Sismicitat i zonació

Algunes tècniques per a l'estudi de la sismicita

La sismicidad en Cataluña

A partir de l'any 1985, el Servei Geològic del Departament de Política Territorial i Obres Públiques de la Generalitat de Catalunya comença la instal·lació d'una nova xarxa de sismògrafs que permet assolir un coneixement més fiable i detallat de l'activitat sísmica a Catalunya. A l'article s'exposa aquesta tasca, a més d'explicar els fenòmens dels terratrèmols i relatar la història sísmica de Catalunya.In 1985 the Geological Service (Department of Regional Planning and Public Works, Generalitat of Catalonia) started to install a new sismograph network which permits to achieve a more realiable and detailed knowledge of seismic activity in Catalonia. Also this article explains what the earthquakers are and the seismic history of Catalonia.A partir del año 1985, el Servicio Geológico del Departamento de Política Territorial y Obras Públicas de la Generalitat de Cataluña comienza la instalación de una nueva red de sismógrafos que permite conseguir un conocimiento más fiable y detallado de la actividad sísmica en Cataluña. en el artículo se expone este trabajo, además de explicar los fenómenos de los terremotos y relatar la historia sísmica de Cataluña

Seismic Ambient Noise Characterization of a New Permanent Broadband Ocean Bottom Seismometer Site offshore Catalonia (Northeastern Iberian Peninsula)

10 pagesThe scientific importance of long-term ocean-floor seismic observatories has been widely and internationally recognized by earth science communities. In addition to their usefulness in investigating global-scale geophysical processes, long-term ocean-floor observations are also required to better constrain regional tectonics. However, the implementation of ocean-floor seismic stations is a difficult task, and efforts have been made for more than two decades to resolve the technological and logistical issues associated with such deployments (Romanowicz et al. 2009; Suyehiro et al. 2006). Different programs in the United States and Canada (e.g., NEPTUNE Project, http://www.neptune.washington.edu), Japan (e.g....Peer reviewe

Obsea's seismic station joins the IGC network

Peer Reviewe

OBSEA’s seismic station joins the IGC network

A cabled system for collecting real-time seismic data has been developed and was deployed in spring of 2011. Nowadays (2013) this seismic station is being part of the Catalan Seismic Network managed by the IGC (Institut Geològic de Catalunya). The seismic system is part of Western Mediterranean Cabled Observatory, OBSEA (www.obsea.es). A key component in this cabled system is the use of IEEE 1588 standard that serves as a clock synchronization mechanism for the seismometer with Universal Time Coordinates (UTC) clock. This paper presents the seismic measurements results of the broadband seismometer. The seismic data are time stamped using a UTC clock which is traceable to within the desired level of precision of sub milliseconds through IEEE 1588 protocol.Peer Reviewe

Global Population Structure of the Genes Encoding the Malaria Vaccine Candidate, Plasmodium vivax Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (PvAMA1)

Background:The Plasmodium vivax Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (PvAMA1) is a promising malaria vaccine candidate, however it remains unclear which regions are naturally targeted by host immunity and whether its high genetic diversity will preclude coverage by a monovalent vaccine. To assess its feasibility as a vaccine candidate, we investigated the global population structure of PvAMA1.Methodology and Principal Findings:New sequences from Papua New Guinea (PNG, n = 102) were analysed together with published sequences from Thailand (n = 158), India (n = 8), Sri Lanka (n = 23), Venezuela (n = 74) and a collection of isolates from disparate geographic locations (n = 8). A total of 92 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified including 22 synonymous SNPs and 70 non-synonymous (NS) SNPs. Polymorphisms and signatures of balancing (positive Tajima's D and low FST values) selection were predominantly clustered in domain I, suggesting it is a dominant target of protective immune responses. To estimate global antigenic diversity, haplotypes comprised of (i) non-singleton (n = 40) and (ii) common (=10% minor allele frequency, n = 23) polymorphic amino acid sites were then analysed revealing a total of 219 and 210 distinct haplotypes, respectively. Although highly diverse, the 210 haplotypes comprised of only common polymorphisms were grouped into eleven clusters, however substantial geographic differentiation was observed, and this may have implications for the efficacy of PvAMA1 vaccines in different malaria-endemic areas. The PNG haplotypes form a distinct group of clusters not found in any other geographic region. Vaccine haplotypes were rare and geographically restricted, suggesting potentially poor efficacy of candidate PvAMA1 vaccines.Conclusions:It may be possible to cover the existing global PvAMA1 diversity by selection of diverse alleles based on these analyses however it will be important to first define the relationships between the genetic and antigenic diversity of this molecule. © 2013 Arnott et al

100,000 Genomes Pilot on Rare-Disease Diagnosis in Health Care - Preliminary Report.

BACKGROUND: The U.K. 100,000 Genomes Project is in the process of investigating the role of genome sequencing in patients with undiagnosed rare diseases after usual care and the alignment of this research with health care implementation in the U.K. National Health Service. Other parts of this project focus on patients with cancer and infection. METHODS: We conducted a pilot study involving 4660 participants from 2183 families, among whom 161 disorders covering a broad spectrum of rare diseases were present. We collected data on clinical features with the use of Human Phenotype Ontology terms, undertook genome sequencing, applied automated variant prioritization on the basis of applied virtual gene panels and phenotypes, and identified novel pathogenic variants through research analysis. RESULTS: Diagnostic yields varied among family structures and were highest in family trios (both parents and a proband) and families with larger pedigrees. Diagnostic yields were much higher for disorders likely to have a monogenic cause (35%) than for disorders likely to have a complex cause (11%). Diagnostic yields for intellectual disability, hearing disorders, and vision disorders ranged from 40 to 55%. We made genetic diagnoses in 25% of the probands. A total of 14% of the diagnoses were made by means of the combination of research and automated approaches, which was critical for cases in which we found etiologic noncoding, structural, and mitochondrial genome variants and coding variants poorly covered by exome sequencing. Cohortwide burden testing across 57,000 genomes enabled the discovery of three new disease genes and 19 new associations. Of the genetic diagnoses that we made, 25% had immediate ramifications for clinical decision making for the patients or their relatives. CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study of genome sequencing in a national health care system showed an increase in diagnostic yield across a range of rare diseases. (Funded by the National Institute for Health Research and others.)