GLOSI taxonomy: A tool for ‘seismic risk assessment’ oriented classification of school buildings

For the seismic vulnerability and risk assessment of school infrastructure in a region, it becomes necessary first to identify and classify these constructions into a distinct number of structural typologies characterised by their vulnerability features. This enables us to rank the expected vulnerability of different typologies at the initial screening stage as well as to characterise the representative index buildings of different typologies for detailed vulnerability quantification. Currently, a systematic and comprehensive taxonomy tailored for the school buildings is not available. The present paper thus develops a globally applicable structural taxonomy to be used in the seismic risk assessment of school infrastructure within the framework of the Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS) of the World Bank. Application as well as verification of the proposed taxonomy is tested to a range of school construction types from different countries across the world

Manganese oxides as biominerals in a granitic subterranean environment

Black coatings were detected on granite surfaces in groundwater catch work tunnels from Porto city (NW Portugal). XRD, FTIR, Micro-Raman, ICP-MS, TEM-EDS, SEM-EDS and SEM-FIB were the analytical procedures carried out to investigate the origin of the black coatings. In this subterranean environment, the enrichment in metals and other trace elements, such as Mn and Fe, and clay minerals characterize the black microbial mats, mainly composed of Mn/Fe-oxidising bacteria.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Genome-wide and protein kinase-focused RNAi screens reveal conserved and novel damage response pathways in Trypanosoma brucei

All cells are subject to structural damage that must be addressed for continued growth. A wide range of damage affects the genome, meaning multiple pathways have evolved to repair or bypass the resulting DNA lesions. Though many repair pathways are conserved, their presence or function can reflect the life style of individual organisms. To identify genome maintenance pathways in a divergent eukaryote and important parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, we performed RNAi screens to identify genes important for survival following exposure to the alkylating agent methyl methanesulphonate. Amongst a cohort of broadly conserved and, therefore, early evolved repair pathways, we reveal multiple activities not so far examined functionally in T. brucei, including DNA polymerases, DNA helicases and chromatin factors. In addition, the screens reveal Trypanosoma- or kinetoplastid-specific repair-associated activities. We also provide focused analyses of repair-associated protein kinases and show that loss of at least nine, and potentially as many as 30 protein kinases, including a nuclear aurora kinase, sensitises T. brucei to alkylation damage. Our results demonstrate the potential for synthetic lethal genome-wide screening of gene function in T. brucei and provide an evolutionary perspective on the repair pathways that underpin effective responses to damage, with particular relevance for related kinetoplastid pathogens. By revealing that a large number of diverse T. brucei protein kinases act in the response to damage, we expand the range of eukaryotic signalling factors implicated in genome maintenance activities

Epidemiología de la infección y detección de tipos oncogénicos del VPH por captura de híbridos en mujeres sin factores de riesgo aparentes

Objective. To determine prevalence of infection by human papilloma virus (HPV),in female population, with no apparent risk factors, who spontaneously undergo the Papanicolaou test at the Hospital Universitario Dr. José E. González during the 2006-2010 period. Materials and methods. An observational, cross-sectional, prospective, analytic, comparative study in 361 patients who spontaneously requested a vaginal cytology test. Results. A total of 361 women were studied from which 18 (5%) were taken out since their sample was not enough, thereby resulting in a final significant sample of 343 patients. The study showed infection by HPV in 51 patients (14,9%); there was higher prevalence in the positive divorced group (11,8%); with respect to the negative divorced group 3,1% (p=0.0152). It was established a significant correlation (p=0,001) between the number of sexual partners and the test positivity (Rho=0,175), as well as a significant association between being divorced and being positive (p=0,0152, X2=5,888). Discussion. Normal gynecological examination does not rule out the presence of VPH. Likewise, a normal vaginal cytology report or with non-specific inflammatory changes does not allow to conclude the absence of HPV, so that early detection of infection by HPV, calls for molecular methods of diagnosis. It can be concluded that by using traditional methods of diagnosis it is not possible to detect all HPV-infected patients and it would be desirable to perform molecular tests for infection diagnosis.Objetivo. Determinar la prevalencia de infección por el virus del papiloma humano (VPH) en la población femenina, sin aparentes factores de riesgo, que espontáneamente acude a realizarse la prueba de Papanicolaou en el Hospital Universitario Dr. José E. González durante el periodo 2006 - 2010. Material y métodos. Se realizó un estudio observacional, transversal, prospectivo, analítico comparativo en 361 pacientes, las cuales espontáneamente solicitaron una prueba de citología vaginal. Resultados: Se estudiaron un total de 361 mujeres, de las cuales se eliminaron 18 (5%) por no haberse obtenido muestra suficiente, quedando una muestra final significativa de 343 pacientes, demostrando infección por VPH de cualquier tipo en 51 pacientes (14,9%), se observó mayor prevalencia en el grupo de divorciadas positivas (11,8%), con respecto al de divorciadas negativas del 3,1%, (p=0,0152), se estableció una correlación significativa (p=0,001) entre el número de parejas sexuales y la positividad de la prueba (Rho=0,175), así como una asociación significativa entre la característica de ser divorciada y ser positiva (p=0,0152, X2=5,888). Discusión. La exploración ginecológica normal no descarta la presencia de VPH e igualmente, una citología normal o con cambios inflamatorios inespecíficos, tampoco permite concluir la ausencia de VPH, de tal manera que la detección temprana de infección por VPH requiere métodos moleculares de diagnóstico. Podemos concluir que con los métodos tradicionales de diagnóstico, no es posible detectar todas las pacientes infectadas con VPH, por lo cual sería deseable practicar pruebas moleculares para diagnóstico de la infección

Systematic method for morphological reconstruction of the semicircular canals using a fully automatic skeletonization process

We present a novel method to characterize the morphology of semicircular canals of the inner ear. Previous experimental works have a common nexus, the human-operator subjectivity. Although these methods are mostly automatic, they rely on a human decision to determine some particular anatomical positions. We implement a systematic analysis where there is no human subjectivity. Our approach is based on a specific magnetic resonance study done in a group of 20 volunteers. From the raw data, the proposed method defines the centerline of all three semicircular canals through a skeletonization process and computes the angle of the functional pair and other geometrical parameters. This approach allows us to assess the inter-operator effect on other methods. From our results, we conclude that, although an average geometry can be defined, the inner ear anatomy cannot be reduced to a single geometry as seen in previous experimental works. We observed a relevant variability of the geometrical parameters in our cohort of volunteers that hinders this usual simplification