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This paper sets out describe the creation of sustainable urban planning concepts based on optimized urban landscape functioning. It gives an account of the formation and transformation processes of natural and artificial streaming structures.

The paper examines the present‐day approaches to the environmental assessment and zoning of urban territories. This was achieved by creating the conceptual methodological basis for the assessment and classification of urban landscapes.

Based on an analysis of the urban planning development of the Moscow agglomeration, principles have been proposed for the shaping of sustainable urban planning structures – landscape planning that can be applied to the management of the territorial growth of large cities and urban agglomerations. First, the shaping and reconstruction of the city structure, including the structure of land management, as well as the mutual arrangement of functional areas, should be based on the need to preserve the axes – the lines and planes of mass, energy and information transfer of landscapes of various orders. Second, the order of preserved landscape axes depends on the organisational complexity of a territory. Third, assessment of the sustainability of the structure of a city and agglomeration should be based on the criteria of river systems along their borders, such as the quantity and composition of water, its temperature, retention of the annual functioning cycle and biodiversity. Finally, urban planning control regimes should be established across the entire city and they should be determined by the position of the territory in the city's landscape structure.

This work will provide a better understanding of integrated environmental systems to enable development of best management practices in the city of Moscow.

The early detection of cracks, corrosion and structural failure in aging structures is one of the major challenges in the civil, mechanical and aircraft industries. Common inspection techniques are time consuming and hence can have strong economic implications due to downtime. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

As a result, during the past decade a number of methodologies have been proposed for detecting crack in structure based on variations in the structure's dynamic characteristics. This work showcases the efficacy of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) in damage assessment of structures.

Efficiency of these tools has been tested on structures like beam, plane and space truss. The results show the effectiveness of PSO in crack identification and the possibility of implementing it in a real-time structural health monitoring system for aircraft and civil structures.

The methodology presented establishes the PSO as robust and competent tool over GA for crack identification using changes in natural frequencies.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the damage behavior of flexural members under different loading conditions. The finite element model is proposed for the prediction of modal parameters, damage assessment and damage detection of flexural members. Moreover, the analysis of flexural members has been done for the sensor arrangement to accurately predict the damage parameters without the laborious work of experimentation in the laboratory.

Beam-like structures are structures that are subjected to flexural loadings that are involved in almost every type of civil engineering construction like buildings, bridges, etc. Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) is a popular technique to detect damages in structures without requiring tough and complex methods. Experimental work conducted in this study concludes that a structure experiences high changes in modal properties once when cracking occurs and then at the stage where cracks start at the critical neutral axis. Moreover, among the various modal parameters of the flexural members, natural frequency and mode shapes are the viable parameters for the damage detection.

For torsional mode, drop in natural frequency is high for higher damages as compared to low levels. This is because of the opening and closing of cracks in modal testing. When damage occurs in the structure, there is a reduction in the magnitude of the FRF plot. The measure of this drop can also lead to damage assessment in addition to damage detection. The natural frequency of the system is the most reliable modal parameter in detecting damages. However, for damage localization, the next step after damage assessment, mode shapes can be more helpful as compared to all other parameters.

Effect on Dynamic Properties of Flexural Members during the Progressive Deterioration of Reinforced Concrete Structures is studied.

In one of his two letters published in the June issue of Journal of Documentation, Moss rightly draws attention to the confusion arising out of the casual use of terminology in the field of information storage and retrieval. Unfortunately he does not go far enough, for there is a great deal of sorting out to be done with regard to our understanding of what we are talking about when we discuss languages, vocabularies, etc. before we start assigning names to the concepts which emerge. Moss's suggested terms are no more helpful in connoting the attributes of the things we are trying to isolate than those which he criticizes, and Bhatta‐charyya's reply (published with ref. 1) is a poor argument for retaining expressions which are clearly unsatisfactory. Leaving aside the problems arising out of retrieval of texts using such terminology, we have difficulty in knowing what authors are talking about when we read such documents, and the context and explanations in the text have to be used to enable us to appreciate what is being discussed. Bhattacharyya has had two papers published quite recently in which such lack of clarity appears, the first being that on ‘natural language’, of which Moss is critical, the other that on ‘explicit relations’.

High-rise tower structures supported by side frame structure and viscous damper in chemical industry can produce plasticity under dynamic loads, such as wind and earthquake, which will heavily influence the long-term safety operation. This paper aims to systematically study the optimization design of these structures by free vibration and dynamic shakedown analysis.

The transfer matrix method and Euler–Bernoulli beam vibration are used to study the free vibration characteristic of the simplified high-rise tower structure. Then the extended stress compensation method is used to construct the self-equilibrated stress by using the dynamic load vertexes and the lower bound dynamic shakedown analysis for the structure with viscous damper. Using the proposed method, comprehensive parametric studies and optimization are performed to examine the shakedown load of high-rise tower with various supported conditions.

The numerical results show that the supported frame stiffness, attached damper or spring parameters influence the free vibration and shakedown characters of high-rise tower very much. The dynamic shakedown load is lowered down quickly with external load frequency increasing to the fundamental natural frequency of the structure under spring supported condition, while changed little with the damping connection. The optimized location and parameter of support are obtained under dynamical excitations.

In this study, the high-rise tower structure is simplified as a cantilever beam supported by a short cantilever beam and a damper under repeated dynamic load, and linear elasticity for solid is assumed for free vibration analysis. The current analysis does not account for effects such as large deformation, stochastic external load and nonlinear vibration conditions which will inevitably be encountered and affect the load capacity.

This study provides a comprehensive method for the dynamical optimization of high-rise tower structure by combining free vibration and shakedown analysis.

In recent years, oil spill pollution has become one of the main problems of environmental pollution. Recovering oil by means of sorbent materials is a very promising approach and has acquired more attention due to its high cleanup efficiency. Compared to synthetic fibrous sorbents, the use of natural fibers in oil spill cleanups offers several advantages including environmental friendliness, degradable features and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, studies on developing sorbents using natural fibers for oil spill cleanup applications have become a research hotspot.

This paper reviews the work conducted by several researchers in developing oil sorbents from fibers such as cattail, nettle, cotton, milkweed, kapok, populous seed fiber and Metaplexis japonica fiber. Some featured critical parameters influencing the oil sorption capacity of fibrous substrates are discussed. Oil sorption capacity and reusability performance of various fibers are also discussed. Recent developments in oil spill cleanups and test methods for oil sorbents are briefly covered.

The main parameters influencing the oil sorption capacity of sorbents are fiber morphological structure, fiber density (g/cc), wax (%), hollowness (%) and water contact angle. An extensive literature review showed that oil sorption capacity is highest for Metaplexis japonica fiber followed by populous seed fiber, kapok, milkweed, cotton, nettle and cattail fiber. After use, the sorbents can be buried under soil or they can also be burned so that they can be vanished from the surface without causing environmental-related issues.

This review paper aims to summarize research studies conducted related to various natural fibers for oil spill cleanups, fiber structural characteristics influencing oil sorption and recent developments in oil spill cleanups. This work will inspire future researchers with various knowledge backgrounds, particularly, from a sustainability perspective.

This research aims to examine the effect of spokesperson facial symmetry on advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention and the mediating role of source authenticity on attitudinal and behavioral judgments.

Two studies were undertaken. Study 1 examined the effect of facial symmetry on source authenticity and endorsement effectiveness. Study 2 investigated the influence of the authentic facial cues of freckles and moles on source authenticity and advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention.

Findings indicate that source authenticity is the mechanism that explains attitudinal and behavioral judgments toward advertisements featuring asymmetrical spokespeople. The phenomenon observed is due to a proposed source authenticity overgeneralization effect, whereby spokespeople with asymmetrical faces are perceived as more genuine and real which, subsequently, results in more positive attitude toward the advertisement, attitude toward the brand and greater purchase intention than advertisements featuring spokespeople with symmetrical faces. The addition of authentic (biological) facial cues (i.e. freckles and moles) on spokespeople with a symmetrical facial structure, however, can heighten perceptions of source authenticity and the manifestation of the source authenticity overgeneralization effect.

This research has implications for marketing managers in the selection and depiction of spokespeople in their advertisements. However, this research is limited, as it only examines the facial feature characteristics of symmetry, freckles, and moles.

This research shows that an asymmetrical facial structure can positively influence source, attitudinal and behavioral judgments. This research also identifies that although symmetrical facial structures dilute source- and endorsement-based judgments, the addition of authentic facial cues, freckles and moles, can reverse the negative effects and enhance perceptions of source authenticity, attitude toward the advertisement, attitude toward the brand and purchase intentions.

Several studies were made on paired site and soil–structure interaction (SSI) effects, but most of them were site specific. This paper aims to investigate the impact of SSI effects in conjunction with local soil condition effects on the seismic response of typical multistory low- to mid-rise–reinforced concrete (RC) buildings resting on Algerian regulatory design sites through a global explicit transfer function (TF).

A preliminary quantification of SSI effects associated with site effects is carried out through a frequency-domain solution based on the concept of rock-to-soil surface displacement TF performed for each design site category. It results from the combination of the TFs of structure, foundation and soil and reflects how seismic waves are amplified due to changes in the geological contrast between the rock and overlying soil deposits. As well, response modification factors, denoting displacement ratios of the building responses within the flexible and site-structure conditions with respect to the fixed-base one, are carried out.

In the context of Algerian seismic regulation, the study provides a clear vision of how and when site or SSI effects are expected to be influential, as opposed to the fixed-base hypothesis still retained by the current regulation. This helps engineers to be aware of the extent of the expected seismic damage.

The research applies to low- to mid-rise RC buildings within the Algerian seismic regulation, but it may also be expanded to other examples that fall under other seismic regulations.

The response modification ratio is a quantitative approach to assessing response fluctuations. It draws attention to how the roof level drift varies depending on the condition. These results can be used as numerical parameters in structural seismic design when the structure is comparable because they provide useful information about how the two phenomena interact with the structure.

The study goes beyond particular situations dealing with site specific and offers effective indicators and quantitative evaluation of combined site and SSI effects according to the current national seismic provisions, where no indication about site or SSI effects exists.

In the vibration reduction field, constrained stand-off layer damping cylindrical shell plays an important role. However, due to the lack of accurate analysis of its damping characteristics, this hinders its further research and application. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is concerned with an accurate solution for the vibration-damping characteristics of a constrained stand-off-layer damping cylindrical shell (CSDCS) under various classical boundary conditions and conducts a further analysis.

Based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method and the Hamilton principle, a dynamic model of CSDCS is established. Then the loss factor and the frequency of CSDCS are obtained. The correctness and convergence behavior of the present model are verified by comparing the calculation results with the literature. By using for various classical boundary conditions without any special modifications in the solution procedure, the characteristics of CSDCS with S-S, C-C, C-S, C-F and S-F boundaries are discussed.

The Rayleigh–Ritz method is effective in handling the problem of CSDCS with different boundaries and an accurate solution is obtained. The boundary conditions have an important influence on the vibration and damping behavior of the CSDCS.

Based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method and Hamilton principle, a dynamic model of CSDCS is established for the first time, and then the loss factor and frequency of CSDCS are obtained. In addition, the effectiveness of adding the stand-off layer between the base shell and the viscoelastic layer is confirmed by discussing the characteristics of CSDCS with S-S, C-C, C-S, C-F and S-F boundaries.