Tienfuan Kerh^1,2, J.S. Lai¹, D. Gunaratnam², R. Saunders²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.26, No.1, pp. 1-12, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.026.001

Abstract Taiwan frequently suffers from strong ground motion, and the current building code is essentially based on two seismic zones, A and B. The design value of horizontal acceleration for zone A is 0.33g, and the value for zone B is 0.23g. To check the suitability of these values, a series of actual earthquake records are considered for evaluating peak ground acceleration (PGA) for each of the zones by using neural network models. The input parameters are magnitude, epicenter distance, and focal depth for each of the checking stations, and the peak ground acceleration is calculated… More >

F.C. Araújo¹, L.J. Gray²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.24, No.2&3, pp. 103-122, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.024.103

Abstract In recent years, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely employed to build advanced composites. In this work, a Boundary Element Method (BEM) is applied to 3D representative volume elements (RVEs) to estimate mechanical properties of CNT-based composites. To model the thin-walled nanotubes, special integration procedures for calculating nearly-strongly-singular integrals have been developed. The generic BE substructuring algorithm allows modeling complex CNT-reinforced polymers, containing any number of nanotubes of any shape (straight or curved). The subregion-by-subregion strategy, based on Krylov solvers, makes the independent generation, assembly, and storage of the many parts of the complete BE More >

Chein-Shan Liu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.8, No.1, pp. 1-16, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2008.008.001

Abstract In the present work we study numerical computations of inverse thermal stress problems. The unknown boundary conditions of an elastically deformable heat conducting rod are not given a priori and are not allowed to measure directly, because the boundary may be not accessible to measure. However, an internal measurement of temperature is available. We treat this inverse problem by using a semi-discretization technique, of which the time domain is divided into many sub-intervals and the physical quantities are discretized at these node points of discrete times. Then the resulting ordinary differential equations in the discretized More >

E. Ann Gormley

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.14, Suppl.6, pp. 58-62, 2007

Abstract The incontinent patient is evaluated in order to make a presumptive diagnosis so that treatment can be offered. The evaluation begins with a history and a physical examination. The history focuses on the description of the patient’s incontinence. Assessing the patient’s bother and determining their expectations of treatment may further guide how aggressive one needs to be both with the evaluation and the presentation of treatment options. The important parts of the physical exam are an examination of the abdomen and pelvis including a provocative stress test. A urinalysis and a post-void residual (PVR) should… More >

R. Canabarro^1,2, H. Sporleder², T. Gomes^3,4, G. Zanatta^3,5, L. Scribel^3,6, F. Freitas⁷, J. Neumann², P. Pranke^1,3

BIOCELL, Vol.31, No.3, pp. 397-403, 2007, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2007.31.397

Abstract The use of umbilical cord blood stem cells is an efficient alternative for the transplantation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. A number of factors can influence the volume and amount of CD34⁺ cells, which are considered as immature and capable of proliferation. Quantification of CD34⁺ cells, evaluation of CD38 and c-kit molecules on these cells, as well as correlations of such factors as maternal age, gestational age, newborn sex and weight, umbilical cord length, placental weight with increased volume and concentration of immature cells, among others, were performed in 70 blood samples from term newborns. The mean… More >

K. Slámečka¹, J.Pokluda¹, P. Ponížil ², P. Šandera¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.1, No.4, pp. 153-160, 2007, DOI:10.3970/icces.2007.001.153

Abstract In the paper a procedure for evaluation of the fracture surface morphology is described in detail. It consists of the stereophotogrammetrical 3D surface reconstruction followed by the Delaunay triangulation of obtained set of surface points. The potential of the procedure is demonstrated using fracture surfaces generated under combined bending-torsion fatigue loading of specimens made from high-strength low-alloy Cr-Al-Mo steel. Fracture profiles extracted from calculated 3D meshes are characterized by the root mean square roughness and the Hurst exponent. As a main result of the analysis the critical portion of the torsion loading component after which More >

P.D. Shah¹, C.L. Tan¹, X. Wang¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.1, No.2, pp. 75-80, 2007, DOI:10.3970/icces.2007.001.075

Abstract The path-independent mutual- or M-integral for the computation of the T-stress for interface cracks lying between dissimilar anisotropic, linear elastic solids is developed in this paper. For the numerical stress analysis, the Boundary Element Method (BEM) is employed and special crack-tip elements with the proper oscillatory traction singularity are used. The successful implementation of the scheme for evaluating the T-stress of an interface crack between anisotropic bi-materials with BEM is demonstrated by numerical examples. More >

Heng Cheng Lin^1,2, Chieh Kung³, Rong Sheng Chen²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 43-50, 2007, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2007.006.043

Abstract Presented herein are the evaluation results of the BGA solder ball shape using energy method, two types of solder, viz. Sn37Pb and Sn80Pb, are selected .The geometry of the solder bump is firstly estimated using free computer software, the Surface Evolver, an interactive program which is an energy-based approach for the study of liquid droplet surfaces shaped by surface tension and other energies. The solder bump is then numerically constructed in a finite element model that simulates a BGA package. The influences of both upper and bottom solder pad radii, the surface tension on the… More >

Pauline T. Truong¹, Eric Berthelet¹, Junella C. Lee¹, Ross Petersen¹, Jan T. W. Lim¹, Catherine A. Gaul², Howard Pai¹, Paul Blood¹, Charles M. Ludgate¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 3139-3146, 2006

Abstract Objective: To prospectively evaluate the prevalence and severity of fatigue and its impact on quality of life (QOL) during and after radical external beam radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer.
Method and materials: Twenty-eight men with prostate cancer undergoing RT over 6-8 consecutive weeks were prospectively accrued. The Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), a validated fatigue assessment tool, was administered at five time points: baseline (week 1), middle of RT (week 3-4), end of RT (last week of RT), and follow-up (median 6.5 weeks after RT). The BFI contained nine questions, each using 0-10 ratings to quantify fatigue severity… More >

Allen F. Morey¹, L. Andrew Evans¹, R. Clayton McDonough III², Alyssa M. Park¹, Wade J. Sexton², Joseph W. Basler³, Richard A. Santucci⁴, Christopher L. Amling⁵, Keith J. O’Reilly⁶

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 3250-3254, 2006

Abstract Objectives: We performed the first prospective, randomized, multi-center comparison of overall quality and patient tolerability of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium phosphate (NaP) solution for mechanical bowel preparation prior to urinary diversion surgery.
Methods: Between 2001 and 2003, 36 patients at six institutions underwent major urological reconstructive surgery incorporating small intestine (35 radical cystectomy with urinary diversion and 1 bladder augmentation). Patients were prospectively randomized to receive either oral polyethylene glycol (group 1, n=16) or sodium phosphate (group 2, n=20) for mechanical bowel preparation prior to surgery, according to our multi-institutional IRB-approved protocol. All patients completed… More >