Ανάπτυξη λογισμικού αλληλεπίδρασης εδάφους κατασκευής για επιφανειακές θεμελιώσεις σε ελαστικό πολυστρωματικό έδαφος

45 σ.Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) "Analysis and Design of Earthquake Resistant Structures"NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS SCHOOL CIVIL OF ENGINEERING POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ADERS MSc in Analysis and Design of Earthquake Resistant Structures Accademic Year 2013/2014 SUPERVISOR: Konstantinos Spiliopoulos Leonidas Stavridis S STUDENT: Simona A. Koufou Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία Σιμόνα Αγγελική Κουφού SSI Software Development for shallow foundations on elastic layered soil Eισαγωγή ΗμεθοδολογίαLSSIαφοράτηνανάλυσητηςαλληλεπίδρασηςτηςκατασκευήςμετοέδαφοςγιαστατικήφόρτιση. Ημεταπτυχιακήεργασίααφοράτηναυτοματοποίησητηςδιαδικασίαςαυτήςπουεκτελείταιμέσω του λογισμικού ανάλυσης κατασκευών Sap2000 εισάγοντας μια φόρμα αναπτυγμένη σε περιβάλλον VBAμέσω εντολών της διεπαφής προγραμματισμού του Sap, OAPI (OpenApplicationProgrammingInterface). ΗφόρμαεισάγεταιωςpluginστοπεριβάλλονSap2000 καιοχρήστηςμπορείσυμπληρώνονταςτααπαραίτητα δεδομένα εισόδου σχετικά με το έδαφος και την κατασκευή υπό ανάλυση μπορεί να εξετάσει την συμπεριφορά του συστήματος αυτού και να αξιολογήσει τις βυθίσεις που προκύπτουν και την εντατική κατάσταση της κατασκευής για την συγκεκριμένη στατική φόρτιση. Περιγραφή Αρχικάηδιακριτοποιημένηκατασκευήστηρίζεταιστουςκόμβουςδιεπαφήςτηςθεμελίωσηςμετοέδαφοςκαιεκτελώνταςδιαδοχικέςαναλύσεις προσδιορίζεται το μητρώο ακαμψίας του συστήματος έδαφος κατασκευή και επιλύοντας το γραμμικό πρόβλημα όπως περιγράφεται πρακάτω προσδιορίζονται οι υποχωρήσεις της κατασκευής. Οιυποχωρήσειςαυτέςανεπιβληθούνστουςενεργούςκόμβουςτηςθεμελίωσηςπαριστάνουντηνπαραμορφωσιμότητατουεδάφουςπουστηρίζει την κατασκευή. Τοέδαφοςεπομένως στη μεθοδολογία αυτήεισάγεταιπλασματικάχωρίςναγίνεταιδιακριτοποίησήτου. Ηανάλυσητουπλέονστηριγμένουμοντέλουδίνειτιςτελικέςβυθίσειςκαιεντατικήκατάστασητηςκατασκευήςστηριγμενηαπότοέδαφος υπό στατική φόρτιση. Ηθεωριτικήπροσέγγισηέχειαναπτυχθείσεδημοσίευση[Stavridis, 2002] περιγράφονταςαναλυτικάταβήματααυτοματοποίησηςτηςδιαδικασίας. Figure 1 Procedure LSSI (Layered Soil Structure Interaction). Flowchart ISP * ; ; ΕΧΤSP ; ; Λύσηπροβλήματοςμέσωεξισώσεων Συμπεράσματα Τα συμεράσματα μετά από σύγκριση της ανάλυσης με την μέθοδο Winklerείναι ότι η μεθοδολογία LSSIπροσεγγίζει καλύτερα της συμπεριφορά της αλληλεπίδρασης κατασκευής εδάφους για στατική φόρτιση αφού τα ελατήρια Winklerφαίνεται αλλού να υποεκτιμούν και αλλού να υπερεκτιμούν την συμπεριφορά αυτή.Σιμόνα-Αγγελική Α. ΚουφούΣΙΜΟΝΑ ΑΓΓΕΛΙΚΗ ΚΟΥΦΟ

Using digital watermarking to enhance security in wireless medical image transmission

This is the published version of the article. Copyright 2010 Mary Ann Liebert Inc.During the last few years, wireless networks have been increasingly used both inside hospitals and in patients’ homes to transmit medical information. In general, wireless networks suffer from decreased security. However, digital watermarking can be used to secure medical information. In this study, we focused on combining wireless transmission and digital watermarking technologies to better secure the transmission of medical images within and outside the hospital. Methods: We utilized an integrated system comprising the wireless network and the digital watermarking module to conduct a series of tests. Results: The test results were evaluated by medical consultants. They concluded that the images suffered no visible quality degradation and maintained their diagnostic integrity. Discussion: The proposed integrated system presented reasonable stability, and its performance was comparable to that of a fixed network. This system can enhance security during the transmission of medical images through a wireless channel.The General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Development and the British Council

Subaqueous mass movements in the context of observations of contemporary slope failure

The consequences of subaqueous landslides have been at the forefront of societal conscience more than ever in the last few years, with devastating and fatal events in the Indonesian Archipelago making global news. The new research presented in this volume demonstrates the breadth of ongoing investigation into subaqueous landslides, and shows that while events like the recent ones can be devastating, they are smaller in scale than those Earth has experienced in the past. Understanding the spectrum of subaqueous landslide processes, and therefore the potential societal impact, requires research across all spatial and temporal scales. This volume delivers a compilation of state-of-the-art papers covering regional landslide databases, advanced techniques for in situ measurements, numerical modelling of processes and hazard

Corticotropinoma as a Component of Carney Complex.

Known germline gene abnormalities cause one-fifth of the pituitary adenomas in children and adolescents, but, in contrast with other pituitary tumor types, the genetic causes of corticotropinomas are largely unknown. In this study, we report a case of Cushing disease (CD) due to a loss-of-function mutation in PRKAR1A, providing evidence for association of this gene with a corticotropinoma. A 15-year-old male presenting with hypercortisolemia was diagnosed with CD. Remission was achieved after surgical resection of a corticotropin (ACTH)-producing pituitary microadenoma, but recurrence 3 years later prompted reoperation and radiotherapy. Five years after the original diagnosis, the patient developed ACTH-independent Cushing syndrome, and a diagnosis of primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease was confirmed. A PRKAR1A mutation (c.671delG, p.G225Afs*16) was detected in a germline DNA sample from the patient, which displayed loss of heterozygosity in the corticotropinoma. No other germline or somatic mutations of interest were found. As corticotropinomas are not a known component of Carney complex (CNC), we performed loss of heterozygosity and messenger RNA stability studies in the patient's tissues, and analyzed the effect of Prkar1a silencing on AtT-20/D16v-F2 mouse corticotropinoma cells. No PRKAR1A defects were found among 97 other pediatric CD patients studied. Our clinical case and experimental data support a role for PRKAR1A in the pathogenesis of a corticotroph cell tumor. This is a molecularly confirmed report of a corticotropinoma presenting in association with CNC. We conclude that germline PRKAR1A mutations are a novel, albeit apparently infrequent, cause of CD

Synergy-driven performance enhancement of vision-based 3D hand pose reconstruction

In this work we propose, for the first time, to improve the performance of a Hand Pose Reconstruction (HPR) technique from RGBD camera data, which is affected by self-occlusions, leveraging upon postural synergy information, i.e., a priori information on how human most commonly use and shape their hands in everyday life tasks. More specifically, in our approach, we ignore joint angle values estimated with low confidence through a vision-based HPR technique and fuse synergistic information with such incomplete measures. Preliminary experiments are reported showing the effectiveness of the proposed integration

Loss-of-function mutations in the CABLES1 gene are a novel cause of Cushing's disease.

The CABLES1 cell cycle regulator participates in the adrenal-pituitary negative feedback, and its expression is reduced in corticotropinomas, pituitary tumors with a largely unexplained genetic basis. We investigated the presence of CABLES1 mutations/copy number variations (CNVs) and their associated clinical, histopathological and molecular features in patients with Cushing's disease (CD). Samples from 146 pediatric (118 germline DNA only/28 germline and tumor DNA) and 35 adult (tumor DNA) CD patients were screened for CABLES1 mutations. CNVs were assessed in 116 pediatric CD patients (87 germline DNA only/29 germline and tumor DNA). Four potentially pathogenic missense variants in CABLES1 were identified, two in young adults (c.532G > A, p.E178K and c.718C > T, p.L240F) and two in children (c.935G > A, p.G312D and c.1388A > G, and p.D463G) with CD; no CNVs were found. The four variants affected residues within or close to the predicted cyclin-dependent kinase-3 (CDK3)-binding region of the CABLES1 protein and impaired its ability to block cell growth in a mouse corticotropinoma cell line (AtT20/D16v-F2). The four patients had macroadenomas. We provide evidence for a role of CABLES1 as a novel pituitary tumor-predisposing gene. Its function might link two of the main molecular mechanisms altered in corticotropinomas: the cyclin-dependent kinase/cyclin group of cell cycle regulators and the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway. Further studies are needed to assess the prevalence of CABLES1 mutations among patients with other types of pituitary adenomas and to elucidate the pituitary-specific functions of this gene

The Safety and Immunogenicity of GTU®MultiHIV DNA Vaccine Delivered by Transcutaneous and Intramuscular Injection With or Without Electroporation in HIV-1 Positive Subjects on Suppressive ART

International audiencePrevious studies have shown targeting different tissues via the transcutaneous (TC) and intramuscular injection (IM) with or without electroporation (EP) has the potential to trigger immune responses to DNA vaccination. The CUTHIVTHER 001 Phase I/II randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to determine whether the mode of DNA vaccination delivery (TC+IM or EP+IM) could influence the quality and function of induced cellular immune responses compared to placebo, in an HIV positive clade B cohort on antiretroviral therapy (ART). The GTU®MultiHIV B DNA vaccine DNA vaccine encoded a MultiHIV B clade fusion protein to target the cellular response. Overall the vaccine and regimens were safe and well-tolerated. There were robust pre-vaccination IFN-γ responses with no measurable change following vaccination compared to placebo. However, modest intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) responses were seen in the TC+IM group. A high proportion of individuals demonstrated potent viral inhibition at baseline that was not improved by vaccination. These results show that HIV positive subjects with nadir CD4+ counts ≥250 on suppressive ART display potent levels of cellular immunity and viral inhibition, and that DNA vaccination alone is insufficient to improve such responses. These data suggest that more potent prime-boost vaccination strategies are likely needed to improve pre-existing responses in similar HIV-1 cohorts (This study has been registered at http://ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT02457689)

Application of 3D QSAR CoMFA/CoMSIA and in silico docking studies on novel renin inhibitors against cardiovascular diseases

For the first time, a set of renin inhibitors were subjected to the 3D QSAR/CoMFA and CoMSIA studies. The utility of renin inhibitors in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases has not been fully explored yet. At the moment, aliskiren is the first and only existing renin inhibitor in the drug market. The performed 3D QSAR/CoMFA and CoMSIA in combination with docking studies included aliskiren and 37 derivatives possessing a wide variety of bioactivity. The obtained results may aid in the design of novel bioactive renin inhibitors

Using the Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIR-GAS) to identify caregiver – infant/toddler dyads with abusive relationship patterns in six European countries:Identify Abusive Relationships With the PIR-GAS

The study examined whether the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, Revised Edition (DC: 0-3R; ZERO TO THREE, 2005) Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIR-GAS) is applicable to six European countries and contributes to the identification of caregiver-infant/toddler dyads with abusive relationship patterns. The sample consisted of 115 dyads with children's ages ranging from 1 to 47 months. Sixty-four dyads were recruited from community settings without known violence problems, and 51 dyads were recruited from clinical settings and already had been identified with violence problems or as being at risk for violence problems. To classify the dyads on the PIR-GAS categories, caregiver-child interactions were video-recorded and coded with observational scales appropriate for child age. To test whether the PIR-GAS allows for reliable identification of dyads with abusive relationship patterns, PIR-GAS ratings were compared with scores on the the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect's (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool-Parental Version (ICAST-P; D.K. Runyan etal., ), a questionnaire measuring abusive parental disciplinary practices. It was found that PIR-GAS ratings differentiated between the general and the clinical sample, and the dyads with abusive patterns of relationship were identified by both the PIR-GAS and the ICAST-P. Interrater reliability for the PIR-GAS ranged from moderate to excellent. The value of a broader use of tools such as the DC: 0-3R to promote early identification of families at risk for infant and toddler abuse and neglect is discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio