Introduction Of Load Research Articles

Fuzzy Logic Weight Based Charging Scheme for Optimal Distribution of Charging Power among Electric Vehicles in a Parking Lot

Electric vehicles (EVs) parking lots are representing significant charging loads for relatively a long period of time. Therefore, the aggregated charging load of EVs may coincide with the peak demand of the distribution power system and can greatly stress the power grid. The stress on the power grid can be characterized by the additional electricity demand and the introduction of a new peak load that may overwhelm both the substations and transmission systems. In order to avoid the stress on the power grid, the parking lot operators are required to limit the penetration level of EVs and optimally distribute the available power among them. This affects the EV owner’s quality of experience (QoE) and thereby reducing the quality of performance (QoP) for the parking lot operators. The QoE is represents the satisfaction level of EV owners; whereas, the QoP is a measurement representing the ratio of EVs with QoE to the total number of EVs. This study proposes a fuzzy logic weight-based charging scheme (FLWCS) to optimally distribute the charging power among the most appropriate EVs in such a way that maximizes the QoP for the parking lot operators under the operational constraints of the power grid. The developed fuzzy inference mechanism resolves the uncertainties and correlates the independent inputs such as state-of-charge, the remaining parking duration and the available power into weighted values for the EVs in each time slot. Once the weight values for all EVs are known, their charging operations are controlled such that the operational constraints of the power grid are respected in each time slot. The proposed FLWCS is applied to a parking lot with different capacities. The simulation results reveal an improved QoP comparing to the conventional first-come-first-served (FCFS) based scheme.

MON-642 Genetic Knockout of Intestinal Hexokinase Domain-Containing Protein 1 Affects Whole-Body Glycemic Control and Triglyceride Metabolism

Hexokinase domain-containing protein 1 (HKDC1) is a recently discovered putative fifth hexokinase that is widely expressed in a variety of human and mouse tissues. Previous work indicate that HKDC1 is important for whole-body glucose homeostasis and utilization in pregnancy and aging, and suggest roles for HKDC1 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Prior work in the lab further showed that global heterozygous-deleted HKDC1 mice exhibit blunted uptake of triglycerides following an olive oil bolus compared to wild-type mice, suggesting a role for intestinal HKDC1 expression in intestinal lipid metabolism (unpublished results). To specifically study the significance of intestinal HKDC1 on whole-body glucose and lipid homeostasis, we utilized Cre-mediated recombination of HKDC1 in which Cre was expressed under the control of the villin gene promoter, creating a mouse model in which HKDC1 expression is specifically deleted in the intestinal epithelium. Quantitative RT-PCR data confirmed the knockout of HKDC1 within the mouse intestine in young and aged mice, while HKDC1 expression in other tissues was comparable to wild-type mice. Next, intestinal HKDC1 knockout mice and their wild-type littermate controls were either maintained on a normal diet or were switched to a high fat diet at 6 weeks of age to simulate the state of impaired glucose tolerance, and the effects of intestinal HKDC1 on glucose and lipid homeostasis were analyzed between 28-34 weeks of age. Mice fed a normal diet did not exhibit any differences in serum glucose or triglyceride during oral/intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests or oral olive oil bolus, respectively, regardless of intestinal HKDC1 status. Interestingly, mice lacking intestinal HKDC1 that were on a high fat diet demonstrated improved overall glycemic control compared to wild-type mice after the administration of an oral glucose load, all while there were no changes in insulin levels, gluconeogenesis or insulin tolerance related to HKDC1 status. Additionally, introduction of an intraperitoneal glucose load to mice fed a high fat diet did not alter glucose control in the presence or absence of intestinal HKDC1. However, high fat diet-fed mice lacking intestinal HKDC1 did not have a significant increase in serum triglyceride following an oral olive oil bolus, while their stool fat and triglyceride content were comparable to wild-type. Collectively, these data indicate that intestinal HKDC1 has important roles in glucose and triglyceride metabolism within the intestinal epithelium, and further suggest a role in whole-body glucose homeostasis and in the development of insulin resistance and diabetes.

Ironic Effects of Thought Suppression: A Meta-Analysis

The ironic effect of thought suppression refers to the phenomenon in which individuals trying to rid their mind of a target thought ironically experience greater levels of occurrence and accessibility of the thought compared with individuals who deliberately concentrate on the thought (Wegner, 1994, doi:10.1037/0033-295X.101.1.34). Ironic effects occurring after thought suppression, also known as rebound effects, were consistently detected by previous meta-analyses. However, ironic effects that occur during thought suppression, also known as immediate enhancement effects, were found to be largely absent. In this meta-analysis, we test Wegner’s original proposition that detection of immediate enhancement effects depends on the cognitive load experienced by individuals when enacting thought suppression. Given that thought suppression is an effortful cognitive process, we propose that the introduction of additional cognitive load would compete for the allocation of existing cognitive resources and impair capacity for thought suppression. Studies (k = 31) consistent with Wegner’s original thought-suppression paradigm were analyzed. Consistent with our predictions, rebound effects were observed regardless of cognitive load, whereas immediate enhancement effects were observed only in the presence of cognitive load. We discuss implications in light of ironic-process theory and suggest future thought-suppression research.

Fitness costs associated with ancestry to isolated populations of an endangered species

Habitat fragmentation from urban development leaves species vulnerable to inbreeding depression and genomic erosion. Restoring gene flow can reduce inbreeding and preserve genetic diversity, but a common concern is that genomic incompatibilities may lead to outbreeding depression. The introduction of deleterious genetic load is less commonly considered. The endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) persists in three isolated populations in southern California. Mitochondrial and microsatellite data indicated that effective population sizes were extremely small (Ne< 50), and continued declines prompted a conservation breeding program founded by individuals from each population. We tracked genetic diversity and individual fitness (measured by reproductive success) in a captive setting over six generations of admixture. Although we observed an increase in fitness in the F1 and F2 generations relative to the founding populations, inbreeding depression alone did not explain the fitness patterns, and outbreeding depression was difficult to rule out as reproductive success waned after F2. However, reproductive success was consistently higher in admixed individuals than founders from Dana Point, the smallest population with the lowest heterozygosity. Across generations, we saw a strong negative correlation between individual reproductive success and ancestry to Dana Point, leading to a rapid decrease of Dana Point alleles. Although the genomic underpinnings remain to be determined, reduced fitness associated with Dana Point ancestry is consistent with high deleterious genetic load in this population, and thus any facilitated migration should be unidirectional. Our findings highlight that, even in the absence of outbreeding depression, there may be a cost to restoration of gene flow if populations harbor high genetic load.

Dielectrically Loaded Quad-Ridge Flared Horn for Beamwidth Control Over Decade Bandwidth—Optimization, Manufacture, and Measurement

We present the design, manufacture, and measured performance of a dielectrically loaded quad-ridge flared horn (QRFH) feed for decade bandwidth radio astronomy application. The introduction of the dielectric load improves the QRFH beamwidth control in H-plane at the mid and upper frequency range. Consequently on the reflector, illumination efficiency, phase efficiency, and the intrinsic cross-polarization ratio (IXR) have been improved. The dielectric load is made from homogeneous low-loss polytetrafluoroethylene and has a low profile with a cylinder shape for simple installation at the center of the QRFH. The dielectrically loaded QRFH presented here covers 1.5–15.5 GHz with a calculated average aperture efficiency above 50% on a f/D = 0.3 prime-focus reflector. We present a calculation of system noise temperature and sensitivity for the QRFH on a 100 m prime-focus reflector. Measured beam patterns of the QRFH are in good agreement with the simulations over the full frequency band. The input reflection coefficient was predicted to be below −10 dB across the bandwidth. We present a tolerance analysis that explains why the measured one deviates.

Effect of holding duration at maximum and minimum stress on creep fatigue interaction of P92 steel

ABSTRACTThis work focused on the effect of holding duration at maximum and minimum stress on creep fatigue (CF) interaction of P92 steel based on load-controlled CF tests and conventional creep test at 873K. The mechanical testing results, CF cyclic strain and mesoscopic fracture morphology were analysed in this paper. Comparing with the pure creep damage, the results show when the load is held at the minimum stress, the fatigue load promotes creep damage, and when the load is held at the maximum stress, the fatigue load inhibits the creep damage. These results are also verified by CF interaction parameter μ. It can be explained by the CF interaction parameter μ to show whether the introduction of fatigue load promotes or inhibits creep damage.

EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF AEROTANKS DUE TO ADD-ON ATTACHED BIOCENOSIS

Purpose. The research involves the implementation of comparative calculations to evaluate the performance of aerotanks with add-on attached biocenosis (biofilm). Methodology. For improving the performance of the aerotanks due to the introduction of an additional load with attached biocenosis (biofilm), the authors constructed the mathematical models that consider the simultaneous oxidation of organic pollutants with suspended and attached biocenosis. Based on these models, the methods were developed for calculating clarification parameters. The authors performed evaluation of the influence of various clarification factors in aerotanks. They proved that the clarification intensity is increased due to additional elements with the attached biocenosis. Herewith, possible technological and structural schemes of aerotanks were considered, when the loading elements (nozzles, screens, etc.) are located throughout the whole volume or more densely and compactly only in its individual sections. Findings. The parameters of effluent clarification from organic pollution in the aerotanks are determined using numerical methods. The graphs show the significant performance of aerotanks due to the introduction of the additional load with the attached biocenosis (biofilm). The calculations of the effect of additional loading on the performance of complete-mix aerotanks and continuous-flow aerotanks show that the use of immobilized biocenosis can improve the quality of removal of organic pollutants by 2-5 times. Originality. The authors substantiated scientifically the influence of various factors of wastewater treatment in aerotanks, the efficiency of which is increased due to additional elements with the attached biocenosis. Practical value. The introduction of research results in wastewater treatment plants can significantly improve the quality of the removal of organic pollutants by biological methods. The implementation of the calculation methods for the proposed dependencies makes it possible to more fully and reasonably take into account important processes that significantly affect the utilization of organic pollutants and the efficiency of the aerotanks with the additional involvement of wastewater treatment by the attached biocenosis.

Improving the effectiveness of combined grinding processes for processing superhard materials

Metal bond diamond grinding wheels, which are used to process superhard materials, maintain their cutting ability through an electrochemical process that removes the bonds to reveal new grains on the working surface. The effectiveness of this method can be improved by increasing the material removal rate and decreasing the consumption of grinding grains through the introduction of a periodic impact load on the wheel. A proof-of-concept laboratory device was prepared, and experiments were carried out with the application of constant or periodic pressure. The experimental results clearly indicate up to a 1.8-fold increase in the material removal rate and up to a 1.9-fold decrease in the specific consumption of diamonds using the proposed periodic pressure method instead of the method with a constant load. By suitably altering the amplitude and frequency of the periodic load, a nearly 10-fold increase in the removal rate and decrease in the diamond consumption can be achieved. Furthermore, the study reveals the optimal conditions for practical implementation of the process. The analysis indicates that through the application of a periodic load with controlled amplitude and frequency on a wheel, better and more efficient use of a grinding wheel can be achieved, leading to a significant reduction in the specific cost of the wheel dressing procedure.

Frequency regulation service provision in data center with computational flexibility

The rapid adoption of cloud storage and computing services led to unprecedented growth of data centers in the world. As bulk energy consumers, large-scale data centers in the U.S. rack up billions in electricity costs annually. Fortunately, the operational flexibility of data centers can be leveraged to provide valuable frequency regulation services in smart grids to mitigate the indeterminacy of the renewable generation resources. Specifically, this paper aims to leverage computational flexibility provided by servers, such as dynamic voltage frequency scaling and dummy loads. This paper develops a comprehensive framework for data center’s frequency regulation service provision in both hour-ahead market and real-time operations. A risk constrained hour-ahead bidding strategy along with a real-time data center power consumption control algorithm are developed to minimize electricity bills and the total response time of the requests. The introduction of dummy load, realistic bi-linear server power consumption model, and probabilistic forecast of electricity and frequency regulation service prices enable the data center to accurately follow frequency regulation signals, while reducing the financial risks associated with electricity market participation. The simulation results show that the proposed frequency regulation provision framework results not only in significant cost reduction for data centers, but also limits degradation in quality of service. Meanwhile, the stability and reliability of a power grid will be improved by the frequency regulation service provision.

A Study on Factors Affecting Distribution Channels of Indian Mutual Fund Industry with Special Reference to No-Entry Load Regime-Post 2009

Indian Mutual Fund Industry started in India in 1964 with first of its kind scheme called US64. Since then, Industry Facing many changes like entry of bank sponsored mutual funds in 1983, private mutual fund in 1999 and meanwhile SEBI introduced in 1996 with regulations known as SEBI Regulations for Mutual Fund 1996 and all mutual fund companies came under this regulations. Mutual Fund Industry in India is going through many regulatory changes after these regulations also. One of the major regulations was introduction of No-Entry Load in the year 2009. Distribution Channel being the key factors for penetration of mutual fund business, no entry load regulation had very much impact on distribution of mutual fund. To check the impact of this change on distribution channel, researcher has studied impact on different factors which affects mutual fund distribution business. This study aims at identifying different constructs of distribution channel on Indian Mutual Fund Industry and their impact on distribution channel. Another Aim to study this is to identify the impact of individual construct on overall effect on distributors which allows the management to identify the areas of improvement in distributing mutual fund products in India.

Examining memory for ritualized gesture in complex causal sequences

Humans have created and maintained an exponentially large and sophisticated behavioral corpus over evolutionary time. In no small part this was achieved due to our tendency to imitate behaviours rather than to emulate outcomes. This tendency, however, can lead to inefficiency and redundancy in our behavioral repertoires. Drawing on evidence from multiple fields of psychology, we propose two novel competing hypotheses. The ‘catalyst hypothesis’ suggests that low (but not high) proportions of ritualized gesture in instrumental action sequences will improve subsequent recall of the entire action sequence (without itself enhancing the instrumental utility of the sequence). Conversely, the ‘cost hypothesis’ suggests that increasing proportions of ritualized gesture will impair recall, due to the introduction of cognitive load. The null hypothesis states that ritualized gestures are neither beneficial nor costly. In a pre-registered experiment, we presented participants with multiple versions of two complicated 2-min action sequences in which we varied the proportion of ritualized gesture. We then quantified the influence ritualized gesture had on recall for individuals gestures, overall outcomes, and described detail. We found clear evidence that high proportions of ritualized gestures impair recall for individual gestures and overall success, and weak evidence that low proportions increase overall success. At present, we may reject the null, but cannot rule out either of our competing hypotheses. We discuss potential implications for cultural evolution, and generate competing predictions that allow for adjudication between Ritual Modes theory (Whitehouse, 2004) and the ‘Cognitive Resource Depletion’ account of Religious Interaction (Schjoedt et al., 2013). All files (including data and syntax) are freely available at https://osf.io/spz68/.

Grid integration of solar PV for multi-apartment buildings

Several studies show that large installations of rooftop solar PV in residential low voltage grids, typically with many single family dwellings, may cause overvoltage issues during mid-day when local consumption is low and solar PV electricity generation high. Different so-called smart grid technologies, which often requires additional control, communication and monitoring equipment have been suggested to alleviate these and related problems. In this paper, solar PV integration is studied in the context of multi-apartment buildings where the rooftop potential is significant. To this end, the medium voltage grids of two multi-apartment areas, Barnstenen and Alabastern in Vaxjo, Sweden are used as study cases. For these areas, it is found that active smart grid control or the introduction of new controllable load is not required. This finding applies to cases with very large solar PV installations corresponding to full coverage of the available rooftops and an annual yield corresponding to about eight times the annual electricity consumption. The conclusion is that multi-apartment residential areas may be ideally suited for large-scale solar PV installations without the need for smart grid infrastructure. These findings are contrary to, but not in disagreement with previous findings for low voltage residential grids.

Validation of Noncontact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears Produced by a Mechanical Impact Simulator Against the Clinical Presentation of Injury

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are catastrophic events that affect athletic careers and lead to long-term degenerative knee changes. As injuries are believed to occur within the first 50 milliseconds after initial contact during a rapid deceleration task, impact simulators that rapidly deliver impulse loads to cadaveric specimens have been developed. However, no impactor has reproducibly and reliably created ACL injures in a distribution that mimics clinical observation. Purpose: To better understand ACL injury patterns through a cadaveric investigation that applied in vivo–measured external loads to the knee during simulated landings. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A novel mechanical impact simulator reproduced kinetics from in vivo–recorded drop landing tasks on 45 cadaveric knees. Specimens were exposed to a randomized order of variable knee abduction moment, anterior tibial shear, and internal tibial rotation loads before the introduction of an impulse load at the foot. This process was repeated until a hard or soft tissue injury was induced on the joint. Injuries were assessed by an orthopaedic surgeon, and ligament strain was recorded by implanted strain gauges. Results: The mechanical impact simulator induced ACL injuries in 87% of specimens, with medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries in 31%. ACL tear locations were 71% femoral side, 21% midsubstance, and 9% tibial side. Peak strain before failure for ACL-injured specimens was 15.3% ± 8.7% for the ACL and 5.1% ± 5.6% for the MCL (P < .001). Conclusion: The ACL injuries induced by the mechanical impact simulator in the present study have provided clinically relevant in vitro representations of in vivo ACL injury patterns as cited in the literature. Additionally, current ligament strains corroborate the literature to support disproportionate loading of the ACL relative to the MCL during athletic tasks. Clinical Relevance: These findings indicate that the mechanical impact simulator is an appropriate model for examining independent mechanical variables, treatment techniques, and preventive interventions during athletic tasks leading up to and including an ACL injury. Accordingly, this system can be utilized to further parse out contributing factors to an ACL injury as well as assess the shortcomings of ACL reconstruction techniques in a dynamic, simulated environment that is better representative of in vivo injury scenarios.

Focus and Blurriness Measure Using Reorganized DCT Coefficients for an Autofocus Application

In this paper, two metrics for measuring image sharpness are presented and used for an autofocus (AF) application. Both measures exploit reorganized discrete cosine transform (DCT) representation. The first metric is a focus measure, which involves optimal high- and middle-frequency coefficients to evaluate relative sharpness. It is robust to noise while remaining sensitive to the best focus position. A psychometric function-based metric is introduced to quantify the focus measure. The second metric is a no-reference blurriness metric, which is used to measure absolute blurriness. It first constructs multiscale DCT edge maps using directional energy information and then determines image blurriness by combining change information in edge structures with image contrast. This metric gives predictions that are closely correlated with subjective perceived scores and shows performance comparable with that of state-of-the-art methods, especially for noisy images. For noisy situations, the two metrics are adjusted adaptively according to the estimated noise level. To prevent the introduction of extra computational load, an efficient noise-level estimation algorithm based on median absolute deviation is presented. This algorithm exploits only the available reorganized DCT coefficients. With the focus and blurriness measures, an AF method for which the two metrics play an important role was developed. Because of their high-quality performance, the realized AF function is able to locate the best focus position swiftly and reliably.

Prediction and Research on the Dynamic Load of A Certain Industrial Park in Shenyang

To improve the sustainable development of the industrial park, a more accurate cooling load estimation method was adopted to provide the basis for the selection of the size of the cold and heat sources. DeST simulation software was used to simulate the building energy consumption, and nine factory buildings’ dynamic load analysis model were established. The distribution of hourly cooling load of the industrial park was obtained. Compared with the total load of traditional designed heating load method, this method achieved to saving energy 18%. In the energy planning of industrial park, the introduction of dynamic load forecasting method has advantages for the sustainable development of the park. It influences the reduction of energy consumption and save of initial investment. The research lays the foundation for the realization of the rationality, the scientific nature and the energy conservation and emission reduction of the construction.

Stability and capsizing analysis of nonlinear ship rolling in wind and stochastic beam seas

Considering the actual seaway condition, stability and capsizing of nonlinear ship rolling system in stochastic beam seas is of significant importance for voyage safety. Safe zone are defined in the phase space plan of the unperturbed Hamilton system to qualitatively distinguish ship motions as capsize and noncapsize. Capsize events are defined by solutions passing out of the safe zone. The probability of such an occurrence is studied by virtue of the random Melnikov function and the concept of phase space flux. In this paper, besides conventional wave excitation, the effect of wind load is also taken into account. The introduction of wind load will lead to asymmetry, in other words, it transforms the symmetric heteroclinic orbits into asymmetric homoclinic orbits. For asymmetric dynamical system, the orbital analytic solutions and its power spectrum are not readily available, and the technique of discrete time Fourier transformation (DTFT) is used. In the end, as verification of theoretical critical significant wave height, capsizing probability contour diagram is generated by means of numerical simulation. The contour diagram shows that these analytical methods provide reliable and predictive results about the likelihood of a vessel capsizing in a given seaway condition.

Agitation as transfection efficiency booster in in vitro optogenetics

Agitation as transfection efficiency booster in in vitro optogenetics

The Pollution Profile of Modjo River Due to Industrial Wastewater Discharge, in Modjo Town, Oromia, Ethiopia

Introduction: Accelerated water quality change due to industrial pollution is one of the major environmental concerns throughout the world. In Ethiopia, Pollution of surface water is largely a problem due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. The main objective of this study was to determine the pollution profile of Modjo River throughout study sites. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess water pollution along Modjo River. Ten sampling sites were selected based on wastewater discharge, accessibility and pollution feasibility of river water. The sampling frequency was for two rounds composite sample taken from Modjo River. The chemical parameters were determined in the laboratory by using standard instrumental method AAS and UV-VIS. Results: Temperature, Electrical conductivity, Turbidity and PH were within the acceptable limit of surface water standard. Ammonia Nitrogen (NH3-N), BOD, Phosphorous, Nitrate Nitrogen (NO3-N) was all above acceptable limit except for BOD and Ammonia Nitrogen in station 1 within acceptable limit. TDS above standard limit in Stations 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 were above acceptable limit. COD of station 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 and above the acceptable limit. For chromium stations 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 above acceptable limit of surface water standards. Conclusion and recommendations: The study result found that there was change on the physico-chemical parameters from upstream to downstream areas, which indicates an introduction of pollution load from industrial wastewater. It is recommended that National Environmental Quality Standard (NEQS) should be strictly enforced on all industries to install facilities and treat wastewater effectively.

Enhancing viability of biofuel-based decentralized power projects for rural electrification in India

Decentralized power generation, using locally available biofuels from non-edible oilseeds, is an option for rural electrification in many developing countries. However, due to prevailing high price of non-edible oilseeds, such as Jatropha curcas, the cost of electricity generation is very high. This paper provides detailed financial analysis of straight vegetable oil (SVO)-based decentralized power project and proposes an innovative model for enhancing their financial viability. While for implementing agency operational cost recovery is the key for viability, affordable tariff is crucial for end-users. The paper attempts to estimate minimum desired price of electricity from the stakeholders' (producer and users) perspective using data gathered from selected operational SVO-based power generation projects in India. Analysis carried out in this paper indicates that operating the decentralized power plant at higher capacity utilization factor, by introduction of productive load, and differentiated tariffs for commercial and domestic consumers may not alone be sufficient to achieve the financial viability. The paper proposes an innovative integrated model of using biogas, obtained from the by-product de-oiled cake of non-edible oilseeds, as a feedstock for power generation, instead of using the SVO in engines. This reduces the fuel cost of power generation, thereby helping to bring down the tariff within the paying capacity of rural consumers. The main produce, viz. extracted non-edible oil, which was otherwise used as fuel for generating power, can be sold in local market for earning revenue, thereby enhancing the project’s economic viability. This paper sets forth the proposed integrated model as a viable biofuel-based decentralized power project for sustainable rural development in areas with adequate availability of oilseeds.

Rehabilitation following rotator cuff repair: a systematic review.

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes following surgical repair of the rotator cuff with emphasis upon length of immobilisation and timing of introduction of load. An electronic search of CENTRAL, MEDLINE and PEDro was undertaken to August 2014 and supplemented by hand searching. Randomised controlled trials were included, quality appraised using the PEDro scale and synthesised via meta-analysis or narrative synthesis, based upon levels of evidence, where appropriate. Twelve studies were included. There is strong evidence that early initiation of rehabilitation does not adversely affect clinical outcome but there is a marginally higher, statistically non-significant, incidence of tendon re-tear (OR 1.3; 95% CI 0.72 to 2.2). There is strong evidence that initiation of functional loading early in the rehabilitation programme does not adversely affect clinical outcome. Concern about early initiation of rehabilitation and introduction of gradual functional load does not appear warranted but this should be considered in a context of potential for Type II error. There is further need to evaluate approaches that foster early initiation of rehabilitation and gradual introduction of functional load as well as considering key outcomes such as return to work.