Prediction of shear strength of reinforced concrete beams using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and artificial neural network

AbstractIn this paper, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) are used to predict the shear strength of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams, and the models are compared with American Concrete Institute (ACI) and Iranian Concrete Institute (ICI) empirical codes. The ANN model, with Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), using a Back-Propagation (BP) algorithm, is used to predict the shear strength of RC beams. Six important parameters are selected as input parameters including: concrete compressive strength, longitudinal reinforcement volume, shear span-to-depth ratio, transverse reinforcement, effective depth of the beam and beam width. The ANFIS model is also applied to a database and results are compared with the ANN model and empirical codes. The first-order Sugeno fuzzy is used because the consequent part of the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) is linear and the parameters can be estimated by a simple least squares error method. Comparison between the models and the empirical formulas shows that the ANN model with the MLP/BP algorithm provides better prediction for shear strength. In adition, ANN and ANFIS models are more accurate than ICI and ACI empirical codes in prediction of RC beams shear strength

New Perspectives on the Laminar Boundary Layer Physics in a Polarized Pressure Field with Temperature Gradient: an Analytical Approximation to Blasius Equation

This study proposes a semi-analytic approximation to the laminar boundary layer growth in a polarized pressure field with temperature gradient represented by the joint Blasius-energy equation. We illuminate that is a probability density function (PDF) approximated by an amended Gaussian PDF with zero mean and standard deviation . This implies a diffusive structure for the molecular momentum conversion as well as the energy flux in the boundary layer. A new limit for the boundary layer edge is also presented. Results suggest an augmented boundary layer when compared to accepted values in the literature. We also reproduce the inverse proportionality of the free stream velocity to the diffusion of both momentum and energy

The effect of instrumental stray light on Brewer and Dobson total ozone measurements

Dobson and Brewer spectrophotometers are the primary, standard instruments for ground-based ozone measurements under the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch program. The accuracy of the data retrieval for both instruments depends on a knowledge of the ozone absorption coefficients and some assumptions underlying the data analysis. Instrumental stray light causes nonlinearity in the response of both the Brewer and Dobson to ozone at large ozone slant paths. In addition, it affects the effective ozone absorption coefficients and extraterrestrial constants that are both instrument-dependent. This effect has not been taken into account in the calculation of ozone absorption coefficients that are currently recommended by WMO for the Dobson network. The ozone absorption coefficients are calculated for each Brewer instrument individually, but in the current procedure the effect of stray light is not considered. This study documents the error caused by the effect of stray light in the Brewer and Dobson total ozone measurements using a physical model for each instrument. For the first time, new ozone absorption coefficients are calculated for the Brewer and Dobson instruments, taking into account the stray light effect. The analyses show that the differences detected between the total ozone amounts deduced from Dobson AD and CD pair wavelengths are related to the level of stray light within the instrument. The discrepancy introduced by the assumption of a fixed height for the ozone layer for ozone measurements at high latitude sites is also evaluated. The ozone data collected by two Dobson instruments during the period of December 2008 to December 2014 are compared with ozone data from a collocated double monochromator Brewer spectrophotometer (Mark III). The results illustrate the dependence of Dobson AD and CD pair measurements on stray light.</p

New Dihydroxytyrosyl Esters from Dicarboxylic Acids: Synthesis and Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity In Vitro (ABTS) and in Cell-Cultures (DCF Assay)

New dihydroxytyrosyl esters 2a, 2c-2j of dicarboxylic acids were synthesized from methyl orthoformate protected hydroxytyrosol 3 and diacyl chlorides. New compounds were characterized (HRMS, FT-IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR), and tested for antioxidant activity both in vitro (ABTS) and on L6 myoblasts and THP1 leukemic monocytes cell culture by DCF assay. According to the ABTS assay, compounds 2a, 2c-2j showed a TEAC value of antioxidant capacity up to twice that of Trolox. Very high or complete ROS protections were obtained in the cell environment where lipophilicity and rigidity of dicarboxylic structure seem to facilitate the antioxidant effect. MTT assay and proliferation test were used for assessment of cell viability. These compounds can be envisaged as a new class of preservatives for food or cosmetic products

Measurements of scattering observables for the pdpd break-up reaction

High-precision measurements of the scattering observables such as cross sections and analyzing powers for the proton-deuteron elastic and break-up reactions have been performed at KVI in the last two decades and elsewhere to investigate various aspects of the three-nucleon force (3NF) effects simultaneously. In 2006 an experiment was performed to study these effects in $\vec{p}+d$ break-up reaction at 135 MeV with the detection system, Big Instrument for Nuclear polarization Analysis, BINA. BINA covers almost the entire kinematical phase space of the break-up reaction. The results are interpreted with the help of state-of-the-art Faddeev calculations and are partly presented in this contribution.Comment: Proceedings of 19th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Bonn University, 31.08 - 05.09.2009, Bonn, GERMAN

Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the educational technology sector to become more research-minded: Introduction to a small collection

The EDUCAtional Technology Exchange programme (EDUCATE) at UCL Institute of Education provides the context for this paper, which describes the programme’s vision, objectives and key activities, and sets the context for the collection of articles that follow. This university-led programme was underpinned by Luckin’s (2016) golden triangle of evidence-informed educational technology (edtech) as it sought to support 252 small and medium-sized enterprises to become more research-informed through a six-month research training and mentoring programme. The evaluation of the programme’s design-based research cycles revealed the importance of the careful choice and evolution of its boundary objects. These boundary objects, namely each enterprise’s ‘logic model’ and research proposal, facilitated meaningful conversations between the programme’s research mentors and the enterprises. These boundary objects involved several iterations, during which the language of the two communities became more aligned, helping to bridge the academic knowledge and practices with those of the enterprises

Comparison of loop-mediated isothermal amplification and conventional PCR tests for diagnosis of common Brucella species

Objective: Rapid, reliable, and affordable detection of Brucella species via the molecular methods remains a challenge. In recent years, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a functional nucleic acid amplification technique offering a substitute to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). So, we compared the LAMP assay with the conventional PCR for the identification of common Brucella species in Iran. In this study, LAMP assay was comprehensively evaluated against the common PCR method. A group of specific LAMP primers were used to amplify a highly specific fragment from the sequence of the Brucella abortus, bcsp31 gene. Sensitivity and specificity values of tests were done with a set of 78 (50 Brucella and 28 non-Brucella) strains. Results: A dilution series of B. abortus DNA indicated that the LAMP reaction could reliably detect 10 (fg/µl) DNA target copies per reaction within 36 min, which is 10 times greater than the PCR assay. In summary, we conclude that LAMP assay provide accurate and fast test results to identify of common Brucella species in low-complexity labs, mainly in low and lower middle income countries. © 2020, The Author(s)

Molecular portrait of high alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for biomarker-driven clinical trials

The clinical utility of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is widely recognised. However, a clear understanding of the mechanisms of AFP overexpression and the molecular traits of patients with AFP-high tumours are not known. We assessed transcriptome data, whole-exome sequencing data and DNA methylome profiling of 520 HCC patients from two independent cohorts to identify distinct molecular traits of patients with AFP-high tumours (serum concentration?>?400?ng/ml), which represents an accepted prognostic cut-off and a predictor of response to ramucirumab. Those AFP-high tumours (18% of resected cases) were characterised by significantly lower AFP promoter methylation (p?<?0.001), significant enrichment of progenitor-cell features (CK19, EPCAM), higher incidence of BAP1 oncogene mutations (8.5% vs 1.6%) and lower mutational rates of CTNNB1 (14% vs 30%). Specifically, AFP-high tumours displayed significant activation of VEGF signalling (p?<?0.001), which might provide the rationale for the reported benefit of ramucirumab in this subgroup of patients

An Immune Gene Expression Signature Associated With Development of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Identifies Mice That Respond to Chemopreventive Agents

Program (HEPCAR, reference no. 667273-2); US Department of Defense(CA150272P3); an Accelerator Award (CRUCK, AECC, AIRC) (HUNTER,reference no. C9380/A26813), NCI Cancer Center Support Grant, National Cancer Institute; Tisch Cancer Institute (P30-CA196521); Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation; Spanish National Health Institute (SAF2016-76390); and the Generalitat de Catalunya/AGAUR (SGR-1358). Agrin Moeini is supported by Spanish National Health Institute. Sara Torrecilla and Judit Peix are funded by Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (Ciberehd-ISCIII). Carla Montironi is a recipient of Josep Font grant. Carmen Andreu-Oller is supported by "la Caixa" INPhINIT Fellowship Grant (LCF/BQ/IN17/11620024). Roser Pinyol is supported by HEPCAR and AECC. Daniela Sia is supported by the Gilead Sciences Research Scholar Program in Liver Disease. Scott L. Friedman is supported by the National Institutes of Health Research project grant (R01,DK5662) and US Department of Defense (CA150272P3). Mathias Heikenwälder was supported by an ERC Consolidator grant (HepatoMetaboPath), the SFBTR 209, 1335 and SFBTR179.Background & Aims: Cirrhosis and chronic inflammation precede development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in approximately 80% of cases. We investigated immune-related gene expression patterns in liver tissues surrounding early-stage HCCs and chemopreventive agents that might alter these patterns to prevent liver tumorigenesis. Methods: We analyzed gene expression profiles of nontumor liver tissues from 392 patients with early-stage HCC (training set, N = 167 and validation set, N = 225) and liver tissue from patients with cirrhosis without HCC (N = 216, controls) to identify changes in expression of genes that regulate the immune response that could contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis. We defined 172 genes as markers for this deregulated immune response, which we called the immune-mediated cancer field (ICF). We analyzed the expression data of liver tissues from 216 patients with cirrhosis without HCC and investigated the association between this gene expression signature and development of HCC and outcomes of patients (median follow-up, 10 years). Human liver tissues were also analyzed by histology. C57BL/6J mice were given a single injection of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) followed by weekly doses of carbon tetrachloride to induce liver fibrosis and tumorigenesis. Mice were then orally given the multiple tyrosine inhibitor nintedanib or vehicle (controls); liver tissues were collected and histology, transcriptome, and protein analyses were performed. We also analyzed transcriptomes of liver tissues collected from mice on a choline-deficient high-fat diet, which developed chronic liver inflammation and tumors, orally given aspirin and clopidogrel or the anti-inflammatory agent sulindac vs mice on a chow (control) diet. Results: We found the ICF gene expression pattern in 50% of liver tissues from patients with cirrhosis without HCC and in 60% of nontumor liver tissues from patients with early-stage HCC. The liver tissues with the ICF gene expression pattern had 3 different features: increased numbers of effector T cells; increased expression of genes that suppress the immune response and activation of transforming growth factor β signaling; or expression of genes that promote inflammation and activation of interferon gamma signaling. Patients with cirrhosis and liver tissues with the immunosuppressive profile (10% of cases) had a higher risk of HCC (hazard ratio, 2.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-4.80). Mice with chemically induced fibrosis or diet-induced steatohepatitis given nintedanib or aspirin and clopidogrel down-regulated the ICF gene expression pattern in liver and developed fewer and smaller tumors than mice given vehicle. Conclusions: We identified an immune-related gene expression pattern in liver tissues of patients with early-stage HCC, called the ICF, that is associated with risk of HCC development in patients with cirrhosis. Administration of nintedanib or aspirin and clopidogrel to mice with chronic liver inflammation caused loss of this gene expression pattern and development of fewer and smaller liver tumors. Agents that alter immune regulatory gene expression patterns associated with carcinogenesis might be tested as chemopreventive agents in patients with cirrhosis

Definition of a new (Doniach-Sunjic-Shirley) peak shape for fitting asymmetric signals applied to reduced graphene oxide/graphene oxide XPS spectra

The existence of asymmetry in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) photoemission lines is widely accepted, but line shapes designed to accommodate asymmetry are generally lacking in theoretical justification. In this work, we present a new line shape for describing asymmetry in XPS signals that is based on two facts. First, the most widely known line shape for fitting asymmetric XPS signals that has a theoretical basis, referred to as the Doniach-Sunjic (DS) line shape, suffers from a mathematical inconvenience, which is that for asymmetric shapes the area beneath the curve (above the x-axis) is infinite. Second, it is common practice in XPS to remove the inelastically scattered background response of a peak in question with the Shirley algorithm. The new line shape described herein attempts to retain the theoretical virtues of the DS line shape, while allowing the use of a Shirley background, with the consequence that the resulting line shape has a finite area. To illustrate the use of this Doniach-Sunjic-Shirley (DSS) line shape, a set of spectra obtained from varying amounts of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced GO on a patterned, heterogeneous surface are fit and discussed