In this paper, optimal design of arch dams is performed under frequency limitations. Colliding Bodies Optimization (CBO), a recently developed meta-heuristic optimization method, which has been successfully applied to several structural problems, is revised and utilized for finding the best feasible shape of arch dams. The formulation of CBO is derived from one-dimensional collisions between bo...

Parallel Test Paper Generation (k-TPG) is a biobjective distributed resource allocation problem, which aims to generate multiple similarly optimal test papers automatically according to multiple userspecified criteria. Generating high-quality parallel test papers is challenging due to its NP-hardness in maximizing the collective objective functions. In this paper, we propose a Collective Biobje...

This article examines public administrators’ perceptions of the effects of nonprofit networks on local affordable housing decisions. It builds on a larger body of research concerning the affordable housing activities of communitybased organizations (CBOs). This analysis is based on a national survey of public administrators responsible for affordable housing programs in U.S. cities with populat...

Existing medical vocabularies lack rich terms to describe findings that are generated by modem molecular diagnostic procedures. Most bioinformatics resources were designed primarily to support the needs of the research community. We describe the development of a curated resource, the Clinical Bioinformatics Ontology (CBO), a semantic network appropriate for describing clinically significant gen...

When the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) "scores" legislation, or assesses the likely cost impact, it requires substantial evidence that a cost-saving initiative has historically achieved savings. The agency has difficulty addressing the impact of multiple changes made simultaneously without historical precedent where there is an interaction effect among proposed changes. This study examines ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the usefulness of a Dutch pressure sore risk assessment scale--the Centraal Begeleidingsorgaan voor de Intercollegiale Toetsing (CBO; National Organization for Quality Assurance in Hospitals) score--in the detection of patients at risk of developing pressure sores after admission to a nursing home. As the Norton score is the standard method of risk assessment, we also i...

OBJECTIVE Several national and international scoring systems are used to diagnose diabetic polyneuropathy (PNP). The variety in these scores and the lack of data on validity and predictive value has led to a comparison and validation of the scores with clinical standards for PNP to determine the most powerful measurement for screening. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Three matched groups were sel...

This paper describes the application of the recently developed metaheuristic algorithm for simultaneous analysis, design and optimization of Water Distribution Systems (WDSs). In this method, analysis is carried out using Colliding Bodies Optimization algorithm (CBO). The CBO is a population-based search approach that imitates nature’s ongoing search for better solutions. Also, design and cost ...

BACKGROUND Cerebrovascular reconstruction procedures run the risk of changing the balance between oxygen supply and consumption during surgery. We assessed the value of visual light spectroscopy for detecting changes in cerebral blood oxygenation (CBO) during superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis. METHODS We developed a VLS monitoring system which permits co...

The present study is concerned with the simultaneous optimization of the size of components and the arrangement of connections for performance-based seismic design of low-rise SPSWs. Design variables include the size of beams and columns, the thickness of the infill panels, the type of each beam-to-column connection and the type of each infill-to-boundary frame connection. The objective functio...