The 2013 European Seismic Hazard Model: key components and results

The 2013 European Seismic Hazard Model (ESHM13) results from a community-based probabilistic seismic hazard assessment supported by the EU-FP7 project “Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe” (SHARE, 2009–2013). The ESHM13 is a consistent seismic hazard model for Europe and Turkey which overcomes the limitation of national borders and includes a through quantification of the uncertainties. It is the first completed regional effort contributing to the “Global Earthquake Model” initiative. It might serve as a reference model for various applications, from earthquake preparedness to earthquake risk mitigation strategies, including the update of the European seismic regulations for building design (Eurocode 8), and thus it is useful for future safety assessment and improvement of private and public buildings. Although its results constitute a reference for Europe, they do not replace the existing national design regulations that are in place for seismic design and construction of buildings. The ESHM13 represents a significant improvement compared to previous efforts as it is based on (1) the compilation of updated and harmonised versions of the databases required for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, (2) the adoption of standard procedures and robust methods, especially for expert elicitation and consensus building among hundreds of European experts, (3) the multi-disciplinary input from all branches of earthquake science and engineering, (4) the direct involvement of the CEN/TC250/SC8 committee in defining output specifications relevant for Eurocode 8 and (5) the accounting for epistemic uncertainties of model components and hazard results. Furthermore, enormous effort was devoted to transparently document and ensure open availability of all data, results and methods through the European Facility for Earthquake Hazard and Risk (www.​efehr.​org)

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Genomic basis for RNA alterations in cancer

Transcript alterations often result from somatic changes in cancer genomes1. Various forms of RNA alterations have been described in cancer, including overexpression2, altered splicing3 and gene fusions4; however, it is difficult to attribute these to underlying genomic changes owing to heterogeneity among patients and tumour types, and the relatively small cohorts of patients for whom samples have been analysed by both transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing. Here we present, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive catalogue of cancer-associated gene alterations to date, obtained by characterizing tumour transcriptomes from 1,188 donors of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)5. Using matched whole-genome sequencing data, we associated several categories of RNA alterations with germline and somatic DNA alterations, and identified probable genetic mechanisms. Somatic copy-number alterations were the major drivers of variations in total gene and allele-specific expression. We identified 649 associations of somatic single-nucleotide variants with gene expression in cis, of which 68.4% involved associations with flanking non-coding regions of the gene. We found 1,900 splicing alterations associated with somatic mutations, including the formation of exons within introns in proximity to Alu elements. In addition, 82% of gene fusions were associated with structural variants, including 75 of a new class, termed ‘bridged’ fusions, in which a third genomic location bridges two genes. We observed transcriptomic alteration signatures that differ between cancer types and have associations with variations in DNA mutational signatures. This compendium of RNA alterations in the genomic context provides a rich resource for identifying genes and mechanisms that are functionally implicated in cancer

Measurement and Image Processing Evaluation of Surface Modifications of Dental Implants G4 Pure Titanium Created by Different Techniques

Foreign substances and organic tissue interaction placed into the jaw in order to eliminate tooth loss involves a highly complex process. Many biological reactions take place as well as the biomechanical forces that influence this formation. Osseointegration denotes to the direct structural and functional association between the living bone and the load-bearing artificial implant's surface. Taking into consideration of the requirements in the manufacturing processes of the implants, surface characterizations with high precise measurement techniques are investigated and thus long-term success of dental implant is emphasized on the importance of these processes in this study. In this research, the detailed surface characterization was performed to identify the dependence of the manufacturing techniques on the surface properties by using the image processing methods and using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) for morphological properties in 3D and Taylor Hobson stylus profilometer for roughness properties in 2D. Three implant surfaces fabricated by different manufacturing techniques were inspected, and a machined surface was included into the study as a reference specimen. The results indicated that different surface treatments were strongly influenced surface morphology. Thus 2D and 3D precise inspection techniques were highlighted on the importance for surface characterization. Different image analyses techniques such as Dark-light technique were used to verify the surface measurement results. The computational phase was performed using image processing toolbox in Matlab with precise evaluation of the roughness for the implant surfaces. The relationship between the number of black and white pixels and surface roughness is presented. FFT image processing and analyses results explicitly imply that the technique is useful in the determination of surface roughness. The results showed that the number of black pixels in the image increases with increase in surface roughness

Surface characterization by accurate measurement and image processing systems on machined surfaces of precision cutting tools

High precise measurement techniques and surface structure analysis are required in advanced fields of interchangeable manufacturing and precision engineering. This study presents the characterization of the surface roughness of the machined milling cutters by experimental precision measurements and the image processing tool. The data obtained are compared to assess the surface characterization parameters and computational data in terms of precision, accuracy, sensitivity, repeatability and resolution. In the experimental measurement phase, the roughness measurements and surface topography characterization were performed in the nanotechnology laboratory using the stylus profilometry and digital microscopy. The computational phase was performed using an image processing toolbox with precise evaluation of the roughness for the machined metal surfaces of the end mill cutting tool. The surface parameter database is established exhibiting an advantage over the traditional method. This study reveals a comparison methodology of the end mill surface parameters using both stylus readings and image processing software for widely used end mill cutting tools that have considerable effect on characterization of sensitive manufacturing surface of millings

Novel developments in dimensional nanometrology in the context of Geometrical Product Specifications and Verification (GPS)

Adequate knowledge in the areas of intelligent coordinate metrology and design are important presuppositions to achieve waste free production and low costs of manufacturing with higher quality and accuracy at the same time. This is of extreme importance in present time of worldwide international competition in industry and production and at the same time increasingly higher costs of energy and raw material. The prescription and consumption of material and energy to achieve the necessary and required workpiece accuracy in series manufacturing depends to a great extent from the (geometrical) workpiece tolerances of any kind (roughness, form, positional, dimensional) which are prescribed for the production and the fulfillment of these tolerances and therefore for the function of the produced workpieces and their fitness for practical application and none the less of the economy of production altogether. This requirement is of great importance at the time being which is characterized as described above

In Search of the Predecessors of the 2011 Van (Turkey) earthquake

[The Mw 7.2 earthquake of 23 October 2011 struck an area of Eastern Anatolia with a long historical record and a long earthquake history. The earthquake occurred in a region of rather complex tectonics resulting from the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian continental plates. The 23 October 2011 earthquake caused heavy damage to Van and several towns and villages around Lake Van, in the districts of Van and Ercis. It was followed by several aftershocks and another strong event (Mw 5.7) that occurred on 9 November 2011, causing further damage and casualties. Though the seismicity of the area is described by some regional parametric earthquake catalogs and has been the subject of several studies, no earthquake with a magnitude equivalent to the 2011 one is reported by the catalog in the area of the 2011 earthquake; so, apparently, there are no predecessors of this earthquake. However, two questions arise: a) could some events located close to Van have been underestimated or mislocated, as frequently happens with poorly known events?, and b) are there gaps in the earthquake history of the Van region? As for the first question, we have not found earthquakes which could, in principle, be underestimated and/or mislocated by the catalog and that could be re-located in the area of the October 2011 earthquake with a comparable magnitude. The earthquake history shows gaps between 1275 and 1646, and later between 1715 and 1834, gaps which have further investigated on the occasion of the preparation of this paper. In conclusion, nothing can be said about earthquakes in the time-window before 1646 in the region east of Lake Van. After that year, no prominent candidate earthquake appears as a possible twin of the 23 October 2011 event.