Seismic retrofit of an existing RC building with isolation devices applied at base

Nowadays, seismic retrofit through isolation strategy represents a consolidated technique of protection against design earthquakes. This technique is also applied on existing structures extensively, due to the fact that it usually does not require any interruption of the building use and occupants evacuation. If applicable, it rapidly allows the seismically retrofitting of a building installed with seismic devices with low horizontal stiffness between the structure and the foundation decoupling, in fact, this allows the motion of the superstructure from the ground one. In this paper an application on an existing RC building of the seismic isolation is presented. The chosen building was built in the ‘90s only for vertical loads and realized without any detailing rule for structural ductility. The seismic retrofitting requirement stems from the fact that only recently, after the National seismic hazard maps update in 2003, the considered area has been upgraded to a medium-low seismic intensity zone, while at construction time no seismic classification was in existence by law. The case study peculiarity is that the seismic retrofitting has required an addition to seismic devices at the base, with related interventions such as the application of a bracing system consisting of two elastic steel frames. This intervention is required for stiffening the superstructure and, therefore, minimizing the higher vibration modes effects. The paper presents the main results obtained with a FEM model, implemented for simulating the initial and the design state when the interventions are considered. Finally, some results of non-linear dynamic time-history analyses are illustrated and commented for verifying superstructure elements and seismic devices

Rubric for Assessment of Your Marketing Plan for E-Resources

This rubric may be used for assessment of your own marketing plan for electronic resources. We offer you a PDF version (ready to print) and an Excel version (ready to customize)

A non-linear static approach for the prediction of earthquake-induced deformation of geotechnical systems

This paper illustrates an original and simple method to predict earthquake-induced deformations of geotechnical systems. The method is an extension of static non-linear analysis, and is conceived to predict the behaviour of geotechnical systems, like supported and unsupported excavations, that during the seismic motion accumulate displacements in a single direction. The seismic capacity of the system is described by its capacity curve, obtained either from a numerical push-over analysis or through a simplified procedure. The corresponding seismic demand is described by a combination of the elastic response spectrum, including basic information on the maximum amplitudes of the seismic motion, and a cyclic demand spectrum, that provides additional information about the equivalent number of cycles that contribute to the accumulation of displacements. In the paper, the method is described in detail and is validated through different procedures, namely: comparisons with experimental results obtained in the geotechnical centrifuge; comparison with results of advanced numerical analyses; extensive comparison, using a large database of seismic records, with the results of non-linear time-domain analyses. In its final part, the paper provides guidance for the practical use of the method for design

Analysis of labour risks in the Spanish industrial aerospace sector

Labour risk prevention is an activity integrated within Safety and Hygiene at Work in Spain. In 2003, the Electronic Declaration for Accidents at Work, Delt@ (DELTA) was introduced. The industrial aerospace sector is subject to various risks. Our objective is to analyse the Spanish Industrial Aerospace Sector (SIAS) using the ACSOM methodology to assess its labour risks and to prioritise preventive actions. The SIAS and the Services Subsector (SS) were created and the relevant accident rate data were obtained. The ACSOM method was applied through double contrast (deviation and translocation) of the SIAS or SS risk polygon with the considered pattern, accidents from all sectors (ACSOM G) or the SIAS. A list of risks was obtained, ordered by action phases. In the SIAS vs. ACSOM G analysis, radiation risks were the worst, followed by overstrains. Accidents caused by living beings were also significant in the SS vs. SIAE, which will be able to be used to improve Risk Prevention. Radiation is the most significant risk in the SIAS and the SS. Preventive actions will be primary and secondary. ACSOM has shown itself to be a valid tool for the analysis of labour risks

Surviving the Doctoral Dissertation Experience: The N.W. Sisters’ Study

The purpose of this year-long study was to examine and describe both the individual and shared experiences of a group of four women as they went through their Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program. The main research question was: What do you perceive as the factors that were integral to your achieving success in the doctoral program? Data from this qualitative case study were gathered through group interview sessions. Subsequent analysis of interview transcripts revealed the following factors that were integral to achieving success: sense of humor, family values, empathy, perseverance, spirituality, accountability to the group, collaboration, good advisors, ability to rebuild after setbacks, having role models, group support, and seeing the benefits of obtaining the doctorate. The goal of this study is to encourage other women to overcome the ABD (All But Dissertation) hurdle by giving them some tools to help complete the journey

Psychometric evaluation of the SF-36 (v.2) questionnaire in a probability sample of Brazilian households: results of the survey Pesquisa Dimensões Sociais das Desigualdades (PDSD), Brazil, 2008

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Brazil, despite the growing use of SF-36 in different research environments, most of the psychometric evaluation of the translated questionnaire was from studies with samples of patients. The purpose of this paper is to examine if the Brazilian version of SF-36 satisfies scaling assumptions, reliability and validity required for valid interpretation of the SF-36 summated ratings scales in the general population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12,423 individuals and their spouses living in 8,048 households were selected from a stratified sample of all permanent households along the country to be interviewed using the Brazilian SF-36 (version 2). Psychometric tests were performed to evaluate the scaling assumptions based on IQOLA methodology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data quality was satisfactory with questionnaire completion rate of 100%. The ordering of the item means within scales clustered as hypothesized. All item-scale correlations exceeded the suggested criteria for reliability with success rate of 100% and low floor and ceiling effects. All scales reached the criteria for group comparison and factor analysis identified two principal components that jointly accounted for 67.5% of the total variance. Role emotional and vitality were strongly correlated with physical and mental components, respectively, while social functioning was moderately correlated with both components. Role physical and mental health scales were, respectively, the most valid measures of the physical and mental health component. In the comparisons between groups that differed by the presence or absence of depression, subjects who reported having the disease had lower mean scores in all scales and mental health scale discriminated best between the two groups. Among those healthy and with one, two or three and more chronic illness, the average scores were inverted related to the number of diseases. Body pain, general health and vitality were the most discriminating scales between healthy and diseased groups. Higher scores were associated with individuals of male sex, age below 40 years old and high schooling.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Brazilian version of SF-36 performed well and the findings suggested that it is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among the general population as well as a promising measure for research on health inequalities in Brazil.</p

HIV-1 tat addresses dendritic cells to induce a predominant th1-type adaptive immune response that appears prevalent in the asymptomatic stage of infection

Tat is an early regulatory protein that plays a major role in human HIV-1 replication and AIDS pathogenesis, and therefore, it represents a key target for the host immune response. In natural infection, however, Abs against Tat are produced only by a small fraction (∼20%) of asymptomatic individuals and are rarely seen in progressors, suggesting that Tat may possess properties diverting the adaptive immunity from generating humoral responses. Here we show that a Th1-type T cell response against Tat is predominant over a Th2-type B cell response in natural HIV-1 infection. This is likely due to the capability of Tat to selectively target and very efficiently enter CD1a-expressing monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC), which represent a primary target for the recognition and response to virus Ag. Upon cellular uptake, Tat induces MDDC maturation and Th1-associated cytokines and β-chemokines production and polarizes the immune response in vitro to the Th1 pattern through the transcriptional activation of TNF-αgene expression. This requires the full conservation of Tat transactivation activity since neither MDDC maturation nor TNF-α production are found with either an oxidized Tat, which does not enter MDDC, or with a Tat protein mutated in the cysteine-rich region (cys22 Tat), which enters MDDC as the wild-type Tat but is transactivation silent. Consistently with these data, inoculation of monkeys with the native wild-type Tat induced a predominant Th1 response, whereas cys22 Tat generated mostly Th2 responses, therefore providing evidence that Tat induces a predominant Th1 polarized adaptive immune response in the host. Copyright © 2009 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc

Formation of dust in low-pressure magnetized hydrocarbon plasmas

The rapid formation of large molecules and the subsequent production of solid-state dust particles in a low-pressure discharge is unlikely, because of the low rates of the polymerization reactions and short lifetimes of the species. Here, we suggest that C dust particles can form in atypically low (10− 3 mbar)-pressure hydrocarbon plasmas if the dust charging time is much shorter than the gas residence time in the device; we present supporting experimental evidence for this. Such a condition can be obtained by the production of high-density plasmas. The results show that dust formation from the gaseous phase can occur in a much wider parameter range than is commonly assumed