In this study an efficient meta-heuristic is proposed for layout optimization of truss structures by combining cellular automata (CA) and firefly algorithm (FA). In the proposed meta-heuristic, called here as cellular automata firefly algorithm (CAFA), a new equation is presented for position updating of fireflies based on the concept of CA. Two benchmark examples of truss structures are presen...

Meta-heuristics have received increasing attention in recent years. The present article introduces a novel method in such a class that distinguishes a number of artificial search agents called players within two teams. At each iteration, the active player concerns some other players in both teams to construct its special movements and to get more score. At the end of some iterations (like quart...

this research explores the effects of three computer-mediated feedback modalities, that is, elicitation, recast, and meta-linguistics, on the learning of english participial, gerund, and infinitival phrases among iranian intermediate-level efl learners. the overriding focus of the present study was to investigate whether different types of feedback given through form-focused computer-human exch...

background: after lung and prostate cancers, colorectal cancer (crc) is the third most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women after breast cancer worldwide. every year, more than one million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer worldwide and half of these patients die from this disease, making it the fourth leading cause of death in the world. this systematic rev...

this meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy and safety of ssris and tcas in treatment of pd. a computer-base search was conducted of pubmed, medline, embase, cochrane controlled trails register (cctr) up to december 2011. the random controlled clinic trials about ssris and tcas in pd treatment were collected. statistical analysis was completed using review manager, version 5.0. five clinic c...

background: formoterol and salmeterol are two long-acting ?2-agonists given by inhalation, with bronchodilating eff ects lasting for at least 12 h after a single administration. formoterol has a faster onset of action compared with salmeterol. the aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the data published from previous review in order to calculate pooled estima...

In present study, a three-step multi-objective optimization algorithm of cyclone separators is catered for the design objectives. First, the pressure drop (Dp) and collection efficiency (h) in a set of cyclone separators are numerically evaluated. Secondly, two meta models based on the evolved Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) type neural networks are regarded to model the Dp and h as the re...

In this paper, numerical simulation of FRP composite cylinder tubes progressive crushing processes is conducted using LS-Dyna. Details on the numerical modeling strategy are given and discussed. It is found that triggers introduced in the numerical simulation can effectively model the bevel trigger at the end of the tubular specimens. It is also found that two-layer finite element model based o...