Inelastic Displacement Ratios for Evaluation of Degrading Peak – Oriented SDOF Systems

Estimation of the inelastic displacement demand (IDD) is an important part of the performance-based design. Coefficient method is one of the methods for the estimation of IDD and in this method, IDD is determined by multiplying elastic displacement demand with inelastic displacement ratio (CR ). Previous researches showed that structures deteriorate and also exhibit dynamic instability under severe earthquakes and these behaviors should be considered in the estimation of CR to estimate a reliable IDD. In this study, CR of the non-degrading bilinear hysteretic model and the degrading peak-oriented hysteretic model with collapse potential were determined and effects of degradation on IDD were investigated. Nonlinear time history analysis of SDOF systems were performed using considered hysteretic models. Furthermore a new equation is proposed for the mean CR of degrading SDOF systems. Also, effect of local site conditions and post-yield stiffness on the mean CR of degrading SDOF systems were investigated

Family Attitude, Academic Procrastination and Test Anxiety as Predictors of Academic Achievement

In this study, the relationship between high school students' test anxiety, academic procrastination behaviours, family attitudes and academic achievements were examined; the predicting of test anxiety, academic procrastination and family attitudes on the academic achievement was also investigated. The participants of the study were composed of 496 high school students. The end-of-term grade average of the students was defined as the criterion of their academic achievements. The students' test anxiety was measured by the Revised Test Anxiety Scale and the academic procrastination behaviours by the Academic Procrastination Scale. The family attitudes were measured by determining the frequency of the activities that support the academic achievement of the students. Data were analysed by correlation and regression methods. The findings indicate that there was a negative correlation between “achievement score” and “anxiety”, “test irrelevant thinking” and “academic procrastination” while there was a positive correlation between “achievement score” and “family attitude”. The findings also revealed that “tension”, “bodily symptoms” and “family attitude” significantly predicted the “end-of-term grade average” positively, while “worry”, “test irrelevant thinking” and “academic procrastination” significantly predicted the “achievement score” negatively. The findings were discussed in the light of literature along with the suggestions for further studies

A comparison of perturb & observe and fuzzy-logic based MPPT methods for uniform environment conditions

The power generation from photovoltaic (PV) system is not constant and it varies based on solar irradiance and temperature. For any environmental condition, to convert maximum available solar energy, PV systems must be operated at maximum power point. To accomplish that two different maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods have been presented in this study. The first method can determine MPP point by measuring the derivative of PV cell power (dP) and PV cell voltage (dV) which is called Perturb & Observe (P&O) method. The second method uses fuzzy-logic-control (FLC) based MPPT method to determine MPP point for actual environment conditions. In this paper, 3kW PV system model is studied in MATLAB. According to the simulated results, FLC based MPPT method has better performance than P&O method. Compared to the P&O method, FLC-based MPPT can increase tracking accuracy and efficiency performance 0.13% under standard test conditions (STC)

The impact of inclusiveness on resilience in Temporary Multidisciplinary Organizations (TMO)

One of the enablers of organizational resilience is inclusiveness. Inclusiveness is the process of valuing, respecting and supporting members of an entity. Resilience in permanent organizations can be defined as the capability to respond to and prepare for disruption and thus, promote business continuity. On the other hand, resilience in Temporary Multidisciplinary Organizations (TMO) can be defined as the capability to respond to, prepare for and reduce the impact of disruptions caused by the drifting environment and complexity. A construction project can be viewed as a TMO. The time-limit and contract-focus of TMO challenges inclusiveness and hence makes its impact on resilience in TMO, unclear. Given the dynamic nature of TMOs (highly susceptible to disruptions), there is the need to identify the impact of inclusiveness, thus, the aim of this research. Using a case study approach (two case studies) and critical incident technique, it was identified that the TMO in which inclusiveness was actively promoted responded better to disruptions. This was enabled by project managers, directors and the project execution plan. The identified impact of inclusiveness in managing disruptions were; time and cost savings, innovation and quality enhancement. These findings contribute to debates on disruption management in TMOs (projects)

Um discurso pedagógico para a arte rupestre do Vale do Côa: o processo de criação do Serviço Educativo do PAVC

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Objective sputum colour assessment and clinical outcomes in bronchiectasis: data from the European Bronchiectasis Registry (EMBARC)

Background A validated 4-point sputum colour chart can be used to objectively evaluate the levels of airway inflammation in bronchiectasis patients. In the European Bronchiectasis Registry (EMBARC), we tested whether sputum colour would be associated with disease severity and clinical outcomes. Methods We used a prospective, observational registry of adults with bronchiectasis conducted in 31 countries. Patients who did not produce spontaneous sputum were excluded from the analysis. The Murray sputum colour chart was used at baseline and at follow-up visits. Key outcomes were frequency of exacerbations, hospitalisations for severe exacerbations and mortality during up to 5-year follow-up. Results 13 484 patients were included in the analysis. More purulent sputum was associated with lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1), worse quality of life, greater bacterial infection and a higher bronchiectasis severity index. Sputum colour was strongly associated with the risk of future exacerbations during follow-up. Compared to patients with mucoid sputum (reference group), patients with mucopurulent sputum experienced significantly more exacerbations (incident rate ratio (IRR) 1.29, 95% CI 1.22–1.38; p&lt;0.0001), while the rates were even higher for patients with purulent (IRR 1.55, 95% CI 1.44–1.67; p&lt;0.0001) and severely purulent sputum (IRR 1.91, 95% CI 1.52–2.39; p&lt;0.0001). Hospitalisations for severe exacerbations were also associated with increasing sputum colour with rate ratios, compared to patients with mucoid sputum, of 1.41 (95% CI 1.29–1.56; p&lt;0.0001), 1.98 (95% CI 1.77–2.21; p&lt;0.0001) and 3.05 (95% CI 2.25–4.14; p&lt;0.0001) for mucopurulent, purulent and severely purulent sputum, respectively. Mortality was significantly increased with increasing sputum purulence, hazard ratio 1.12 (95% CI 1.01–1.24; p=0.027), for each increment in sputum purulence. Conclusion Sputum colour is a simple marker of disease severity and future risk of exacerbations, severe exacerbations and mortality in patients with bronchiectasis.</p

Geographic variation in the aetiology, epidemiology and microbiology of bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis is a disease associated with chronic progressive and irreversible dilatation of the bronchi and is characterised by chronic infection and associated inflammation. The prevalence of bronchiectasis is age-related and there is some geographical variation in incidence, prevalence and clinical features. Most bronchiectasis is reported to be idiopathic however post-infectious aetiologies dominate across Asia especially secondary to tuberculosis. Most focus to date has been on the study of airway bacteria, both as colonisers and causes of exacerbations. Modern molecular technologies including next generation sequencing (NGS) have become invaluable tools to identify microorganisms directly from sputum and which are difficult to culture using traditional agar based methods. These have provided important insight into our understanding of emerging pathogens in the airways of people with bronchiectasis and the geographical differences that occur. The contribution of the lung microbiome, its ethnic variation, and subsequent roles in disease progression and response to therapy across geographic regions warrant further investigation. This review summarises the known geographical differences in the aetiology, epidemiology and microbiology of bronchiectasis. Further, we highlight the opportunities offered by emerging molecular technologies such as -omics to further dissect out important ethnic differences in the prognosis and management of bronchiectasis.NMRC (Natl Medical Research Council, S’pore)MOH (Min. of Health, S’pore)Published versio

A Combined Topical Treatment versus Surgical Treatment in Chronic Anal Fissure

In the treatment of chronic anal fissure, both surgical and topical treatment methods are used. The purpose of this study was to research a combined topical treatment that we prepared and to compare the effectiveness of lateral internal sphincterotomy in chronic anal fissure with this topical treatment. A total of 183 patients with chronic anal fissure were divided into two groups. One hundred and four patients had topical medical treatment (group 1) and seventy-nine patients underwent lateral internal sphincterotomy (group 2). In the first group, a topical combination of ointments consisting of bacitracin-neomycin sulfate, dexpanthenol, and diltiazem was applied to the anal area. Four weeks after treatment, pain and bleeding during defecation, gas/fecal incontinence, treatment-related adverse events and recovery rates were evaluated in both groups. Also, patients were examined for recurrence between the 8th and 10th weeks. There was no significant difference in recovery rates between the groups. In group 1, recovery rate was 82.7%, while in Group 2 it was 92.4% (p = 0.054). In both groups, gas/fecal incontinence ratio was significantly different, supporting the medical treatment (p = 0.02). The severity of pain and bleeding during defecation were compared between the groups. Only the severe pain was significantly higher in the medical treatment group (p = 0.018). The recurrence rate was 5.8% in the medical treatment group, but no recurrence was detected in the surgical group. Due to possible complications of surgical treatment and similar recovery rates, medical treatment of patients with chronic anal fissure can be tried before surgical treatment

SURGICAL AND RADIOLOGIC ANATOMY

Purpose One of the most widespread surgical conditions is acute appendicitis in industrialized countries. Nevertheless, diagnosis of borderline cases is mostly troublesome and needs subsequent researches. For this reason, we aimed to investigate new parameters to improve estimation of acute appendicitis. Lymphoid hyperplasia, impacted stool, faecolith, caecal or appendiceal tumors have been accepted as causes of appendicitis formation, but anatomic variations of diameter of ileocecal lipomatosis and ileocecal angle have been never discussed before. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between appendicitis and diameter of ileocecal lipomatosis and ileocecal angle. Materials and methods 96 Patients (51 women, 45 men) who were found to have acute appendicitis during exploration and 67 patients (32 women, 35 men) who were not pre-diagnosed with acute appendicitis were enrolled in the study. The diameter of ileocecal lipomatosis and also ileocecal angle values were obtained via computed tomography (CT) scans. Results There were no significant differences between two groups in the mean of ileocecal angle (p > 0.05) but diameter of ileocecal lipomatosis values was significantly higher in the appendicitis-positive group compared with the appendicitis-negative group (p: 0.001). Conclusions There is a relationship between increase in diameter of ileocecal lipomatosis and appendicitis formation