• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권7호
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• pp.1816-1821
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• 2019

This research investigates the feasibility of using the thermoelectric power to monitor the thermal embrittlement in 2507 super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) exposed to a temperature between $280^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$. It is well known that the precipitation of Cr-rich ${\alpha}^{\prime}$ phase as a result of the spinodal decomposition is the major cause of the embrittlement and the loss of corrosion resistance in this material. The specimens are thermally aged at $475^{\circ}C$ for different holding times. A series of mechanical testing including the tensile test, Vickers microhardness measurement, and Charpy impact test are conducted to determine the property changes with holding time due to the embrittlement. The mechanical strengths and ferrite hardness exhibit very similar trends. Scanning electron microscopy images of impactfractured surfaces reveal a ductile to brittle transition in the fracture mode as direct evidence of the embrittlement. It is shown that the thermoelectric power is highly sensitive to the thermal embrittlement and has an excellent linear correlation with the ferrite hardness. This paper, therefore, demonstrates that the thermoelectric power is an excellent nondestructive evaluation technique for detecting and evaluating the $475^{\circ}C$ embrittlement of field 2507 SDSS structures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.11-23
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• 2019

Nowadays, the characterization of Ultra-High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) tensile behavior still remains a challenge for researchers. For this purpose, a simplified closed-form non-linear hinge model based on the Third Point Bending Test (ThirdPBT) was developed by the authors. This model has been used as the basis of a simplified inverse analysis methodology to derive the tensile material properties from load-deflection response obtained from ThirdPBT experimental tests. In this paper, a non-linear finite element model (FEM) is presented with the objective of validate the closed-form non-linear hinge model. The state determination of the closed-form model is straightforward, which facilitates further inverse analysis methodologies to derive the tensile properties of UHPFRC. The accuracy of the closed-form non-linear hinge model is validated by a robust non-linear FEM analysis and a set of 15 Third-Point Bending tests with variable depths and a constant slenderness ratio of 4.5. The numerical validation shows excellent results in terms of load-deflection response, bending curvatures and average longitudinal strains when resorting to the discrete crack approach.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.97-108
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• 2019

This paper presents a new model for the strap combined footings to obtain the most economical contact surface on the soil (optimal dimensioning) to support an axial load and moment in two directions to each column. The new model considers the soil real pressure, i.e., the pressure varies linearly. Research presented in this paper shows that can be applied to the T-shaped combined footings and the rectangular combined footings. The classical model uses the technique of test and error, i.e., a dimension is proposed, and subsequently, the equation of the biaxial bending is used to obtain the stresses acting on each vertex of the strap combined footing, which must meet the conditions following: The minimum stress should be equal or greater than zero, and maximum stress must be equal or less than the allowable capacity that can withstand the soil. Numerical examples are presented to obtain the optimal area of the contact surface on the soil for the strap combined footings subjected to an axial load and moments in two directions applied to each column. Appendix shows the Tables 4 and 5 for the strap combined footings, the Table 6 for the T-shaped combined footings, and the Table 7 for the rectangular combined footings.

• 대한치과교정학회지
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.140-149
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• 2019

We are currently living in an era where the use of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing has allowed individualized orthodontic treatments, but has also incorporated enhanced digitalized technology that does not permit improvisation. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze publications that assessed the accuracy and efficiency of the $Invisalign^{(R)}$ system. A systematic review was performed using a search strategy to identify articles that referenced $Invisalign^{(R)}$, which were published between August 2007 and August 2017, and listed in the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, and LILACS. Additionally, a manual search of clinical trials was performed in scientific journals and other databases. To rate the methodological quality of the articles, a grading system described by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care was used, in combination with the Cochrane tool for risk of bias assessment. We selected 20 articles that met the inclusion criteria and excluded 5 due to excess biases. The level of evidence was high. Although it is possible to treat malocclusions with plastic systems, the results are not as accurate as those achieved by treatment with fixed appliances.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제58권5호
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• pp.571-576
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• 2020

Extra-enteric infections by Blastocystis spp. have rarely been documented. Here, we report a case of extra-enteric blastocystosis in a patient with minimal cervicitis symptoms. A 47-year-old Hispanic female patient was attended in a primary health centre in Michoacan state, Mexico, for her routine gynaecological medical examination. As only symptom, she referred to a slight vaginal itching. The presence of several vacuolar-stages of Blastocystis spp. were identified by Papanicolaou staining; molecular identification was attempted by culture-PCR sequencing of a region of 18S gene from cervical and faecal samples obtained 2 months after cytological examination, even when patient declared that she tried self-medicating with vaginal ovules. Blastocystis ST1 was identified only in the faecal sample. The presence of Blastocystis spp. in the cervix of a patient with scarce symptomatology, demonstrates the extraordinary flexibility of this microorganism to adapt to new environments and niches.

• Advances in nano research
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.211-219
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• 2021

The evaluation of the corrosion resistance of titanium with a TiO2 nanotubes top layer was carried out (TiO2 NT). These nanostructures were evolved into anatase nanoparticles without heat treatment in an aqueous medium, which is a novel phenomenon. This work analyzes the layer between the nanotube bottom and the substrate, which is thin and still susceptible to corrosion. The bottom of TiO2 nanotubes having Fluor resulting from the synthesis process changed between amorphous to crystalline anatase with a crystallite size of about 4 nm, which influenced the corrosion rates. Four kinds of samples were evaluated. A) NT by Ti anodizing; B) NTSB for Ti plates, either modifying its surface or anodizing the modified surface; C) NT-480 for anodized Ti and heat-treated (480℃) for reaching the anatase phase; D) NTSB-480 for Ti plates, first, modifying its surface using sandblast, after that, anodizing the modified surface, and finally, heat-treated to 480℃ to compare with samples having induced crystallization and passivation. Four electrochemical techniques were used to evaluate the corrosion rates. The surfaces having TiO2 nanotubes with a sandblast pre-treatment had the highest resistance to corrosion.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.275-282
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• 2022

The aim of this work is to develop the fractional Bateman equations, which can model memory effects in successive isotopes transformations. Such memory effects have been previously reported in the alpha decay, which exhibits a non-Markovian behavior. Since there are radioactive decay series with consecutive alpha decays, it is convenient to include the mentioned memory effects, developing the fractional Bateman Equations, which can reproduce the standard ones when the fractional order is equal to one. The proposed fractional model preserves the mathematical shape and the symmetry of the standard equations, being the only difference the presence of the Mittag-Leffler function, instead of the exponential one. This last is a very important result, because allows the implementation of the proposed fractional model in burnup and activation codes in a straightforward way. Numerical experiments show that the proposed equations predict high decay rates for small time values, in comparison with the standard equations, which have high decay rates for large times. This work represents a novelty approach to the theory of successive transformations, and opens the possibility to study properties of the Bateman equation from a fractional approach.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

Several aspects influence corrosive processes in reinforced concrete (RC) structures such as environmental conditions, structural geometry and mechanical properties. Since these aspects present large randomnesses, probabilistic models allow a more accurate description of the corrosive phenomena. Besides, the definition of limit states in the reliability assessment requires a proper mechanical model. In this context, this study proposes a straightforward methodology for the mechanical-probabilistic modelling of RC structures subjected to reinforcements' corrosion. An improved damage approach is proposed to define the limit states for the probabilistic modelling, considering three main degradation phenomena: concrete cracking, rebar yielding and rebar corrosion caused either by chloride or carbonation mechanisms. The stochastic analysis is evaluated by the Monte Carlo simulation method due to the computational efficiency of the Lumped Damage Model for Corrosion (LDMC). The proposed mechanical-probabilistic methodology is implemented in a computational framework and applied to the analysis of a simply supported RC beam and a 2D RC frame. Curves illustrate the probability of failure evolution over a service life of 50 years. Moreover, the proposed model allows drawing the probability of failure map and then identifying the critical failure path for progressive collapse analysis. Collapse path changes caused by the corrosion phenomena are observed.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.280-290
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• 2021

Population genetic studies of Hemileia vastatrix have been conducted in order to describe the evolutionary dynamics of the pathogen and the disease epidemiology as consequence of changes in disease management and host distribution occurred in Peru after the 2013 epidemic. These analyses were performed by sequencing the internal transcribed spacers of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA-ITS) of H. vastatrix collected from two coffee growing areas in 2014 and 2018. H. vastatrix population showed high haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.9373 ± 0.0115) with a low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.00322 ± 0.00018). Likewise, AMOVA indicated that fungus population has behaved as a large population without structuring by geographical origin and sampling years (F_ST = 0.00180, P = 0.20053 and F_ST = 0.00241, P = 0.19693, respectively). Additionally, the haplotype network based on intraspecific phylogenetic analysis of H. vastatrix using Peruvian and NCBI sequences revealed that Peruvian ancestral haplotypes, which were maintained in time and space, would correspond to the reported sequences of the races II and XXII. This result suggests that no substantial changes have occurred through time in Peruvian Hemileia vastatrix population.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.17-29
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• 2019

Purpose - This study examines the relationship between public-private partnerships and the performance of ports based on three factors: the quality of the port infrastructure, container throughput, and logistic performance in three Latin American countries, Mexico, Panama, and Brazil, for the period of 1994-2017. Design/methodology - The selected countries are top ranked in terms of container throughput in Latin America. The methodology employs secondary data from the World Bank (Quality of Port Infrastructure, Logistics Performance Index, and Private Participation in infrastructure database). Findings - Overall, the results revealed that the private investment of these countries varies significantly over the past couple decades. Panama, with the least public-private investment over the study period, performs better than Mexico and Brazil with regards to port quality infrastructure and container throughput. For ports in the selected countries to keep up with global competition, there is a need to enhance efficiency. Originality/value - Compared with ports in Asia, Latin American ports are lagging behind with respect to container throughput and efficiency. This study suggests greater collaboration from the private sector, academia, and other organizations, as well as a review of the regulatory framework to ensure better transparency and project allocation. Throwing more light on the public-private investment environment of Mexico, Brazil, and Panama, this study offers policy makers and regulators insightful information on port infrastructure.