• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.480-502
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• 2022

This work assesses the degree of satisfaction tourists receive as final recipients in a tourism destination based on the fact that satisfied tourists can make a significant contribution to the growth and continuous improvement of a tourism business. The work considers Pokhara, the tourism capital of Nepal as a prefecture of study. A stratified sampling methodology with open-ended survey questions is used as a primary source of data for a sample size of 1019 for both international and domestic tourists. The data collected through a survey is processed using a data mining tool to perform multi-dimensional analysis to discover information patterns and visualize clusters. Further, supervised machine learning algorithms, kNN, Decision tree, Support vector machine, Random forest, Neural network, Naive Bayes, and Gradient boost are used to develop models for training and prediction purposes for the survey data. To find the best model for prediction purposes, different performance matrices are used to evaluate a model for performance, accuracy, and robustness. The best model is used in constructing a learning-enabled model for predicting tourists as satisfied, neutral, and unsatisfied visitors. This work is very important for tourism business personnel, government agencies, and tourism stakeholders to find information on tourist satisfaction and factors that influence it. Though this work was carried out for Pokhara city of Nepal, the study is equally relevant to any other tourism destination of similar nature.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.381-404
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• 2022

Forest fires inflict great losses of human lives and serious damages to ecological systems. Hence, numerous fire detection methods have been proposed, one of which is fire detection based on sensors. However, these methods reveal several limitations when applied in large spaces like forests such as high cost, high level of false alarm, limited battery capacity, and other problems. In this research, we propose a novel forest fire detection method based on image processing and correlation coefficient. Firstly, two fire detection conditions are applied in RGB color space to distinguish between fire pixels and the background. Secondly, the image is converted from RGB to YCbCr color space with two fire detection conditions being applied in this color space. Finally, the correlation coefficient is used to distinguish between fires and objects with fire-like colors. Our proposed algorithm is tested and evaluated on eleven fire and non-fire videos collected from the internet and achieves up to 95.87% and 97.89% of F-score and accuracy respectively in performance evaluation.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.213-221
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• 2022

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a binary carbon-silicon compound. In its two-dimensional form, monolayer SiC is composed of a monolayer carbon and silicon atoms constructed as a honeycomb lattice. SiC has recently been receiving increasing attention from researchers owing to its intriguing electronic properties. In this present work, SiC nanoribbons (SiCNRs) are modelled and simulated to obtain accurate electronic properties, which can further guide fabrication processes, through bandgap engineering. The primary objective of this work is to obtain the electronic properties of monolayer SiCNRs by applying numerical computation methods using nearest-neighbour tight-binding models. Hamiltonian operator discretization and approximation of plane wave are assumed for the models and simulation by applying the basis function. The computed electronic properties include the band structures and density of states of monolayer SiCNRs of varying width. Furthermore, the properties are compared with those of graphene nanoribbons. The bandgap of ASiCNR as a function of width are also benchmarked with published DFT-GW and DFT-GGA data. Our nearest neighbour tight-binding (NNTB) model predicted data closer to the calculations based on the standard DFT-GGA and underestimated the bandgap values projected from DFT-GW, which takes in account the exchange-correlation energy of many-body effects.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.663-679
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• 2021

To elucidate the differences in the collapse behavior between a single-story beam-column assembly and multi-story frame, two 1/3-scale two-bay composite frames, including a single-story composite beam-column assembly and a three-story composite sub-frame, were designed and quasi-statically tested. The load-displacement responses, failure modes, and internal force development of the two frames were analyzed and compared in detail. Furthermore, the resistance mechanisms of the two specimens were explored, and the respective contributions of different load-resisting mechanisms to the total resistances were quantitatively separated to gain deeper insights. The experimental tests indicated that Vierendeel action was present in the two-dimensional multi-story frames, which led to an uneven internal force distribution among the three stories. The collapse resistance of TSDWA-3S in the flexural stage was not significantly increased by the structural redundancy provided by the additional story, as compared to that of TSDWA-1S. Although the development of the load response was similar in the two specimens at flexural stage, the collapse mechanisms of the multi-story composite frame were much more complicated than those of the single-story beam-column assembly, and the combined action between stories was critical in determining the internal force redistribution and rebalancing of the remaining structure.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.383-390
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• 2022

Background: The treatment of trigeminal neuralgia remains a challenging issue. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) provide optimized therapy for chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the attenuation of trigeminal neuralgia by SHED. Methods: Trigeminal neuralgia was induced by chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve. The mechanical threshold was assessed after model establishment and local SHED transplantation. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) morphology and Caspase12 expression in trigeminal ganglion (TG) was evaluated as well. BiP expression was observed in PC12 cells induced by tunicamycin. Results: The local transplantation of SHED could relieve trigeminal neuralgia in rats. Further, transmission electron microscopy revealed swelling of the ER in rats with trigeminal neuralgia. Moreover, SHED inhibited the tunicamycin-induced up-regulated expression of BiP mRNA and protein in vitro. Additionally, SHED decreased the up-regulated expression of Caspase12 mRNA and protein in the TG of rats caused by trigeminal neuralgia after chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve mode. Conclusions: This findings demonstrated that SHED could alleviate pain by relieving ER stress which provide potential basic evidence for clinical pain treatment.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.847-857
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• 2022

Objective: The effects of maternal undernutrition during midgestation on muscle fiber histology, myosin heavy chain (MyHC) expression, methylation modification of myogenic factors, and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in the skeletal muscles of prenatal and postnatal goats were examined. Methods: Twenty-four pregnant goats were assigned to a control (100% of the nutrients requirement, n = 12) or a restricted group (60% of the nutrients requirement, n = 12) between 45 and 100 days of gestation. Descendants were harvested at day 100 of gestation and at day 90 after birth to collect the femoris muscle tissue. Results: Maternal undernutrition increased (p<0.05) the fiber area of the vastus muscle in the fetuses and enhanced (p<0.01) the proportions of MyHCI and MyHCIIA fibers in offspring, while the proportion of MyHCIIX fibers was decreased (p<0.01). DNA methylation at the +530 cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) site of the myogenic factor 5 (MYF5) promoter in restricted fetuses was increased (p<0.05), but the methylation of the MYF5 gene at the +274,280 CpG site and of the myogenic differentiation (MYOD) gene at the +252 CpG site in restricted kids was reduced (p<0.05). mTOR protein signals were down-regulated (p<0.05) in the restricted offspring. Conclusion: Maternal undernutrition altered the muscle fiber type in offspring, but its relationship with methylation in the promoter regions of myogenic genes needs to be elucidated.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.224-249
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• 2023

Gastric cancer is heterogeneous in morphology, biology, genomics, and treatment response. Alterations in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression, microsatellite instability (MSI) status, programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) levels, and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) can be used as biomarkers. Since the combination of fluoropyrimidine/platinum plus trastuzumab that was investigated in the ToGA trial was approved as a standard of care in HER2-positive patients in 2010, no other agents showed efficacy in the first- (HELOISE, LOGiC, JACOB trials) and second- (TyTAN, GATSBY, T-ACT trials) line treatments. Despite the success in treating breast cancer, various anti-HER2 agents, including a monoclonal antibody (pertuzumab), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC; trastuzumab emtansine [T-DM1]), and a small molecule (lapatinib) failed to translate into clinical benefits until the KEYNOTE-811 (first-line) and DESTINY-Gastri01 (≥second-line) trials were conducted. The incorporation of HER2-directed treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors in the form of a monoclonal antibody or ADC is now approved as a standard treatment. Despite the promising results of new agents (engineered monoclonal antibodies, bi-specific antibodies, fusion proteins, and small molecules) in the early phase of development, the management of HER2-positive gastric cancer requires further optimization to achieve precision medicine with a chemotherapeutic backbone. Treatment resistance is a complex process that can be overcome using a combination of chemotherapy, targeted agents, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, including novel agents. HER2 status must be reassessed in patients undergoing anti-HER2 treatment with disease progression after the first-line treatment. As a general guideline, patients who need systemic treatment should receive chemotherapy plus targeted agents, anti-angiogenic agents, immune checkpoint inhibitors, or their combinations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.421-436
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• 2023

This paper presents a vibration displacement measurement and damage identification method for a space truss structure from its vibration videos. Features from Accelerated Segment Test (FAST) algorithm is combined with adaptive threshold strategy to detect the feature points of high quality within the Region of Interest (ROI), around each node of the truss structure. Then these points are tracked by Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi (KLT) algorithm along the video frame sequences to obtain the vibration displacement time histories. For some cases with the image plane not parallel to the truss structural plane, the scale factors cannot be applied directly. Therefore, these videos are processed with homography transformation. After scale factor adaptation, tracking results are expressed in physical units and compared with ground truth data. The main operational frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes are identified by using Subspace Stochastic Identification (SSI) from the obtained vibration displacement responses and compared with ground truth data. Structural damages are quantified by elemental stiffness reductions. A Bayesian inference-based objective function is constructed based on natural frequencies to identify the damage by model updating. The Success-History based Adaptive Differential Evolution with Linear Population Size Reduction (L-SHADE) is applied to minimise the objective function by tuning the damage parameter of each element. The locations and severities of damage in each case are then identified. The accuracy and effectiveness are verified by comparison of the identified results with the ground truth data.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.253-267
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• 2023

The bearing capacities resisted by the two-bay beams of multi-story planar frames with unequal spans under column removal scenarios differ considerably owing to the asymmetric stress on the left and right beams connected to the failed column and cause the potential for beams with larger span-to-depth ratios to be unable to exert effectively, which is disadvantageous for resisting the vertical load in unequal-span frame structures. To address this problem, the structural measure of adding braces to the weak bays of multi-story unequal-span frames was proposed, with the objective of achieving a coordinated stress state in two-bay beams with unequal spans, thereby improving the collapse resistance of unequal-span frame structures. Before conducting the numerical simulation, the modeling methods were verified by previous experimental results of two multi-story planar frames with and without steel braces. Thereafter, the effects of the tensile and compressive braces on the collapse behavior of the frame structures were elucidated. Then, based on the mechanical action laws of the braces throughout the collapse process, a detailed design method for improving the collapse resistance of unequal-span frame structures was proposed. Finally, the proposed design method was verified by using sufficient example models, and the results demonstrated that the design method has good application prospects and high practical value.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2007.03a
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• pp.289-298
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• 2007

The development of construction industry has led to the increase in the number of criteria imposed by project clients for selecting contractors. For example, clients often request tenderers to satisfy various conditions such as tight programme, financial strength, managerial ability, relevant work experiences, technical strength, high workmanship standard, safety requirement, quality specification, and yet others. This trend has attracted research interests of devising various methods for helping project clients to assess contractors' bids. For example, in recent development, the Works Bureau of the Hong Kong Government has introduced two mechanisms in tender evaluation for various public work contracts, namely, the Marking Scheme effective from June 2002 and the Formula Approach effective from November 2002 [1], [2]. These approaches evaluate a contractor's tender by considering collectively its tender price and performance attributes, the latter including contractor experience, past performance, technical resources and technical content of his proposal. The tender with the highest combined price and performance score (CPPS) will be normally recommended for acceptance. It appears, however, that there is little existing research in helping contractors to identify a competition strategy that enables the contractor to offer his most competitive bid collectively taking into account his resource capacities and project client's multiple performance criteria. This paper examines the factors affecting contractor's competition strategy to compete for works in Hong Kong. The understanding about the factors will contribute to identifying effective competition strategy. The data used for the analysis were collected from Hong Kong construction industry. The research findings may provide valuable references for investigating effective competition strategies in other construction industries outside the region.