Collapse Simulation of Ammu Hawu Traditional Timber House in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the collapse mechanism of an Ammu Hawutraditional Indonesian house, which has palm wood (Borassus flabellifer) as its main material, by using Wallstat program and extended distinct element method. Wallstat is a collapse analysis program used to determine a building’s damage status and likelihood of collapseduring an earthquake. A total of 10 models were generated for numerical simulation. Among them, 1 represented the original structure, 4 were bracing reinforced models, and 5 were shear-wall reinforced models. These models were observed under the conditions of the ElCentro (1940) and Kobe (1995) earthquakes. Results showed that the models reinforced with diagonal bracings used at the first story of the Ammu Hawu house were significantly more effective in collapse prevention than the shear wall reinforcement at the second story

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Development of a Machine Learning-Based Damage Identification Method Using Multi-Point Simultaneous Acceleration Measurement Results

It is necessary to assess damage properly for the safe use of a structure and for the development of an appropriate maintenance strategy. Although many efforts have been made to measure the vibration of a structure to determine the degree of damage, the accuracy of evaluation is not high enough, so it is difficult to say that a damage evaluation based on vibrations in a structure has not been put to practical use. In this study, we propose a method to evaluate damage by measuring the acceleration of a structure at multiple points and interpreting the results with a Random Forest, which is a kind of supervised machine learning. The proposed method uses the maximum response acceleration, standard deviation, logarithmic decay rate, and natural frequency to improve the accuracy of damage assessment. We propose a three-step Random Forest method to evaluate various damage types based on the results of these many measurements. Then, the accuracy of the proposed method is verified based on the results of a cross-validation and a vibration test of an actual damaged specimen

Analytical Behavior Prediction for Skewed Thick Plates on Elastic Foundation

This paper presents analytical solutions for the problem of skewed thick plates under transverse load on a Winkler foundation, which has not been reported in the literature. The thick plate solution is obtained by using a framework of an oblique coordinate system. First, the governing differential equation in that system is derived, and the solution is obtained using deflection and rotation as derivatives of the potential function developed here. This method is applicable for arbitrary loading conditions, boundary conditions, and materials. The solution technique is applied to two illustrative application examples, and the results are compared with numerical solutions. The two approaches yielded results in good agreement

ANALISIS EKSPERIMEN PADA KOROSI PELAT BAJA YANG MENGALAMI BEBAN TEKUK

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengevaluasi sisa kapasitas kekuatan korosi pelat baja yang terlihat pada bagian struktur baja yang mengalami beban tekuk agar tetap pada kondisi layak digunakan, hingga perlu pebaikan atau rekonstruksi pada waktu yang tepat. Pelat baja ini diperoleh dari potongan girder jembatan yang mengalami korosi karena adanya reaksi kimia dengan lingkungan sekitarnya selama bertahun-tahun dan mereduksi ketebalannya serta membentuk permukaannya menjadi irreguler. Kemudian, spesimen uji tersebut dibentuk sesuai standar specimen pengujian Japanese Industrial Standard JIS No. 5 dan dianalisis secara eksperimen untuk mengevaluasi sisa kapasitas kekuatannya. Parameter yang diperhitungkan pada pengujian ini yaitu nilai ketebalan minimum, permukaan irregular korosi baja dan eksentrisitasnya. Dari hasil pengujian korosi pelat baja yang mengalami beban tekuk kompresi ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa konfigurasi permukaan dan eksentrisitasnya menurunkan kemampuan korosipelat baja dalam memikul beban

Bridge Damage Severity Quantification Using Multipoint Acceleration Measurement and Artificial Neural Networks

The deterioration of bridges as a result of ageing is a serious problem in many countries. To prevent the failure of these deficient bridges, early damage detection which helps us to evaluate the safety of bridges is important. Therefore, the present research proposed a method to quantify damage severity by use of multipoint acceleration measurement and artificial neural networks. In addition to developing the method, we developed a cheap and easy-to-make measurement device which can be made by bridge owners at low cost and without the need for advance technical skills since the method is mainly intended to apply to small to midsized bridges. In addition, the paper gives an example application of the method to a weathering steel bridge in Japan. It can be shown from the analysis results that the method is accurate in its damage identification and mechanical behavior prediction ability