Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction in Bridge Abutments

Strong motion obtained in instrumental short-span bridges show the importance of the abutments in the dynamic response of the whole structure. Many models have been used in order to take into account the influence of pier foundations although no reliable ones have been used to analyse the abutment performance. In this work three-dimensional Boundary Element models in frequency domain have been proposed and dimensionless dynamic stiffness of standard bridge abutments have been obtained

Estimation of slip rates and seismic hazard parameters using conventional techniques of structural geology in a slow-moving fault: Alhama de Murcia – Alcantarilla segment of the Alhama de Murcia Fault (Murcia, SE Spain)

The convergence between Nubian and Eurasian plates in the Western Mediterranean is being accommodated by the Eastern Betic Shear Zone, located in Southeastern Iberia. This is a low strain region whose faults show low slip rates and long recurrence periods of their maximum earthquakes, so they do not provide clear evidence of their seismogenic activity. The Alhama de Murcia - Alcantarilla segment, defined as the NE end of the Alhama de Murcia Fault, is one of the structures of the Eastern Betic Shear Zone and there are few in-depth studies about its seismic potential. In order to assess the seismogenic potential and slip-rate of this segment we have carried out a structural analysis. We have built a 3D geological model of the area where the fault is currently bounding the Neogene Fortuna basin. The structural model is based on seismic reflection profiles which have been later input in MOVE, structural modelling and analysis software. The analysis of the model has revealed several structural features related to positive inversion tectonics in Fortuna basin, specifically a typical "harpoon" structure whose deformation is estimated to have begun since Upper Miocene (Messinian). Geometric models and area balance methods (e.g. depth-to-detachment method) applied to the previously mentioned structure have allowed to estimate the heave of the fault, representing the amount of shortening observed in the fault section during its recent activity. The horizontal shortening rate estimated is between 0.09 and 0.26 mm/yr during the last 5.3 - 2.6 Ma. Projecting the obtained shortening onto the fault plane and considering the present regional tectonic shortening it has been possible to obtain a net slip rate between 0.13 and 0.37 mm/yr. Such parameters suggest that the Alhama de Murcia - Alcantarilla segment has less activity than other segments of the fault. The result obtained is consistent with the fact that the Carrascoy Fault, oriented parallel and located to the south of the Alhama de Murcia - Alcantarilla segment, seems to absorb part of the regional tectonic shortening. That is why the relief uplifted by the Alhama de Murcia - Alcantarilla segment during the Quaternary is significantly less prominent than the mountains fronts generated by the Carrascoy Fault. Even so, Alhama de Murcia - Alcantarilla segment should be considered as an active structure with implications for seismic hazard. The maximum size of earthquake is calculated to be Mw 6.3 - 6.6 according to magnitude-area and magnitude-length scaling relationships, with a mean recurrence interval lower than 10.000 years for the slip rate obtained. In the same way, Mw 5.0 earthquakes, such as those recorded in the historical seismic catalog, are estimated to have a recurrence interval lower than 50 years. These earthquakes could be very destructive in densely populated areas, as is the case of SE Spain, so they should be considered in seismic-hazard analysis

From transpressional to transtensional tectonics in Northern Central America

The Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) is located at the western margin of the Caribbean plate, over the Chortís Block, spanning from Guatemala to Costa Rica. The CAVA is associated to the subduction of the Cocos plate under the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Our study is focused in the Salvadorian CAVA segment, which is tectonically characterized by the presence of the El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ), part of the western boundary of a major block forming the Caribbean plate (the Chortis Block). The structural evolution of the western boundary of the Chortis Block, particularly in the CAVA crossing El Salvador remains unknown. We have done a kinematic analysis from seismic and fault slip data and combined our results with a review of regional previous studies. This approach allowed us to constrain the tectonic evolution and the forces that control the deformation in northern Central America. Along the active volcanic arc we identified active transtensional deformation. On the other hand, we have identified two deformation phases in the back arc region: A first one of transpressional wrenching close to simple shearing (Miocene); and a second one characterized by almost E-W extension. Our results reveal a change from transpressional to transtensional shearing coeval with a migration of the volcanism towards the trench in Late Miocene times. This strain change could be related with a coupled to decoupled transition on the Cocos – Caribbean subduction interface, which could be related to a slab roll-back of the Cocos Plate beneath the Chortis Block. The combination of different degrees of coupling on the subduction interface, together with a constant relative eastward drift of the Caribbean Plate, control the deformation style along the western boundary of the Chortis Block

Temperature Sensor Based on Colloidal Quantum Dots PMMA Nanocomposite Waveguides

In this paper, integrated temperature sensors based on active nanocomposite planar waveguides are presented. The nanocomposites consist of cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix. When the samples are heated in a temperature range from 25$^{circ}{rm C}$ to 50 $^{circ}{rm C}$, the waveguided photoluminescence of QDs suffers from a strong intensity decrease, which is approximately quadratic dependent on temperature. Moreover, the wavelength peak of the waveguided emission spectrum of CdTe-PMMA shows a blue shift of 0.25 ${rm nm}/^{circ}{rm C}$, whereas it remains constant in the case of CdSe-PMMA. A temperature resolution of 0.1$^{circ}{rm C}$ is obtained. QD waveguides have great potential for the development of photonic sensors because of their integration, multiplexing, and roll-to-roll fabrication capabilities.Manuscript received February 21, 2012; revised May 8, 2012; accepted July 18, 2012. Date of publication July 24, 2012; date of current version August 9, 2012. This work was supported in part by the Spanish MICINN and Generalitat Valenciana under Grant TEC-2011-06756-C03-03 and Grant PROMETEO/2009/074, the Plan Nacional I + D under Project TEC2011-29120-C05-01 and Project TEC2011-29120-C05-05, and the Infraestructura FEDER UPVOV08-3E-008. The associate editor coordinating the review of this paper and approving it for publication was Prof. E. H. Yang.Bueno Martínez, A.; Suárez Álvarez, I.; Abargues, R.; Sales Maicas, S.; J. MARTÍNEZ-PASTOR (2012). Temperature Sensor Based on Colloidal Quantum Dots PMMA Nanocomposite Waveguides. IEEE Sensors Journal. 12(10):3069-3074. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2012.2210037S30693074121

Determining the best set of seismicity indicators to predict earthquakes. Two case studies: Chile and the Iberian Peninsula

This work explores the use of different seismicity indicators as inputs for artificial neural networks. The combination of multiple indicators that have already been successfully used in different seismic zones by the application of feature selection techniques is proposed. These techniques evaluate every input and propose the best combination of them in terms of information gain. Once these sets have been obtained, artificial neural networks are applied to four Chilean zones (the most seismic country in the world) and to two zones of the Iberian Peninsula (a moderate seismicity area). To make the comparison to other models possible, the prediction problem has been turned into one of classification, thus allowing the application of other machine learning classifiers. Comparisons with original sets of inputs and different classifiers are reported to support the degree of success achieved. Statistical tests have also been applied to confirm that the results are significantly different than those of other classifiers. The main novelty of this work stems from the use of feature selection techniques for improving earthquake prediction methods. So, the infor-mation gain of different seismic indicators has been determined. Low ranked or null contribution seismic indicators have been removed, optimizing the method. The optimized prediction method proposed has a high performance. Finally, four Chilean zones and two zones of the Iberian Peninsula have been charac-terized by means of an information gain analysis obtained from different seismic indicators. The results confirm the methodology proposed as the best features in terms of information gain are the same for both regions.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología BIA2004-01302Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIN2011-28956-C02-01Junta de Andalucía P11-TIC-752

Complicaciones torácicas en un paciente con luxación subclavicular del hombro

Se presenta una paciente de 88 años de edad con una luxación subclavicular de hombro derecho y un traumatismo torácico asociado que incluía fractura de las tres primeras costillas y hemotórax. El traumatismo torácico parecía estar muy estrechamente relacionado con la luxación glenohumeral. El tratamiento de la luxación se efectuó mediante reducción cerrada e inmovilización con vendaje de Gilchrist. El traumatismo del hemitórax derecho requirió toracocentesis en 2 ocasiones e ingreso en la unidad de cuidados intensivos por insuficiencia respiratoria. La evolución fue satisfactoria, estando la paciente asintomática a los 3 meses del traumatismo, con movilidad del hombro prácticamente completa.The case of a 88-year-old women with a subclavicular right shoulder dislocation and concomitant thoracic trauma involving fracture of the three first ribs and hemothorax is reported. The thoracic trauma appeared to be closely related to the shoulder dislocation. Close reduction and Gilchrist's immovilization was the treatment applied to the shoulder dislocation. Right thoracic trauma required evacuation of the hemothorax in two ocasions and inward in the Intensive Care Unit. Three months after trauma, the outcome was satisfactory with almost complete recovery of the shoulder range of motion

Bibliometric Study of Technology and Occupational Health in Healthcare Sector: A Worldwide Trend to the Future

Since the eighties, technological tools have modified how people interact in their environment. At the same time, occupational safety and health measures have been widely applied. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work considers that information and communication technologies are the main methods to achieve the goals proposed to improve working life and the dissemination of good practices. The principal objective was to determine the trends of publications focused on these technologies and occupational safety in the healthcare sector during the last 30 years. A bibliometric study was carried out. The 1021 documents showed an increased trend per country, especially for the United States (p < 0.001) and year (p < 0.001). The citations per year showed significant differences between citations of articles published before 2007 (p < 0.001). The year was also linked to the increase or decrease of articles (72.2%) and reviews (14.9%) (p < 0.001). The analysis of journal co-citations also showed that the main journals (such as Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology) were linked to other important journals and had a major part in the clusters formed. All these findings were discussed in the manuscript and conclusions were drawn

Occupational Safety and Health Training for Undergraduates Nursing Students: A Spanish Pilot

Most of blood borne and airborne pathogens are highly contagious, harmful and have prevalence among healthcare workers. In this group, healthcare students, especially nursing undergraduates, have even higher risk to be exposed and suffered a contagious accident. One of the main pillars to prevent exposure to such pathogens and decrease accidents seems to be through education. A prospective observational educational research focused on quantifying the students’ knowledge, and prevention culture was carried out. The educational approach based on the development of a technological tool, its integration in the students’ education, and posterior assessment. The Chi-square, ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis, Man–Whitney U, and Spearman correlations were used to determine the effect of such educational methodology. The results, previous to the integration of the educational approach, showed differences between the elementary and proficient knowledge and correct procedure in each academic year (p < 0.05), being the best year the third academic year. The mean of elementary knowledge among second year students after the inclusion of the educational methodology improved for 2017/2018 with a mean of 7.5 (1.11) and in 2018/2019 with 7.87 (1.34). This study argued that the educational approach proposed could improve the prevention culture and knowledge among students and future healthcare professionals

El género Parastriatopora Sokolov (Tabulata) en el Devónico Inferior de la Península Ibérica

Parastriatopora Sokolov es un género de coral tabulado que generó esqueletos coloniales cerioides y de morfología groseramente ramificada. Desde un punto de vista paleoecológico, es un coral habitual en ambientes con tasas de sedimentación relativamente altas, apareciendo en niveles no bioconstruidos, de litología carbonatada pero con un alto contenido en terrígenos finos. En estas facies, Parastriatopora aparece ocupando delgados niveles de carácter margoso, junto a minúsculos corales tabulados aulopóridos de la familia Pyrgiidae (especialmente el género Cladochonus) y, en ocasiones, corales rugosos de la denominada “fauna de Cyathaxonia”