• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.56-62
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• 2003

The liver progenitor cells could form a potential target cell population fore both tumor-initiating and -promoting chemicals. Induction of drug-metabolizing and antioxidant enzymes, including AhR-dependent CYP1A1, NQO-1 and AKR1C9, was detected in the rat liver epithelial WB-F344 "stem-like" cells. Additionally, WB-F344 cells express a functional, wild-type form of p53 protein, a biomarker of genotoxic events, and connexin 43, a basic structural unit of gap junctions forming an important type of intercellular communication. In this cellular model, two complementary assays have been established for detection of the modes of action associated with tumor promotion: inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) and proliferative activity in confluent cells. We found that the PAHs and PCBs, which are AhR agonists, released WB-F344 cells from contact inhibition, increasing both DNA synthesis and cell numbers. Genotoxic effects of some PAHs that lead to apoptosis and cell cycle delay might interfere with the proliferative activity of PAHs. Contrary to that, the nongenotoxic low-molecular-weight PAHs and non-dioxin-like PCB congeners, abundant in the environment, did not significantly affect cell cycle and cell proliferation; however both groups of compounds inhibited GJIC in WB-F344 cells. The release from contact inhibiton by a mechanism that possibly involves the AhR activation, inhibition of GJIC and genotoxic events induced by environmental contaminants are three important modes of action that could play an important role in carcinogenic effects of toxic compounds. The relative potencies to inhibit GJIC, to induce AhR-mediated activity, and to release cells from contact inhibition were determined for a large series of PAHs and PCBs and their metabolites. In vitro bioassays based on detection of events on cellular level (deregulation of GJIC and/or proliferation) or determination of receptor-mediated activities in both ?$stem-like^{\circ}{\times}$ and hepatocyte-like liver cellular models are valuable tools for detection of modes of action of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. They may serve, together with concentration data, as a first step in their risk assessment.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.252-261
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• 2023

Glucose detection is particularly important for clinical diagnosis and personal prevention and control. Herein, the smartphone-based amperometric glucose sensors were constructed using the NiS/CuS nanorods (NRs) as sensing electrodes. The NiS/CuS NRs were prepared through a facile hydrothermal process accompanied by the subsequent vulcanization treatment. The morphological and structural properties of NiS/CuS NRs were characterized with SEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS. Electrochemical measurements including cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy display that NiS/CuS NRs can act as highly efficient electrocatalyst for glucose detection. The NiS/CuS NRs electrodes present a wide detection range of 1-8000 µM for glucose sensing with the sensitivity of 956.38 µA·mM^-1·cm^-2. The detection limit was 0.35 µM (S/N=3). When employed in smartphone-based glucose sensing device, they also display a high sensitivity of 738.09 µA·mM^-1·cm^-2 and low detection limit of 1.67 µM. Moreover, the smartphone-based glucose sensing device also presents favorable feasibility in determination of glucose in serum samples with the recoveries ranging between 99.5 and 105.8%. The results may provide a promising viewpoint to design other new portable glucose sensors.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.527-534
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• 2023

Triple modular redundancy (TMR) systems can continue their mission by virtue of their structural redundancy even if one processor is attacked by faults. In this paper, we propose a new fault tolerance strategy by introducing checkpoints into the TMR system in which data saving and fault detection processes are separated while they corporate together in the conventional checkpoints. Faults in one processor are tolerated by synchronizing the state of three processors upon detecting faults. Simultaneous faults occurring to more than one processor are tolerated by re-executing the task from the latest checkpoint. We propose the checkpoint placement and fault detection strategy to maximize the probability of successful execution of a task within the given deadline. We develop the Markov chain model for the TMR system having the proposed checkpoint strategy, and derive the optimal fault detection and checkpoint interval.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.473-486
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• 2023

Nowadays, urban centers are increasingly vertical, making architects and engineers look for more efficient tools to analyze the effects of wind on tall buildings. Topology optimization can be used as an efficient tool for the design of bracing systems. Therefore, this work obtained the wind loads that act in the CAARC building, following the Brazilian standard NBR 6123/1988 and using Computational Fluid Dynamics. Four loading situations were considered, using the SIMP and BESO methods to optimize two-dimensional structures. A comparison between the SIMP and BESO methods is presented, showing the differences in the geometry of the solution found by both methods, the percentage variation in the objective function values and the dimensionless processing time. The solutions obtained through the loads obtained by the Brazilian standard are also compared with the numerical solutions obtained by CFD. The results show that the BESO method presented more rigid structures compared to the SIMP method. The bracing structures obtained with the SIMP method always present similar patterns in the distribution and quantity of bars, in contrast to the BESO method where no characteristic topology pattern was observed. It was concluded that even though the structures obtained by the BESO method presented greater stiffness, the SIMP method was less susceptible to the methodology used for the determination of wind loads. Additionally, it was evident the great potential that the combination topology optimization and computational wind engineering have in the design of bracing systems of high functional and aesthetic standards.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1519-1526
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• 2023

For the first time Aluminium-BariumeZinc oxide nanocomposite (ZABONC) was synthesized by solution combustion method where calcination was carried out at low temperatures (600℃) to study the electromagnetic (EM) (X/γ) radiation shielding properties. Further for characterization purpose standard techniques like PXRD, SEM, UV-VISIBLE, FTIR were used to find phase purity, functional groups, surface morphology, and to do structural analysis and energy band gap determination. The PXRD pattern shows (hkl) planes corresponding to spinel cubic phase of ZnAl₂O4, cubic Ba(NO₃)₂, α and γ phase of Al₂O₃ which clearly confirms the formation of complex nano composite. From SEM histogram mean size of nano particles was calculated and is in the order of 17 nm. Wood and Tauc's relation direct energy band gap calculation gives energy gap of 2.9 eV. In addition, EM (X/γ) shielding properties were measured and compared with the theoretical ones using standard procedures (NaI (Tl) detector and multi channel analyzer MCA). For energy above 356 keV the measured shielding parameters agree well with the theory, while below this value slight deviation is observed, due to the influence of atomic/crystallite size of the ZABONC. Hence synthesized ZABONC can be used as a shielding material in EM (X/γ) radiation shielding.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.2
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• pp.143-154
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• 2022

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is considered as the main cause of concrete structures deterioration, especially those under humid environmental conditions. Hence, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars are being increasingly used as a replacement for conventional steel owing to their non-corrodible characteristics. However, predicting the shear strength of beams reinforced with FRP bars still challenging due to the lack of robust shear theory. Thus, this paper aims to develop an explicit data driven based model to predict the shear strength of FRP reinforced beams using multi-objective evolutionary polynomial regression analysis (MOGA-EPR) as data driven models learn the behavior from the input data without the need to employee a theory that aid the derivation, and thus they have an enhanced accuracy. This study also evaluates the accuracy of predictive models of shear strength of FRP reinforced concrete beams employed by different design codes by calculating and comparing the values of the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), mean (𝜇), standard deviation of the mean (𝜎), coefficient of determination (R²), and percentage of prediction within error range of ±20% (a20-index). Experimental database has been developed and employed in the model learning, validation, and accuracy examination. The statistical analysis illustrated the robustness of the developed model with MAE, RMSE, 𝜇, 𝜎, R², and a20-index of 14.6, 20.8, 1.05, 0.27, 0.85, and 0.61, respectively for training data and 10.4, 14.1, 0.98, 0.25, 0.94, and 0.60, respectively for validation data. Furthermore, the developed model achieved much better predictions than the standard predictive models as it scored lower MAE, RMSE, and 𝜎, and higher R² and a20-index. The new model can be used in future with confidence in optimized designs as its accuracy is higher than standard predictive models.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.179-190
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• 2023

The effect of the particle size and silica structure on the wear behavior of Silica/Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) compounds was investigated using a blade-type abrader and the findings were compared with those obtained with an Akron abrader. The compensated characteristic parameter (Ψ_c), which was the contributory factor of the combined effect of the particle size and filler structure, was introduced. This parameter was found to exhibit a linear relationship with the Young's modulus. The Young's modulus correlated more with Ψ_c than the uncompensated characteristic parameter (Ψ) modeled for carbon black. The wear rate and volume loss measured using a blade-type abrader and Akron abrader were respectively observed to be inversely proportional to Ψ_c, that is, the wear resistance of Silica/SBR compound improved as the particle size became smaller and the silica structure became intricate. The coefficient of determination (R²) obtained from the linear relationship between Ψ_c and wear rate was higher than those between Ψ_c and volume loss for the Silica/SBR compound. Thus, the blade-type abrader exhibited high potential to be used for accurately evaluating the effect of particle size and structural properties of silica on the wear behavior of SBR compounds.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.2
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• pp.159-168
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• 2023

Cost-effective high precision hybrid elements are presented in a hierarchical form for dynamic analysis of plates. The costs associated with controlling the vibrations of ferromagnetic plates can be minimized by adequate determination of the amount of electric current and magnetic field. In the present study, the effect of magnetic field and electric current on nonlinear vibrations of ferromagnetic plates is investigated. The general form of Lorentz forces and Maxwell's equations have been considered for the first time to present new relationships for electromagnetic interaction forces with ferromagnetic plates. In order to derive the governing nonlinear differential equations, the theory of third-order shear deformations of three-dimensional plates has been applied along with the von Kármán large deformation strain-displacement relations. Afterward, the nonlinear equations are discretized using the Galerkin method, and the effect of various parameters is investigated. According to the results, electric current and magnetic field have different effects on the equivalent stiffness of ferromagnetic plates. As the electric current increases and the magnetic field decreases, the equivalent stiffness of the plate decreases. This is a phenomenon reported here for the first time. Furthermore, the magnetic field has a more significant effect on the steady-state deflection of the plate compared to the electric current. Increasing the magnetic field and electric current by 10-times results in a reduction of about 350% and an increase of 3.8% in the maximum steady-state deflection, respectively. Furthermore, the nonlinear frequency decreases as time passes, and these changes become more intense as the magnetic field increases.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2024

With the increase in the exploitation depth of offshore oil and gas, it is possible to control the global buckling of deep-sea pipelines by the snake lay method. Previous studies mainly focused on the analysis of critical buckling force and critical temperature of pipelines under the snake-like laying method, and pipelines often suffer structural failure due to seismic disasters during operation. Therefore, seismic action is a necessary factor in the design and analysis of submarine pipelines. In this paper, the seismic action of steel pipes in the operation stage after global buckling has occurred under the active control method is analyzed. Firstly, we have established a simplified finite element model for the entire process cycle and found that this modeling method is accurate and efficient, solving the problem of difficult convergence of seismic wave and soil coupling in previous solid analysis, and improving the efficiency of calculations. Secondly, through parameter analysis, it was found that under seismic action, the pipe diameter mainly affects the stress amplitude of the pipeline. When the pipe wall thickness increases from 0.05 m to 0.09 m, the critical buckling force increases by 150%, and the maximum axial stress decreases by 56%. In the pipe soil interaction, the greater the soil viscosity, the greater the pipe soil interaction force, the greater the soil constraint on the pipeline, and the safer the pipeline. Finally, the pipeline failure determination formula was obtained through dimensionless analysis and verified, and it was found that the formula was accurate.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.441-456
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• 2024

This paper aims to develop Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict the buckling resistance of cold-formed steel (CFS) channels with restrained flanges, widely used in typical CFS sheathed wall panels, and provide practical design tools for engineers. The effects of cross-sectional restraints were first evaluated on the elastic buckling behaviour of CFS channels subjected to pure axial compressive load or bending moment. Feedforward multi-layer Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were then trained on different datasets comprising CFS channels with various dimensions and properties, plate thicknesses, and restraining conditions on one or two flanges, while the elastic distortional buckling resistance of the elements were determined according to the Finite Strip Method (FSM). To develop less biased networks and ensure that every observation from the original dataset has the chance of appearing in the training and test set, a K-fold cross-validation technique was implemented. In addition, the hyperparameters of the ANNs were tuned using a grid search technique to provide ANNs with optimum performances. The results demonstrated that the trained ANNs were able to predict the elastic distortional buckling resistance of CFS flange-restrained elements with an average accuracy of 99% in terms of coefficient of determination. The developed models were then used to propose a simple ANN-based design formula for the prediction of the elastic distortional buckling stress of CFS flange-restrained elements. Finally, the proposed formula was further evaluated on a separate set of unseen data to ensure its accuracy for practical applications.