• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.5
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• pp.501-519
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• 2023

This paper introduces a new hybrid structural connection joint that combines shear walls with section steel beams, fundamentally resolving the construction complexity issue of requiring pre-embedded connectors in the connection between shear walls and steel beams. Initially, a quasi-static loading scheme with load-deformation dual control was employed to conduct low-cycle repeated loading experiments on five new connection joints. Data was acquired using displacement and strain gauges to compare the energy dissipation coefficients of each specimen. The destruction process of the new connection joints was meticulously observed and recorded, delineating it into three stages. Hysteresis curves and skeleton curves of the joint specimens were plotted based on experimental results, summarizing the energy dissipation performance of the joints. It's noteworthy that the addition of shear walls led to an approximate 17% increase in the energy dissipation coefficient. The energy dissipation coefficients of dog-bone-shaped connection joints with shear walls and cover plates reached 2.043 and 2.059, respectively, exhibiting the most comprehensive hysteresis curves. Additionally, the impact of laminated steel plates covering composite concrete floors on the stiffness of semi-rigid joint ends under excessive stretching should not be disregarded. A comparison with finite element analysis results yielded an error of merely 2.2%, offering substantial evidence for the wide-ranging application prospects of this innovative joint in seismic performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.374-381
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• 2023

This study develops and evaluates a deep learning model for predicting oxide and nitride layers based on plasma process data. We introduce a novel deep learning-based Varying Coefficient Regressor (VCR) by adapting the VCR, which previously relied on an existing unique function. This model is employed to forecast the oxide and nitride layers within the plasma. Through comparative experiments, the proposed VCR-based model exhibits superior performance compared to Long Short-Term Memory, Random Forest, and other methods, showcasing its excellence in predicting time series data. This study indicates the potential for advancing prediction models through deep learning in the domain of plasma processing and highlights its application prospects in industrial settings.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.759-771
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• 2023

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are naturally occurring bacteria that intensively colonize plant roots and are crucial in promoting the crop growth. These beneficial microorganisms have garnered considerable attention as potential bio-inoculants for sustainable agriculture. PGPR directly interacts with plants by providing essential nutrients through nitrogen fixation and phosphate solubilization and accelerating the accessibility of other trace elements such as Cu, Zn, and Fe. Additionally, they produce plant growth-promoting phytohormones, such as indole acetic acids (IAA), indole butyric acids (IBA), gibberellins, and cytokinins.PGPR interacts with plants indirectly by protecting them from diseases and infections by producing antibiotics, siderophores, hydrogen cyanide, and fungal cell wall-degrading enzymes such as glucanases, chitinases, and proteases. Furthermore, PGPR protects plants against abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity by producing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase and modulating plant stress markers. Bacteria belonging to genera such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Pantoa, and Enterobacter exhibit multiple plant growth-promoting traits, that can enhance plant growth directly, indirectly, or through synergetic effects. This comprehensive review emphasizes how PGPR influences plant growth promotion and presents promising prospects for its application in sustainable agriculture.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.89-105
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• 2024

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) method has exhibited broad application prospects in the nondestructive detection of interfacial debonding in steel-concrete composite structures (SCCS). However, due to the structural diversity of SCCS and the high stealthiness of interfacial debonding defects, the feasibility of MASW method needs to be investigated in depth. In this study, synthetic parametric study on MASW nondestructive debonding detection for SCCSs is performed. The aim is to quantitatively analyze influential factors with respect to structural composition of SCCS and MASW measurement mode. First, stress wave composition and propagation process in SCCS are studied utilizing 2D numerical simulation. For structural composition in SCCS, the thickness variation of steel plate, concrete core, and debonding defects are discussed. To determine the most appropriate sensor arrangement for MASW measurement, the effects of spacing and number of observation points, along with distances between excitation points, nearest boundary, as well as the first observation point, are analyzed individually. The influence of signal type and frequency of transient excitation on dispersion figures from forwarding analysis is studied to determine the most suitable excitation signal. The findings from this study can provide important theoretical guidance for MASW-based interfacial debonding detection for SCCS. Furthermore, they can be instrumental in optimizing both the sensor layout design and signal choice for experimental validation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4685-4694
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• 2023

The ability to calculate the material density sensitivity coefficients of power with respect to the material density has broad application prospects for accelerating Monte Carlo-Thermal Hydraulics iterations. The second-order material density sensitivity coefficients for the general Monte Carlo score have been derived based on the differential operator sampling method in this paper, and the calculation of the sensitivity coefficients of cell power scores with respect to the material density has been realized in continuous-energy Monte Carlo code RMC. Based on the power-density sensitivity coefficients, the sensitivity coefficients of power scores to some other physical quantities, such as power-boron concentration coefficients and power-temperature coefficients considering only the thermal expansion, were subsequently calculated. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in the power-density coefficients problems of the pressurized water reactor (PWR) moderator and the heat pipe reactor (HPR) reflectors. The calculations were carried out using RMC and the ENDF/B-VII.1 neutron nuclear data. It is shown that the calculated sensitivity coefficients can be used to predict the power scores accurately over a wide range of boron concentration of the PWR moderator and a wide range of temperature of HPR reflectors.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.643-658
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• 2024

To date, shell-solid and fibre element model analysis are the most commonly used methods to investigate the seismic performance of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) bridge piers. However, most existing research does not consider the loss of bearing capacity caused by the fracture of the outer steel tube. To fill this knowledge gap, a refined finite element (FE) model considering the ductile damage of steel tubes and the behaviour of infilled concrete with cracks is established and verified against experimental results of unidirectional, bidirectional cyclic loading tests and pseudo-dynamic loading tests. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the seismic performance of CFST bridge piers with different concrete strength, steel strength, axial compression ratio, slenderness ratio and infilled concrete height using the proposed model. The validation shows that the proposed refined FE model can effectively simulate the residual displacement of CFST bridge piers subjected to highintensity earthquakes. The parametric analysis indicates that CFST piers hold sufficient strength reserves and sound deformation capacity and, thus, possess excellent application prospects for bridge construction in high-intensity areas.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.68
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• pp.65-87
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• 2015

This article examines the Stay of Enforcement of ICSID Arbitration Award. The effect of the stay is that the award is not subject to enforcement proceedings under Article 54 of the ICSID Convention pending the outcome of the annulment application. The annulment committee must decide the stay, unless the applicant sought the stay with the request for annulment, in which case the ICSID Secretary -General must grant it automatically. This automatic stay -which can only relate to the entire award-remains in force until the committee is constituted and issues a decision on the request for stay. ICSID committees have taken different positions on whether a stay of enforcement is exceptional or not. Some committees have held that because the ICSID Convention explicitly recognizes that the rights of the award creditor could be subject to a stay, stays are not exceptional. ICSID practice shows that most committees have rejected the proposition that the merits and prospects of the application for annulment should influence the committee's decision whether to grant a stay. In addition, ICSID practice regarding the specific circumstances that will justify a stay of enforcement is unclear, and committees have focused on different factors to decide whether to grant a stay such as prospect of prompt compliance with the ward, hardship to one of the parties, risk of non-recovery and irreparable harm to the award debtor. Also, ICSID practice shows that even though the Convention is silent on this issue, committees have generally held that they are empowered to condition the stay of enforcement on the granting of security by the requesting party.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.169-179
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• 2012

Microbiological calcium carbonate precipitation (MCCP) is being applied for the aesthetic restoration of cement buildings destroyed by biochemical processes and to block water penetration into the cement's inner structure. After determining the advantages of this technique, many related studies in the area of architecture concerning the application of microorganisms to improve construction material have been reported in both America and Europe. The techniques compatibility with cement material is especially interesting because of the needed screening of various calcium carbonate forming-bacteria and the required development of their application methods. The purpose of this review is to describe the mechanism of MCCP and related researches with eco-friendly construction materials. Mainly, we describe the methodological studies focused on biodeposition on the surface of building materials and the research trends concerning the addition of microorganisms to improve the durability of cement structures. Additionally, the concepts and technical aspects focused on the development of self-healing smart concrete, with the use of multi-functional bacteria, have been considered.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.49-68
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• 2008

The purpose of this paper is to extensively review the condition monitoring (CM) techniques using empirical models in an effort to reduce or eliminate unexpected downtimes in general industry, and to illustrate the feasibility of applying them to the nuclear industry. CM provides on-time warnings of system states to enable the optimal scheduling of maintenance and, ultimately, plant uptime is maximized. Currently, most maintenance processes tend to be either reactive, or part of scheduled, or preventive maintenance. Such maintenance is being increasingly reported as a poor practice for two reasons: first, the component does not necessarily require maintenance, thus the maintenance cost is wasted, and secondly, failure catalysts are introduced into properly working components, which is worse. This paper first summarizes the technical aspects of CM including state estimation and state monitoring. The mathematical background of CM is mature enough even for commercial use in the nuclear industry. Considering the current computational capabilities of CM, its application is not limited by technical difficulties, but by a lack of desire on the part of industry to implement it. For practical applications in the nuclear industry, it may be more important to clarify and quantify the negative impact of unexpected outcomes or failures in CM than it is to investigate its advantages. In other words, while issues regarding accuracy have been targeted to date, the concerns regarding robustness should now be concentrated on. Standardizing the anticipated failures and the possibly harsh operating conditions, and then evaluating the impact of the proposed CM under those conditions may be necessary. In order to make the CM techniques practical for the nuclear industry in the future, it is recommended that a prototype CM system be applied to a secondary system in which most of the components are non-safety grade. Recently, many activities to enhance the safety and efficiency of the secondary system have been encouraged. With the application of CM to nuclear power plants, it is expected to increase profit while addressing safety and economic issues.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.399-422
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• 2020

Remediating soils contaminated with heavy metals due to urbanization and industrialization is very important not only for human health but also for ecosystem sustainability. Of the available remediation technologies for heavy metal-contaminated soils, phytoremediation is a relatively low-cost environment-friendly technology which preserves biodiversity and soil fertility. The application of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) during the phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils can enhance plant growth against heavy metal toxicity and increase heavy metal removal efficiency. In this study, the sources of heavy metals that have adverse effects on microorganisms, plants, and humans, and the plant growth-promoting traits of PGPB are addressed and the research trends of PGPB-assisted phytoremediation over the last 10 years are summarized. In addition, the effects of environmental factors and PGPB inoculation methods on the performance of PGPB-assisted phytoremediation are discussed. For the innovation of PGPB-assisted phytoremediation, it is necessary to understand the behavior of PGPB and the interactions among plant, PGPB, and indigenous microorganisms in the field.