gum shifts dietary amino acids from metabolic use to fermentation substrate in domestic cats
Authors: Rochus Kristel , Janssens Geert P. J. , Van de Velde Hannelore , Verbrugghe Adronie , Wuyts Birgitte , Vanhaecke Lynn , Hesta Myriam 
Published: August 2012

The present study evaluated the potential of affecting amino acid metabolism through intestinal fermentation in domestic cats, using dietary guar gum as a model. Apparent protein digestibility, plasma fermentation metabolites, faecal fermentation end products and fermentation kinetics (exhaled breath hydrogen concentrations) were evaluated. Ten cats were randomly assigned to either guar gum- or cellulose-supplemented diets, that were fed in two periods of 5 weeks in a crossover design. No treatment effect was seen on fermentation kinetics. The apparent protein digestibility (P= 0·07) tended to be lower in guar gum-supplemented cats. As a consequence of impaired small-intestinal protein digestion and amino acid absorption, fermentation of these molecules in the large intestine was stimulated. Amino acid fermentation has been shown to produce high concentrations of acetic and butyric acids. Therefore, no treatment effect on faecal propionic acid or plasma propionylcarnitine was observed in the present study. The ratio of faecal butyric acid:total SCFA tended to be higher in guar gum-supplemented cats (P= 0·05). The majority of large-intestinal butyric acid is absorbed by colonocytes and metabolised to 3-hydroxy-butyrylcoenzyme A, which is then absorbed into the bloodstream. This metabolite was analysed in plasma as 3-hydroxy-butyrylcarnitine, which was higher (P= 0·02) in guar gum-supplemented cats. In all probability, the high viscosity of the guar gum supplement was responsible for the impaired protein digestion and amino acid absorption. Further research is warranted to investigate whether partially hydrolysed guar gum is useful to potentiate the desirablein vivoeffects of this fibre supplement.
Annual variations in body-size spectra of planktonic ciliate communities and their relationships to environmental conditions: a case study in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China
Authors: Xu Henglong , Jiang Yong , Zhang Wei , Zhu Mingzhuang , Al-Rasheid Khaled A. S. , Warren Alan 
Published: August 2012

The annual variations in body-size spectra of planktonic ciliate communities and their relationships to environmental conditions were studied based on a 12-month dataset (June 2007 to May 2008) from Jiaozhou Bay on the Yellow Sea coast of northern China. Based on the dataset, the body sizes of the ciliates, expressed as equivalent spherical diameters, included five ranks: S1 (5–35 μm); S2 (35–55 μm); S3 (55–75 μm); S4 (75–100 μm); and S5 (100–350 μm). These body-size ranks showed a clear temporal succession of dominance in the order of S2 (January–April) → S1 (May–July) → S4 (August–September) → S3 (October–December). Multivariate analyses showed that the temporal variations in their body-size patterns were significantly correlated with changes in environmental conditions, especially water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) and nutrients. In terms of abundance, rank S2 was significantly correlated with water temperature, DO and nutrients, whereas ranks S4 and S5 were correlated with the salinity and nutrients respectively (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the body-size patterns of planktonic ciliate communities showed a clear temporal pattern during an annual cycle and significantly associated with environmental conditions in marine ecosystems.
Association between anxiety but not depressive disorders and leukocyte telomere length after 2 years of follow-up in a population-based sample
Authors: Hoen P. W. , Rosmalen J. G. M. , Schoevers R. A. , Huzen J. , van der Harst P. , de Jonge P. 
Published: August 2012

BackgroundTelomere length is considered an emerging marker of biological aging. Depression and anxiety are associated with excess mortality risk but the mechanisms remain obscure. Telomere length might be involved because it is associated with psychological distress and mortality. The aim of this study was to test whether anxiety and depressive disorders predict telomere length over time in a large population-based sample.MethodAll analyses were performed in a longitudinal study in a general population cohort of 974 participants. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to measure the presence of anxiety and depressive disorders. Telomere length was measured using monochrome multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at approximately 2 years of follow-up. We used linear multivariable regression models to evaluate the association between anxiety and depressive disorders and telomere length, adjusting for adverse life events, lifestyle factors, educational level and antidepressant use.ResultsThe presence of anxiety disorders predicted shorter telomeres at follow-up (β = –0.073,t = –2.302,p = 0.022). This association was similar after controlling for adverse life events, lifestyle factors, educational level and antidepressant use (β = –0.077,t = –2.144,p = 0.032). No association was found between depressive disorders and shorter telomeres at follow-up (β = 0.010,t = 0.315,p = 0.753).ConclusionsThis study found that anxiety disorders predicted shorter telomere length at follow-up in a general population cohort. The association was not explained by adverse life events, lifestyle factors, educational level and antidepressant use. How anxiety disorders might lead to accelerated telomere shortening and whether this might be a mediator explaining the excess mortality risk associated with anxiety deserve further investigation.
Estimating and managing blowout risk during access to subglacial Antarctic lakes
Authors: Brito Mario P. , Griffiths Gwyn , Mowlem Matthew , Makinson Keith 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAs Antarctic subglacial lake research progresses toin situexploration an important topic is the lake's probable gas concentration. Depending on hydrological setting, subglacial lakes may contain large amounts of dissolved gas or gas trapped within clathrates. Consequently, access can be potentially dangerous due to the risk of blowout where depressurization could lead to high-speed ejection of water and gas from a borehole. We present a structured approach to assess the blowout risk in subglacial lake exploration. The approach integrates a generic event tree, applicable to open and closed hydrological systems, with site-specific expert judgment incorporating rigorous probabilistic formulations. The methodology is applied to a motivating example: Ellsworth Subglacial Lake. Judgments elicited through a formal process were provided by five experts with 88 years combined experience that, after aggregation, gave a median risk of blowout of 1 in 2186 with a lower quartile of 1 in 3433 and an upper quartile of 1 in 1341. This approach can be applied to any subglacial lake given a modicum of knowledge on its hydrological setting, as uncertainty can be captured through the elicited judgments. Additionally, the event tree analysis informs blowout mitigation strategies to reduce risk of injury or death.
Intraosseous Access in the Prehospital Setting: Literature Review
Authors: Olaussen Alexander , Williams Brett 
Published: August 2012

AbstractBackgroundAlthough the majority of Australian intensive care paramedics use the manual intraosseous infusion technique (MAN-IO), several other semiautomatic devices now are available, such as the bone injection gun (BIG) and the semiautomatic intraosseous infusion system (EZ-IO). Given the choice of devices now available, questions have been raised regarding success rates, accuracy, decay of skills, and adverse events.ObjectivesReview the literature regarding the use of intraosseous (IO) devices in the prehospital setting.MethodsSelected electronic databases (Medline, Embase, and CINAHL) were searched, and a hand search was conducted for grey-literature that included studies from the commencement of the process to the end of May 2010. Inclusion criteria were any study reporting intraosseous insertion and/or infusion (adult and pediatric) by paramedics in the prehospital setting.FindingsThe search located 2,100 articles; 20 articles met the inclusion criteria. The review also noted that use of IO access (regardless of technique) offers a safe and simple method for gaining access to the patients’ vascular system. A number of studies found that the use of semiautomatic devices offers better and faster intraosseous access compared with the use of manual devices, and also were associated with fewer complications. The findings also suggest that the use of semiautomatic devices can reduce insertion times and the number of insertion attempts when contrasted with the use of manual insertion techniques. Despite these findings, statistically no specific IO device has proven clinical superiority.ConclusionWhile manual IO techniques currently are used by the majority of Australian paramedics, the currently available evidence suggests that semiautomatic devices are more effective. Further research, including cost-benefit analyses, is required at a national level to examine skill acquisition, adverse effects, and whether comparative devices offer clinically significant advantages.OlaussenA,WilliamsB.Intraosseous access in the prehospital setting: literature review.Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(5):1-5.
Birth weight and obesity risk at first grade of high school in a non-concurrent cohort of Chilean children
Authors: Loaiza Susana , Atalah Eduardo 
Published: August 2012

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the association of birth weight with obesity risk at first grade of high school in Chilean children after accounting for potential confounding factors.DesignNational non-concurrent cohort of newborns. Sociodemographic information, height, weight and anthropometric measurements at first grade of high school were analysed. Birth weight was classified as macrosomia (≥4000 g), by gestational age and by ponderal index. The relationship between birth weight and obesity at first grade of high school (BMI ≥ 95th percentile of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's reference) was assessed using logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic information at delivery.SettingFirst grade of public high school of low and middle socio-economic status in the whole country (about 77 % of Chilean children in this age group).SubjectsNewborns (n 119 070) and the same number of high-school students.ResultsA positive relationship of high ponderal index (OR = 1·86, 95 % CI 1·69, 2·03), birth weight ≥4000 g (OR = 1·66, 95 % CI 1·54, 1·78) and large for gestational age (OR = 1·69, 95 % CI 1·58, 1·81) with obesity at adolescence (P < 0·001) was found. Macrosomic children had a higher risk of being obese at first grade of high school after controlling for prenatal confounding variables (OR = 1·63, 95 % CI 1·52, 1·76; P < 0·001).ConclusionsA direct relationship between high birth weight and obesity at first grade of high school was observed in this group of Chilean children. The results highlight the significance of birth weight as a simple tool to be used as an indicator of obesity risk for children by health-care providers.