• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.87-108
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• 2007

Given that various classroom contextual factors influence the nature of writing instructional practices, it would be worthwhile to explore these factors to generate better environment for learning to write. Among many factors, this study examined teachers' beliefs and knowledge, which would operate as a very influential contextual factor in that changes in principles and methods of teaching writing would be the results of their underlying beliefs and knowledge related to teaching writing. Three professional teachers who teach second- and third-grade English language learners (ELLs) were interviewed, and the analysis of teacher interviews was conducted. The research findings indicated that basically all of the teachers perceived the role of writing in second language learning as very important, sharing the belief that the ultimate goal of teaching writing is to have their students gain fluency in writing and that some of instructional methods such as integration of writing and other language aspects, content-based writing, and providing scaffolding are important. In addition, some beliefs that two ESL teachers shared included the importance of ample and continuous opportunities to write, vocabulary knowledge, and explicit instruction about writing. Other beliefs, including the importance of creating a comfortable writing environment and opportunities for writing for varied purposes and genres were represented.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.281-300
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• 2014

This study presents the experimental results of twenty three reinforced concrete beams with rectangular web openings externally strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) composites bonded around openings. All tested beams had the same geometry and reinforcement details. At openings locations, the stirrups intercepted the openings were cut during fabrication of reinforcement cage to simulate the condition of inclusion of an opening in an existing beam. Several design parameters are considered including the opening dimensions and location in the shear zone, the wrapping configurations, and the amount and the type of the FRP composites in the vicinity of the openings. The wrapping configurations of FRP included: sheets, strips, U-shape strips, and U-shape strips with bundles of FRP strands placed at the top and sides of the beam forming a fan under the strips to achieve closed wrapping. The effect of these parameters on the failure modes, the ultimate load, and the beam stiffness were investigated. The shear contribution of FRP on the shear capacity of tested beams with web openings was estimated according to ACI Committee 440-08, Canadian Standards S6-06, and Khalifa et al. model and examined against the test results. A modification factor to account for the dimensions of opening chords was applied to the predicted gain in the shear capacity according to ACI 440-08 and CSA S6-06 for bonded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) around openings. The analytical results after incorporating the modification factor into the codes guidelines showed good agreement with the test results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.117-134
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• 2008

An experimental and numerical research was conducted to gain a deeper insight on the structural behaviour of deep-beams with indirect supports and to assess the size effects in the ultimate state behaviour. The experimental campaign focused on the influence of the reinforcement tie distribution height on the compression check of the support region and on the benefits of using unbonded prestressing steel. Three reduced scale specimens were tested and used to validate the results obtained with a nonlinear finite element model. As a good agreement could be found between the numerical and the experimental results, the numerical model was then further used to perform simulations in large scale deep-beams, with dimensions similar to the ones to be adopted in a practical case. Two sources of size effects were identified from the simulation results. Both sources are related to the concrete quasi-brittle behaviour and are responsible for increasing failure brittleness with increasing structural size. While in the laboratory models failure occurred both in the experimental tests as well as in the numerical simulations after reinforcement yielding, the numerically analysed large scale models exhibited shear failures with reinforcement still operating in the elastic range.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.277-289
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• 2019

In this study, an innovative anchoring approach has been developed dealing with all relevant aspects in consideration of previous works. An ultimate pulling force calculation of anchor is presented from a geotechnical point of view. The proposed umbrella anchor focuses not only on the friction resistance capacity, but also on the axial capacity of the composite end structure and the friction capacity occurring around the wedge. Even though the theoretical background is proposed, in-situ application requires high-level mechanical design. Hence, the required parts have been carefully improved and are composed of anchor body, anchor cap, connection brackets, cutter vanes, open-close ring, support elements and grouting system. Besides, stretcher element made of aramid fabric, interior grouting system, guide tube and cable-locking apparatus are the unique parts of this design. The production and placement steps of real sized anchors are explained in detail. Experimental results of 52 pullout tests on the weak dry soils and 12 in-situ tests inside natural soil indicate that the proposed approach is conservative and its peak pullout value is directly limited by a maximum strength of anchored soil layer if other failure possibilities are eliminated. Umbrella anchor is an alternative to conventional anchor applications used in all types of soils. It not only provides time and workmanship benefits, but also a high level of economic gain and safe design.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.409-422
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• 2022

The use of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement as a rapid-hardening cement admixture or eco-friendly alternate for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has been attempted over the years, but the cost of CSA cement and availability of suitable aluminium resource prevent its wide practical application. To propose an effective ground improvement design in sandy soil, this study aims at blending a certain percentage of CSA with OPC to find an optimum blend that would have fast-setting behavior with a lower carbon footprint than OPC without compromising the mechanical properties of the cemented sand. Compared to the 100% CSA case, initial speed of strength development of blended cement is relatively low as it is mixed with OPC. It is found that 80% OPC and 20% CSA blend has low initial strength but eventually produces equivalent ultimate strength (28 days curing) to that of CSA treated sand. The specific OPC-CSA blend (80:20) exhibits significantly higher strength gain than using pure OPC, thus allowing effective geotechnical designs for sustainable and controlled ground improvement. Further parametric studies were conducted for the blended cement under various curing conditions, cement contents, and curing times. Wet-cured cement treated sand had 33% lower strength than that of dry-cured samples, while the stiffness of wet-cured samples was 25% lower than that of dry-cured samples.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.19
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• pp.213-250
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• 2005

Until 1970's, mankind have not had definite perspectives on what life after the death was like, which is one of the most important problems for them. Their concepts of the 'life and death problem' has been distorted by the dogmas of the established religions such as Buddhism or Christianity on heaven and hell. But the mankind came to have wholly different views on the life after death thanks to the studies by Raymond Moody Jr. or Elizabeth Quebler-Ross in the mid-1970's. This is the studies on the so-called 'near-death experience(NDE)' which made humankind be able to have scientific approach to the life after death for the first time in their history. What attracts our attention at this point is, however, that the arguements of the NDErs on humman destiny accurately coincide with those of the established religions. In the NDE, most of the experiencers have an encounter with the personal being, symbolized by the Light, through whom they learnt that the devotion(or love) to the neighborhood and the gain of the wisdom are the sole meaning of life. With this result, we can recognize why essential virtues maintained by the established religions until now such as ultimate compassion, unconditional love, forgiveness, or insightful learning are so significant, and that our studies of the NDE are very important in this respect.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2024

Reduced-port gastrectomy (RPG) includes all procedures derived from various efforts to minimize surgical invasiveness, with single-incision laparoscopic gastrectomy (SILG) being the ultimate reduced-port technique. However, there are challenges related to its feasibility, oncological validity, training, and education. This review describes the current issues and challenges, as well as the future prospects of RPG for gastric cancer. Gastrectomy, which started as an open surgery, has evolved into a laparoscopic surgery. With the advancements in laparoscopic technology, SILG has been used to minimize surgical scarring. However, owing to the technical difficulties of SILG, cases involving the addition of 1 trocar or needle grasper alongside the multichannel port have also been reported. Additionally, 3-port laparoscopic gastrectomy (3PLG) using only 3 trocars is also being performed. RPG, as a concept, includes a range of approaches such as SILG, 2-port laparoscopic gastrectomy, and 3PLG. These techniques aimed to reduce the number of ports or incisions required for laparoscopic gastrectomy. Despite technical difficulties, RPGs offer numerous advantages, including minimal invasiveness, excellent cosmetic outcomes, and the potential for improved postoperative recovery, such as reduced length of hospital stay and post-operative pain. It could be considered similar to conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy, and may not be oncologically inferior. Ongoing studies, such as the KLASS 12, are required to gain further insights.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2012

For a member subjected to direct shear forces, forces are transferred across interface concrete area and resisted by shear transfer capacity. Shear-friction equations in recent concrete structural design provisions are derived from experimental test results where shear-friction capacity is defined as a function of steel reinforcement area contained in the interface. This empirical equation gave too conservative values for concrete members with large amounts of reinforcement. This paper presents a method to evaluate shear transfer strengths and to define ultimate conditions which result in crushing of concrete struts after yielding of longitudinal reinforcement perpendicular to the interface concrete. This method is based on the bi-axial stress field theory where different constitutive laws are applied in various means to gain accurate shear strengths by considering softening effects of concrete struts based on the modified compression-field theory and the softened truss model. The validity of the proposed method is examined by applying to some selected test specimens in literatures and results are compared with recent design code provisions. A general agreement is observed between predicted and measured values at ultimate loading stages in initially uncracked normal-strength concrete test.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2023

As the intensity of urban underground space development increases, more and more tunnels are planned and constructed, and sometimes it is inevitable to encounter situations where tunnels have to underpass the river embankments. Most previous studies involved tunnels passing river embankments perpendicularly or with large intersection angle. In this study, a project case where two EPB shield tunnels with 8.82 m diameter run parallelly underneath a river embankment was reported. The parallel length is 380 m and tunnel were mainly buried in the moderate / slightly weathered clastic rock layer. The field monitoring result was presented and discussed. Three-dimensional back-analysis were then carried out to gain a better understanding the interaction mechanisms between shield tunnel and embankment and further to predict the ultimate settlement of embankment due to twin-tunnel excavation. Parametrical studies considering effect of tunnel face pressure, tail grouting pressure and volume loss were also conducted. The measured embankment settlement after the single tunnel excavation was 4.53 mm ~ 7.43 mm. Neither new crack on the pavement or cavity under the roadbed was observed. It is found that the more degree of weathering of the rock around the tunnel, the greater the embankment settlement and wider the settlement trough. Besides, the latter tunnel excavation might cause larger deformation than the former tunnel excavation if the mobilized plastic zone overlapped. With given geometry and stratigraphic condition in this study, the safety or serviceability of the river embankment would hardly be affected since the ultimate settlement of the embankment after the twin-tunnel excavation is within the allowable limit. Reasonable tunnel face pressure and tail grouting pressure can to some extent suppress the settlement of the embankment. The recommended tunnel face pressure and tail grouting pressure are 300 kPa and 550 kPa in this study, respectively. However, the volume loss plays the crucial role in the tunnel-embankment interaction. Controlling and compensating the tunneling induced volume loss is the most effective measure for river embankment protection. Additionally, reinforcing the embankment with cement mixing pile in advance is an alternative option in case the predicted settlement exceeds allowable limit.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.1011-1017
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• 2002

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) have been shown to decrease body fat content of individually-housed pigs but little is known about the responses under commercial conditions. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of CLA under commercial conditions using contemporary genotypes. The experimental designs were similar between the two sites. Briefly, the studies were 2${\times}$2 factorial designs with the respective factors being sex (boar and gilt) and supplemental dietary CLA (0 and 4 g/kg). The studies involved 16-20 pens of pigs with 4-5 pens of each sex${\times}$CLA group. The first study was conducted with 144 pigs in 16 pens consuming a pelleted feed for 6 weeks at Bunge Meat Industries, Corowa, NSW. In the second study, 160 pigs were obtained from a commercial source and put into 20 pens in simulated commercial conditions and fed a mash diet for 7 weeks at Medina Research Station, WA. In Study 2 some aspects of meat quality were also investigated. Data from Study 1 showed that, although CLA had no significant effect upon feed intake and daily gain, the small changes in both resulted in a reduction in (-0.10 g/g, p=0.10) feed conversion ratio (FCR). While there was no significant effect of CLA on ultrasonic backfat depths, there was a significant decrease in carcass P2 (-1.0 mm, p=0.014) and estimated carcass fat (-7 g/kg, p=0.049). In the study conducted at Medina CLA had no significant effect upon feed intake, feed:gain or most measures of back fat. The exception was that dietary CLA decreased the rate of accumulation of fat at the shoulder, particularly in gilts, resulting in a significantly lower amount of shoulder fat at slaughter (-1.3 mm, p=0.044). CLA tended to increase dressing percentage although this was not significant (+0.5%, p=0.14). Meat from CLA treated pigs tended to be darker (p=0.12) and had a higher ultimate pH (p=0.06). These data suggest that under commercial conditions dietary CLA can improve growth performance and decrease P2 in pigs of an improved genotype, particularly gilts.