• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.177-195
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• 2010

This paper presents an appraisal of four nonlinear static procedures (CSM, N2, MPA and ACSM) employed in seismic assessment of plan-irregular buildings. It uses a three storey reinforced concrete plan-irregular frame building exemplifying typical older constructions of the Mediterranean region in the early 1970s that was tested in full-scale under bi-directional pseudo-dynamic loading condition at JRC, Ispra. The adequacy and efficiency of the simplified analytical modelling assumptions adopted were verified. In addition, the appropriate variants of code-prescribed NSPs (CSM and N2) to be considered for subsequent evaluation were established. Subsequent parametric studies revealed that all such NSPs predicted reasonably well both global and local responses, having the benchmark values been determined through nonlinear dynamic analyses using a suit of seven ground motions applied with four different orientations. The ACSM, however, predicted responses that matched slightly better the median dynamic results.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2013.01a
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• pp.502-506
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• 2013

The cash flow forecasting is normally done by contractors in construction industry at early stages of the project for contractual decisions. The decision making in such situations involve uncertainty about future cash flows and assessment of working capital requirements gains more importance in projects constrained by cash. The traditional approach to assess the working capital requirements is deterministic in and neglects the uncertainty. This paper presents an alternate approach to assessment of working capital requirements for contractor based on fuzzy set theory by considering the uncertainty and ambiguity involved at payment periods. Statistical methods are used to deal with the uncertainty for working capital curves. Membership functions of the fuzzy sets are developed based on these statistical measures. Advantage of fuzzy peak working capital requirements is demonstrated using peak working capital requirements curves. Fuzzy peak working capital requirements curves are compared with deterministic curves and the results are analyzed. Fuzzy weighted average methodology is proposed for the assessment of peak working capital requirements.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2009

Early age at menarche, which is indicator of early biological maturity, has been shown to be associated with increased adult body mass index. Early menarche has also been associated with many cardiovascular disease risk factors and metabolic syndrome. To evaluate the impact of menarche to cardiovascular risk factor, we assessed by age at menarche, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), which represents arterial stiffness, in women with or without metabolic syndrome. The subjects recruited for this study were three hundred one women. Relatively early menarche and relatively late menarche were classified according to less than $50^{th}$ percentile for relatively early menarche, and great than the $50^{th}$ percentile for relatively late menarche. Subject were divided four group, 1) women who had not adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively early menarche, 2) women who had not adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively late menarche, 3) women who had adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively early menarche, 4) women who had adulthood metabolic syndrome and relatively late menarche. Women who had a relatively early menarche with adulthood metabolic syndrome had significantly high levels of blood pressure, triglyceride, fasting insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels than women with late menarche with adulthood metabolic syndrome, and had significantly lower HDL-cholesterol levels. And also, women who underwent a relatively early menarche with metabolic syndrome had highest level of baPWV in adult. In this study we found effect of age at menarche on adulthood metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (e.g., baPWV, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia) in Korean women.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.689-700
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• 2017

This paper presents an effective approach for wind turbine (WT) condition assessment based on the data collected from wind farm supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Three types of assessment indices are determined based on the monitoring parameters obtained from the SCADA system. Neural Networks (NNs) are used to establish prediction models for the assessment indices that are dependent on environmental conditions such as ambient temperature and wind speed. An abnormal level index (ALI) is defined to quantify the abnormal level of the proposed indices. Prediction errors of the prediction models follow a normal distribution. Thus, the ALIs can be calculated based on the probability density function of normal distribution. For other assessment indices, the ALIs are calculated by the nonparametric estimation based cumulative probability density function. A Back-Propagation NN (BPNN) algorithm is used for the overall WT condition assessment. The inputs to the BPNN are the ALIs of the proposed indices. The network structure and the number of nodes in the hidden layer are carefully chosen when the BPNN model is being trained. The condition assessment method has been used for real 1.5 MW WTs with doubly fed induction generators. Results show that the proposed assessment method could effectively predict the change of operating conditions prior to fault occurrences and provide early alarming of the developing faults of WTs.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.130-141
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to reconsider the necessity of stroke-related educational programs by investigating early symptoms of stroke that emergency medical technicians (EMTs) may experience. Methods: An interview survey was carried out, targeting all EMTs 298 people who were working at 119 fire safety centers and local units in Jeollabuk-do province, from April 1 to 30, 2011. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain data on ETMs' demographic characteristics, educational level on stroke, and awareness level about early symptoms of stroke and treatment-related characteristics of stroke patients. Results: The results showed that 63.2% of those surveyed had completed the required educational programs on stroke during the past year. The level of awareness about early symptoms of stroke and assessment of stroke patients' condition was relatively high for women, those who were 30 years under, low position people, emergency service practitioners, emergency medical technicians, and people who have completed education, respectively. It was also turned out that 82.8% of those surveyed took stroke patients to the nearest hospitals first so that they could receive appropriate treatment. The level of awareness about early symptoms of stroke and assessment of stroke patients' condition in people who have completed education were higher than non-complete. The level of awareness about early symptoms of stroke was positively correlated with confidence, satisfaction and appropriateness in treatment of stroke patients. Conclusions: These results strongly suggest that it is necessary to operate specialized educational programs to enhance EMTs' appropriate awareness of the early symptoms of stroke and assessment of stroke patient's condition.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2013

Recently, there have been improvements in diagnostic methods for the assessment of early caries lesions. The reason is that dental professionals are seeking methods to reliably detect incipient dental caries and to remineralize them. This review examines the literature on principles, theoretical background, and history of the Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence (QLF) system (Inspektor Research Systems BV, The Netherlands). Furthermore, this paper discusses the potential application of QLF system to clinical practice for educational purpose, enabling dental hygiene students to perform oral health assessment using the QLF system. In addition, the clinical application of QLF system can motivate patients by providing additional visual information about caries and bacterial activity. The evidences on validity and reliability of the QLF system for detection of longitudinal changes in de/remineralization and caries were examined. The QLF system is capable of monitoring and quantifying mineral changes in early caries lesions. Therefore, it can be used to assess the impacts of caries preventive measures on the remineralization and reversal of the caries process. And the QLF system is a very promising equipment to assess educational effectiveness for dental hygiene students in their learning process. In conclusion, the QLF system is the most effective technology for more sensitive staging of caries and treatment without surgical intervention.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.46-51
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• 2005

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for breast cancer and early screening behavior in women in the community. Method: The participants were 125 women residing in W city. Data was collected using an instrument developed by the researchers. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics, and the $x^2$ test. Result: For risk based on the Gail Model, age (above 50 years) had a distribution of 24.8%, first degree family history, 4.9%, age at first full term pregnancy, 13.8%, and benign breast cancer history, 4.9%. For risk based on other common risk factors, menopause had a distribution of 20.7%, did not breast feed, 15.4%, history of HRT, 7.3%, meat preference, 35.0%, and history of smoking or drinking, 2.4% and 43.5%, respectively. There was a significant difference in BSE and mammography screening behavior ($x^2=22.5$, p<.00), but no difference in distribution of risk factors and screening behavior. Conclusion: For effective prevention of breast cancer, it is necessary to develop an instrument for risk assessment and, through assessment, select women at high risk. It is also necessary to provide education and appropriate recommendations on screening behavior.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.53-55
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• 2010

A thyroid cartilage fracture is a rare entity and can be overlooked easily. Such cases are difficult to diagnose, and assessment and treatment guidelines are difficult to determine. CT of the neck region may be useful when acute airway intervention is not required or when more information regarding the neck's anatomy is required for management decisions. We describe a case of a thyroid cartilage fracture with displacement. In the emergency department (ED), neck CT and fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy were used to assess the status of the patient's (a male) vocal chords immediately. He remained unable to phonate continuously. After an immediate assessment, we decided to use steroid and conservative therapy. The patient had a good recovery and was without symptoms one month after injury. There is no question that early surgical repair of neck injuries affords the best results for airway and voice patency in most cases however, we suspect that surgical repair is not needed in all cases. Early recognition and an accurate therapy plan for a thyroid fracture with displacement are essential. Therefore, the emergency physician's immediate and careful decision based on endoscopy and neck CT is important for the patient's long-term recovery.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.245-258
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• 2005

This paper addresses two types of uncertainty: stochastic uncertainty and subjective uncertainty in probabilistic accident consequence assessments. The off-site consequence assessment code OSCAAR has been applied to uncertainty and sensitivity analyses on the individual risks of early fatality and latent cancer fatality in the population outside the plant boundary due to a severe accident. A new stratified meteorological sampling scheme was successfully implemented into the trajectory model for atmospheric dispersion and the statistical variability of the probability distributions of the consequence was examined. A total of 65 uncertain input parameters was considered and 128 runs of OSCAAR with 144 meteorological sequences were performed in the parameter uncertainty analysis. The study provided the range of uncertainty for the expected values of individual risks of early and latent cancer fatality close to the site. In the sensitivity analyses, the correlation/regression measures were useful for identifying those input parameters whose uncertainty makes an important contribution to the overall uncertainty for the consequence. This could provide valuable insights into areas for further research aiming at reducing the uncertainties.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.95-100
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to facilitate home visits to assess the current rate of child abuse in order to provide an agenda for the early detection and prevention of child abuse and neglect in Korea. Methods: For this retrospective descriptive research, 20 public health centers were selected, 1,991 families were visited and 2,680 children were assessed. Results: We found 415 cases (15.5%) of potential abuse and 7 cases (0.3%) of actual abuse. The greatest risk group was to children age 4 to 6 years. According to the HOME Inventory, there were 17 infants (5.8%) presenting a potential risk for child abuse and neglect. Conclusion: Visitation screening is highly recommended for prevention in the high-risk preschool age group.