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The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors (2016)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A., Marugán-Lobón, J., Cobb, S. N., & Rayfield, E. J. (2016). The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(19), 5352-5357. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602683113

Bird beaks are textbook examples of ecological adaptation to diet, but their shapes are also controlled by genetic and developmental histories. To test the effects of these factors on the avian craniofacial skeleton, we conducted morphometric analyse... Read More about The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors.

Validation experiments on finite element models of an ostrich (Struthio camelus) cranium (2015)
Journal Article
Cuff, A. R., Bright, J. A., & Rayfield, E. J. (2015). Validation experiments on finite element models of an ostrich (Struthio camelus) cranium. PeerJ, 3(10), Article 1294. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1294

The first finite element (FE) validation of a complete avian cranium was performed on an extant palaeognath, the ostrich (Struthio camelus). Ex-vivo strains were collected from the cranial bone and rhamphotheca. These experimental strains were then c... Read More about Validation experiments on finite element models of an ostrich (Struthio camelus) cranium.

Finite element modelling predicts changes in joint shape and cell behaviour due to loss of muscle strain in jaw development (2015)
Journal Article
Brunt, L. H., Norton, J. L., Bright, J. A., Rayfield, E. J., & Hammond, C. L. (2015). Finite element modelling predicts changes in joint shape and cell behaviour due to loss of muscle strain in jaw development. Journal of biomechanics, 48(12), 3112-3122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.07.017

© 2015 The Authors. Abnormal joint morphogenesis is linked to clinical conditions such as Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) and to osteoarthritis (OA). Muscle activity is known to be important during the developmental process of joint morphoge... Read More about Finite element modelling predicts changes in joint shape and cell behaviour due to loss of muscle strain in jaw development.

A mid-Oligocene (Whitneyan) rhinocerotid from northeastern California (2015)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A., Tiffney, B. H., & Wyss, A. R. (2015). A mid-Oligocene (Whitneyan) rhinocerotid from northeastern California. Journal of Paleontology, 89(1), 135-139. https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2014.11

© 2015, The Paleontological Society. Rhinoceroses were important in North American mammal faunas from the late middle Eocene to the Miocene, but the group's poor sampling outside the High Plains and eastern Rocky Mountain regions during their early e... Read More about A mid-Oligocene (Whitneyan) rhinocerotid from northeastern California.

A review of paleontological finite element models and their validity (2014)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A. (2014). A review of paleontological finite element models and their validity. Journal of Paleontology, 88(4), 760-769. https://doi.org/10.1666/13-090

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a powerful quantitative tool that models mechanical performance in virtual reconstructions of complex structures, such as animal skeletons. The unique potential of FEA to elucidate the function, performance, and ecolo... Read More about A review of paleontological finite element models and their validity.

Digital dissection - using contrast-enhanced computed tomography scanning to elucidate hard- and soft-tissue anatomy in the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo (2013)
Journal Article
Lautenschlager, S., Bright, J. A., & Rayfield, E. J. (2014). Digital dissection - using contrast-enhanced computed tomography scanning to elucidate hard- and soft-tissue anatomy in the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo. Journal of anatomy, 224(4), 412-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12153

Gross dissection has a long history as a tool for the study of human or animal soft‐ and hard‐tissue anatomy. However, apart from being a time‐consuming and invasive method, dissection is often unsuitable for very small specimens and often cannot cap... Read More about Digital dissection - using contrast-enhanced computed tomography scanning to elucidate hard- and soft-tissue anatomy in the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo.

Improving the validation of finite element models with quantitative full-field strain comparisons (2012)
Journal Article
Gröning, F., Bright, J. A., Fagan, M. J., & O'Higgins, P. (2012). Improving the validation of finite element models with quantitative full-field strain comparisons. Journal of biomechanics, 45(8), 1498-1506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2012.02.009

The techniques used to validate finite element (FE) models against experimental results have changed little during the last decades, even though the traditional approach of using single point measurements from strain gauges has major limitations: the... Read More about Improving the validation of finite element models with quantitative full-field strain comparisons.

The importance of craniofacial sutures in biomechanical finite element models of the domestic pig (2012)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A. (2012). The importance of craniofacial sutures in biomechanical finite element models of the domestic pig. PLoS ONE, 7(2), e31769. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031769

Craniofacial sutures are a ubiquitous feature of the vertebrate skull. Previous experimental work has shown that bone strain magnitudes and orientations often vary when moving from one bone to another, across a craniofacial suture. This has led to th... Read More about The importance of craniofacial sutures in biomechanical finite element models of the domestic pig.

Models in palaeontological functional analysis (2011)
Journal Article
Anderson, P. S., Bright, J. A., Gill, P. G., Palmer, C., & Rayfield, E. J. (2012). Models in palaeontological functional analysis. Biology Letters, 8(1), 119-122. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0674

Models are a principal tool of modern science. By definition, and in practice, models are not literal representations of reality but provide simplifications or substitutes of the events, scenarios or behaviours that are being studied or predicted. Al... Read More about Models in palaeontological functional analysis.

Strain accommodation in the zygomatic arch of the pig: A validation study using digital speckle pattern interferometry and finite element analysis (2011)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A., & Gröning, F. (2011). Strain accommodation in the zygomatic arch of the pig: A validation study using digital speckle pattern interferometry and finite element analysis. Journal of morphology, 272(11), 1388-1398. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.10991

It has been repeatedly suggested that mammalian cranial sutures act not only to allow growth but also to reduce the levels of strain experienced by the skull during feeding. However, because of the added complexity they introduce, sutures are rarely... Read More about Strain accommodation in the zygomatic arch of the pig: A validation study using digital speckle pattern interferometry and finite element analysis.

Sensitivity and ex vivo validation of finite element models of the domestic pig cranium (2011)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A., & Rayfield, E. J. (2011). Sensitivity and ex vivo validation of finite element models of the domestic pig cranium. Journal of anatomy, 219(4), 456-471. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2011.01408.x

A finite element (FE) validation and sensitivity study was undertaken on a modern domestic pig cranium. Bone strain data were collected ex vivo from strain gauges, and compared with results from specimen‐specific FE models. An isotropic, homogeneous... Read More about Sensitivity and ex vivo validation of finite element models of the domestic pig cranium.

The Response of Cranial Biomechanical Finite Element Models to Variations in Mesh Density (2011)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A., & Rayfield, E. J. (2011). The Response of Cranial Biomechanical Finite Element Models to Variations in Mesh Density. Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology, 294(4), 610-620. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.21358

Finite element (FE) models provide discrete solutions to continuous problems. Therefore, to arrive at the correct solution, it is vital to ensure that FE models contain a sufficient number of elements to fully resolve all the detail encountered in a... Read More about The Response of Cranial Biomechanical Finite Element Models to Variations in Mesh Density.