Seismic retrofitting of RC frames with RC infilling

The effectiveness of seismic retrofitting of multi-storey multi-bay RC-frame buildings, by converting selected bays into new walls through infilling with RC, was studied experimentally at the ELSA facility at JRC, Ispra, and the results are reported here. The full-scale model tested with the pseudo-dynamic method consisted of two parallel frames, linked through 0.15m slabs, having three bays each (8.5m long), with the central bay (2.5m) infilled with RC wall, and being four storeys tall (12m). The frames were designed and detailed for gravity loads only and are typical of similar frames built in Cyprus in the 1970's. Different connection details and reinforcement percentages for the two infilled frames were used in order to study the effects of these parameters. The results of the pseudo-dynamic and cyclic testing performed are presented and conclusions are drawn

Recommendations for National Risk Assessment for Disaster Risk Management in EU

Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) calls Participating States to develop risk assessments periodically and make the summary of their National Risk Assessment (NRA) available to the European Commission as a way to prevent disaster risk in Europe. In order to facilitate countries on this task, the European Commission developed the Guidelines on risk assessment and mapping. In spite of these, the summaries received have revealed several challenges related to the process and the content of the assessments. The current report aims to provide scientific support to the UCPM participant countries in their development of NRA, explaining why and how a risk assessment could be carried out, how the results of this could be used for Disaster Risk Management planning and in general, how science can help civil protection authorities and staff from ministries and agencies engaged in NRA activities. The report is the result of the collaborative effort of the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre team and nine Joint Research Centre expert groups which provided their insight on tools and methods for specific risk assessment related to certain hazards and assets: drought, earthquakes, floods, terrorist attacks, biological disasters, critical infrastructures, chemical accidents, nuclear accidents and Natech accidents. The current document would be improved by a next version that would include scientific guidance on other risks and the collaboration of potential users.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Assessment of the seismic behaviour of a retrofitted old R.C. highway bridge through PsD testing

RETRO project aims at studying the seismic behaviour of existing reinforced concrete (RC) bridges and the effectiveness of innovative retrofitting systems. A typical as-built RC highway viaduct, which was designed primarily for gravity loads, has been analysed experimentally. The objective of the laboratory test program is twofold: 1) improve the knowledge of the non-linear behaviour of RC framed piers without seismic details and 2) assess the effectiveness of seismic isolation systems as structural mitigation measures. Two large scale framed piers with two and three storeys were re-designed and tested using the PsD method with hybrid (analytical and experimentally) simulation and sub-structuring technique. Two test configurations have been considered: 1) the as-built bridge and 2) the vi-aduct retrofitted by means of Friction Pendulm (FP) isolators. The seismic per-formance evaluation has been carried out at two limit states, i.e. at serviceability and ultimate limit state. The experimental tests stressed the high structural vulner-ability of the non-conforming viaduct caused by the extensive shear damage in the transverse beams and the fix-end rotation effects generated by the bond slip of plain steel bars in the columns embedded in the foundation. The effectiveness of the isolation system with FP devices was also demonstrated. Nevertheless, the friction of the FP devices is a critical response parameter which may vary signifi-cantly because of the pressure due to the vertical loads, strong motion velocity and temperature. The reliable evaluation of the friction parameter is of paramount im-portance to prevent the onset of damage within the framed piers

Assessment of the Seismic Behaviour of a Retrofitted Old R.C. Highway Bridge Through PsD TestingExperimental Research in Earthquake Engineering

The RETRO project aims at studying the seismic behaviour of existing reinforced concrete (RC) bridges and the effectiveness of innovative retrofitting systems. A typical as-built RC highway viaduct, designed primarily for gravity loads, has been analysed experimentally. The objective of the laboratory test program is twofold: (1) improve the knowledge of the non-linear behaviour of RC framed piers without seismic detailing and (2) assess the effectiveness of seismic isolation systems as a structural mitigation measure. Two large scale framed piers with two and three levels were re-designed and tested using the PsD method with hybrid (analytical and experimental) simulation. Two test configurations were considered: (1) the as-built bridge layout and (2) the viaduct retrofitted by means of Friction Pendulm (FP) isolators. The seismic performance evaluation was carried out at two limit states, i.e. at serviceability and ultimate limit states. The experimental tests stressed the high structural vulnerability of the viaduct, confirmed by the extensive shear damage in the transverse beams and the fix-end rotation effects generated by the bond slip of plain steel bars in the columns embedded in the foundation. The effectiveness of the isolation system with FP devices was also demonstrated. Nevertheless, the friction of the FP devices is a critical response parameter which may vary significantly because of the pressure due to vertical loads, strong motion velocity and temperature. The reliable evaluation of the friction parameter is of paramount importance to prevent the onset of damage within the framed pier

Assessment of the Seismic Behaviour of a Retrofitted Old R.C. Highway Bridge Through PsD TestingExperimental Research in Earthquake Engineering

The RETRO project aims at studying the seismic behaviour of existing reinforced concrete (RC) bridges and the effectiveness of innovative retrofitting systems. A typical as-built RC highway viaduct, designed primarily for gravity loads, has been analysed experimentally. The objective of the laboratory test program is twofold: (1) improve the knowledge of the non-linear behaviour of RC framed piers without seismic detailing and (2) assess the effectiveness of seismic isolation systems as a structural mitigation measure. Two large scale framed piers with two and three levels were re-designed and tested using the PsD method with hybrid (analytical and experimental) simulation. Two test configurations were considered: (1) the as-built bridge layout and (2) the viaduct retrofitted by means of Friction Pendulm (FP) isolators. The seismic performance evaluation was carried out at two limit states, i.e. at serviceability and ultimate limit states. The experimental tests stressed the high structural vulnerability of the viaduct, confirmed by the extensive shear damage in the transverse beams and the fix-end rotation effects generated by the bond slip of plain steel bars in the columns embedded in the foundation. The effectiveness of the isolation system with FP devices was also demonstrated. Nevertheless, the friction of the FP devices is a critical response parameter which may vary significantly because of the pressure due to vertical loads, strong motion velocity and temperature. The reliable evaluation of the friction parameter is of paramount importance to prevent the onset of damage within the framed piers

Functional characterization of TcCYC2 cyclin from Trypanosoma cruzi

In eukaryotes, an oscillating network of protein kinase activities drives the order and timing of the cell cycle progression. Complexes formed by cyclins associated to cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are the central components of this network. Cyclins act as the activating subunits and their abundance is regulated by different mechanisms in order to promote or prevent kinase activity. Protein synthesis, proteasomal degradation and/or differential subcellular compartmentalization modulate cyclin expression levels along the cell cycle. We describe in this work the characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi Cyclin 2 (TcCYC2), which contributes to a better understanding of the cell cycle regulation in this protozoan parasite. We found TcCYC2 exhibited cyclin function in a yeast complementation assay and over-expression of hemagglutinin tagged TcCYC2-HA rendered shorter duplication times and smaller cell sizes in the epimastigote form of the parasite. Analysis of synchronized cultures showed that over-expression of TcCYC2-HA altered the timing epimastigotes pass through G2/M boundary or cytokinesis. Taken together, our results showed that TcCYC2 is a functional cyclin whose over-expression modifies the dynamics of the cell cycle as well as the morphology of epimastigote forms of T. cruzi, suggesting it plays an important role in the cell cycle regulation machinery. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET)Agencia Nacional de Promocion cientifica y Tecnologica (ANPCyT)INGEBI CONICET, Inst Invest Ingn Genet & Biol Mol Dr HN Torres, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, BR-04039032 São Paulo, SP, BrazilUNSAM CONICET, Inst Invest Biotecnol, RA-1650 Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, BR-04039032 São Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc