• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.283-291
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• 2017

A large number of residential buildings in regions subjected to severe earthquakes do not have enough load carrying capacity. The most of them have been constructed without receiving any structural engineering attention. It is practically almost impossible to perform detailed experimental evaluation and analytical analysis for each building to determine their seismic vulnerability, because of time and cost constraints. This fact points to a need for a simple evaluation method that focuses on selection of buildings which do not have the life safety performance level by adopting the main requirements given in the seismic codes. This paper deals with seismic assessment of existing reinforced concrete residential buildings and contains an alternative simplified procedure for seismic evaluation of buildings. Accuracy of the proposed procedure is examined by taking into account existing 250 buildings. When the results of the proposed procedure are compared with those of the detailed analyses, it can be seen that the results are quite compatible. It is seen that the accuracy of the proposed procedure is about 80% according to the detailed analysis results of existing buildings. This accuracy percentage indicates that the proposed procedure in this paper can be easily applied to existing buildings to predict their seismic performance level as a first approach before implementing the detailed and complex analyses.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.172-193
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• 2015

Nowadays shoulder ultrasound is commonly used in the assessment of shoulder diseases and is as accurate as magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of several pathologies. Operator dependence is the main disadvantage of shoulder ultrasound. After adhering to a strict examination protocol, good knowledge of normal anatomy and pathologic processes and an awareness of common pitfalls, it can be used as a focused examination providing rapid, real-time diagnosis, and treatment by ultrasound-guided interventions in desired clinical situations. Also shoulder ultrasound can help the surgeon decide whether treatment will be surgical or nonsurgical. If arthroscopy is planned, sonographic findings help to counsel patients regarding surgical and functional outcomes. If a nonsurgical approach is indicated, ultrasound can be used to follow patients. This review article presents the examination techniques, the normal sonographic appearances and the main pathologic conditions found in shoulder ultrasound. And also addresses a simplified approach to scanning and ultrasound-guided intervention. Knowledge of optimal techniques, normal anatomy, dynamic maneuvers, and pathologic conditions is essential for optimal performance and interpretation of images.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.98-103
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• 2009

Purpose: Correct estimation of Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is very important for an accurate clinical assessment of the kidney function. This study compares four GFR markers, a serum creatinine-based estimation using MDRD formula, Cystatin-C, Cr-51 EDTA 2 samples and 6 samples. Materials and Methods: Serum creatinine concentrations, Cystatin-C serum concentrations and Cr-51 EDTA clearance are measured in 43 patients who received or donated kidney. Results: The correlation coefficient between serum based estimated GFR (MDRD) and Cr-51 EDTA 6 samples was 0.817 (p<0.01). The correlation coefficient between Cystatin-C based GFR and EDTA 6 samples was 0.7322 (p<0.01). Regression analysis showed a statistically significant correlation between Cr-51 EDTA 2 samples and 6 samples (r=0.971, p<0.01). Mean value and ${\pm}2SD$ for the difference between Cr-51 EDTA 2 samples and 6 samples were 4.7 mL/min and ${\pm}9.3$ respectively. Conclusions: The estimation of two samples Cr-51 EDTA showed that the method can be simplified by reducing blood samples without losing its high accuracy.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.211-220
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• 2014

The outer race of a constant velocity (CV) joint having six inner ball grooves has traditionally been manufactured by multi-stage warm forging, which includes forward extrusion, upsetting, backward extrusions, necking, ironing and sizing, and machining. In the current study, a multi-stage cold forging process is examined and an assessment for replacing and modifying the conventional multi-stage warm forging is made. The proposed procedure is simplified to the backward extrusion of the conventional process, and the sizing and necking are combined into a single sizing-necking step. Thus, the forging surface of the six ball grooves can be obtained without additional machining. To verify the suitability of the proposed process, a 3-dimensional numerical simulation on each operation was performed. The forging loads were also predicted. In addition, a structural integrity evaluation for the tools was carried out. Based on the results, it is shown that the dimensional requirements of the outer race can be well met.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.323-335
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• 2017

A simplified framework for the probabilistic estimation of economic losses induced by the structural vulnerability in single-story and single-bay precast industrial buildings is presented. The simplifications introduced in the framework are oriented to the definition of an expeditious procedure adoptable by government agencies and insurance companies for preliminary risk assessment. The economic losses are evaluated considering seismic hazard, structural response, damage resulting from the structural vulnerability and only structural-vulnerability-induced e]conomic losses, i.e., structural repair or reconstruction costs (stock and flow costs) and content losses induced by structural collapse. The uncertainties associated with each step are accounted for via Monte Carlo simulations. The estimation results in a probabilistic description of the seismic risk of portal-like industrial buildings, expressed in terms of economic losses for each occurrence (i.e., seismic event) that owners (i.e., insured) and stakeholders can use to make risk management decisions. The outcome may also be useful for the definition of the insurance premiums and the evaluation of the risks and costs for the owner corresponding to the insurance industrial costs. A prototype of a precast concrete industrial building located in Mirandola, Italy, hit by the 2012 Emilia earthquake, is used as an example of the application of the procedure.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.367-378
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• 2007

A sediment quality index (SQI) and a mean sediment quality guideline quotient (M-SQGQ) were applied for the assessment of sediment quality in Masan Bay, Korea where metals and organic pollutants are of concern. The SQI was calculated by two functions, 'scope' (the number of variables that do not meet guideline objective) and 'amplitude' (the magnitude by which variables exceed guideline objective), with six different sediment quality guideline values from Canada, USA and Australia/New Zealand. Categorization of sediment quality was on the basis of SQI scores. The SQI values were compared with six guideline values applied as well as with the M-SQGQs. The SQI values were severely influenced by a few variables of high exceedance in the degree of non-compliance. The SQI values were very dependent on both the numbers and values of guideline variables used in index caluculation. Nevertheless, the SQI could provide integrated and simplified information from a large number of chemical data set. It is required to further evaluate protocols and guideline applied for deriving SQI and to compare it with field based sediment toxicity test and ecosystem integrity.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.261-273
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• 2017

The control of the deformative behaviour of pre-stressed concrete roof elements for a satisfactory service performance is a main issue of their structural design. Slender light-weight wing-shaped roof elements, typical of the European heritage, are particularly sensitive to this problem. The paper presents the results of deformation measurements during storage and of both torsional-flexural and purely flexural load tests carried out on a full-scale 40.5 m long innovative wing-shaped roof element. An element-based simplified integral procedure that de-couples the evolution of the deflection profile with the progressive shortening of the beam is adopted to catch the experimental visco-elastic behaviour of the element and the predictions are compared with normative close-form solutions. A linear 3D fem model is developed to investigate the torsional-flexural behaviour of the member. A mechanical non-linear beam model is used to predict the purely flexural behaviour of the roof member in the pre- and post-cracking phases and to validate the loss prediction of the adopted procedure. Both experimental and numerical results highlight that the adopted analysis method is viable and sound for an accurate simulation of the service behaviour of precast roof elements.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.39
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• pp.9.1-9.5
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• 2017

Background: Nasalance is used to evaluate the velopharyngeal incompetence in clinical diagnoses using a nasometer. The aim of this study is to find the nasalance differences between Vietnamese cleft palate children and Korean cleft palate children by measuring the nasalance of five oral vowels. Methods: Ten Vietnamese cleft palate children after surgery, three Vietnamese children for the control group, and ten Korean cleft palate children after surgery with the same age participated in this experimentation. Instead of Korean control, the standard value of Korean version of the simplified nasometric assessment procedures (kSNAP) was used. Result: The results are as follows: (1) the highest nasalance score among the Vietnamese normal vowels is the low vowel /a/; however, that of Korean normal vowels is the high vowel /i/. (2) The average nasalance score of Korean cleft palate vowels is 18% higher than that of Vietnamese cleft palate vowels. There was a nasalance score of over 45% among the vowels /e/ and /i/ in Vietnamese cleft palate patients and /i/, /o/, and /u/ in Korean cleft palate patients. Conclusion: These different nasalance scores of the same vowels seem to cause an ethnic difference between Vietnamese and Korean cleft palate children.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.591-617
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• 2015

Standards for seismic assessment and retrofitting of buildings provide deformation limit states for structural members and connections. However, in order to perform fully consistent performance-based seismic analyses of soil-structure systems; deformation limit states must also be available for foundations that are vulnerable to nonlinear actions. Because such limit states have never been established in the past, a laboratory testing program was conducted to study the rotational capacity of small-scale foundation models under combined axial load and moment. Fourteen displacement-controlled monotonic and cyclic tests were performed using a cohesionless soil contained in a $2.0{\times}2.0{\times}1.2m$ container box. It was found that the foundation models exhibited a stable hysteretic behavior for imposed rotations exceeding 0.06 rad and that the measured foundation moment capacity complied well with Meyerhof's equivalent width concept. Simplified code-based soil-structure analyses of an 8-story building under an array of strong ground motions were also conducted to preliminary evaluate the implication of finite rotational capacity of vulnerable foundations. It was found that for the same soil as that of the experimental program foundations would have a deformation capacity that far exceeds the imposed rotational demands under the lateral load resisting members so yielding of the soil may constitute a reliable source of energy dissipation for the system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.838-849
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• 2017

This paper proposes penalty factor equations that take into consideration the weld strength over-match given in the classified form similar to the revised equations presented in the Code Case N-779 via cyclic elastic-plastic finite element analysis. It was found that the $K_e$ analysis data reflecting elastic follow-up can be consolidated by normalizing the primary-plus-secondary stress intensity ranges excluding the nonlinear thermal stress intensity component, $S_n$ to over-match degree of yield strength, $M_F$. For the effect of over-match on $K_n{\times}K_{\nu}$, dispersion of the $K_n{\times}K_{\nu}$ analysis data can be sharply reduced by dividing total stress intensity range, excluding local thermal stresses, $S_{p-lt}$ by $M_F$. Finally, the proposed equations were applied to the weld between the safe end and the piping of a pressurizer surge nozzle in pressurized water reactors in order to calculate a cumulative usage factor. The cumulative usage factor was then compared with those derived by the previous $K_e$ factor equations. The result shows that application of the proposed equations can significantly reduce conservatism of fatigue assessment using the previous $K_e$ factor equations.