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Expected Trend (expected + trend)
Selected AbstractsAnalysis of the mechanical behavior of a titanium scaffold with a repeating unit-cell substructureJOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009Garrett Ryan Abstract Titanium scaffolds with controlled microarchitecture have been developed for load bearing orthopedic applications. The controlled microarchitecture refers to a repeating array of unit-cells, composed of sintered titanium powder, which make up the scaffold structure. The objective of this current research was to characterize the mechanical performance of three scaffolds with increasing porosity, using finite element analysis (FEA) and to compare the results with experimental data. Scaffolds were scanned using microcomputed tomography and FEA models were generated from the resulting computer models. Macroscale and unit-cell models of the scaffolds were created. The material properties of the sintered titanium powders were first evaluated in mechanical tests and the data used in the FEA. The macroscale and unit-cell FEA models proved to be a good predictor of Young's modulus and yield strength. Although macroscale models showed similar failure patterns and an expected trend in UCS, strain at UCS did not compare well with experimental data. Since a rapid prototyping method was used to create the scaffolds, the original CAD geometries of the scaffold were also evaluated using FEA but they did not reflect the mechanical properties of the physical scaffolds. This indicates that at present, determining the actual geometry of the scaffold through computed tomography imaging is important. Finally, a fatigue analysis was performed on the scaffold to simulate the loading conditions it would experience as a spinal interbody fusion device. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 2009 [source] Identification of asymmetric prediction intervals through causal forcesJOURNAL OF FORECASTING, Issue 4 2001J. Scott Armstrong Abstract When causal forces are specified, the expected direction of the trend can be compared with the trend based on extrapolation. Series in which the expected trend conflicts with the extrapolated trend are called contrary series. We hypothesized that contrary series would have asymmetric forecast errors, with larger errors in the direction of the expected trend. Using annual series that contained minimal information about causality, we examined 671 contrary forecasts. As expected, most (81%) of the errors were in the direction of the causal forces. Also as expected, the asymmetries were more likely for longer forecast horizons; for six-year-ahead forecasts, 89% of the forecasts were in the expected direction. The asymmetries were often substantial. Contrary series should be flagged and treated separately when prediction intervals are estimated, perhaps by shifting the interval in the direction of the causal forces. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Strain rate effect in the single-fiber-fragmentation testPOLYMER COMPOSITES, Issue 3 2001X. J. Gong The single fiber fragmentation test (SFVU) has been widely used to characterize the interface it fiber-reinforced polymers. The purpose of the work reported here was to determine the effect of strain rate on the fiber fragment lengths obtained in the SFFT. Three materials systems were used to make single-fiber-composite specimens: E-glass fiber/polycarbonate matrix, AS4-carbon fiber/polycarbonate matrix, and AS4-carbon fiber/polycarbonate matrix. The fiber-matrix adhesion in all three systems is based on physisorption rather than chemisorption. Each system was tested at strain rates ranging over four orders of magnitude. Results are reported in terms of fragment length, the dependent variable in this study, which is inversely related to the quality of the Interface. It was expected that the fragment length would show a systematic decrease with Increasing strain rate, but the expected trend was not found. Although the polycarbonate matrix exhibited rate-dependent viscoelastic behavior typical of amorphous polymers below Tg, the fragment length at saturation did not show a statistically significant variation with strain rate for any of the three materials systems. A major contributor to the lack of observed effect was the inherent random variability associated with the SFFT; random variability in average fragment length was equal or greater than the 19% effect of rate predicted for ideal elastic systems with no debonding at the interface. In addition, considerable interfacial debonding occurred during the SFFT, not surprising for Interfaces based on physisorption alone. Debonding Interferes with transfer of applied load from matrix to fiber, and would thus interfere with transfer of the effect of rate from matrix to fiber. A tensile Impact test developed previously was also performed on single-fiber composite specimens made from the same three materials systems. The results of the Impact tests differed from those obtained at controlled strain-rates for only two of the materials systems. [source] Seedling Mortality and Herbivory Damage in Subtropical and Temperate Populations: Testing the Hypothesis of Higher Herbivore Pressure Toward the TropicsBIOTROPICA, Issue 2 2010Ek Del-Val ABSTRACT Herbivory rates are generally thought to be higher in tropical than in temperate forests. Nevertheless, tests of this biogeographic prediction by comparing a single plant species across a tropical-temperate range are scarce. Here, we compare herbivore damage between subtropical and temperate populations of the evergreen tree Aextoxicon punctatum (Olivillo), distributed between 30° and 43° S along the Pacific margin of Chile. To assess the impact of herbivory on Olivillo seedlings, we set up 29 experimental plots, 1.5 × 3 m: 16 in forests of Fray Jorge National Park (subtropical latitude), and 13 in Guabún, Chiloé Island (temperate latitude). Half of each plot was fenced around with chicken wire, to exclude small mammals, and the other half was left unfenced. In each half of the plots we planted 16 seedlings of Olivillo in December 2003, with a total of 928 plants. Seedling survival, leaf production and herbivory by invertebrates were monitored over the next 16 mo. Small mammal herbivores killed ca 30 percent of seedlings in both sites. Nevertheless, invertebrate herbivory was greater in the temperate forest, thus contradicting the expected trend of increasing herbivore impact toward the tropics. Seedling growth was greater in subtropical forest suggesting better conditions for tree growth or that higher invertebrate herbivory depressed seedling growth in the temperate forest. Invertebrate herbivory increased toward temperate latitudes while small mammal herbivory was similar in both sites. We suggest that comparison of single species can be useful to test generalizations about latitudinal patterns and allow disentangling factors controlling herbivory patterns across communities. Abstract in Spanish is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/btp [source] Change over 70 years in a southern California chaparral community related to fire historyJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 5 2004Janet Franklin Abstract: Question: What changes in species composition and cover have occurred in chaparral as a function of fire history across an ecoregion? Location: San Diego County, California, USA. Methods: Stands in which 40 mid-elevation chaparral vegetation plots (each 400 m2 in area) were located in the 1930s were resurveyed in 2001. We stratified the stands into Infrequently versus Frequently burned (0,1 versus 2 or more fires recorded in the 91-yr period), and Immature versus Mature (31 yr versus >31 yr since last fire), resulting in four groups. Ten stands were randomly selected from each of these groups for survey. Results: There were no major shifts in life form composition, e.g., live oak trees were not invading chaparral that had experienced little or no fire, nor were subshrubs or herbaceous species replacing shrubs in areas that had experienced more frequent fires. However, there was a notable increase in the frequency of the subshrub Eriogonum fasciculatum across all fire history groups. In the mature stands with infrequent fire, average cover of resprouting shrubs increased (from 72 to 91%) and cover of obligate seeding shrubs (species with fire-cued germination) decreased (from 21 to 6%) significantly. Mature stands with frequent fire showed a significant decrease in resprouter cover (from 87 to 80%) and increase in obligate seeders (from 10 to 16%). Conclusions: While the tremendous changes in land use in southern California have been predicted to cause shifts in chaparral composition, these shifts are difficult to detect because species longevity and fire cycles are on the order of decades to a century. In this study, the expected trends could only be detected in groups that were mature at the time of the second survey. [source] Investigation of protein binding affinity and preferred orientations in ion exchange systems using a homologous protein libraryBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 3 2009Wai Keen Chung Abstract A library of cold shock protein B (CspB) mutant variants was employed to study protein binding affinity and preferred orientations in cation exchange chromatography. Single site mutations introduced at charged amino acids on the protein surface resulted in a homologous protein set with varying charge density and distribution. The retention times of the mutants varied significantly during linear gradient chromatography. While the expected trends were observed with increasing or decreasing positive charge on the protein surface, the degree of change was a strong function of the location and microenvironment of the mutated amino acid. Quantitative structure,property relationship (QSPR) models were generated using a support vector regression technique that was able to give good predictions of the retention times of the various mutants. Molecular descriptors selected during model generation were used to elucidate the factors affecting protein retention. Electrostatic potential maps were also employed to provide insight into the effects of protein surface topography, charge density and charge distribution on protein binding affinity and possible preferred binding orientations. The use of this protein mutant library in concert with the qualitative and quantitative analyses presented in the article provides an improved understanding of protein behavior in ion exchange systems. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 102: 869,881. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||