Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Research On Construction Monitoring Of Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge Based On Knn Algorithm, Liu Jianlin, Pan Kai, Yang Gang, Wang Junming

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To address common issues in bridge construction monitoring,such as sensor damage and failure in strain and displacement measurements,this study took the Nanliu Jialing River Bridge as a case and proposed a method based on the K-nearest neighbor (KNN ) algorithm to reconstruct missing construction monitoring data.ANSYS Workbench was used to establish a finite element model (FEM ) of the bridge construction process to verify the effectiveness of the KNN algorithm in the presence of missing bridge construction monitoring data.The results show:① KNN algorithm can assist in filling short-term data gaps caused by damage to strain and displacement sensors during bridge …

Field Measurement And Analysis Of Wind Characteristics At Xuefenghu Bridge Site, Yu Wenhao, Yi Lu

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Wind field parameters at bridge sites serve as an important basis for wind-resistant bridge design.The terrain surrounding the Xuefenghu Bridge is unique-mountains flank both sides in the bridge-aligned direction,and the bridge spans the wide surface of the Zhexi Reservoir.In order to investigate the wind field characteristics under such complex topographic conditions,an observation,acquisition,and wireless data transmission system was established at the bridge site.A one-year in-situ wind measurement campaign was conducted,and the characteristics of average wind and fluctuating wind were deeply analyzed.The results show that the average wind speed at the bridge site generally follows a Weibull distribution,and the average wind direction …

Shear Strength Test Of Uhpc-Nc Bonding Surface, Zhang Shichang, Yan Donghuang, Liu Yun, Yuan Sheng, Wang Shuo

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

As a cement-based composite material with excellent mechanical properties,ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC ) demonstrates outstanding performance in tensile and compressive strength,durability,and impermeability.This material is suitable for the reinforcement and repair of normal concrete (NC) bridge structures.To study the shear behavior of the UHPC-NC bonding interface and its reinforcement effect,this paper conducted interface shear tests using Z-shaped specimens and designed a total of six sets of comparative specimens.The influence of parameters such as the planted bar ratio,implantation depth,and bonding surface size on the shear strength was explored.Through experiments,the load –slip curve and the shear strength data were obtained.The results show that:① …

Analysis And Control Of Impact Of Wide Waterway Excavation On Adjacent Bridge Pile Foundations, Zhang Peisheng, Qiao Lyu, Sheng Jianchao, Sheng Haoxiang, Liu Hanchen, Wang Zhe

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

When excavating a waterway beneath an existing bridge,the pile foundations are subjected to unloading from excavation and the loading from the superstructure,which may lead to excessive displacement and potential safety hazards.Based on the underpass project of the Desheng Expressway Bridge along the Zhejiang section of the Beijing ‒ Hangzhou Canal,this study established a three-dimensional finite element model (FEM ) and combined it with field monitoring to investigate the impact of wide waterway excavation on adjacent bridge pile foundations and corresponding control measures.A novel combined control method involving a retaining wall with supporting piles and fully enclosed isolation piles was proposed.The …

Experimental Study On Shear Resistance Of Existing Prestressed Concrete Hollow Slabs, Lu Youfu, Di Jin, Qin Fengjiang, Sun Yifei

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Prestressed concrete hollow slabs are widely used in small- and medium-sized span highway bridges in China.With the increase in load ratings,many hollow slab bridges built in early periods fail to meet the current specifications for shear bearing capacity.Nevertheless,these hollow slabs continue to function adequately under existing vehicle loads,making it essential to conduct an in-depth investigation into their shear bearing capacity.Shear bearing capacity tests were conducted on five 16 m-span hollow slabs dismantled from a renovation and expansion project,including three top slabs with a 15 cm cast-in-place concrete structural layer.Various parameters,such as load-displacement curves,web concrete strain,cracking loads,crack development patterns,failure modes,and ultimate …

Analysis Of Flexural Bearin G Ca Pacity Of Concrete Box Girders Reinforced With, Cfrp Mesh End Anchorshu Guihua

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Carb on fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP ) composite s have significant advantages in the reinforcement of concrete structures.It is worth systematically studying the effect and mechanism of applying this material in embedded end-anchored reinforcement of concrete box girders on improving the load-bearing capacity of the component.Based on the Abaqus finite element analysis (FEA ) platform,two numerical analysis models considering slip contact and full bonding contact between CFRP mesh and polymer mortar were established.A full-scale concrete box girder model test was conducted for validation.The results show that the FEA results are in good agreement with the experimental results.The FEA model that …

Wind Tunnel Test On Wind-Resistant Performance Of Suspended Monorail Cable-Stayed Bridge, Chen Yujiang

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To investigate the wind-induced vibration of a suspended monorail bridge,a full-bridge aeroelastic model at a 1∶40 scale was designed and fabricated according to the geometrical parameters and dynamic characteristics of the real bridge.Wind tunnel tests on the bridge in both the completed state and the maximum cantilever state were conducted under different conditions,including uniform flow and turbulent flow,yaw angles of ± 45°,±30°,±15°,and 0°,and wind attack angles of ‒ 3°,0°,and + 3°.Both vertical and torsional displacements of the structure under different wind speeds were measured.The test results show that the vertical displacements and torsional responses of the cable-stayed bridge increase when …

Research On Autonomous Deviation Correction Of Tunnel Boring Machines And Parameters Based On Machine Learning, Zhang Jun, Li Maopeng

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to solve the problem of realizing the autonomous deviation correction of tunnel boring machines (TBMs ), a TBM deviation correction control method that integrated the random forest (RF) algorithm with the genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed based on actual engineering data.The method combined a prediction model with an optimization model,using target deviation values as input to invert and output the required TBM deviation correction parameter values,thereby further improving the automation level of TBM deviation correction.By comparing it with the actual data,the feasibility of the model was verified.The results show that the RF algorithm-based prediction model achieves an R2 …

Study On Mechanical Effect Of Backfill Construction In Orthogonal Underpass Section Of An Open-Cut Interchange Tunnel, Li Qingda, Li Dexing, Yu Tingshun, Han Xi, Liu Jiansong

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

This study investigated the mechanical effects of backfill construction in the orthogonal underpass section of a full-section complex open-cut interchange tunnel.The research was based on the small-clear-distance interchange tunnel project at the extension section of Jinzhou Avenue and Xingguang Avenue in Chongqing.A combined approach of numerical simulation and on-site in-situ test measurement was adopted to analyze the influence of different backfill materials,tunnel cross-section types,and complex construction procedures on the mechanical behavior of the underpass tunnel.The mechanical effects of backfill construction in the orthogonal underpass section were determined.The following findings are revealed:During the backfill construction process,the displacement and internal force of …

Research On Automatic Review Method Of Highway Bim Based On Knowledge Graph, Wang Wuyu, Shao Kebo, Zhang Feng

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Building information modeling (BIM ),characterized by multi-dimensional modeling and multi-source data integration,is becoming a key technology to promote the innovation and digital transformation of the highway design industry.Taking BIM as the design deliverable is an inevitable trend in the future development of highway engineering design.However,the current highway BIM review is mainly conducted manually,which brings about problems such as low efficiency,susceptibility to errors,and high subjectivity.This makes it difficult to adapt to the review requirements of the three-dimensional (3D) digital design mode.To this end,this study proposed an automatic review method of highway BIM based on a knowledge graph.By constructing the knowledge graph …

Research On Multi-Classification Prediction Of Traffic Accident Severity On Mountainous Expressways, Wang Hao, Yan Jie, Guo Jianmin, Zhang Yu, Sun Chengji

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To enhance the safety level of mountainous expressways and establish an accurate and effective prediction model for traffic accident severity,this study analyzed 2 484 traffic accidents on mountainous expressways in Chongqing from 2010 to 2016.A total of 17 influencing factors were selected from four aspects:human,vehicle,road,and environment,to serve as explanatory variables.Partial proportional odds model,random forest algorithm,and XGBoost algorithm were used to construct multi-class prediction models for traffic accident severity.The model performance was evaluated using the confusion matrix,accuracy,and minority class recall rate.The results show that the XGBoost model achieves the highest prediction accuracy in multi-class prediction of traffic accident severity on mountainous …

Research On Prefabrication Scheme Of Concrete Barrier Based On Anchorage In Cast-In-Situ Layer, Liang Xiaochong, Kang Hanjing, Luo Yongchuan, Wen Zhiquan, Deng Bao

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to improve the on-site construction efficiency of bridge concrete barriers,a prefabrication scheme for bridge concrete barrier installation was proposed.A structure scheme was developed by anchoring transverse steel bars at the bottom of prefabricated wall panels into the integrated cast-in-situ layer,adopting tongue-and-groove connections between adjacent wall panels,and optimizing the structural configuration and reinforcement of the panels.According to the requirements of the Level VI protection standard,full-scale impact tests using a large bus and a large truck were organized in turn.The results show that the prefabricated concrete bridge barrier can effectively withstand continuous impacts from both large buses and trucks.Its structural …

Application And Analysis Of Energy-Conservation And Carbon-Reduction Technologies In Green Highways, Huang Xuewen, Wang Kai, Huang Shanqian, Xiong Xinzhu, Fu Jinsheng

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To improve the low-carbon development level of highway engineering,this study relied on a typical green highway in Anhui Province and established a calculation model for energy-conservation and carbon-reduction in highway engineering based on the emission factor method.A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was adopted to evaluate the benefits of 33 energy-conservation and carbon-reduction technologies in reducing life cycle energy consumption and carbon emissions,based on life cycle assessment (LCA ) theory.The results show that during the material production stage,through channel resource coordination and the application of low-carbon,energy-saving materials,comprehensive reductions in the embodied carbon can be achieved.During the construction stage,energy consumption …

Influence Of Horizontal Curve Radius On Vehicle Fuel Consumption And Pollutant Emissions On Tw O-Lane Highways, Tu Shengwen, Lei Meimei, Guo Wenyu

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To investigate the influence of horizontal curve radius on vehicle fuel consumption and pollutant emissions on two-lane highways,this study developed a model based on running speed theory,vehicle driving dynamics,and a fuel consumption and emission analysis system.Fuel consumption and emissions of CO2,CO,HC,and NOx were calculated for a passenger car traveling along horizontal curves under three design speeds:40 km/h,60 km/h,and 80 km/h.The results show that the horizontal curve radius has a significant effect on vehicle fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.The trends of fuel consumption,CO2,and NOx emissions vary consistently with curve radius,while CO and HC emissions follow a similar but different trend.At the …

Reference And Inspi Ration From Low-Carbon Development Experience Of Foreign Highway Infrastructure, Lu Chunying, Gao Shuohan, Du Xueyua N, Jian Li, Wang Xinjun, Kong Yaping

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to provide supp ort for the scie ntific formulation of low-carbon highway infrastructure development policies in China,empirical analysis,comparative analysis,and other methods were utilized,and the construction goals and action strategies of low-carbon highway infrastructure in the United Kingdom,the United States,and Australia were sorted out.Advanced experience in the development of low-carbon highways abroad was summarized.On this basis,combined with the current situation and existing problems of low-carbon development of China ’s highway infrastructure,the following countermeasures and suggestions were proposed:① strengthening top-level design and formulating low-carbon development goals and paths;② implementing the concept of life cycle and strengthening the research and promotion …

Nitrogen Fertilizer Equivalence Of Red Clover When Inter-Seeded Into Corn, Hannah R. Francis, Ting Fung Ma, Rodrigo Werle, Chelsea H. Zegler, Daniel H. Smith, Douglas J. Soldat, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Matthew D. Ruark

Faculty Publications

Inter-seeding red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) provides an alternative method toincorporate cover crops into continuous corn (Zea mays L.) in the Upper US Midwest. Red clover is a leguminous cover crop that can grow in low-radiation environments and is winter hardy. Systems with red clover have demonstrated improved corn yield and a fertilizer N equivalence but understanding these effects with inter-seeding war-rants further investigation. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of inter-seeding red clover on (i) plant-available N during and after red clover decomposition, (ii) optimum N rates for corn, and (iii) corn yields. The …

Nitrogen Fertilizer Equivalence Of Red Clover When Inter-Seeded Into Corn, Hannah R. Francis, Ting Fung Ma, Rodrigo Werle, Chelsea H. Zegler, Daniel H. Smith, Douglas J. Soldat, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Matthew D. Ruark

Faculty Publications

Inter-seeding red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) provides an alternative method to incorporate cover crops into continuous corn (Zea mays L.) in the Upper US Midwest. Red clover is a leguminous cover crop that can grow in low-radiation environments and is winter hardy. Systems with red clover have demonstrated improved corn yield and a fertilizer N equivalence but understanding these effects with inter-seeding warrants further investigation. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of inter-seeding red clover on (i) plant-available N during and after red clover decomposition, (ii) optimum N rates for corn, and (iii) corn …

The Dual Impact Of Moral Injury: Links To Ptsd Symptoms And Disinhibited Externalizing In U.S. Combat Veterans, Bianca S. Islas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Moral injury is an experience of psychological distress that occurs when a person’s morals are violated by themselves or others, including institutions and organizations. Such violations of morality can be impairing and have high rates of comorbidity with internalizing disorders (posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, suicidality), which may indicate that moral injury is a transdiagnostic construct. This study had four aims, which were accomplished using from a nationally representative, probability-based sample of 1,353 US military veterans. In the first aim, we created structural models of moral injury using the Moral Injury Events Scale (for which a bifactor structure with a specific …

Rna’S Symphony: Harmonizing Splice Junctions And Exon Counts For A Novel Approach To Differential Splicing Analysis, Jelard Aquino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Alternative Splicing (AS) plays a critical role in transcriptome complexity and cell-type-specific gene regulation, yet its analysis remains methodologically fragmented, especially in the context of noisy and sparse single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. This dissertation addresses key computational challenges in AS detection by evaluating existing tools, developing integrative frameworks, and proposing new strategies for improving analysis accuracy in both bulk and single-cell contexts. In chapter 1, I present a comprehensive literature review of computational tools designed for detecting and quantifying AS from bulk and scRNA-seq data. This review outlines major methodological paradigms, including exon-based and splice junction-based approaches, and evaluates …

Empowering Science With The World's First High Accuracy And High Throughput Functional Assay, Christopher Giacoletto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the functional consequences of genetic mutations remains a central challenge in modern biology, with far-reaching implications for human health and disease. While early systematic methods like alanine scanning and phage display provided foundational insights into protein structure and function, the emergence of high-throughput approaches—such as Multiplexed Assays of Variant Effect (MAVEs)—and predictive tools powered by artificial intelligence have vastly expanded our ability to profile mutational landscapes. However, these methods are often constrained by trade-offs between accuracy, scalability, and biological relevance.This dissertation presents the development and application of the GigaAssay, the world’s first high-throughput functional assay capable of delivering both …

An Evidence-Based Intervention To Increase Trypanosoma Cruzi, A Neglected Parasitic Infection, Diagnosis In Rural And Moderate-Size-City Us Clinics, M K. Lynn, Hunter M. Boehme, Jeffrey Hall, Patrick Kent, Alain H. Litwin, Quang H. Pham, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph, Prisma Chagas Team

Faculty Publications

Background

Chagas disease is a chronic, insidious parasitic infection (Trypanosoma cruzi) that slowly develops to irreversible organomegaly over several decades. The disease is traditionally acquired in endemic Latin American countries during childhood; < 1% of foreign-born adult residents in the United States have been diagnosed or treated with this potentially fatal disease. Low physician knowledge is a primary factor leading to misdiagnosis.

Methods

Starting in April 2022, a 4-part T cruzi clinical education intervention began, which included (i) 2 grand rounds presentations to >100 internal medicine providers; (ii) implementation of a “clinical Chagas champions program” incorporating 14 key clinical staff at varying departments and administrative levels educated on their specific role related to T cruzi screening, diagnosis confirmation, clinical management, and medical billing; ( …

Changes In Mental Health Care Utilisation Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic Among People Living With Hiv In The Usa: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using The All Of Us Dataset, Atena Pasha, Shan Qiao, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Ruilie Cai, Buwei He, Xueying Yang, Chen Liang Ph.D., Sharon Weissman, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction Despite the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV (PLWH) mental health, large-scale, real-world data on mental healthcare utilisation and associated factors among PLWH remain limited. This study explores mental healthcare utilisation and associated factors among PLWH during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods Using a retrospective cohort design, we identified and included 4575 PLWH through computational phenotyping based on relevant Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model concept sets from the All of Us programme between March 2018 and March 2022. Mental healthcare utilisation was measured using the yearly count of mental healthcare visits and compared …

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status And Overall Survival Among Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Anna Hoppmann, Debroah M. Hurley, Stuart Cramer, Monique J. Brown Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

A disadvantaged neighborhood, as represented by area-level socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with adverse outcomes among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the US, but the duration of impact after ALL diagnosis is not well understood. This retrospective cohort study utilized the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to examine the impact of area-level SES on overall survival among children with ALL. Median income and education quartiles based on residential zip code were used to create a composite area-level SES variable. Individual-level variables included age, sex, race, year of diagnosis, primary payer, distance to care, rurality, time to treatment, and …

Statistical Methods For Joint Outcome Modeling And Dynamic Assessment Of Recurrent Events, Zifang Kong

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

Recurrent event data frequently arise in clinical studies where individuals experience repeated, possibly related, events over time. These data are often accompanied by sparse and irregular longitudinal measurements, creating challenges for traditional joint modeling approaches that struggle to account for time-dependent associations and within-subject correlations. We propose FRAILTY (Functional Regression with AutoRegressIve fraiLTY), a novel two-step framework that integrates functional principal component analysis (PACE) with a dynamic frailty model featuring autoregressive structure. FRAILTY accommodates both scalar and functional predictors and captures within-subject dependence across recurrent events. To further extend its utility, we develop a multivariate joint modeling framework that simultaneously …

Towards Reliable Clinical Applications Of Ai Models In Radiotherapy, Biling Wang

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI), particularly through deep learning (DL) techniques, has made significant strides in fields like computer vision (CV) and natural language processing (NLP), leading to transformative advancements across numerous applications. This progress has sparked considerable enthusiasm within the medical field, where DL-related research has grown exponentially since 2015. However, despite these promising developments, the real-world deployment of DL models in healthcare remains limited, especially in safety-critical domains such as radiotherapy (RT), where reliability, safety, and sustained performance are critical. This thesis addresses three core challenges associated with the clinical application of DL models: (1) post-deployment …

Crop Yield Prediction At Multiple Spatial Scales With Statistical Machine Learning, Vaibhav Charan, Pratishtha Poudel

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Understanding and accurately predicting crop yield is becoming increasingly important today in the face of global food security challenges, and thus, the availability of standardized data and scalable models is the need of the hour. To support this, researchers have developed CY-Bench (Crop Yield Benchmark), a comprehensive dataset that helps forecast maize and wheat yields on a global scale. This research project primarily involved working with the CY-Bench dataset aiming to improve crop yield prediction through machine learning. Initially, papers explaining the CY-Bench dataset and other papers for agriculture modeling were studied and analyzed in detail. The research then progressed …

Breast Cancer Survival Rates And Determinants In Ethiopia: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Longitudinal Studies, Abenezer M. Tafese, Meseker T. Fentie, Beminate L. Seifu, Angwach A. Asnake, Bikiltu D. Dirbaba, Abdisa G. Jara, Elsabeth Tizazu Asare, Brandon George

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Ethiopia, accounting for 32% of new cancer cases and 17.6% of cancer deaths. Despite its growing burden, comprehensive data on survival rates and contributing factors remain limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize existing data on breast cancer survival in Ethiopia and identify key determinants influencing outcomes.

METHODS: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and CINAHL to identify studies on breast cancer survival in Ethiopia published between January 2014 and August 2024. Eligible …

Unveiling Insights From Complexity: Advanced Computational Techniques For High-Dimensional Medical Data, Devin P. Eddington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Healthcare generates vast amounts of data daily, from genetic profiles to hospital records, but much of it remains untapped due to its complexity. This dissertation develops new computational tools to unlock this data’s potential, aiming to improve patient care and medical research. Five projects tackle different challenges: Project 1 creates Deep MAGIC, a method to fill in missing genetic and image data accurately, vital for understanding diseases like cancer. Project 2 analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted surgeries, finding a 27% drop and temporary complication rises in 2020, guiding future crisis planning. Projects 3 and 4 study kidney disease trials, …

The Bandages Problem, James E. Marengo, Joseph G. Voelkel, David L. Farnsworth

Articles

A new probability problem, named the Bandages Problem, is described and solved. The problem involves repeatedly selecting and removing an item at random from a finite population that initially consists of a known configuration of single and paired items. For each selection, the probability that the chosen item is single is found. Generalizations are suggested.

Tree-Based Differential Item Functioning Detection Methods: Exploring Their Performance In Diverse Measurement Scenarios, Nana Amma Berko Asamoah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the availability of numerous methods for detecting differential item functioning (DIF), the continued development and evaluation of innovative, data-driven approaches remains essential. Tree-based methods, in particular, represent a significant advancement in DIF detection. Unlike some traditional techniques, they can simultaneously screen multiple variables for DIF without discretizing continuous variables, and do not require the pre-specification of focal and reference groups; capabilities that are especially valuable in today’s diverse and multifaceted assessment contexts. However, research systematically examining the performance of these methods under realistic measurement conditions is limited. This dissertation, in three simulation studies, critically examines the robustness and practical …