Development of Building Damage Functions for Big Earthquakes in Turkey

AbstractThe current work is an attempt to predict building reactions to big earthquakes using real data collected from surveys carried out after the occurrence of earthquakes. With the development of building damage functions for big earthquakes in Turkey one can predict the damage levels as a function of earthquakes’ intensity and the building parameters. Our model is based on neural networks techniques which allow for the non-linear correlations to be taken into account. We analyse data collected for damaged buildings after the following three big earthquakes: Afyon (2002; Mw = 6.0), Bingöl (2003; Mw = 6.4) and Düzce (1999; Mw = 7.2). The current model includes some of the main important factors affecting the health of any structure, namely, age, number of stories, floor areas, and the column areas. Our method of damage prediction is based on several earthquakes and buildings with different damage levels. The obtained results show that there is a strong correlation between the strength of the earthquake, the basic building parameters and the damage level. The obtained building damage function is essential for future plans and regulations for new constructions and can be considered as an essential module for hazards mitigation systems

A new software development for Fuzzy Multicriteria decision‐making

In this paper, software for Fuzzy Multiple Criteria Decision Making (FMCDM) problems has been developed and tested on two real problems. FMCDM methods are widely used when imprecise data or linguistic variables exist in the problem. Using FMCDM methods may help improve decision‐making problems and lead to more accurate models. Although these methods are more involved in terms of computing due to fuzzy calculations in MCDM algorithms, fuzziness offers advantages over classical algorithms. Thus appropriate software is of great importance in applying FMCDM methods. The major aim of this study is to develop software and to test it on two real military problems which are solved by an ideal points algorithm and an outranking method. The results and outputs are discussed with sensitivity analyses. Santrauka Aprašomos programos, skirtos daugiakriteriniam sprendimų priėmimui esant neapibrėžtumams, kūrimas ir jos pritaikymas sprendžiant dvi realias problemas. Neapibrėžtųjų aibių daugiakriteriniai metodai plačiai taikomi, kai esama netikslių duomenų arba lingvistinių kintamųjų. Taikant šiuos metodus galima lengviau išspręsti sprendimo priėmimo problemas, sudaryti tikslesnius modelius. Nors tokiu atveju reikia daugiau skaičiavimų siekiant taikyti neapibrėžtąsias aibes daugiakriteriniuose sprendimų priėmimo algoritmuose, tačiau galimybė įvertinti neapibrėžtumus suteikia pranašumų, palyginti su klasikiniais metodais. Taigi neapibrėžtųjų aibių daugiakriteriniams metodams labai svarbu tinkama programinė įranga. Svarbiausias šio tyrimo tikslas – sukurti programinę įrangą ir testuoti ją sprendžiant dvi tikras karines problemas – idealiųjų taškų agoritmą ir rangavimų metodą. Rezultatai aptarti atlikus jautrumo analizę. First published online: 21 Oct 2010 Reikšminiai žodžiai: neapibrėžtųjų aibių daugiakriterinis sprendimų priėmimas (NADSP), idealieji taškai, rangavimas, programinė įranga

Cognitive-radio systems for spectrum, location, and environmental awareness

In order to perform reliable communications, a system needs to have sufficient information about its operational environment, such as spectral resources and propagation characteristics. Cognitive-radio technology has capabilities for acquiring accurate spectrum, location, and environmental information, due to its unique features such as spectrum, location, and environmental awareness. The goal of this paper is to give a comprehensive review of the implementation of these concepts. In addition, the dynamic nature of cognitive-radio systems - including dynamic spectrum utilization, transmission, the propagation channel, and reception - is discussed, along with performance limits, challenges, mitigation techniques, and open issues. The capabilities of cognitive-radio systems for accurate characterization of operational environments are emphasized. These are crucial for efficient communications, localization, and radar systems. © 2010 IEEE

Transkateter yolla kapatılan atriyal septal defekt deneyimlerimiz

Amaç: Kliniğimizde iki yıl boyunca transkateter yolla atriyal septal defekt kapatılması işlemi yapılan hastalarla ilgili klinik deneyimlerimizin paylaşılması ve sonuçlarının değerlendirilmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve yöntemler: Çalışmaya, sekundum atriyal septal defekt nedeniyle transkateter yolla kapatma işlemi uygulanan, ortalama yaşı 8 olan 5 yaş 3 ay-16 yaş 24 hasta 16 kız, 8 erkek , retrospektif olarak dahil edildi. Bulgular: Kapatma işlemi hastaların 22’sinde % 92 başarılı bir şekilde gerçekleştirildi ve takiplerde cihaz erezyonu, aritmi, tromboz veya rezidüel şant gibi herhangi bir komplikasyon gelişmedi. Bir hastada işlem sırasında cihaz embolizasyonu oldu, cerrahiye verilen hastada cihaz çıkartıldı ve defekt başarılı bir şekilde kapatıldı. İki hastada % 8 işlem başarısız oldu. Atriyal septal defekt kapatma cihazı olarak Amplatzer septal okluder kullanıldı. Kapatma işlemi yapılan hastalara altı ay süre ile antiagregan dozda asetilsalisilik asit tedavisi verildi. Sonuç: Sekundum atriyal septal defektlerin perkütan yolla tıkayıcı cihazlarla kapatılması etkili, güvenli ve başarı oranı yüksek, komplikasyon gelişme ihtimali düşük bir tedavi şeklidir. Son yıllarda cerrahi tedavinin yerini almıştı

Adaptation of two types of processing gains for UWB impulse radio wireless sensor networks

Ultrawideband impulse radio systems offer two kinds of processing gains that can be adapted based on the interference level in the system so that quality of service requirements are fulfilled. An adaptive assignment scheme for two types of multiple-access parameters in cluster-based wireless sensor networks is investigated. A mathematical framework is developed for asynchronous communications using a Gaussian approximation method to model the multiple-access interference in two cases: one with fixed frame duration, where the goal is to increase the average throughput, and the other with fixed symbol duration, where the goal is to increase the network lifetime. Extension of the analysis to multipath channels is carried out, and the validity of the Gaussian approximation is investigated using the Kullback-Leibler distance

Impact of Buccal Corridors on Smile Esthetics

Aim:The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of buccal corridors on smile esthetics.Subjects and Methods:For this purpose, 10 individuals with following criteria were included to this study; to have an esthetic smile arc, no excessive gingival exposure, ages between 18 and 30 years and equal distribution of the sexes. These criteria and only the perioral photographs were used to limit the scope of the variables and to decrease the dilution of the results. A photo editing software was used to produce 5 varying sizes of buccal corridors and the pictures were classified as Narrow smile, Medium-narrow smile, Medium smile, Medium-broad smile and Broad smile. Altered five smile images of the individuals were showed to the panels consisted of orthodontists, prosthodontists, general dentists, lay people and drawing artists each numbered 10 juries. They were asked to rate that five images from 1 to 5. ANOVA and Tukey tests were used to make a statistical analysis.Results:All of the panels evaluated the smile images in the same manner. The broader the smile it is the more attractive. The most attractive smile was the broad smile and the least attractive was the narrow smile. All panel groups evaluated the smile images in the same manner and there were not statistically significant differences between the groups. Conclusion:These results indicate that; to gain an esthetic smile after orthodontic treatment, clinician must avoid causing broad buccal corridors

Line planning on path networks with application to the Istanbul Metrobüs

Bus rapid transit systems in developing and newly industrialized countries often consist of a trunk with a path topology. On this trunk, several overlapping lines are operated which provide direct connections. The demand varies heavily over the day, with morning and afternoon peaks typically in reverse directions. We propose an integer programming model for this problem, derive a structural property of line plans in the static (or single period) “unimodal demand” case, and consider approaches to the solution of the multi-period version that rely on clustering the demand into peak and off-peak service periods. An application to the Metrobüs system of Istanbul is discussed

An Algebraic Approach to Clustering and Classification with Support Vector Machines

In this note, we propose a novel classification approach by introducing a new clustering method, which is used as an intermediate step to discover the structure of a data set. The proposed clustering algorithm uses similarities and the concept of a clique to obtain clusters, which can be used with different strategies for classification. This approach also reduces the size of the training data set. In this study, we apply support vector machines (SVMs) after obtaining clusters with the proposed clustering algorithm. The proposed clustering algorithm is applied with different strategies for applying SVMs. The results for several real data sets show that the performance is comparable with the standard SVM while reducing the size of the training data set and also the number of support vectors