Design equations for reinforced concrete members strengthened in shear with external FRP reinforcement formulated in an evolutionary multi-objective framework

Methods for predicting the shear capacity of FRP shear strengthened RC beams assume the traditional approach of superimposing the contribution of the FRP reinforcing to the contributions from the reinforcing steel and the concrete. These methods become the basis for most guides for the design of externally bonded FRP systems for strengthening concrete structures. The variations among them come from the way they account for the effect of basic shear design parameters on shear capacity. This paper presents a simple method for defining improved equations to calculate the shear capacity of reinforced concrete beams externally shear strengthened with FRP. For the first time, the equations are obtained in a multiobjective optimization framework solved by using genetic algorithms, resulting from considering simultaneously the experimental results of beams with and without FRP external reinforcement. The performance of the new proposed equations is compared to the predictions with some of the current shear design guidelines for strengthening concrete structures using FRPs. The proposed procedure is also reformulated as a constrained optimization problem to provide more conservative shear predictions

Detection on debondings in FRP-strengthened reinforced concrete beams

Advanced composite materials are increasingly used in the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This strengthening method is often associated with a brittle and sudden failure caused by some form of FRP bond failure which may be originated at the termination of the FRP material and propagate towards the midspan or in the vicinity of flexural cracks in the RC beam and propagate towards the FRP termination. Hence, flexural cracking of the RC beam has a major influence on the overall response of the strengthened member, and it affects the distribution of the stresses in the various constituents of the strengthened member. In addition, this failure mode will affect the dynamic response of the beam by altering its natural frequencies. As a result, considerable analytical, numerical and experimental efforts should be made to capture these phenomena. An optimization method based on spectral elements is proposed here for detection of local debondings in RC beams externally strengthened with FR

Simulación de excavaciones mediante un método de acoplamiento elementos finitos – elementos de contorno

Cuando se modelan sistemas físicos no lineales de extensión infinita, como las excavaciones, se hace necesario simular adecuadamente tanto la solución en el infinito como la no linealidad. El método de elementos finitos es una herramienta efectiva para representar la no linealidad. Sin embargo, el tratamiento del campo infinito truncando el dominio es bastante cuestionable. Por otro lado, el método de elementos de contorno es adecuado para simular el comportamiento en el infinito sin truncamientos. Por combinación de ambos métodos, se puede obtener un uso adecuado de las ventajas de cada uno. En este trabajo se proponen diversas posibilidades de acoplamiento entre los dos métodos. Se desarrollan algoritmos de acoplamiento basados en una descomposición de dominios y se comparan con los esquemas más tradicionales de acoplamiento

Las primeras vistas de Málaga en el XVI: fuentes gráficas para la investigación

Architecture and urban planning should contribute to urban progress by preserving the fragile values of inherited landscapes, integrating the old and the new. It is thus essential to investigate the transformations of each site has undergone, using graphic sources and checking their reliability. The case of the first views of Malaga in the 16th century is discussed here. Apart from reviewing symbolic representations of little documentary value, the views drawn by Anton van den Wyngaerde in 1564 and the one published in Civitates Orbis Terrarum in 1572 are analyzed; all of which provide exceptional testimonies of a landscape transformed through the centuries.La arquitectura y el urbanismo deben contribuir al progreso urbano preservando los frágiles valores de los paisajes heredados, integrando lo viejo y lo nuevo. Para ello resulta esencial investigar la evolución de cada lugar, usando fuentes gráficas y cotejando su fiabilidad. Aquí se aborda el caso de las primeras vistas de Málaga en el siglo XVI. Tras citar representaciones simbólicas de escaso valor documental, se analiza la elaboración de las vistas de Anton van den Wyngaerde en 1564 y de la vista publicada en el Civitates Orbis Terrarum en 1572, que aportan excepcionales testimonios de un paisaje transformado durante siglos

A FEM-BEM coupling procedure through the Steklov-Poincarè operator

Many advantages can be got in combining finite and boundary elements.It is the case, for example, of unbounded field problems where boundary elements can provide the appropriate conditions to represent the infinite domain while finite elements are suitable for more complex properties in the near domain. However, in spite of it, other disadvantages can appear. It would be, for instance, the loss of symmetry in the finite elements stiffness matrix, when the combination is made. On the other hand, in our days, with the strong irruption of the parallel proccessing the techniques of decomposition of domains are getting the interest of numerous scientists. With their application it is possible to separate the resolution of a problem into several subproblems. That would be beneficial in the combinations BEM-FEM as the loss of symmetry would be avoided and every technique would be applicated separately. Evidently for the correct application of these techniques it is necessary to establish the suitable transmission conditions in the interface between BEM domain and FEM domain. In this paper, one parallel method is presented which is based in the interface operator of Steklov Poincarè

A modo de epílogo. La Ría de Huelva: conclusiones y perspectívas.

Sin resume

Tumor Escape Phenotype in Bladder Cancer Is Associated with Loss of HLA Class I Expression, T-Cell Exclusion and Stromal Changes

Cancer eradication and clinical outcome of immunotherapy depend on tumor cell immunogenicity, including HLA class I (HLA-I) and PD-L1 expression on malignant cells, and on the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment, such as tumor immune infiltration and stromal reaction. Loss of tumor HLA-I is a common mechanism of immune escape from cytotoxic T lymphocytes and is linked to cancer progression and resistance to immunotherapy with the inhibitors of PD-L1/PD-1 signaling. Here we observed that HLA-I loss in bladder tumors is associated with T cell exclusion and tumor encapsulation with stromal elements rich in FAP-positive cells. In addition, PD-L1 upregulation in HLA-I negative tumors demonstrated a correlation with high tumor grade and worse overall- and cancer-specific survival of the patients. These changes define common immuno-morphological signatures compatible with cancer immune escape and acquired resistance to therapeutic interventions across different types of malignancy. They also may contribute to the search of new targets for cancer treatment, such as FAP-expressing cancer-associated fibroblasts, in refractory bladder tumors.ISCIII Research Institute co-financed by the European Union (FED-ER-Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) (RETIC RD 06/020, RD09/0076/00165PI14/01978, PI16/00752, Q2827015E, PI17/00197, PT17/0015/0041) and by the Junta de Andalucía in Spain (Groups CTS-143, CTS-695, CTS3952, CVI-4740).AbbottSpanish Research Institute IDI-URO, Madri

Descripció del sistema dunar d’es Codolar (Eivissa, Illes Balears)

En el present treball es realitza una descripció geoambiental del sistema dunar d’es Codolar, Eivissa. Aquesta àrea està situada dins l’àrea de Parc Natural de ses Salines d’Eivissa i Formentera (Illes Balears). Aquest sistema platja-duna era desconegut i té la particularitat que es troba desvinculat de la seva font d’alimentació, constituint un veritable mant eòlic. La platja arenosa actualment està coberta per distintes barres de còdols i graves. El sistema dunar, separat de la platja, presenta elevats símptomes regressius, on es pot observar la fragmentació del sistema amb la presència de dos nuclis arenosos independents un de l’altre que en temps pretèrits eren tot un, d’extensió molt superior a l’actual. A més de la descripció geomorfològica també s’incorpora un inventari florístic i una breu discussió sobre les característiques de la vegetació

Medida de espesores faciales por ecografía y tomografía axial computarizada

La reconstrucción facial a partir de un cráneo es una de las líneas de investigación en Antropología Forense a nivel internacional. Hasta el momento se han llevado a cabo una serie de técnicas encaminadas a tratar de reconstruir a partir del cráneo el rostro del individuo en vida. Estos estudios se han realizado en su mayoría sobre cadáveres. En la actualidad se están tratando de establecer diferentes modelos faciales y para ello se han ampliado tanto las medidas clásicamente tomadas y se han incorporado otras nuevas, todas ellas realizadas en sujetos vivos. En nuestro estudio proponemos tomar estas medidas de partes blandas a partir de las imágenes obtenidas mediante ecografía y mediante TAC y comparar los resultados entre estas dos técnicas así como con los que han obtenidos otros autores. El material utilizado en este estudio han sido las imágenes tomadas mediante ecografía sobre 20 individuos y TAC sobre 5 de ellos, de población española actual. Los resultados obtenidos confirman la fiabilidad de ambos métodos en la medida de espesores de tejidos blandos faciales.The facial reconstruction from a skull is a line of research in forensic anthropology at international level. So far we have carried out different techniques to reconstruct the face from the skull of an individual from soft-tissue studies, conducted mostly over corpses. At the moment it is being tried to establish different models for the face and have expanded both the measures conventionally taken as other new, all made __in living subjects. In our study we propose to take these measurements of soft-tissue parts from the images obtained by ultrasound and by CT and compare the results between these two techniques and the results obtained by other authors. The materials used in this study were the images taken by ultrasound on 20 subjects and CT on 5 of them, current Spanish population. The results confirm the reliability of both methods in the measurement of facial soft tissue thickness

Fast surface disinfection with COUNTERFOG® SDR-F05A+

COUNTERFOG® has been proposed as a rapid decontamination and disinfection technology that uses dynamic submicrometric-disinfecting fog cones. When projected onto surfaces, they create a micrometre-thick film of disinfectant minimizing the use of liquids and the impact on environment. The extremely thin film is intended to be enough to cover and kill microorganisms and simultaneously thin enough to evaporate in a few minutes¿depending on the environmental conditions. In the present work, experimental tests were carried out to verify this hypothesis. These include a physical characterization of the fog in the cone, a measurement of the liquid flow projected on surfaces as well as disinfection tests with a series of microorganisms. In addition to these results, operational recommendations are derived to ensure disinfection reliability.Publicad