Fuzzy rule based seismic risk assessment of one-story precast industrial buildings

Effi cient tools capable of using uncertain data to produce fast and approximate results are more practical in rapid decision-making applications when compared to conventional methods. From this point of view, this study introduces a risk assessment model for one-story precast industrial buildings by fuzzy logic which builds a bridge between uncertainty and precision. The input, output and relations of the fuzzy based risk assessment model (FBRAM) were determined by reference buildings. The Monte Carlo simulation method was used to handle uncertainties associated with the structural characteristics of the reference buildings. Section dimension, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, column height related to building elevation, confi nement ratio and seismic hazard are regarded as input and the plastic demand ratio is considered as the output parameter by the mathematical formulation of strength and deformation capacity of the buildings. The supervised learning method was used to determine the membership function of fuzzy sets. Fuzzy rules of FBRAM were constructed from Monte Carlo simulation by mapping of inputs and output. FBRAM was evaluated by a group of simulated buildings and two existing precast industrial buildings. Comparisons have shown signifi cant agreement with analytical model results in both cases. Consequently, it is anticipated that the proposed model can be used for the seismic risk mitigation of precast buildings.

NATO and Russia＇s Security Dilemma Within the European Union＇s Far Neighbors

This paper presents a viewpoint for NATO and Russia＇s security dilemma by analyzing what happened in Georgia, Ukraine, Libya and Syria. At the end of the Cold War re-building of NATO, inheriting Missile defense System by the US government and Russia＇s growing concern regarding NATO＇s eastward expansion made clear that Russia will not abandon her sphere of influence. Thus, the main objective of this study is to analyze the questions of what is the motivation behind NATO＇s new strategy. This will be followed by another question NATO and EU enlargement will push Russia in what direction. The hypothesis of the study is that NATO＇s strategy of taking position in the areas where identified as Russia＇s backyard and sphere of influence is considered as ＂casus belli＂ by Russia. Therefore, Russia, despite NATO＇s involvement in the specified area, will not abandon these areas and will continue to use her energy resources and geopolitical advantages as a coercion, especially against NATO members among EU countries.

An Optimum and Effective Drawing Teaching System in Engineering

In this study, the authors shall illustrate the difficulties, pros and cons of ＂Technical Drawing＂ courses in engineering curriculums. The authors also show the efficiency, effectiveness of students＇ grasping the engineering drawing concepts in depth. The authors have conducted a survey on students and their instructors for teaching the course. Whether the course should be taught with manual handling and then computerized or starting with computer aid and finishing the content of the course, the authors shall also go in detail of syllabus how the drawing rooms and aid tools will be. This part of study shall look into the ergonomics, safety and conditions of classrooms. Responses of 300 students will be shared in this presentation. Statistical analysis will detect the effects of different factors involved in the questionnaire.

The Most Significant Factors Influencing the Price of Gold： An Empirical Analysis of the US Market

Gold is always a precious metal for many hundred years. Semi flexible gold demand and supply chain determines international gold prices in the long term. USA is ranked the world’s largest gold producer. This study mainly aims to investigate the dynamic factors which affect the price of gold and determine the essential macro-economic variable that has the most important role during the process. This paper examines USA over 13 years applying a formal test for time series, which interrogate cointegration relationships, what is the affiliation between gold price and other factors, which are explained in detail below. The present study has used the monthly data from January, 2003 to June, 2016. Databases are provided by the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, and United States Energy Information Administration. Data analysis was performed with software package EViews 8. Through the time series, an analysis has been carried out on Dow Jones Index, the US exchange rate, silver price, interest rate, oil price and inflation rate which are thought to influence the price of gold in the most significant way. The data analysis includes the determination of the conditional heteroscedastic model to estimate volatility. Therefore, the best fitting model to the data set, which is the exponential GARCH model, is preferred. In accordance with the results of the empirical analyses in the USA, the highest negative correlation is found between gold prices and US exchange rate. Secondly, a positive correlation is found among gold prices, silver prices, and oil prices. Another point which takes attention as a result of the study is that economic and political structural breaks weighed heavily, traders and hedgers from all over the world were able to drive prices up to incredible highs. The added valueof our study arises from the inclusion in the analysis of macro economic variables, which has proved to have crucial relevance for the price of gold in the context of the recent economic structure.

Comparison of Low Rise Residential Industrialized Building Systems in Turkey

Industrialized building systems came into the agenda in response to requirements of earthquake resistance and rapid construction in Turkey after 1999 Izmit earthquake. CFS （cold-formed steel） framing system is able to meet the existing requirements in the field of low rise residential. But, objective comparison is required for the selection of structural systems used in low rise residentials. CFS system is compared with timber frame and reinforced concrete building systems in terms of design and applicability criterion in circumstances of Turkey, and the results of this comparison are presented in this study. In order to compare building systems objectively, a sample project, has been designed and studied on it. Three structural systems have been separately applied over this project designed in consideration of existing housing stock and preferences of the construction industry of Turkey Evaluation method with different values is selected in comparison and properties of three different structural systems are graded according to evaluation method. As a result of comparison, the CFS system is the most advantageous low rise residential prefabricated construction system in terms of design and applicability

Transition From Utopias to Dystopias： A Comparative Study on Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four

Due to the two world wars, social, political, and economic instability or corruption almost all over the world in the 20th century, man has been dragged into the state of hopelessness and despair. Moreover, the tradition and legacy of the past have begun to rot. Undoubtedly, such a change had a great influence upon the concept of ＂utopian society＂, involving ultimate perfection of all aspects of human life. In the same way, the quest for perfect society was proved to be futile. Thus, the emergence of anti-utopian fiction was unavoidable.

ON THE WEIGHTED VARIABLE EXPONENT AMALGAM SPACE W(L^(p(x)), L_m^q)

In [4], a new family W（L^p（x）, Lm^q） of Wiener amalgam spaces was defined and investigated some properties of these spaces, where local component is a variable exponent Lebesgue space L^p（x） （R） and the global component is a weighted Lebesgue space Lm^q （R）. This present paper is a sequel to our work [4]. In Section 2, we discuss necessary and sufficient conditions for the equality W （L^p（x）, Lm^q） = L^q （R）. Later we give some characterization of Wiener amalgam space W （L^p（x）, Lm^q）.In Section 3 we define the Wiener amalgam space W （FL^p（x）, Lm^q） and investigate some properties of this space, where FL^p（x） is the image of L^p（x） under the Fourier transform. In Section 4, we discuss boundedness of the Hardy- Littlewood maximal operator between some Wiener amalgam spaces.

Eurasian Economic Union＇s Effect on Global Politics and the World Economic System

The new Eurasian Economic Union （EEU） has now become a reality coming into effect today allowing free movement of trade, services and capital. Its treaty was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. EEU has an integrated single market of 176 million people and a gross domestic product （GDP） of over four trillion US Dollars. From the point view of Nye and Keohane＇s interdepence theory, this trade block formed under Moscow＇s leadership also begs the question, if the Soviet Union will also reunite and be re-established. Russia seems to look at it not just in economic terms, but as a way to expand Russian influence in the region. The biggest criticism of the union seems to be re-establishment of the crumbled Soviet Union. On the other hand Russia has wanted to launch talks with the newly born EEU despite the Ukraine Crisis. German Chancellor Angele Merkel has supported to establish a common economic space in the Eurasian Region including the focus countries of Eastern Partnership （an EU policy on closer ties with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine）. A new Russia-led blocs as a better partner for the EU than the US could cause to deemphasize new Trans-Atlantic Treaty. Another point, the union is actively seeking to increase trade with East Asia. It commenced talks for official trade cooperation with Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN）. Therefore we can say that EEU includes strategic interests as well as economic interests for its members, especially for Russia. In order to link both Europe and East Asia, Russia seeks to develop its eastern regions to increase its access to Asian markets. Far East markets have become so important for Russia since the European Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia following crisis in Ukraine. In this article my aim is to analyze EEU effects on global politics and the World Economic System.

Display of Violence Through Cultural Codes in Turkish TV Serials： A Study on Three Turkish Serials

The concept of violence mainly comprises the use of brutal force and fierceness. The acts of violence; on the other hand, can be defined as the practices pertaining to intimidating, terrorizing and even tyrannizing human beings. There is a widespread agreement on the idea that a healthy and balanced society necessitates the conscious contribution of each member to the solution of social, economic and cultural problems. Undoubtedly, the mass media, particularly TV, plays a significant role in this process. In the same way, the media content considerably accelerates the respective learning process through news, advertisements and particularly TV serials. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the types and ratios of violence displayed in popular Turkish TV serials with respect to the total airing time. Thus, three popular TV serials with the highest rating were determined as the corpus of this study. Then, every sixth episode of each serial in a 36-week-season was chosen as the sampling. With this idea in mind, the sequences displaying violence in the respective serials were measured with content analysis method and classified according to the types of violence. Thus, ratios for each type of violence were found out and shown on graphs. It is expected that the findings will provide a basis for a further study in which a comparison between the escalation of violence in Turkish society and the ratio of violence demonstrated in popular TV serials can be made.

Non-performing Loans in Turkish Banking Sector and Balance Sheets Effects

In the 21st century, while the scope of banking activities has been expanding every day, collecting deposits and providing credit remain as their main and most important functions. They transfer the collected funds thanks to the market confidence they create back to the market in terms of the credits they give. For the organizations operating in the banking sector, crediting is the highest revenue earning source. However, uncollected loans may disrupt the activities of banks and may reduce their effectiveness. Therefore, the control of bank credits has a particular importance in the bank balance sheets. In this study, the relationship between bank balance sheets and non-performing loans （NPL） will be analyzed using Granger causality test and vector autoregressive （VAR） method. This study aims to discuss the impact of NPL on balance sheets and contribute to making correct credit decisions. It also intends to assist to reduce the NPL ratios of banks and minimize the level of negativity in their financial statements.

Making Sense of Public Relations as Culture Policy

Culture is a process in which meaning is produced, distributed, consumed, materialised, re-produced infinitely and discussed with society. As meanings generally disperse extensively in different social groups through different associations, they display certain changes in time depending on their usage. Meanwhile, it is hard to define the public relations concept, because it may refer to different meanings even in the same culture. According to the assumptions pertaining to the public relations practices shaping the dominant discourse of the USA, language which produces certain cultural meanings also shapes the way we think and act. Thus, due to its ideological and discursive nature, public relations functions as a culture policy. Being an integral communication management configuring and directing the social sphere and the practices related to it, public relations refers to the concept of habitus introduced by Bourdieu inasmuch as habitus resides in the situations formed by actions that individuals learn throughout their lives. Culture policy; on the other hand, purports the effective participation of people in cultural life, their development in social, economic and cultural areas as well as the creation of convenient conditions to sustain it, which can be achieved with public relations practices. Public relations determines the culture policies in a society with regard to the structured discourses and actions and also acts as the mouthpiece of these policies. The purpose of public communication that is necessary for development and sustainability is to inform the public objectively in cultural, social, political and economic senses by obtaining feedback form them. For the purpose of administering sound public communication strategies in a society, public relations should direct the forms of public discourse. The purpose of this study is to put forth a critical evaluation based on the idea that for the realisation of effective and sensible communication policies in a society, the perception and practice public relations in that society should be regarded as a culture policy. According, this study focuses on whether or not public relations as culture policy serve the development of democracy and public sphere.

Measurements of the center-of-mass energies at BESⅢ via the di-muon process

From 2011 to 2014, the BESIII experiment collected about 5 fb^-1 data at center-of-mass energies around 4 GeV for the studies of the charmonium-like and higher excited charmonium states. By analyzing the di-muon process e＋e- →yma/Fsμ^＋μ^-, the center-of-mass energies of the data samples are measured with a precision of 0.8 MeV. The center-of-mass energy is found to be stable for most of the time during data taking.

Child motherhood: the incapability remains

The period of adolescence,defined by the World Health Organization as the period between 10 and 19 years of age,is the transition from childhood to adulthood through a number of biological,psychological,and social changes.It has been reported that one in five individuals is an adolescent,and 85% of adolescents live in developing countries,[1] Pregnancies that occur in this period,when the individual has yet to complete the maturation process in both biological and psychological senses,are risky for both the mother and child.

The in-vivo assessment of Turkish propolis and its nano form on testicular damage induced by cisplatin

Objective: Chemotherapeutic drugs, such as cisplatin(CP), which are associated with oxidative stress and apoptosis, may adversely affect the reproductive system. This study tests whether administration of propolis and nano-propolis(NP) can alleviate oxidative stress and apoptosis in rats with testicular damage induced by CP.Methods: In this study, polymeric nanoparticles including propolis were synthesized with a green sonication method and characterized using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-EmmettTeller, and wet scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques. In total, 56 rats were divided into the following seven groups: control, CP, propolis, NP-10, CP + propolis, CP + NP-10, and CP + NP-30.Propolis(100 mg/kg), NP-10(10 mg/kg), and NP-30(30 mg/kg) treatments were administered by gavage daily for 21 d, and CP(3 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally in a single dose. After the experiment,oxidative stress parameters, namely, malondialdehyde(MDA), glutathione(GSH), glutathione peroxidase(GPx), and catalase(CAT), and apoptotic pathways including B cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 protein(Bcl-2)and Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax) were measured in testicular tissues. Furthermore, sperm quality and weights of the testis, epididymis, right cauda epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate were evaluated.Results: Propolis and NP(especially NP-30) were able to preserve oxidative balance(decreased MDA levels and increased GSH, CAT, and GPx activities) and activate apoptotic pathways(decreased Bax and increased Bcl-2) in the testes of CP-treated rats. Sperm motility in the control, CP, and CP + NP-30 groups were 60%, 48.75%, and 78%, respectively(P<0.001). Especially, NP-30 application completely corrected the deterioration in sperm features induced by CP.Conclusion: The results show that propolis and NP treatments mitigated the side effects of CP on spermatogenic activity, antioxidant situation, and apoptosis in rats.

Precision measurement of the integrated luminosity of the data taken by BESIII at center-of-mass energies between 3.810 GeV and 4.600 GeV

From December 2011 to May 2014, about 5 fb^-1 of data were taken with the BESIII detector at center-of- mass energies between 3.810 GeV and 4.600 GeV to study the charmonium-like states and higher excited charmonium states. The time-integrated luminosity of the collected data sample is measured to a precision of 1% by analyzing events produced by the large-angle Bhabha scattering process.

Luminosity measurements for the R scan experiment at BESIII

By analyzing the large-angle Bhabha scattering events e^＋e^- → （γ）e^＋e^- and diphoton events e^＋^e- → （γ）γγ for the data sets collected at center-of-mass （c.m.） energies between 2.2324 and 4.5900 GeV （131 energy points in total） with the upgraded Beijing Spectrometer （BESIII） at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider （BEPCII）, the integrated luminosities have been measured at the different c.m. energies, individually. The results are important inputs for the R value and J/ψ resonance parameter measurements.

Evidence for e^+e^-→γχ_(c1,2) at center-of-mass energies from 4.009 to 4.360 GeV

Using data samples collected at center-of-mass energies of √s=4.009, 4.230, 4.260, and 4.360 GeV with the BES0 detector operating at the BEPC/ collider, we perform a search for the process e＋e-→γχc,j （J =0, 1, 2） and find evidence for e＋e-→γχc1 and e＋e-→γχc2 with statistical significances of 3.0σ and 3.4σ, respectively. The Born cross sections σB（e＋e-→γχc,j）, as well as their upper limits at the 90% con dence level （C.L.） are determined at each center-of-mass energy.

Determination of the number of J/ψ events with inclusive J/ψ decays

A measurement of the number of J/ψ events collected with the BESⅢ detector in 2009 and 2012 is performed using inclusive decays of the J/ψ. The number of J/ψ events taken in 2009 is recalculated to be（223.7±1.4）×10^6, which is in good agreement with the previous measurement, but with significantly improved precision due to improvements in the BESⅢ software. The number of J/ψ events taken in 2012 is determined to be（1086.9±6.0）×10^6. In total, the number of J/ψ events collected with the BESⅢ detector is measured to be（1310.6±7.0）×10^6, where the uncertainty is dominated by systematic effects and the statistical uncertainty is negligible.

Evidence for the decays of ∧_c^+→∑^+η and ∑^+η’

We study the hadronic decays of ∧c+ to the final states ∑+η and ∑+η’,using an e+e-annihilation data sample of 567 pb-1 taken at a center-of-mass energy of 4.6 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCⅡ collider.We find evidence for the decays ∧c+→∑+η and ∑+η’ with statistical significance of 2.5σ and 3.2σ,respectively.Normalizing to the reference decays ∧c+→∑+π0 and ∑+ω,we obtain the ratios of the branching fractions■and ■to be 0.35±0.16±0.02 and 0.86±0.34±0.04,respectively.The upper limits at the 90% confidence level are set to be■and■.Using BESIII measurements of the branching fractions of the reference decays,we determine B（∧c+→∑+η）=（0.41±0.19±0.05）%（<0.68%）and B（∧c+→∑+η’）=（1.34±0.53 ±0.19）%（<1.9%）.Here,the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.The obtained branching fraction of ∧c+→∑+η is consistent with the previous measurement,and the branching fraction of ∧c+→∑+η’ is measured for the first time.

Measurement of e^+e^-→D■ cross sections at the ψ(3770) resonance

We report new measurements of the cross sections for the production of DD final states at theψ（3770）resonance.Our data sample consists of an integrated luminosity of 2.93 fb^（-1）of e~＋e^-annihilation data produced by the BEPCⅡ collider and collected and analyzed with the BESⅢ detector.We exclusively reconstruct three D^0and six D~＋hadronic decay modes and use the ratio of the yield of fully reconstructed DD events（“double tags”）to the yield of all reconstructed D or D mesons（“single tags”）to determine the number of D^0 D^0and D~＋D^-events,benefiting from the cancellation of many systematic uncertainties.Combining these yields with an independent determination of the integrated luminosity of the data sample,we find the cross sections to beσ（e~＋e^-→D^0D^0）=（3.615±0.010±0.038）nb andσ（e~＋e^-→D~＋D^-）=（2.830±0.011±0.026）nb,where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic,respectively.