Investigation of ANN architecture for predicting shear strength of fiber reinforcement bars concrete beams.

In this paper, an extensive simulation program is conducted to find out the optimal ANN model to predict the shear strength of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) concrete beams containing both flexural and shear reinforcements. For acquiring this purpose, an experimental database containing 125 samples is collected from the literature and used to find the best architecture of ANN. In this database, the input variables consist of 9 inputs, such as the ratio of the beam width, the effective depth, the shear span to the effective depth, the compressive strength of concrete, the longitudinal FRP reinforcement ratio, the modulus of elasticity of longitudinal FRP reinforcement, the FRP shear reinforcement ratio, the tensile strength of FRP shear reinforcement, the modulus of elasticity of FRP shear reinforcement.

Low-dose computed tomography versus plain abdominal radiography in the investigation of an acute abdomen.

Background: To compare low-dose abdominal computed tomography (LDCT) with plain abdominal radiography (AR) in the primary investigation of acute abdominal pain to determine if there is a difference in diagnostic yield, the number of additional investigations required and hospital length of stay (LOS).

Methods: This randomized controlled trial was approved by the institutional review board, and informed consent was obtained. Patients presenting to the emergency department with an acute abdomen and who would normally be investigated with AR were randomized to either AR or LDCT.