scholarly journals Masonry walls retrofitted with natural fibers under tsunami loads

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Fabbrocino ◽  
Stefano Belliazzi ◽  
Giancarlo Ramaglia ◽  
Gian Piero Lignola ◽  
Andrea Prota
Keyword(s):  
Natural Fibers ◽  
Masonry Walls ◽  
Engineering Applications ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Collapse Mechanisms ◽  
Inundation Depth ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Tsunami Risk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the last decades, several tsunamis hit international coasts and engaged scientific awareness to the retrofit of coastal buildings against tsunami loads. Structural design under tsunami loads is difficult due to the high uncertainties of the phenomenon. Local collapse mechanisms of masonry walls, like as out of plane mechanisms, have an high probability due to flexural actions; a higher flexural capacity can be reached using specific retrofit systems; in particular, this paper aims to deepen the behavior of masonry walls retrofitted with innovative retrofit systems like as natural fibers applied with inorganic mortar matrices. The retrofit of structures under tsunami actions could be an innovative research topic for international research community dealing with coastal buildings located in areas characterized by a high tsunami risk. Recent engineering applications demonstrated the innovative strengthening systems to be effective for the retrofit of existing masonry buildings. These strengthening systems are of great interest in the practical applications due to the low costs and their sustainability. In fact, the lower costs compared to the synthetic fibers allow their diffusion in emerging countries. In a first part the impact of constituents on the structural capacity of masonry elements strengthened with natural systems has been discussed. Important results have been provided in order to improve the knowledge and encourage the development of these systems in many engineering applications. Finally, the effects of retrofit systems on masonry walls under tsunami loads will be discussed in terms of critical inundation depth variations before and after the interventions.

scholarly journals Experimental Evolution of West Nile Virus at Higher Temperatures Facilitates Broad Adaptation and Increased Genetic Diversity

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1889
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Fay ◽  
Kiet A. Ngo ◽  
Lili Kuo ◽  
Graham G. Willsey ◽  
Laura D. Kramer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Replicative Fitness ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Mosquito Cells ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Genetic Signatures ◽  
Temperature Impacts ◽  
The Impact

West Nile virus (WNV, Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus introduced to North America in 1999. Since 1999, the Earth’s average temperature has increased by 0.6 °C. Mosquitoes are ectothermic organisms, reliant on environmental heat sources. Temperature impacts vector–virus interactions which directly influence arbovirus transmission. RNA viral replication is highly error-prone and increasing temperature could further increase replication rates, mutation frequencies, and evolutionary rates. The impact of temperature on arbovirus evolutionary trajectories and fitness landscapes has yet to be sufficiently studied. To investigate how temperature impacts the rate and extent of WNV evolution in mosquito cells, WNV was experimentally passaged 12 times in Culex tarsalis cells, at 25 °C and 30 °C. Full-genome deep sequencing was used to compare genetic signatures during passage, and replicative fitness was evaluated before and after passage at each temperature. Our results suggest adaptive potential at both temperatures, with unique temperature-dependent and lineage-specific genetic signatures. Further, higher temperature passage was associated with significantly increased replicative fitness at both temperatures and increases in nonsynonymous mutations. Together, these data indicate that if similar selective pressures exist in natural systems, increases in temperature could accelerate emergence of high-fitness strains with greater phenotypic plasticity.

Strategic Role of Zakat in Multidimensional Quality of Life in Sijunjung, Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72
Author(s):  
Herlin Hamimi ◽  
Abdul Ghafar Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Hasbi Zaenal
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Wealth Distribution ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
Being There ◽  
The Impact

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam which has a function of faith, social and economic functions. Muslims who can pay zakat are required to give at least 2.5 per cent of their wealth. The problem of poverty prevalent in disadvantaged regions because of the difficulty of access to information and communication led to a gap that is so high in wealth and resources. The instrument of zakat provides a paradigm in the achievement of equitable wealth distribution and healthy circulation. Zakat potentially offers a better life and improves the quality of human being. There is a human quality improvement not only in economic terms but also in spiritual terms such as improving religiousity. This study aims to examine the role of zakat to alleviate humanitarian issues in disadvantaged regions such as Sijunjung, one of zakat beneficiaries and impoverished areas in Indonesia. The researcher attempted a Cibest method to capture the impact of zakat beneficiaries before and after becoming a member of Zakat Community Development (ZCD) Program in material and spiritual value. The overall analysis shows that zakat has a positive impact on disadvantaged regions development and enhance the quality of life of the community. There is an improvement in the average of mustahik household incomes after becoming a member of ZCD Program. Cibest model demonstrates that material, spiritual, and absolute poverty index decreased by 10, 5, and 6 per cent. Meanwhile, the welfare index is increased by 21 per cent. These findings have significant implications for developing the quality of life in disadvantaged regions in Sijunjung. Therefore, zakat is one of the instruments to change the status of disadvantaged areas to be equivalent to other areas.

Latent heat storage for hot beverages

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 5653-5664
Author(s):  
M. S. M. Al-Jethelah ◽  
H. S. Dheyab ◽  
S. Khudhayer ◽  
T. K. Ibrahim ◽  
A. T. Al-Sammarraie
Keyword(s):  
Latent Heat ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Heat Storage ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Thermal Engineering ◽  
Engineering Applications ◽  
Latent Heat Storage ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Encapsulated Phase Change Material ◽  
Change Material

Latent heat storage has shown a great potential in many engineering applications. The utilization of latent heat storage has been extended from small scales to large scales of thermal engineering applications. In food industry, latent heat has been applied in food storage. Another potential application of latent heat storage is to maintain hot beverages at a reasonable drinking temperature for longer periods. In the present work, a numerical calculation was performed to investigate the impact of utilizing encapsulated phase change material PCM on the temperature of hot beverage. The PCM was encapsulated in rings inside the cup. The results showed that the encapsulated PCM reduced the coffee temperature to an acceptable temperature in shorter time. In addition, the PCM maintained the hot beverage temperature at an acceptable drinking temperature for rational time.

ANALISIS PENGARUH PEMBANGUNAN JALAN LAYANG JANTI TERHADAP PERKEMBANGAN TATA RUANG KAWASAN JANTI STUDI KASUS : KAWASAN JANTI, DESA CATURTUNGGAL, KABUPATEN SLEMAN, D. I. YOGYAKARTA

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Jeky El Boru
Keyword(s):  
Road Network ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Qualitative Description ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
The Road ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Linkage Method ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Parking Place

Abstract: This research aims to analyze the impact of Janti Flyover Construction toward the growth of layout at Janti Urban Area, including structured space, open space, and linkage. Method used for data collecting are observation, air photograph monitoring, and interview, whereas the analysis method is qualitative description, which is the superimposed method of two layers, that are the layout condition before and after flyover construction. The result shows that the impact of Janti Flyover construction can be seen on building mass (solid), the increasing number of open spaces, including the road network, parking place, and park, whereas the relation between spaces, visually and structurally, can be seen on the growth of buildings which have new shapes and styles, therefore the performance of the overall building does not have a proportional shape. Considering Janti Street at the collective relation, its role is getting stronger as the main frame road network.Keywords: Flyover construction, layout changing, Janti AreaAbstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh pembangunan Jalan Layang Janti terhadap perkembangan tata ruang Kawasan Janti, meliputi ruang terbangun, ruang terbuka, serta hubungan antar ruang (“linkage”). Metode pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi, pengamatan foto udara, dan wawancara; sedangkan metode analisis melalui deskripsi secara kualitatif yang berupa “superimposed method” dari dua lapisan kondisi lahan, yakni kondisi tata ruang sebelum dan sesudah pembangunan jalan layang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengaruh pembangunan Jalan Layang Janti terdapat pada massa bangunan (“solid”), pertambahan ruang terbuka yang berupa jaringan jalan, parkir, dan taman; sedangkan pada hubungan antar ruang ̶ secara visual dan struktural ̶ yakni tumbuhnya bangunan dengan bentuk dan gaya baru, sehingga bentuk tampilan bangunan secara keseluruhan tidak proporsional. Pada hubungan kolektif, Jalan Janti semakin kuat perannya sebagai kerangka utama jaringan jalan.Kata kunci : Pembangunan jalan layang, tata ruang, Kawasan Janti

Impact of merger on efficiency and productivity : a case study of commercial banks in Malaysia

1970 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Mahadzir Ismail ◽  
Saliza Sulaiman ◽  
Hasni Abdul Rahim ◽  
Nordiana Nordin
Keyword(s):  
Efficiency Score ◽  
Malmquist Productivity Index ◽  
Productivity Index ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Domestic Banks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity

The Financial Master Plan (2001- 2010) aims to enhance the capacity of banking industry so that higher effic iency and productivity can be reaped in the future. This study seeks to determine the impact of merger on the efficiency and productivity ofcommercial banks in Malaysia for the period 1995 until 2005. The study uses a non-parametric approach, nam ely DEA (data envelopment analysis?) to estimate the efficiency scores and to construct the Malmquist productivity index. To enable this estimation, three bank inputs and outputs are used. Amongst the findings are those banks exhibit higher efficiency score after the merger and thefo reign banks are more efficient than the local banks. Productivity of the banks is calculated in both periods, before and after the merger: The results show that, it is the local banks that have improved the most after the merger. The main source of productivity is technical change or innovation. The findings support the existing policy of having larger domestic banks in term of size.

THE EFFECT OF METACOGNITIVE INSTRUCTION ON MAXIMIZING EFL LEARNERS’ METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS IN LISTENING

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Mahsa Assadi
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Research ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Listening Test ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Metacognitive Instruction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
The Impact

This study reports a pre-experimental research on the impact of metacognitive instruction on EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness and their listening performance. To obtain the goal of the study, a group of 30 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, including 14 males and 16 females, were selected randomly. Their ages range from 20 to 24. The participants took part in 16 weeks’ intervention program based on metacognitive pedagogical sequence consisted of five stages. The metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire (MALQ), and a listening test were also used to find changes in metacognitive awareness and listening performance before and after the treatment. The results of comparing pre and posttests scores revealed that metacognitive instruction raised the learners’ metacognitive awareness and helped them improve their listening comprehension ability.

Impact of Michigan’s new opioid prescribing laws on spine surgery patients: analysis of the Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Paul Park ◽  
Victor Chang ◽  
Hsueh-Han Yeh ◽  
Jason M. Schwalb ◽  
David R. Nerenz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spine Surgery ◽  
Spinal Surgery ◽  
Readmission Rate ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Readmission Rates ◽  
Opioid Prescribing ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

OBJECTIVEIn 2017, Michigan passed new legislation designed to reduce opioid abuse. This study evaluated the impact of these new restrictive laws on preoperative narcotic use, short-term outcomes, and readmission rates after spinal surgery.METHODSPatient data from 1 year before and 1 year after initiation of the new opioid laws (beginning July 1, 2018) were queried from the Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative database. Before and after implementation of the major elements of the new laws, 12,325 and 11,988 patients, respectively, were treated.RESULTSPatients before and after passage of the opioid laws had generally similar demographic and surgical characteristics. Notably, after passage of the opioid laws, the number of patients taking daily narcotics preoperatively decreased from 3783 (48.7%) to 2698 (39.7%; p < 0.0001). Three months postoperatively, there were no differences in minimum clinically important difference (56.0% vs 58.0%, p = 0.1068), numeric rating scale (NRS) score of back pain (3.5 vs 3.4, p = 0.1156), NRS score of leg pain (2.7 vs 2.7, p = 0.3595), satisfaction (84.4% vs 84.7%, p = 0.6852), or 90-day readmission rate (5.8% vs 6.2%, p = 0.3202) between groups. Although there was no difference in readmission rates, pain as a reason for readmission was marginally more common (0.86% vs 1.22%, p = 0.0323).CONCLUSIONSThere was a meaningful decrease in preoperative narcotic use, but notably there was no apparent negative impact on postoperative recovery, patient satisfaction, or short-term outcomes after spinal surgery despite more restrictive opioid prescribing. Although the readmission rate did not significantly increase, pain as a reason for readmission was marginally more frequently observed.

Effects of use of an eHealth platform e-Vita for COPD patients on disease specific quality of life domains

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Functional State ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Copd Patients ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Ehealth Intervention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Disease Specific

Background: Integrated disease management with self-management for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is effective to improve clinical outcomes. eHealth can improve patients’ involvement to be able to accept and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Eventhough there is mixed evidence of the impact of eHealth on quality of life (QoL) in different settings. Aim: The primary aim of the e-Vita-COPD-study was to investigate the effect of use of eHealth patient platforms on disease specific QoL of COPD patients. Methods: We evaluated the impact of an eHealth platform on disease specific QoL measured with the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ), including subscales of symptoms, functional state and mental state. Interrupted time series (ITS) design was used to collect CCQ data at multiple time points. Multilevel linear regression modelling was used to compare trends in CCQ before and after the eHealth intervention. Results: Of 742 invited COPD patients, 244 signed informed consent. For the analyses, we only included patients who actually used the eHealth platform (n = 123). The decrease of CCQ-symptoms was 0,20% before the intervention and 0,27% after the intervention; this difference was statistically significant (P=0.027). The decrease of CCQ-mental was 0,97% before the intervention and after the intervention there was an increase of 0,017%; this difference was statistically significant (P=0,01). No significant difference was found in the slopes of CCQ (P=0,12) and CCQ-function (P=0,11) before and after the intervention. Conclusion: The e-Vita eHealth platform had a potential beneficial impact on the CCQ-symptoms of COPD patients, but not on functional state. The CCQ-mental state remained stable after the intervention, but this was a deterioration compared to the improving situation before the start of the eHealth platform. In conclusion, this study shows that after the introduction of the COPD platform, patients experienced fewer symptoms, but their mental state deteriorated slightly at the same time. Therefore, health care providers should be aware that, although symptoms improve, there might be a slight increase in anxiety and depression after introducing an eHealth intervention to support self-management.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON STORM SURGE RISKS TO CONTAINERS CONSIDERING GLOBAL WARMING

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rikito Hisamatsu ◽  
Rikito Hisamatsu ◽  
Kei Horie ◽  
Kei Horie
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Inundation Depth ◽  
Risk Assessment Tools ◽  
Risk Maps ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Vulnerability Functions

Container yards tend to be located along waterfronts that are exposed to high risk of storm surges. However, risk assessment tools such as vulnerability functions and risk maps for containers have not been sufficiently developed. In addition, damage due to storm surges is expected to increase owing to global warming. This paper aims to assess storm surge impact due to global warming for containers located at three major bays in Japan. First, we developed vulnerability functions for containers against storm surges using an engineering approach. Second, we simulated storm surges at three major bays using the SuWAT model and taking global warming into account. Finally, we developed storm surge risk maps for containers based on current and future situations using the vulnerability function and simulated inundation depth. As a result, we revealed the impact of global warming on storm surge risks for containers quantitatively.

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