IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is an open and standardized data model intended to enable interoperability between building information modeling software applications in the AEC/FM industry. IFC has been in development by an industry consortium since 1994, and since the start of the effort, the evolving industry context, standardization organization, resource availability, and technology deve...

Robotic surgery is an attractive, minimally invasive and high precision alternative to conventional surgical procedures. However, it lacks the natural touch and force feedback that allows the surgeon to control safe tissue manipulation. This is an important problem in standard surgical procedures such as clamping, which might induce severe tissue damage. In complex, heterogeneous, large deforma...

General history quantum theories are quantum theories without a globally defined notion of time. Decoherence functionals represent the states in the history approach and are defined as certain bivariate complex-valued functionals on the space of all histories. However, in practical situations – for instance in the history formulation of standard quantum mechanics – there often is a global time ...

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional design. OBJECTIVE To compare lumbar multifidus electromyographic activity (EMG) during predictable and unpredictable trunk loading between people with and without recurrent unilateral low back pain (LBP) during symptom remission. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Unpredictable loading is a common injury mechanism for LBP. Paraspinal muscle responses to trunk loading di...

Structural reliability depends on uncertainties in resistance and loads. In many practical cases the resistance dominates and a reduction of uncertainty about resistance is an effective way of increasing safety. It can be accomplished by proof loading. A truncated distribution is considered and reliability indices are calculated for various proof load levels. The structural reliability is sensi...

After Northridge (1994) and Kobe (1995) earthquakes, several studies have been conducted to improve the seismic performance of steel structures. In this investigation, new steel moment-resisting connections (FSFN) developed by the authors, were studied by the non-linear numerical analysis. These connections were single-sided beam-to-column assemblies that are representative of exterior beam-to-...

well-known seismic design codes have offered an alternative equivalent static procedure for practical purposes instead of verifying design trials with complicated step-y-step dynamic analyses. such a pattern of base-shear distribution over the building height will enforce its special stiffness and strength distribution which is not necessarily best suited for seismic design. the present study, ...