A Stochastic Dynamics Approach for Seismic Response Spectrum-Based Analysis of Hysteretic MDOF Structures

An efficient nonlinear stochastic dynamics methodology has been developed for estimating the peak inelastic response of hysteretic multi-degree-offreedom (MDOF) structural systems subject to seismic excitations specified via a given uniform hazard spectrum (UHS), without the need of undertaking computationally demanding non-linear response time-history analysis (NRHA). The proposed methodology initiates by solving a series of inverse stochastic dynamics problems for the determination of input power spectra compatible in a stochastic sense with a given elastic response UHS of specified damping ratio. Relying on statistical linearization and utilizing an efficient decoupling approach the nonlinear N-degree-of-freedom system is decoupled and cast into (N) effective linear singledegree-of-freedom (SDOF) oscillators with effective linear properties (ELPs): natural frequency and damping ratio. Subsequently, each DOF is subject to a stochastic process compatible with the UHS adjusted to the oscillator effective damping ratio. Next, an efficient iterative scheme is devised achieving convergence of the damping coefficients of all the N effective linear SDOF oscillators and the UHS corresponding to each DOF. Finally, peak inelastic responses for all N DOFs are estimated through the updated UHS for the N different sets of SDOF oscillators ELPs. The proposed approach is numerically illustrated using a yielding 3-storey building exposed to the Eurocode 8 (EC8) UHS following the Bouc-Wen hysteretic model. NRHA involving an ensemble of EC8 compatible accelerograms is conducted to assess the accuracy of the proposed approach in a Monte Carlo-based context

Patient Satisfaction and Physician Empathy at a Hellenic Air Force Health Service

Introduction: Patient satisfaction and physician empathy are important indicators of health care services quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors related to the health care users' perception about physician empathy and their satisfaction with the services offered by the Medical Department of a Hellenic Air Force Combat Wing Health Service. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty six individuals who randomly visited the Medical Department from January to February 2019 participated in the survey. The "Measuring the satisfaction of visitors to hospital outpatient clinics"questionnaire by Aletras et al. and the Greek version of the "Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy"questionnaire were used for data collection. Results: High satisfaction scores were found in relation to the medical staff (mean 20.45, max 25), the examination room (mean 18.23, max 25), the nursing staff/secretarial support (mean 16.93, max 25), and the overall satisfaction (mean 17.15, max 25). The satisfaction score related to the infirmary was low (mean score 8.8, max 25). Physician empathy score was extremely high (mean 21.2, max 25). Statistically significant correlations were detected between physician empathy satisfaction score and the medical staff, nursing staff/secretarial support, and the overall satisfaction scores (P <. 001). Conclusion: Health care users reported high physician empathy and overall satisfaction scores but low infirmary satisfaction scores. The more positively that patients evaluated physician empathy, the more satisfaction that patients had with other measures

Patient Satisfaction and Physician Empathy at a Hellenic Air Force Health Service

Introduction: Patient satisfaction and physician empathy are important indicators of health care services quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors related to the health care users' perception about physician empathy and their satisfaction with the services offered by the Medical Department of a Hellenic Air Force Combat Wing Health Service. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty six individuals who randomly visited the Medical Department from January to February 2019 participated in the survey. The "Measuring the satisfaction of visitors to hospital outpatient clinics"questionnaire by Aletras et al. and the Greek version of the "Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy"questionnaire were used for data collection. Results: High satisfaction scores were found in relation to the medical staff (mean 20.45, max 25), the examination room (mean 18.23, max 25), the nursing staff/secretarial support (mean 16.93, max 25), and the overall satisfaction (mean 17.15, max 25). The satisfaction score related to the infirmary was low (mean score 8.8, max 25). Physician empathy score was extremely high (mean 21.2, max 25). Statistically significant correlations were detected between physician empathy satisfaction score and the medical staff, nursing staff/secretarial support, and the overall satisfaction scores (P <. 001). Conclusion: Health care users reported high physician empathy and overall satisfaction scores but low infirmary satisfaction scores. The more positively that patients evaluated physician empathy, the more satisfaction that patients had with other measures

Probability of failure of nonlinear oscillators with fractional derivative elements subject to imprecise Gaussian loads

Abstract In this paper, an approach for bounding the first-passage probability of a class of nonlinear oscillators with fractional derivative elements and subjected to imprecise stationary Gaussian loads is presented. Specifically, the statistical linearization and stochastic averaging methodologies are used in conjunction with an operator norm-based solution framework to estimate the bounds of the failure probability in a fully decoupled manner. The proposed technique can treat a wide range of nonlinear and hysteretic behaviors with relatively low computational cost. A numerical example is considered to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. Specifically, the bounds of the first-passage probability of a bilinear hysteretic oscillator with fractional derivative elements are estimated.</jats:p