• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.569-581
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• 2019

Corrugated steel plate shear wall (CSPSW) as an innovative lateral load resisting system provides various advantages in comparison with the flat steel plate shear wall, including remarkable in-plane and out-of-plane stiffnesses and stability, greater elastic shear buckling stress, increasing the amount of cumulative dissipated energy and maintaining efficiency even in large story drifts. Employment of low yield point (LYP) steel web plate in steel shear walls can dramatically improve their structural performance and prevent early stage instability of the panels. This paper presents a comprehensive structural performance assessment of corrugated low yield point steel plate shear walls having circular openings located in different positions. Accordingly, following experimental verification of CSPSW finite element models, several trapezoidally horizontal CSPSW (H-CSPSW) models having LYP steel web plates as well as circular openings (for ducts) perforated in various locations have been developed to explore their hysteresis behavior, cumulative dissipated energy, lateral stiffness, and ultimate strength under cyclic loading. Obtained results reveal that the rehabilitation of damaged steel shear walls using corrugated LYP steel web plate can enhance their structural performance. Furthermore, choosing a suitable location for the circular opening regarding the design purpose paves the way for the achievement of the shear wall's optimal performance.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.225-237
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• 2019

Although applying self-consolidating concrete (SCC) in many modern structures is an inevitable fact, the high consumption of cement in its mixing designs has led to increased production costs and adverse environmental effects. In order to find economically viable sources with environmentally friendly features, natural pozzolan pumice and blast furnace slag in 10-50% of replacement binary designs have been investigated for experiments on the properties of fresh concrete, mechanical properties, and durability. As a natural pozzolan, pumice does not require advanced equipment to prepare for consumption and only needs to be powdered. Pumice has been the main focus of this research because of simple preparation. Also to validate the results, in addition to the control specimens of each design, fly ash as a known powder has been evaluated. Moreover, ternary mixes of pumice and silica fume were investigated to enhance the obtained results of binary mixes. It was concluded that pumice and slag powders indicated favorable performance in the high percentage of replacement.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.319-332
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• 2019

This study is aimed to predict the behaviour of channel shear connectors in composite floor systems at different temperatures. For this purpose, a soft computing approach is adopted. Two novel intelligence methods, including an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) and a Genetic Programming (GP), are developed. In order to generate the required data for the intelligence methods, several push-out tests were conducted on various channel connectors at different temperatures. The dimension of the channel connectors, temperature, and slip are considered as the inputs of the models, and the strength of the connector is predicted as the output. Next, the performance of the ELM and GP is evaluated by developing an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Finally, the performance of the ELM, GP, and ANN is compared with each other. Results show that ELM is capable of achieving superior performance indices in comparison with GP and ANN in the case of load prediction. Also, it is found that ELM is not only a very fast algorithm but also a more reliable model.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-39
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• 2016

The finite element method (FEM), discrete element method (DEM), and Discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) are among the standard numerical techniques applied in computational geo-mechanics. However, in some cases there no possibility for modelling by traditional finite analytical techniques or other mesh-based techniques. The solution presented in the current study as a completely Lagrangian and mesh-free technique is smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). This method was basically applied for simulation of fluid flow by dividing the fluid into several particles. However, several researchers attempted to simulate soil-water interaction, landslides, and failure of soil by SPH method. In fact, this method is able to deal with behavior and interaction of different states of materials (liquid and solid) and multiphase soil models and their large deformations. Soil indicates different behaviors when interacting with water, structure, instrumentations, or different layers. Thus, study into these interactions using the mesh based grids has been facilitated by mesh-less SPH technique in this work. It has been revealed that the fast development, computational sophistication, and emerge of mesh-less particle modeling techniques offer solutions for problems which are not modeled by the traditional mesh-based techniques. Also it has been found that the smoothed particle hydrodynamic provides advanced techniques for simulation of soil materials as compared to the current traditional numerical methods. Besides, findings indicate that the advantages of applying this method are its high power, simplicity of concept, relative simplicity in combination of modern physics, and particularly its potential in study of large deformations and failures.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.97-103
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• 2005

Recent development of marine magnetic gradient systems, using arrays of sensors, has made it possible to survey large contaminated areas very quickly. However, underwater Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) can be moved by water currents. Because of this mobility, the cleanup process in such situations becomes dynamic rather than static. This implies that detection should occur in near real-time for successful remediation. Therefore, there is a need for a fast interpretation method to rapidly detect signatures of underwater objects in marine magnetic data. In this paper, we present a fast method for location and characterization of underwater UXOs. The approach utilises gradient interpretation techniques (analytic signal and Euler methods) to locate the objects precisely. Then, using an iterative linear least-squares technique, we obtain the magnetization characteristics of the sources. The approach was applied to a theoretical marine magnetic anomaly, with random errors, over a known source. We demonstrate the practical utility of the method using marine magnetic gradient data from Japan.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.11
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• pp.575-581
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• 2021

Background: Toxocariasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati in humans. Various types of T. canis are important. Purpose: The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Toxocara spp. in pediatrics in the context of a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: The MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Sciences, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies published between January 2000 and December 2019 that report the prevalence of Toxocara spp. in pediatrics. The evaluation of articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria was performed by 2 researchers individually. Results: The results of 31 relevant studies indicated that the prevalence of Toxocara spp. was 3%-79% in 10,676 cases. The pooled estimate of global prevalence of Toxocara spp. in pediatrics was 30 (95% confidence interval, 22%-37%; I²=99.11%; P=0.00). The prevalence was higher in Asian populations than in European, American, and African populations. Conclusion: Health policymakers should be more attentive to future research and approaches to Toxocara spp. and other zoonotic diseases to improve culture and identify socioeconomically important factors.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.213-221
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• 2019

Objective: This study was performed to evaluate gender and age differences in hygienic behavior among the general population, focusing on hand-washing habits and the microbial load of hands. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey and a separate microbial examination were performed. The Pearson's correlation between hand-washing habits and microbial load was analyzed. Results: In the questionnaire survey on hand-washing habits, gender differences were found in hand-washing frequency, use of hand-washing agents, and hand drying methods (p<0.05). Age differences were found in numbers of washing parts of the hands and also in hand drying methods (p<0.05). Females showed better habits washing hands than did males, as did older people compared to younger. In the microbial examination of indicator bacteria on their hands, younger people tended to show a higher load of total aerobic bacteria than did the older, and females showed a higher load of total coliforms than did males (p<0.05). There were significant relationships between the load of total aerobic bacteria and hand-washing frequency, duration, and method of turning-off water (p<0.05). Conclusions: Although females were expected to show a better practice of hand-washing than were males based on the survey results, they showed a higher level of total coliforms in the hand examination. The older age group showed better hand-washing habits than did the younger age group and had less total aerobic bacteria on their hands. These inter-gender and age differences highlight the need for development and implementation of gender-and age-specific educational programs or campaigns.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.667-683
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• 2018

This study reviews advances in research made during the last decade in studies of aging families in Korea. Specifically, we provide a critical review of the theoretical directions and empirical findings of 87 research articles focused on aging families published in the Journal of the Korean Gerontological Society between 2008 and 2017. Topics and issues covered include: (a) diversity in family structures and households, (b) intergenerational relations, (c) intimate relations, and (d) family problems in later life. We found that while research applying theories and employing advanced methodologies has increased, embracing more diverse theories and ensuring nationally representative panel data from multi-reporters within families will enhance future research in aging and families. The authors conclude that more multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches are needed in the field of family studies and gerontology in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1021-1030
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• 2018

Objective: We evaluated the effect of various patient characteristics and time-density curve (TDC)-factors on the test bolus-affected vessel enhancement on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). We also assessed the value of generalized linear regression models (GLMs) for predicting enhancement on CCTA. Materials and Methods: We performed univariate and multivariate regression analysis to evaluate the effect of patient characteristics and to compare contrast enhancement per gram of iodine on test bolus (${\Delta}HUTEST$) and CCTA (${\Delta}HUCCTA$). We developed GLMs to predict ${\Delta}HUCCTA$. GLMs including independent variables were validated with 6-fold cross-validation using the correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: In multivariate analysis, only total body weight (TBW) and ${\Delta}HUTEST$ maintained their independent predictive value (p < 0.001). In validation analysis, the highest correlation coefficient between ${\Delta}HUCCTA$ and the prediction values was seen in the GLM (r = 0.75), followed by TDC (r = 0.69) and TBW (r = 0.62). The lowest Bland-Altman limit of agreement was observed with GLM-3 (mean difference, $-0.0{\pm}5.1$ Hounsfield units/grams of iodine [HU/gI]; 95% confidence interval [CI], -10.1, 10.1), followed by ${\Delta}HUCCTA$ ($-0.0{\pm}5.9HU/gI$; 95% CI, -11.9, 11.9) and TBW ($1.1{\pm}6.2HU/gI$; 95% CI, -11.2, 13.4). Conclusion: We demonstrated that the patient's TBW and ${\Delta}HUTEST$ significantly affected contrast enhancement on CCTA images and that the combined use of clinical information and test bolus results is useful for predicting aortic enhancement.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.503-515
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• 2019

In this study we estimate the survival function of duration of the legislative processes in the 17th, 18th, and 19th National Assembly of Korea, and further analyze effects of the political situation variables on the legislative process. We define the termination of legislative process from a novel perspective to alleviate issues of dependency between censoring and failure in the data. We also show that the proportional hazards assumption does not hold for the data, and analyze data employing a log-normal accelerated failure time model. The policy areas of law agendas are shown to affect the speed of legislative process in different ways and legislative process tends to be prompt in times of divided governments.