Using size sensitivities to guide structural shape optimization

Conventional finite-element-based structural shape optimization requires the calculation of grid sensitivities which are much more expensive to compute than size sensitivities. This thesis presents a new method of shape optimization which is based on using size sensitivities to guide shape redesign. In this method a thin layer of plate elements is cast on selected free surfaces of structures modeled with solid elements, or in the case of structures modeled with plate elements, selected free edges are covered with a thin lining of beam elements. While the performance of the structure remains virtually unaffected by introducing these nearly zero section elements, the sensitivities of the structural response with respect to the thickness of these elements provide valuable insight on the behavior of the structure. Methodologies for using these sensitivities to optimize the shape of structures are introduced. Applications to several case studies involving displacement, stress, and frequency response variables are presented

Design of an expert system for failed fuel identification and surveillance in EBR-II

Since 1977, a program has been underway at experimental breeder reactor-II (EBR-II) to evaluate the performance of metal and mixed-oxide liquid metal reactor (LMR) fuel elements after clad failure (breach). The motivation for this activity, called run beyond cladding breach (RBCB) testing, is to continue safe operation of EBR-II after occurrence of a single or multiple clad failures. Principal safety concerns are excessive release of fission gas (FG) and mixed-oxide fuel/sodium interaction, which result in release of by-products to the sodium and may result in blockage of coolant flow. Excessive release of FG is controlled by the cover gas cleanup system (CGCS) which purifies the cover gas by cryogenic means. The probability of coolant blockage due to accumulation of the by-products of the fuel/sodium interaction is small but is considered a safety issue. To comply with safety regulations, the location and growth of the breach must be known during RBCB operation. An expert system (ES) has been designed to advise the reactor operator under normal and/or RBCB operation. It contains as a knowledge base (KB) (a) the already developed and validated analytical models (i.e., tag gas (TC), delayed neutron (DN), and FG analyses); (b) rules obtained from inductive learning (i.e., learned by experience); (c) heuristic rules; and (d) rules obtained from new data. The TG analysis is used to identify the breached element. The DN analysis is primarily used for indicating a new breach and monitoring the extent of old breaches. FG analysis is also used for indicating a new breach, and gaining other information such as the location of the breach (i.e., fuel column or plenum breach), type of breach (i.e., fuel clad mechanical interaction (FCMI) or creep-rupture, only in mixed-oxide fuel), and fission product release to the primary coolant. The ES uses the information provided by the analytical models and supplies information to the reactor operator, thus, ultimately automating diagnostics during RBCB operation

Investigating the Effect of Warm-up Exercises FIFA 11+ on Injury Prevention for Football Athletes: A Narrative Review

Introduction: Football is one of the most popular sports in the world, however, the risk of injury in football players is high. So, it is necessary to do exercises that prevent injury. The FIFA 11+ warm-up program is one of the most recent injury prevention programs developed by FIFA. This program includes warm-up preparation exercises. Recently, many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of this program in injury prevention. The purpose of this review study was to investigate the effect of FIFA 11+ training on the extent to which football players are injured and their performance. Methods and Materials: Using the keywords of Football, Soccer, Injury prevention, FIFA 11, and FIFA 11+ in the Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed databases, related studies were searched from 2002 to 2019. Finally, 6 studies had the inclusion criteria. Results: Players who used the FIFA 11+ program reported less damage. Also, those who followed the intermittent exercise program showed a significant improvement in performance and health-related factors. Conclusion: FIFA 11+ training is recommended as a type of warm-up exercise due to its ease of use in soccer athletes, as it has been shown that doing this exercise program can significantly reduce the risk of injury in footballers

A Pharmacological Approach to Medicinal Trees Described in the Classical Texts of Persian Traditional Medicine which do not Occur or No Longer Grow in Iran at Present

Abstract: The aim of this study was historically and pharmacologically reviewing almost all the known medicinal trees mentioned in classical texts of Persian traditional herbal medicine, which are not present or do no longer grow in Iran today. We have reviewed all important historical and modern literature about the medicinal trees and shrub used in Iranian traditional medicine. Then we selected the major references and collected the data. All plants, which were mentioned in classical texts of Iranian traditional herbal medicine, but do not occur or no longer grow in Iran at present. We compared the modern and traditional documented herbal medicine of our country and edited them as follow. All data about the terminology (if necessary some etymological information have been provided), local and native names, comparison the modern and traditional terminology and postulations about the plants, description about the medicinal parts of the plant, and finally the proposed medicinal and pharmacological activities of the trees have been presented. The collected data were represented as twenty-three species of trees and shrubs which were mentioned in classical texts of Iranian traditional herbal medicine, but are not reported as spontaneous in Iran at present. It is interesting that almost all of these plants have been described in the classical texts of Iranian herbal medicine. These data show that Persian scholars knew these trees in the earlier times. We may suppose the following probabilities for this controversy. The Persian scholars may were aware of these plants from Arabic, Indic or Greek-Roman tradition without seeing them closely. But it is known that the usage of the plants was common among Iranian herbalists and scholars in the past centuries. We propose more researches about these plants and the exact cause of their earlier presence and accessibility to the Persians in the history and the lack of their presence today in Iran

Migration, ett säkerhetshot mot den franska nationen? : en retorisk argumentationsanalys av förarbetet till den franska utlänningslagen från år 2011

This thesis aims to analyse arguments regarding the new migration law from 2011 in France, through a securitization perspective. The law was introduced as an answer to three European directives: regulating unauthorized migration, promoting highly qualified employment from third world countries and taking sanctions against employers using illegal labour. The law gives French authorities and the French police greater freedom to remove migrants from their territory. However, several non-governmental organisations have claimed that the new law violates international law; such as the right of free movement understood as the right of asylum according to international conventions, which leads to the primary concern of this paper. This paper questions how French politicians have legally justified the law, while being aware of their obligations under international law, such as the right to seek asylum. This study proposes to examine the logic behind the arguments of the French parliament. The purpose of the law is stated as “creating a fair and balanced policy that ensures an efficient control on immigration and integration. France has been outspoken regarding national rights to control borders based on the EU-directives mentioned, but seldom mention their obligations towards people who want to seek asylum, protection of individual liberty, freedom from arbitrary practices and discrimination. Through a method of rhetorical argument analysis, one can note that from the beginning the debate refers to migrants as criminals and enemies, which borders need to be protected from. The debate primarily focused on migration being a threat to public order, which is influenced by xenophobic ideology. The new law was supposed to promote a fair and balanced policy regarding immigration and integration, yet the consequences have been otherwise. The law came into force under Sarkozy’s government and enabled xenophobic discourse in the French society where people are classified according to their ethnicity.Denna kandidatuppsats syftar till att analysera argumenten kring reformen av migrationslagen i Frankrike från år 2011 ur ett säkerhetsperspektiv. Förslaget till lagen lades fram som ett svar på tre europeiska direktiv: reglera illegal invandring, främja högkvalificerad arbetskraft samt tillämpa sanktioner mot arbetsgivare som anställer olaglig arbetskraft. Dock har detta resulterat i att franska myndigheter och polis fått större frihet i utvisa personer från franskt territorium. Flera icke-statliga organisationer rapporterade att lagen kränker internationell rätt såsom rätten till fri rörlighet förstått som rätten till asyl. Uppgiften med denna uppsats innebär således att undersöka hur franska politiker legitimerade ikraftträdandet av lagen trots de bestämmelser som de under internationell lag har ålagt sig att respektera, som till exempel rätten till asyl. Motiveringen i förarbetet lyder att lagen var ämnad att skapa en rättvis och balanserad politik som säkerställer en effektiv kontroll av invandring och integration. Frankrike har varit mån om att hävda landets rätt till att kontrollera sina gränser med stöd från EU-direktiven men nämner sällan deras skyldigheter att försäkra människor rätten till att kunna söka asyl, skydd från godtyckligt maktutövande samt diskriminering. Utifrån en retorisk argumentationsanalys kan vi notera att debatten som förekommer i förarbetet har stigmatiserat och fientliggjort invandrare där de franska gränserna blir strängare för att skydda sig mot ”fiender”. från. Den huvudsakliga debatten fokuserade på att invandrare anses vara ett hot mot den allmänna ordningen, en idé som skapats utifrån främlingsfientliga attityder utifrån normer och den sociala miljön. Syftet med lagen var från början att skapa en balanserad och rättvis politik gällande invandring och integration. Följderna har dock varit det motsatta. Lagen som trädde i kraft under Sarkozys regering öppnade istället upp för en främlingsfientlig diskurs i det franska samhället där människor klassificeras utifrån sin etnicitet

Pheno- and genotyping of Pasteurella multocida isolated from goat in Iran

In this study, phenotype, capsular type and some virulence factors (pfha1, tbpA, and toxA) of caprine Pasteurella multocida were described in 10 isolates from goat. Two biochemical biovars were recognized among the isolates based on dulcitol and sorbitol fermentation. The isolates belonged to biovars P. multocida sub. multocida (80%) and P. multocida sub. septica (20%). Capsular typing of isolates by PCR demonstrated two capsular types A (90%) and D. Among 3 virulence genes detected by PCR, we found a remarkable high prevalence of tbpA (80%) and toxA (70%) genes among caprine isolates. The high prevalence of these genes owning association of disease status among healthy animals showed high potential of the strains in induction of disease. The high prevalence of toxA and tbpA among goat is very similar to the ones in sheep isolates. Comparison of virulence genes profile showed possibility of P. multocida transmission between sheep and goat

The Effect of Strengthening Exercises on Functional Ability in Patients with MS: A Review Study

Introduction: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) usually report gait and balance disorders. Exercise therapy, especially strengthening exercise, is a safe and effective treatment approach in these patients. Therefore, the aim of this review study was to determine the effect of strengthening exercises on functional ability in patients with MS. Methods and Materials: A search of databases such as PubMed, science direct, Cochrane library, and Google scholar was reviewed to determine the existing articles on the effect of strengthening exercises on functional ability in patients with MS. Results: According to the evaluation of studies from 2000 to 2020, 8 articles met the inclusion criteria. These articles examined the effect of strengthening exercises on functional ability in patients with MS. The results showed that strengthening exercises improved balance variables, functional ability, strength, and quality of life. Conclusion: Various interventions including stretching, balance, strengthening exercises, and electrical stimulation have been used to treat balance disorders, decreased muscle strength, gait efficiency and quality of life in patients with MS. Among these interventions, strengthening exercises have been shown to play an effective role in improving functional ability, although more studies are needed in this area

Measurement of superficial and deep abdominal muscle thickness: an ultrasonography study

BACKGROUND: Real-time ultrasound imaging is a valid method in the field of rehabilitation. The ultrasound imaging allows direct visualization for real-time study of the muscles as they contract over the time. Measuring of the size of each abdominal muscle in relation to the others provides useful information about the differences in structure, as well as data on trunk muscle activation patterns. The purpose of this study was to assess the size and symmetry of the abdominal muscles at rest in healthy adults and to provide a reference range of absolute abdominal muscle size in a relatively large population. METHOD: A total 156 healthy subjects with the age range of 18–44 years were randomly recruited. The thickness of internal oblique, external oblique, transverse abdominis, and rectus abdominis muscles was measured at rest on both right and left sides using ultrasound. Independent t test was used to compare the mean thickness of each abdominal muscle between males and females. Differences on side-to-side thicknesses were assessed using paired t test. The association between abdominal muscle thicknesses with gender and anthropometric variables was examined using the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: A normal pattern of increasing order of mean abdominal muscle thickness was found in both genders at both right and left sides: transverse abdominis < external oblique < internal oblique < rectus abdominis. There was a significant difference on the size of transverse abdominis, internal oblique, and external oblique muscles between right and left sides in both genders. Males had significantly thicker abdominal muscles than females. Age was significantly correlated with the thickness of internal oblique, external oblique, and rectus abdominis muscles. Body mass index was also positively correlated with muscle thickness of rectus abdominis and external oblique. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide a normal reference range for the abdominal muscles in healthy subjects and may be used as an index to find out abnormalities and also to evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions