bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Navigating the World: Challenges within the Relocation Process - An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Pretsch J. , Saretzki J. , Jernigan A. , Cantor D.
Published: June 2022

The complete relocation of the center of life to a foreign country is a plan increasingly chosen by specific people, especially for entrepreneurial reasons. The digital nomads or expat-preneurs often emphasized in this context exhibit a particular structure of fundamental personality dimensions and can also be described as unique in the perception of specific challenges in the relocation process. In the present study, which is based on both a literature-based and quantitative approach, n = 196 subjects participated in an online survey that included scales and self-constructed items on personality structure, the possible choice of specific occupational groups as support systems, the perception of specific challenges, and other relevant aspects in the context of relocation. In addition to descriptive results and a brief review of previous scientific findings, multivariate analyses of variance were able to show that the choice of support system exerts a significant influence in the form of a decrease in stress in the context of the perception of specific challenges in the (tax) legal as well as financial areas. It also became clear that the region of origin and the destination region are related to assessing tax-legal aspects and administrative aspects in the economic context. Thus, there are significant differences between the Schengen Area and the U.S. area as the region of origin and these and (South East) Asia and Latin America as the destination region.
Blockchain in Education - The Case of Language Learning
Authors: Panagiotidis Panagiotis
Published: June 2022

New technological developments, such as 5G networks, smart and interconnected devices, and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), lead to a new reality in which the secure flow of data is non-negotiable. In this new reality, blockchain technology can play a crucial role, as it has the ability to provide the necessary background for the safe and inviolable operation of systems. Blockchain is a distributed ledger, in which information and data are stored and verified. These blocks of data do not have to be related to financial transactions but may concern any other type of data that needs to be securely recorded and not changed retrospectively. Although the first application of blockchain technology was about digital currency (Bitcoin), its usefulness is not limited to cryptocurrencies or the field of economics. Blockchain, especially in its last stage v3.0, has many applications in various sectors such as data storage, certification of products and services, government, insurance, health, science, and education. This paper focuses on the current and potential educational applications of blockchain and presents how this technology can be used to solve specific education problems. Nowadays, a variety of blockchain applications concerning the issue and storage of certificates and diplomas, the evaluation of learning outcomes, the support and the academic degree management, the protection of intellectual property, the cooperation between students and their professors, learning accreditation, payment for studies, formation of an academic passport (portfolio) or administration of the educational process are implemented in some HEI and institutions. The paper analyzes the features and advantages of blockchain technology, presents some of the current blockchain applications for education, as well as the benefits and challenges of using blockchain technology in the educational sector. Finally, special reference is made to applications related to the field of language learning.
Determining Cyber Security-Related Behaviors of Internet Users: Example of the Faculty of Sport Sciences Students
Authors: Duman Feray Küçükbaş
Published: June 2022

The most practical and fastest way to access information in today’s world is via the internet. Thanks to the internet, the necessary information can be reached in a short time. Nevertheless, in addition to the benefits of the internet, it can also pose risks for users. For this reason, it is important to increase the level of awareness of individuals against threats that may occur in the cyber network. Sports organizations, like other sectors, process sensitive personal data and may face cyber attacks. It is important to determine the cyber security behaviors of the students of the faculty of sport sciences, who will be taking part in different careers in sports in the future, and so to contribute to the students’ development in this regard. In this study, the cyber security-related behaviors of the faculty of sport sciences students were examined in terms of gender, age, frequency of internet usage, frequency of monthly purchases of products or services over the internet, and level of knowledge about cyber security. The “Personal Cyber Security Provision Scale” developed by Erol and associates (2015) was used as a data collection tool. For this reason, ANOVA and Independent Samples t-Test were used to investigate the significant differences between the scale scores and the variables. According to the findings of the study, students’ behaviors related to cyber security differ according to gender, daily internet usage, monthly product or service purchase frequency, and knowledge level about cyber security. The age variable, on the other hand, does not affect cyber security behaviors. According to the results obtained from the Personal Cyber Security Ensuring Scale, the students of the faculty of sport sciences have high cyber security awareness. However, it is seen that they have lower scores from the factors of “Take Precautions” and “Privacy Protection” compared to other factors on the scale. Therefore, it is important for students to be informed about cyber security practices, what kind of precautions they should take in this regard, and how they can learn about improvements in this field to create cyber security awareness.
Impacts of Workplace Factors on Employee Engagement in the Public Sector
Authors: Alwahabi Alnuaimi Yousef M.
Published: June 2022

Employees are an integral part of any organization because of the value they bring, and how they help the organization achieve its goals. Yet, the percentage of employees who are passionate about their jobs and the overall goal of the organization where they work remains in the minority. While workplace factors tend to play a role in determining the extent to which employees are engaged, actively engaged or unengaged, the direct impact on employee engagement remains vague. This paper presents the outcome of a study conducted which evaluates the impact of workplace factors on employee engagement in public sector entity. An online questionnaire was completed by 120 employees of one of UAE public sector entities. Participants were selected through random sampling to ensure fair representation. The primary data was analyzed using structural paths analysis to determine the direct effects of workplace experience as well as workplace conditions on Employee Engagement respectively. The findings indicate that workplace conditions positively influence employee engagement in the public sector entity, while the impact of workplace experience is negative and unsupported in the UAE public entity examined. The implication of these findings is that public sector entities such as the one examined is able to determine the workplace factor to prioritise for sustaining engagement of its employees in order to increase engagement level. This study advances organizational studies in general, particularly the field of employee engagement. The result helps to empirically verify the positive influence of workplace factors such as clarity of work, opportunities at work and support from managers on employee engagement.
Ultrafast and Selective Labeling of Endogenous Proteins Using Affinity-based Benzotriazole Chemistry
Authors: Xin Xiaoyi , Zhang Yu , Gaetani Massimiliano , Lundström Susanna , Zubarev Roman , Zhou Yuan , Corkery Dale , Wu Yaowen
Published: June 2022

Chemical modification of proteins is enormously useful for characterizing protein function in complex biological systems and for drug development. Selective labeling of native or endogenous proteins is challenging owing to the existence of distinct functional groups in proteins and in living systems. Chemistry for rapid and selective labeling of proteins remains in high demand. Here we have developed novel affinity labeling probes using benzotriazole (BTA) chemistry. We showed that affinity-based BTA probes selectively and covalently label a lysine residue in the vicinity of the ligand binding site of a target protein with a reaction half-time of 28 s. The reaction rate constant is comparable to the fastest biorthogonal chemistry. This approach was used to selectively label different cytosolic and membrane proteins in vitro and in live cells. BTA chemistry could be widely useful for labeling of native/endogenous proteins, target identification and development of covalent inhibitors.
Homogeneous ice nucleation rates for mW and TIP4P/ICE models through Lattice Mold calculations
Authors: Sanchez-Burgos Ignacio , Tejedor Andres R. , Vega Carlos , Conde Maria M. , Sanz Eduardo , Ramirez Jorge , ESPINOSA JORGE R.
Published: June 2022

Water freezing is the most common liquid-to-crystal phase transition on Earth, however, despite its critical implications on climate change and cryopreservation among other disciplines, its characterization through experimental and computational techniques remains elusive. In this work, we make use of computer simulations to measure the nucleation rate (J) of water at normal pressure under different supercooling conditions, ranging from 215 to 240K. We employ two different water models, mW, a coarse-grained potential for water, and TIP4P/ICE, an atomistic non-polarizable water model that provides one of the most accurate representations of the different ice phases. To evaluate J, we apply the Lattice Mold technique, a computational method based on the use of molds to induce the nucleus formation from the metastable liquid under conditions at which observing spontaneous nucleation would be unfeasible. With this method, we obtain estimates of the nucleation rate for ice Ih, Ic and a stacking mixture of ice Ih/Ic; reaching consensus with most of the previously reported rates, although differing with some others. Furthermore, we confirm that the predicted nucleation rates by the TIP4P/ICE model are in better agreement with experimental data than those obtained through the mW potential. Taken together, our study provides a reliable methodology to measure nucleation rates in a simple and computationally efficient manner which contributes to benchmarking the freezing behaviour of two popular water models.
Solvent-Controlled Switchable Synthesis of gem-Difluoro Compounds from Anhydrides under Photoredox Catalysis
Authors: Giri Rahul , Mosiagin Ivan , Franzoni Ivan , Nötel Nicolas Yannick , Patra Subrata , Katayev Dmitry
Published: June 2022

The outstanding impact of fluorine atom in drug discovery cannot be overestimated. Substantially, the incorporation of the gem-difluoro (CF2) group into organic frameworks is highly sought due to the influence of this unit on physicochemical and pharmacological properties of molecules. Yet, introduction of CF2 moiety into organic structures is a step-intensive preparation, and known approaches are often limited to certain classes of molecules. Development of strategies for a rapid incorporation of gem-difluoro synthon that utilizes inexpensive commercial reagents is highly desirable. In the context of divergency and applicability of such reagents, switchable synthesis can be beneficial to access a wide range of fluorinated compounds. Herein we report a mild and operationally simple protocols to access various gem-difluoro compounds that employs chlorodifloroacetic anhydride (CDFAA) as a low cost and versatile fluoroalkylating reagent. Detailed mechanistic investigations revealed that electron-transfer photocatalysis triggers mesolytic cleavage of a C−Cl bond generating a gem-difluoro carboxy radical. In the presence of alkene molecule, this radical species acts as an efficient and unique bifunctional reagent that, under solvent-controlled reaction conditions, delivers a wide range of gem-difluorinated γ-lactams, γ-lactones, as well as promotes oxy-perfluoroalkylation. These protocols are flow and batch scalable, possess excellent chemo- and regioselectivity, and can be used for the late-stage diversification of biorelevant molecules.
Necessary and sufficient condition for organic room-temperature phosphorescence from host-guest doped crystalline systems.
Authors: Attias Andre-Jean , Demangeat Catherine , Tang Yipeng , Cielo Jakob Zosa , Dou Yixuan , Kim Eunkyoung , Lee Ha-Jin , D'Aléo Anthony , Hu Bin
Published: June 2022

Controlling and predicting the long-lived room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) from organic materials are the next challenges to address for the realization of new efficient organic RTP systems. Here, a new approach is developed to reach these objectives by considering host-guest doped crystals as well-suited model systems in that they allow the comprehensive understanding of synergetic structural interactions between crystalline host matrices and emitting guest molecules, one of the key parameters to understand the correlation between the solid-state organization and crystal RTP performances. We designed two series of sigma-conjugated donor/acceptor (D-sigma-A) carbazole-based matrices and isomeric 1H-benzo[f]indole-based dopants, capable of exploring a wide variety of conformations thanks to large rotational degrees of freedom provided by the sigma-conjugation. By correlating results of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and photoluminescence properties, we established a necessary and sufficient condition for RTP that paves the way for the development of new long-lived RTP host-guest doped systems.
Low-lying excited states of natural carotenoids viewed by ab initio methods
Authors: Khokhlov Daniil , Belov Aleksandr
Published: June 2022

Low-lying excited states of carotenoids (the optically dark 2Ag- and bright 1Bu+) are deeply involved in energy transfer processes in photosynthetic antennas such as light-harvesting and non-photochemical quenching. Though any ab initio modeling of these phenomena has to rely on precise energies of the carotenoid electronic states, their accurate evaluation remains a challenging problem due to a different nature of the states of interest. The paper aims to study how accurate are the excitation energies of the low-lying excited states of certain open- and closed-chain carotenoids obtained by a state-of-the-art multireference approach for electronic structure calculation. Here, DMRGSCF and a perturbative approach based on DSRG-MRPT2 were used for treatment of static and dynamic correlation, respectively. Nuclear geometries of the electronic states were optimized with DFT-based approaches. It was demonstrated that spin-flip TD-DFT can replace multiconfigurational methods for the geometry optimization of the 2Ag- state, but not for the calculation of the excitation energy. Adiabatic excitation energies to the 1Bu+ state were shown to be within a margin of 1000 cm-1 with an appropriate flow-parameter value. Adiabatic excitation energies to the 2Ag- state for the open-chain carotenoids lie within a range of experimental values (taking into account the broad range of experimental estimates); for the closed-chain ones the error does not exceed 2000 cm-1. Ab initio stationary (1Ag- → 1Bu+) and transient (2Ag- → 1Bu+) absorption spectra were modeled for violaxanthin and lycopene, and they show a good agreement with the experimental ones both in terms of vibronic structure and transition energies.
Predicting clinical trial outcomes using drug bioactivities through graph database integration and machine learning
Authors: Athri Prashanth , Murali Vidhya , Y Muralidhar Pradyumna , Königs Cassandra , Nair Meera , Madhu Sethulekshmi , Nedungadi Prema , Srinivasa Gowri
Published: June 2022

The ability to estimate the probability of a drug to receive approval in clinical trials provides natural advantages to optimizing pharmaceutical research workflows. Success rates of clinical trials have deep implications to costs, duration of development, and under pressure due to stringent regulatory approval processes. We propose a machine learning approach that can predict the outcome of the trial with reliable accuracies, using biological activities, physicochemical properties of the compounds, target-related features, and NLP-based compound representation. Biological activities have never been used as a predictive feature. We have extracted the drug-disease pair from clinical trials and mapped target(s) to that pair using multiple data sources. Empirical results demonstrate that ensemble learning outperforms independently trained, small-data ML models. We report results and inferences derived from a Random forest classifier with an average accuracy of 93%, and an F1 score of 0.96 for the 'Pass' class. 'Pass' refers to one of the two classes (Pass/ Fail) of all clinical trials and the model performed well in predicting the 'Pass' category. An analysis of the features demonstrates that bioactivity plays an important role in predicting the outcome of a clinical trial. A significant effort has gone into the production of the dataset that, for the first time, integrates clinical trial information with protein targets. All code to map these entities is available through this study, and all data are from publicly available sources. While our model identifies low-lying inferences when biological activities are included, the code to integrate biological activity and target information provide researchers with access to deep curated and proprietary clinical trial databases the ability to get deeper insights, better statistical significance, and capabilities to better predict trial failures.
Training the Algorithm: Governance, Agency, and Literacy in the Use of YouTube
Authors: Sued Gabriela Elisa
Published: June 2022

This study addresses the experiences of young Mexican users with YouTube’s recommendation algorithms. It seeks to determine if they are subordinated to algorithmic governance or if, on the contrary, they are capable of developing some tactics to resist algorithmic power through their agency. It uses a qualitative methodology based on focus groups and shows that users are not entirely subordinated to the platforms. Their possibilities of agency vary depending on the different technological appropriations of the platform, the intuitive theories about the ways in which these operate, the ability to dodge algorithmic distortions, and the resources to evaluate the quality of the information offered. As a result, the study identifies the specific skills that constitute algorithmic literacy.
Investigación académica de la comunicación: un balance de la investigación en comunicación en la Universidad de Lima (2016-2021)
Authors: Chaparro Hernán , Cuellar Ascencio Dennis
Published: June 2022

Se conoce poco sobre las características de la investigación contemporánea sobre comunicación en América Latina y, en particular, en el Perú. Los estudios existentes dan cuenta del impacto que han tenido las actuales políticas sobre investigación en la academia, la heterogeneidad de los temas tratados, la distancia entre formación e investigación, el desarrollo de los grupos de investigación, y el tipo de temas abordados. A fin de iniciar un análisis de la producción científica en investigación en comunicación en el Perú, se desarrolla un estudio descriptivo de tipo bibliométrico de los trabajos de investigación de alumnos y docentes de la Facultad de Comunicación de la Universidad de Lima, una de las más antiguas del país. Los resultados muestran el impacto de los marcos normativos en el desarrollo de la investigación, la importancia de los grupos de investigación en la producción de publicaciones indexadas y el tipo de temas que han sido abordados.
Verifying small vessel disease and mild cognitive impairment with a computational мagnetic resonance imaging analysis
Authors: Krupenin Pavel M. , Perepelov Vsevolod A. , Perepelova Elena M. , Bordovsky Sergey P. , Preobrazhenskaya Irina S. , Sokolova Anastasiya A. , Napalkov Dmitry A. , Voskresenskaya Olga N.
Published: June 2022

Aim. To illustrate capabilities of the computational brain мagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyses on a small vessel disease (SVD) sample. Materials and methods. Thirty-one patients underwent brain MRI in standard sequences. We used Lesion Segmentation Tool to assess white matter hyperintensities (WMH) volume and Computational Anatomy Toolbox to calculate cortical thickness. Both software plug-ins work within the Statistical Parametric Mapping 12 software for MATLAB. We also performed cognitive testing with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test and tests to detect hippocampal and executive domain dysfunction. Results. Sixteen patients had mild vascular cognitive impairment. The Median Fazekas scale score was 2 and 2 points. The median intracranial volume fraction occupied by the WMH was 0.07%. It correlated with the executive domain performance but not with cortical thickness. Cortical thickness within several clusters of the prefrontal complex and temporal lobe correlated with performance in cognitive tests. Among the computed MRI markers of the SVD, the occipital lobe cortical thickness had an area under the curve of 70%, and among the cognitive tests, the cued recall measure had an area under the curve of 73.8% to detect mild cognitive impairment. Conclusion. The abovementioned metrics is a valuable tool to objectively estimate white and grey matter state in patients with small vessel disease. Performing those analyses helped to assess SVD properties in the sample further and register new correlations between MRI and cognitive markers.
Net clinical benefit of anticoagulant therapy from a neurologist's perspective: A review
Authors: Kulesh Aleksey A.
Published: June 2022

In this article the concept of "net clinical benefit" (NCB) is considered in the context of stroke, the role of direct oral anticoagulants in secondary prevention of cardioembolic stroke and NCB from their prescription. Practical aspects of NCB evaluation from the neurologist's point of view are presented, taking into account such factors as stroke duration and severity, features of neurological deficit (severity of residual limitations, dysphagia, motor disorders and risk of falls), neuroimaging characteristics of stroke (focal size and hemorrhagic transformation) and concomitant neurological diseases (epilepsy and dementia). In all these situations, the use of oral anticoagulants has a significant clinical benefit, which justifies the inadmissibility of refusal to prescribe them.
Physical Therapy Interventions for the Management of Biceps Tendinopathy: An International Delphi Study
Authors: McDevitt Amy W. , Cleland Joshua A. , Addison Simone , Calderon Leah , Snodgrass Suzanne
Published: June 2022

Background

Shoulder pain related to the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) tendinopathy can be debilitating and difficult to treat especially in athletes who often elect for surgical intervention. Conservative management is recommended but there are limited established guidelines on the physical therapy (PT) management of the condition.

Hypothesis/Purpose

The purpose of this study was to establish consensus on conservative, non-surgical physical therapy interventions for individuals with LHBT tendinopathy using the Delphi method approach.

Study Design

Delphi Study

Methods

Through an iterative process, experts in the PT field rated their agreement with a list of proposed treatment interventions and suggested additional interventions during each round. Agreement was measured using a four-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics including median and percentage agreement were used to measure agreement. Data analysis at the end of Round III produced, by consensus, a list of PT interventions recommended for the management of individuals with LHBT tendinopathy. Consensus was defined as an a priori cutoff of ≥75% agreement.

Results

The respondent group included 29 international experts in the PT management of individuals with shoulder pain. At the conclusion of the study 61 interventions were designated as recommended based on consensus amongst experts and 9 interventions were not recommended based on the same criteria, 15 interventions did not achieve consensus.

Conclusion

There is a lack of well-defined, PT interventions used to treat LHBT tendinopathy. Expert respondents reached consensus on multimodal interventions including exercise, manual therapy and patient education to manage LHBT tendinopathy.

Level of Evidence

5
The Problem of Recurrent Injuries in Collegiate Track and Field
Authors: Hopkins Chris , Kanny Samantha , Headley Catherine
Published: June 2022

Background

As with most sports, participating in Track and Field (T&F) has inherent injury risks and a previous injury often predisposes athletes to a greater future injury risk. However, the frequency and burden of recurrent injuries in collegiate T&F have not been closely examined.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to describe the frequency and burden of recurrent injuries in collegiate T&F and compare differences in the time loss associated with initial and recurrent injuries by sex and T&F discipline.

Study Design

Descriptive Epidemiology Study

Methods

Data from the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program were analyzed to describe the frequency and burden of recurrent injuries in collegiate T&F between 2009 and 2014. Comparisons of recurrent injury proportions by T&F discipline were made using Injury Proportion Ratios (IPR) and injury-associated time loss comparisons by injury type and sex were made using Negative Binomial Regression.

Results

Four hundred and seventy-four injuries were reported, 13.1% of which were classified as recurrent injuries. T&F athletes who competed in jumps experienced a lower proportion of recurrent injuries (6.1%) than runners (14.6%) and throwers (19.2%) (Recurrent IPR 0.40, 95% CI 0.18-0.88, p<0.05). When controlling for sex and injury diagnosis, T&F athletes experienced 50% greater time loss from sport following a recurrent injury than an initial injury (95% CI 17%-107%, p<0.01).

Conclusions

Recurrent injuries in T&F athletes account for greater time loss than initial injuries, despite sex or injury diagnosis. The current study indicates a need for further research to assess factors contributing to time loss.

Level of Evidence

Level 3
FOREST PATHOLOGY MONITORING OF THE FORESTS
Authors:   Timirâzevskaâ selʹskohozâjstvennaâ akademiâ, KHRAPACH V. V. , TRETYAKOVA E. S. TRETYAKOVA E. S.
Published: June 2022

The main purpose of the research is to determine the sanitary and forest pathological state of the entire tree stand of the main forest areas located on the territory of the municipal formation of the city of Stavropol, located in the forest-steppe zone. The relevance for the ecology of a large city of forests, both natural and artifi cial origin, is considered. The characteristics of the forest, its origin and qualitative condition are given. The studies used standard methods of forest taxation and forest pathology survey with appropriate cameral treatment, namely, selective ground observations. An accelerated fall off of petiole oak, Caucasian hornbeam, and common ash was revealed. The main conclusion of the study is that in order to improve the tree stand, it is necessary to carry out sanitary and recreational measures in the form of selective sanitary cutting and harvesting of illiquid wood, as well as detailed observations of the pest population.
Independent Check and Validation Activities for the New Storstrøm Bridge
Authors: Guil Celada Ysabel , Santos Sánchez Luis , Wegner Philipp , Behrmann Tilo , Moormann Christian , Sacristán Montesinos Miguel
Published: June 2022

As part of the New Storstrøm bridge Project, an Independent Check of Category 3 is being carried out by the Joint Venture sbp-MGC-A&A. The great extension of the project requires a complete checking team covering a great number of disciplines, including structural and geotechnical bridge design, dynamic analysis under ship impact or special construction methods.

In addition to the Independent Check activities, the Joint Venture is responsible of the Validation tasks for Banedanmark. These include an exhaustive exam of the documentation to ensure the presence of background material as well as the traceability and consistency of drawings and reports.

In the present paper, some special aspects of the independent check and validation work of the combined road and railway as a multi-span and Cable Stayed bridge will be presented.
Structural stress analyses of long-span railway extradosed cable- stayed bridge based on reasonable construction state
Authors: Guo Weiqiang , Briseghella Bruno , Xue Junqing , Chen Quan , Nuti Camillo
Published: June 2022

The system of the extradosed cable-stayed bridge constantly changed during construction. In order to obtain the reasonable finished dead state and ensure the structural safety during construction, it is necessary to deeply investigate the construction stages. A finite element model of a real long- span railway extradosed cable-stayed bridge built in China was established by using MIDAS/Civil finite element software to analyze the stress and deformation of the bridge based on reasonable construction state. The results show that it should be paid attention to the longitudinal displacement at the top of the tower after the middle-span closure stage, and the vertical displacement of the girder in the longest single cantilever stage. The maximum compressive stresses of the tower appeared after the cable tensioning and the girder appeared when the bridge is in the longest single cantilever state are less than the design compressive strength of concrete C55. The maximum tensile stress of the girder appeared when the bridge is in the longest double cantilever state is less than the design tensile strength of concrete C55.
Experimental study on the cooperative slip/bearing limit state of high-strength bolted frictional girder connection
Authors: Sakura Ryo , Yamaguchi Takashi , Aoki Yasumoto
Published: June 2022

Bolted girder connections resist applied bending moment through the cooperation of flange and web resistances. To utilize the bending plastic capacity of the girder connection at the ultimate limit state, the bearing capacity of the girder connection should be defined by the cooperative resistance and the ductility of bolt hole deformation. In the present study, pure bending test of plate girders bolted connection has been conducted to evaluate quantitatively the resistance and the ductility of the connection. From obtained results, it was found that the overall slip would not occur until the bolt group in the web other than around the neutral axis reaches their slip strength. In addition, overall slip strength formula with a 5% discrepancy from the experimental results has been newly proposed. As for the deformation capacity, it was found that the flange bolt hole deformation was about 10% of the bolt diameter at the design full plastic moment.
Development of an accurate low-cost device for structural vibration acquisition
Authors: Komarizadehasl Seyedmilad , Lozano Fidel , Komary Mahyad , Lozano-Galant Jose A. , Turmo José
Published: June 2022

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applications are getting tremendous attention from engineers; However, the expensive sensors and equipment needed for extracting the structures' modal characteristics made SHM application only applicable to singular structures with a high budget for their health assessment. For applying the SHM systems to structures with lower health evaluation budget, a new accurate and low-cost device is proposed for the measurements of structural vibrations. This is composed of five similar simultaneous accelerometers located on a same spot for measuring the same signal. For validating the accuracy of this device, laboratory experiments were carried on; subsequently, the out-puts of the proposed device were compared with two piezoelectric accelerometers (PCB 393A03 and PCB 356B18). The results of the experiments show that not only is the proposed device 14 times less expensive than PCB 393A03, but it can also acquire vibration on lower frequencies and acceleration amplitudes where the expensive sensors could not provide any outputs.
Collapse Fragility Development of Electrical Transmission Towers Subjected to Hurricanes
Authors: Du Xinlong , Hajjar Jerome F. , Bond Robert Bailey , Sun Hao
Published: June 2022

Electrical power systems are critical to the wellbeing of our economy and society. Collapse of electrical transmission towers under hurricanes may result in significant interruptions of power systems. This research proposes a framework for the development of collapse fragility curves of transmission towers subjected to hurricanes. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), originally established for earthquake engineering applications, is adapted to model the hurricane induced collapse behavior. For a specific site, a set of hurricane wind speed and direction records are selected from 10,000-year synthetic hurricanes using a combination of autoencoder and k-means clustering. The autoencoder first compresses each wind record into 5 latent features, to which the k-means clustering is applied. Thus, all the collected wind records are divided into 4 clusters. Twenty wind records are picked at random from the 4 clusters and employed to run the IDA analysis, through which the collapse behavior is simulated, incorporating uncertainties in wind loading. The intensity measure of fragility curves is the storm maximum gust wind speed, and therefore the fragility curve is given as the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the collapse capacity, which is designated as the intensity measure at the onset of collapse. The parameters of a fragility curve are estimated from the simulated data of the collapse capacity using the method of moments. The developed fragility curves are helpful in damage prediction of the electrical power systems under hurricanes.
Large-Scale Flexural Testing of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Conventional Steel and Titanium Alloy Bars
Authors: Thapa Aashish , Mashal Mustafa , Acharya Mahesh
Published: June 2022

The research focuses on the use of Titanium Alloy Bars (TiABs) in concrete cap beams. TiABs offer good ductility, high strength, lightweight, superior corrosion resistance, lower overstrength, and better fatigue performance. TiABs have recently been used in several existing bridges in Oregon and Texas in the United States to increase shear and flexural capacities of concrete beams. While TiABs have been implemented in retrofitting of existing bridges in the United States, their application in new structures have not been tested and compared against conventional steel rebars. Idaho State University (ISU) has been investigating application of TiABs in new concrete structures through large-scale testing. Past research at ISU has shown that the use of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) in new bridges can reduce rebar congestion and residual drift after an earthquake by 50% while providing adequate ductility and strength compared to cast-in-place construction. The research in this paper proposes concept for an innovative cap beam reinforced with longitudinal TiABs. The cap beam integrates both structural performance and durability. Flexural and shear design procedures for the cap beam in accordance with the AASHTO LRFD Design are discussed. To investigate structural performance, a large-scale cap beam reinforced with longitudinal grade 5 titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) is tested under three-point bending test protocol. The results are compared against a benchmark cast-in-place beam with normal rebars under the same testing arrangement and loading protocol.
Use of fibre reinforced concrete for filler beam sections – potential for structural optimization
Authors: Zanon Riccardo , Schäfer Markus
Published: June 2022

Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is a well-known solution for industrial floorings, tunnelling or specific other applications since decades and its use is extending towards a broader range of structures. It can act either as a complement to conventional bar reinforcement or, for specific cases, even as a substitute to it. Fibres are added to concrete firstly to enhance its tensile behaviour but can bring other substantial benefits. In particular, high-strength steel fibres have a considerable impact even when added in moderate quantities to the concrete mix, therefor with reduced additional cost.

This paper will investigate the potential of steel fibre reinforced concrete in the field of steel- concrete composite structure, a combination which is still vastly unexplored. The case of encased composite bridge sections (filler beam decks according to Eurocode 4) will be analysed by numerical simulations. The results show benefits in term of ultimate limit state, serviceability limit state as well as durability. This preliminary study serves as guidance for future experimental campaign.
New UHPFRC Bridges in Czech Republic
Authors: Kolísko Jiří , Tej Petr , Čítek David , Marek Jan , Kalný Milan , Komanec Jan
Published: June 2022

This paper deals with new UHPFRC (Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete) bridges produced or constructed in 2018 in Czech Republic. The paper includes a short description of 3 unique pedestrian bridges with load bearing structure made of UHPFRC and 2 steel bridges over the railway track with lost formwork for bridge decks and cornices made of thin UHPFRC slabs.

Focus is given on the testing of the material, comparison of test specimens and summary of results from UHPFRC production in real size volume of cubic meters. The size effect of control specimen and the results analysis is given in the last chapter.

The 3 mentioned unique pedestrian bridges are Footbridge over the Lubina river in city Příbor, Pedestrian and cycle bridge in the vicinity of Black Bridges in city Tábor and Footbridge over Dřetovice stream in Vrapice - city part of Kladno. All new UHPFRC structures should be worthy of attention of bridge experts and community of specialists in the field of concrete engineering.
Structural Health Monitoring of the Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey, the largest monitoring system for the longer bridge in the world.
Authors: Joye Stephane , De Witt Marcel
Published: June 2022

This bridge is outstanding and so will be its Structural health Monitoring. Designed and installed by Sixense upon the specification of the Client, the system will manage more than 1000 sensors. This monitoring architecture will allow to measure any external event happening on the bridge such as strong, wind, earthquake, lightning, heavy traffic. It will also record all the reaction behavior of the structure such as temperature, displacement, vibration, fatigue stresses. Amongst all the recorded data, dynamic record of such a slender structure is key. The acquisition system provided by Sixense will allow to record, compute, sample, analyses, store and analyse a tremendous quantity of data from all kind of mechanical beaviour of the structure. It will for instance allow rainflow treatment of the stress of the orthotropic slab in order to survey and prevent fatigue failure.

But more than simply recording data for visualization and immediate maintenance, the system provided by Sixense will also allow to perform predictive computation of the future behavior of the infrastructure : regression analysis from the available data combined with tuneable environment parameters (temperature, traffic), will allow the owner of the bride to anticipate the behavior of the bridge and plan the maintenance operation far in advance out of critical service activity phases. This will increase the safety of the bridge, save money for the owner and allow this signature bridge to last for a very long time.
Periodic assessment of an old concrete road bridge based on operational dynamic bridge behaviour with regard to structural integrity and the remaining load bearing capacity
Authors: Veit-Egerer Robert , Bursa Jan , Synek Jiří
Published: June 2022

The aim of the investigation was the analysis of a concrete road bridge structure crossing the Elbe river and having been operated since 1924. In accordance to previous investigations from 2015 & 2017 in depth dynamic measurements were conducted in 2020 with regard to the remaining load bearing capacity based on a dense grid of accelerometer data and additional displacement measurements.
Risk-Based Design of Bridges
Authors: Prochazkova Dana
Published: June 2022

Bridges belong to critical elements of transport infrastructure. Therefore, it is necessary in the high- est extent to address all relevant risks (namely those that are related to ageing of fittings and com- ponents of technical facilities and with dynamic development of environment in time) in the prep- aration of the terms of references and in the design process. In order to design the bridges with these properties, it is not enough to respect only valid standards and norms and good practice, but they also need to be respected data on all possible risks and their combinations. For this it is neces- sary to use measures identified in the risk management plan for design, which specifies local condi- tions and possibilities. This paper shows model of procedure which combines norms and risk analy- sis results.
From ETAG to EADs – The ongoing development of the European regulatory system governing the design and manufacture of bridge expansion joints
Authors: Hoffmann Simon , Meng Niculin , O'Suilleabhain Colm
Published: June 2022

The European Assessment Documents (EAD) introduced in 2020 by the European Organization for Technical Assessment (EOTA) to govern the technical assessment of expansion joints for road bridges represent a strong development from the corresponding European Technical Approval Guideline from 2013, ETAG 032. The EADs’ requirements, which may be used by manufacturers to obtain a European Technical Assessment (ETA), significantly exceed those of any other common national specification for expansion joints in Europe or on an international level, especially in relation to the very demanding field and laboratory testing specified. This improved basis for the assessment of expansion joint performance can be expected to result in expansion joints that are far more robust and durable than those that are designed to comply with any other widely used standard.
Subsurface defect detection in concretes by active infrared thermography
Authors: Pedram Masoud , Taylor Su , Hamill Gerard , Robinson Desmond
Published: June 2022

This paper presents observations from an active infrared thermography (IRT) experiment about structural monitoring by taking advantage from solar irradiance as a clean and renewable source of energy for thermal excitation. This contributes to reduction of carbon emissions associated with maintenance of existing concrete infrastructure and ensuring their extended life, and safe operation. The models in these observations were five concrete slabs made from a typical mix used for bridge construction in the UK, with simulated subsurface void (representing the defect) at depths of 5 to 25 mm (5mm increment) at the centre of slabs, and one slab without simulated defect. This study was conducted during a sunny afternoon. A sequence of IR images was collected for each slab (six sequences in total), and these sequences were used to calculate the average thermal contrast on surface of the slabs and evaluate its variation with depth of subsurface defect. Finally, the trend of thermal contrast is compared with the trend of thermal contrast from excitation by IR heater to highlight the limitations and future research needs for subsurface damage detection using solar irradiance.
Physics-informed Gaussian process model for Euler-Bernoulli beam elements
Authors: Tondo Gledson Rodrigo , Rau Sebastian , Kavrakov Igor , Morgenthal Guido
Published: June 2022

A physics-informed machine learning model, in the form of a multi-output Gaussian process, is formulated using the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation. Given appropriate datasets, the model can be used to regress the analytical value of the structure’s bending stiffness, interpolate responses, and make probabilistic inferences on latent physical quantities. The developed model is applied on a numerically simulated cantilever beam, where the regressed bending stiffness is evaluated and the influence measurement noise on the prediction quality is investigated. Further, the regressed probabilistic stiffness distribution is used in a structural health monitoring context, where the Mahalanobis distance is employed to reason about the possible location and extent of damage in the structural system. To validate the developed framework, an experiment is conducted and measured heterogeneous datasets are used to update the assumed analytical structural model.
The effect of undue transverse welding on the fatigue resistance of hanger connections for steel tied arch bridges
Authors: Van Bogaert Philippe
Published: June 2022

Steel arches are mostly built as rectangular hollow box sections. Most types of connection of hangers to steel tied arch bridges require the introduction of stiffeners, enabling to transfer the hanger force to the hollow box arch section’s webs. However, the hanger force coincides with the arch axis plane, whereas the webs are located in 2 vertical planes at a distance of half of the arch width from the axis. In a particular case the plates, connecting the hangers to the arch lower flange were also welded to the arch box section’s lower flange. This introduces unwanted transverse bending of this flange. The research aims at assessing the fatigue resistance for this multiaxial stress condition, first by applying nominal stress evaluation and subsequently by determining the hot spot stress situation. To overcome the fact that these methods apply to unidirectional stress, the critical plane method was used as it renders the most reliable result and demonstrates the insufficient fatigue resistance for a particular case. Subsequently, the results have been generalized in a single diagram in which the horizontal axis displays the stress variation parallel to the arch axis, due to compression and bending, versus the normal stress perpendicular to the former and due to the hanger force being introduced.
Shear performance of replaced bolt shear connectors in prefabricated composite beam
Authors: Yang Tao , Xie Rongxian , Veljković Milan
Published: June 2022

Bolt shear connectors have the advantage of efficient installation and demolition when used in prefabricated composite beams. When bolt shear connectors are damaged in the service period and replaced by new ones, the sheer performance of the replaced bolts will be affected by the existing structural damage. This paper experimentally investigates the shear performance of eleven re- assembled push-out specimens of bolt connectors. The experimental results show that the replaced bolts possess a similar shear resistance as the bolts in the original tests. In contrast, the relative slips at the interfaces between the steel beam and the prefabricated concrete (PC) slabs show a bigger scattering. A calculation method of shear resistance for the replaced bolts considering the influence of the existing damage was proposed based on the experiments, and comparisons show that the calculation values agree well with the experimental results.