Novel educational assessment for building structures: Automatic evaluation of on-line graphics

This article presents a new automatic evaluation for on-line graphics, its application and the numerous advantages achieved applying this developed correcting method. The software application developed by the Innovation in Education Group “E4”, from the Technical University of Madrid, is oriented for the online self-assessment of the graphic drawings that students carry out as continuous training. The adaptation to the European Higher Educational Area is an important opportunity to research about the possibilities of on-line education assessment. In this way, a new software tool has been developed for continuous self-testing by undergraduates. Using this software it is possible to evaluate the graphical answer of the students. Thus, the drawings made on-line by students are automatically corrected according to the geometry (straight lines, sloping lines or second order curves) and by sizes (depending on the specific values which define the graphics)

Sliding collapse in masonry structures : experimental tests

Congreso celebrado en la Escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Sevilla desde el 24 hasta el 26 de junio de 2015.Thirty-three static load tests were carried out in dry masonry walls. These walls have been subjected to their self-weight and to a horizontal load to promote a sliding failure between the blocks. The point of application of the load has been unchanged. All the walls have been constructed with the same ninety eight blocks. The disposition of the blocks have been done randomly in each of the walls to place the imperfections randomly too. The two objectives of this work have been: firstly, to obtain plenty of sliding tests which could enable to form a statistical judgment of the results, and secondly, to compare them with the results from several numerical methods commonly used, especially with the non Standard Limit Analysis (nSLA) ones

Fracture test of a Gothic ribbed vault

A Gothic ribbed vault has been built at the School of Architecture of Madrid in order to investigate the construction complexities of this kind of vaults. The ribbed vault is described in the manuscript of Alonso de Vandelvira, and its shape was reconstructed making using the drawings this architect from the 16th century. The fracture test was carried on by loading the central keystone of the vault until its collapse took place. The experiment was filmed and by doing so, it was possible to observe the failure mechanism of the vault. At the same time, it was interesting to compare this collapse experience with the results obtained using two different me-thods. First, a stability calculation was carried out through graphic statics, and secondly a calcu-lation was performed using the rigid-block analysis method. The focus of this paper is to show and analyze the results of both studies

CYCLONE Unified Deployment and Management of Federated, Multi-Cloud Applications

Various Cloud layers have to work in concert in order to manage and deploy complex multi-cloud applications, executing sophisticated workflows for Cloud resource deployment, activation, adjustment, interaction, and monitoring. While there are ample solutions for managing individual Cloud aspects (e.g. network controllers, deployment tools, and application security software), there are no well-integrated suites for managing an entire multi cloud environment with multiple providers and deployment models. This paper presents the CYCLONE architecture that integrates a number of existing solutions to create an open, unified, holistic Cloud management platform for multi-cloud applications, tailored to the needs of research organizations and SMEs. It discusses major challenges in providing a network and security infrastructure for the Intercloud and concludes with the demonstration how the architecture is implemented in a real life bioinformatics use case

Estimación extremo a extremo de ancho de banda disponible para redes de alta capacidad: implementación y evaluación de herramientas

El desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías de red y servicios cada vez más personalizados, conlleva una serie de requerimientos que hacen que el sobre-dimensionamiento de recursos de red no sea la mejor solución en situaciones de congestión o falta de recursos. Una posible alternativa, consiste en realizar una adecuada gestión de los parámetros de calidad de servicio (Quality of Service, QoS) a través de una estimación de los mismos y una posterior actuación en función del estado de la red y de las necesidades particulares de cada servicio. Uno de los parámetros de mayor relevancia es el ancho de banda disponible (Available Bandwidth, ABW). Si bien existen otros parámetros (e.g. retardo extremo a extremo, tasa de pérdidas) así mismo importantes, el ABW es fundamental especialmente en el actual panorama de servicios multimedia, los cuales precisan mayor eficiencia y flexibilidad en su provisión. Las técnicas de estimación de ABW constituyen una herramienta fundamental en la gestión de recursos en tiempo real, en el control de flujo y control de congestión, o también en la detección de errores de red y técnicas de control de admisión. Sin embargo, las técnicas de estimación de ABW presentan cierto escepticismo sobre la idoneidad de las mismas en la obtención de medidas en términos de precisión, escalabilidad e intrusividad en el sistema, especialmente en redes con enlaces de alta capacidad. El TFM “Estimación extremo a extremo de ancho de banda disponible para redes de alta capacidad: implementación y evaluación de herramientas” plantea en un entorno de simulación, la implementación de una herramienta de estimación de ABW, activa, extremo a extremo y que permita al estado de congestión de la red, manteniendo un compromiso entre la precisión, la intrusividad y la complejidad de las estimaciones. El TFM se desarrolla en el marco del proyecto RUBENS [EU-3187 CP5-020]en el que el Grupo de Tecnologías de las Comunicaciones (GTC) de la Universidad de Zaragoza, es partícipe de diversas tareas, entre ellas, la propuesta de una herramienta de estimación de ABW extremo a extremo

Search for Mutations in a Segment of the Exon 28 of the Human Von Willebrand Factor Gene. New Mutations, R1315C and R1341W, Associated with Type 2M and 2B Variants

[EN] von Willebrand Disease (vWD) is the most frequently inherited bleeding disorder in humans, and is caused by a qualitative and/or quantitative abnormality of the von Willebrand factor (vWF), A large number of defects that cause qualitative variants have been located in the Al domain of the vWF, which contains sites for interaction with platelet glycoprotein Ib (GPIb). We have developed a new approach to detect mutations based on Ddel digestion and single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. A segment of 487 nucleotides, extending from intron 27 to codon 1368 of the pre-pro vWF was amplified from genomic DNA, The cleavage with Ddel yields two fragments of appropriate size for this kind of analysis and confirms that the gene, rather than the pseudogene, is being investigated, Six families with type 2B vWD: one type 2M vWD family, and one another type 2A vWD family were studied. After sequencing the fragments with an altered electrophoretic pattern, we found four mutations previously described-R1308C, V1316M, P1337L, and R1306W-in patients with 2B vWD, The last one arose de novo in the patient. In addition, two new candidate mutations were observed: R1315C and R1341W. The first one was associated to type 2M vWD, whereas the one second cosegregated with type 2B vWD. The fact that these new mutations were not found in 100 normal alleles screened further supports their causal relationship with the disease, These mutations, which induce either a gain or a loss of function, further show an important regulatory role of this region in the binding of vWF to GPIb and its implications in causing disease.We wish to thank J.M. Montoro for performing multimeric assays and R. Curats for his technical assistance.Casaña, P.; Martínez, F.; Espinós-Armero, CÁ.; Haya, S.; Lorenzo, JI.; Aznar, JA. (1998). Search for Mutations in a Segment of the Exon 28 of the Human Von Willebrand Factor Gene. New Mutations, R1315C and R1341W, Associated with Type 2M and 2B Variants. American Journal of Hematology. 59(1):57-63. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1096-8652(199809)59:13.0.co;2-z576359

Q1311X: a novel nonsense mutation of putative ancient origin in the von Willebrand factor gene

[EN] Type 3 von Willebrand disease, a recessive autosomally inherited bleeding disorder, refers to complete deficiency of von Willebrand factor (VWF). The novel Q1311X mutation was detected in the homozygous state in four Spanish patients from two apparently unrelated families of gypsy origin. The lack of specific amplification of platelet VWF cDNA from two of the patients indicates reduced levels of mutated gene expression. The similar haplotype linked to mutated alleles suggests a common origin. On the basis of the two instabilities observed and the estimated mutation rate of the microsatellites of intron 40 of the VWF gene, we can estimate that this mutation could have arisen about 2300 years ago.We wish to thank J.M. Montoro and R. Curats for their technical assistance. This work was supported in part by F1S 99/0633.Casaña, P.; Martínez, F.; Haya, S.; Lorenzo, JI.; Espinós-Armero, CÁ.; Aznar, JA. (2000). Q1311X: a novel nonsense mutation of putative ancient origin in the von Willebrand factor gene. British Journal of Haematology. 111(2):552-555. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2141.2000.02410.x552555111

Routing cancer immunology and immunotherapy from the lab to the clinic 4-5 th March 2014, Center for Applied Medical Research and University Clinic, Pamplona, Spain

New approaches to generate effective anticancer responses by either inducing immune responses or inhibiting immunosuppression are under development to improve efficacy in patients. On March 4-5th, 2014, a symposium was held in Pamplona, Spain, to report the new strategies showing preclinical and clinical results regarding translational research efforts on the topic. Participants interacted through oral presentations of 15 speakers and further discussions on topics that included novel therapeutic agents for cancer immunotherapy, viral vectors and interferon-based approaches, experimental tumor imaging and immunostimulatory monoclonal antibodies. Promising agents to target cancer cells and therapeutic approaches that are under translation from bench to patients were presented

Conexión de forjados de hormigón a soportes metálicos

La conexión mediante pernos conectadores en las estructuras mixtas de hormigón y acero ha experimentado un avance notable en los últimos años, tanto desde el punto de vista de la investigación, como de la tecnología de los nuevos productos y su puesta en obra como de su aplicación de manera segura y económica en un número cada vez mayor de elementos estructurales. Este artículo resume un proyecto de investigación que pretende comprobar experimentalmente el funcionamiento de la conexión de un forjado de hormigón a un soporte metálico realizado mediante pernos conectadores. Esta tipología es habitual y está muy contrastada en la construcción de vigas mixtas, pero no así en los nudos

Ensayo no destructivo de soldaduras en pernos conectores mediante inspección acústica = Non-destructive assessment of welded headed studs by acoustic test

Los pernos conectores aportan múltiples ventajas de uso, entre las que se encuentra el elevado margen de seguridad que ofrecen sus soldaduras ejecutadas mediante arco eléctrico. Estas soldaduras, aunque ampliamente fiables, son difícilmente comprobadas mediante ensayos no destructivos. Aparte de la inspección visual, que aporta gran información sobre la calidad de ejecución de la soldadura, el resto de ensayos no destructivos (líquidos penetrantes, partículas magnéticas, ultrasonidos, radiografías, etc.) resultan inviables en estos elementos. Por otro lado, los ensayos acústicos de piezas metálicas han existido siempre. Su comprobación se basaba en el análisis por medio de ¿un oído fino¿ del sonido resultante tras ser golpeado el elemento a evaluar. Con estas premisas se plantea el presente estudio de inspección de las soldaduras en pernos conectores mediante su espectro acústico. Analíticamente, la investigación se ha centrado en el cálculo informático de los primeros modos propios de vibración mediante elementos finitos. Se han modelizado diferentes grados de penetración de la soldadura mediante la modificación de las condiciones de contorno. Se ha observado que variando el número de movimientos coaccionados en los nodos pertenecientes a la soldadura se produce una reducción en su frecuencia de vibración