2012 Emilia earthquake, Italy:reinforced concrete buildings response

Data of the Italian National Institute of Statistics are collected aimed at characterizing Reinforced Concrete (RC) building stock of the area struck by the 2012 Emilia earthquake (number of storeys, age of construction, structural typology). Damage observations, collected right after the event in reconnaissance reports, are shown and analyzed emphasizing typical weaknesses of RC buildings in the area. The evolution of seismic classification for Emilia region and RC buildings??? main characteristics represent the input data for the assessment of non-structural damage of infilled RC buildings, through a simplified approach (FAST method), based on EMS-98 damage scale. Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) capacities for the first three damage states of EMS-98 are compared with registered PGA in the epicentral area. Observed damage and damage states evaluated for the PGA of the event, in the epicentral area, are finally compared. The comparison led to a fair agreement between observed and numerical data

Staff time and costs for anemia management with erythropoietic stimulating agents in patients on hemodialysis: Case study of a Brazilian dialysis center

Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilRoche Brazil, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Feulgen-DNA Content and C-Banding of Robertsonian Transformed Karyotypes in Dugesia Lugubris

SUMMARYIn the planarian species, Dugesia lugubris, two biotypes are found: E (2n = 8, n = 4) and F (2n = 6, n = 3); on the basis of karyometric studies it has been hypothesized that the second was derived from the first through a Robert-sonian mechanism of centric fusion. The quantitative cytochemical data reported here confirm the hypothesis of karyotype evolution, since there are no significant differences between the DNA content of the nucleus in the two biotypes. The regenerative blastemas of both biotypes contain a number of cellular populations with a variable Feulgen-DNA content; these correspond to successive doublings of the 2C diploid content. In addition, metaphase plates with multistranded chromosomes have been found. A difference between the chromosome C-banding in the two biotypes has also been observed

Experimental investigation on the influence of the aspect ratio on the in-plane/out-of-plane interaction for masonry infills in RC frames

Abstract The analysis of the behaviour of masonry infills under out-of-plane (OOP) and in-plane (IP) loading is paramount to correctly assess the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) frames. A very important issue about this topic is certainly the IP/OOP interaction, namely the analysis of how the IP damage, which affects infills during earthquakes, can influence their OOP behaviour (and vice-versa). Some studies about this topic were developed in the last years; nevertheless, only a dozen of tests currently exists in the literature to experimentally explore this key issue. This work first presents an experimental campaign carried out on square infill walls in RC frames to investigate about the OOP behaviour of the masonry infills, and about the IP/OOP interaction. On the whole, four specimens have been tested under OOP monotonic loading. Three of them have been first damaged under cyclic IP actions, with different extent; the remaining one, used as a reference, was tested under OOP loading only. The experimental campaign is described in detail in terms of specimens' characteristics, material properties, adopted setup and instrumentation layout. The experimental results are analysed in terms of IP and OOP force-displacement responses, vertical arch strength contribution evolutions, and damage state evolutions, and compared with prediction proposals from the literature. Then, the influence of the infill aspect ratio (width (w)-to-height (h) ratio) on the IP/OOP interaction is investigated by means of the comparison between data presented herein (collected on infills with w/h = 1) and a companion experimental campaign previously performed on nominally identical infills except that for the aspect ratio of the specimens (in that case, higher than the unit). It has been observed that under given IP drift levels, square infills presented lower IP damage levels with respect to rectangular infills (with w/h > 1), thus generally producing a less pronounced detrimental effect of the IP imposed drift on the OOP strength. Nevertheless, none of the predictions from literature takes into account the role of the aspect ratio on the IP/OOP interaction, generally resulting in conservative predictions, to be improved in future works

Obesity and common pathways of cancer and cardiovascular disease

Abstract Obesity is constantly increasing worldwide due to the progressive globalization of sedentary lifestyle and diet rich in lipids and processed food. Cardiovascular complications and cancer are the two most fearsome long-term sequelae of obesity that justify the recent definition of this threaten as 'obesity epidemic'. Shared biological pathways can be recognized for obesity-induced cardiovascular and oncological complications that might prompt targeted interventions with potentially double beneficial effect. The present review aims at summarizing main common biological pathways linking obesity with cardiovascular diseases and cancer in order to provide a research framework within which therapeutic strategies might have at the same time cardiovascular-protective and cancer-preventive effects

Experimental analysis of Textile Reinforced Mortars strengthening strategies against the out-of-plane collapse of masonry infill walls

Out-of-plane (OOP) collapse of masonry infill panels in existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings due to seismic events is a key issue for life safety and seismic economic loss estimation. Few studies in the literature deal with this topic and, above all, with possible strengthening strategies against the OOP collapse. This work presents the main results of an experimental campaign about different strengthening solutions to mitigate the OOP collapse of masonry infills in RC buildings. The investigated strengthening techniques were based on the application of a thin mortar plaster and fiber-reinforced polymer nets with different connection typologies with the surrounding RC frame. The specimens were realized with traditional horizontal hollow clay bricks and were tested through the application of a semi-cyclic OOP displacement pattern by means of uniformly distributed small pneumatic jacks. Tests data and results are presented and commented in terms of OOP force-displacement responses and damage evolution. Details about the effectiveness of each retrofitting solution are provided and compared to support the selection of the best strategy for future applications