Steel-based applications in earthquake-prone areas

Steel-Earth project aims at distributing among technicians, engineers, design companies and standardization bodies the results of three past RFCS projects (Steel-Retro [3], Opus [2] and PrecaSteel [1]), providing useful tools for the design and for the retrofit of existing buildings. Technical documents and practical applications to case studies, regarding design of steel and composite steel/concrete buildings and innovative steel-based techniques for the retrofit of existing r.c. and masonry constructions, have been elaborated and collected into a volume distributed during the final workshop of the dissemination project. Pre-normative and background documents concerning the design of steel and composite structures and the rehabilitation of existing constructions have been prepared. A lot of attention has been paid to the analysis of the influence of overstrength factors on the seismic design of steel and composite structures. The prepared documents have been distributed to the attending people and to the members of WG 2 (CEN/TC 250/SC 8/WG 2 “Steel and Composite Structures”) during the final workshop of the project. Technical sheets, working examples and background documents have been translated into several languages (German, French, Italian, Romanian and Greek) and are free available on the website of the project (https://www.steelconstruct.com/site/), where information regarding Steel-Earth are also presented.11 Workshops in Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Romania and 5 conferences in Emilia-Romagna have been organized, as well as 2 practical courses for engineers and academic people in Pavia (Italy). Flash-drives with the technical documents and applications elaborated in Steel-Earth have been distributed to the attending people

Nationwide abundance and distribution of African forest elephants across Gabon using non-invasive SNP genotyping

Robust monitoring programs are essential for understanding changes in wildlife population dynamics and distribution over time, especially for species of conservation concern. In this study, we applied a rapid non-invasive sampling approach to the Critically Endangered African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), at nationwide scale in its principal remaining population strongholds in Gabon. We used a species-specific customized genetic panel and spatial capture-recapture (SCR) approach, which gave a snapshot of current abundance and density distribution of forest elephants across the country. We estimated mean forest elephant density at 0.38 (95% Confidence Interval 0.24–0.52) per km2 from 18 surveyed sites. We confirm that Gabon is the main forest elephant stronghold, both in terms of estimated population size: 95,110 (95% CI 58,872–131,349) and spatial distribution (250,782 km2). Predicted elephant densities were highest in relatively flat areas with a high proportion of suitable habitat not in proximity to the national border. Protected areas and human pressure were not strong predictors of elephant densities in this study. Our nationwide systematic survey of forest elephants of Gabon serves as a proof-of-concept of application of noninvasive genetic sampling for rigorous population monitoring at large spatial scales. To our knowledge, it is the first nationwide DNA-based assessment of a free-ranging large mammal in Africa. Our findings offer a useful national baseline and status update for forest elephants in Gabon. It will inform adaptive management and stewardship of elephants and forests in the most important national forest elephant stronghold in Africa

Psicología Y educación a distancia : una revisión de la literatura

O presente estudo investigou as contribuições da Psicologia para a educação a distância – EAD. Para isso, realizou-se revisão bibliográfica de publicações nacionais, entre 1999 e 2009, nas bases de dados SciELO, Lilacs, PsycINFO, BVS e Google Acadêmico. Foram selecionados 69 estudos, dos quais se excluíram 15, por não serem compatíveis com a pesquisa. Os resultados evidenciaram nove eixos temáticos: (1) tecnologia educacional a distância com fundamentos psicológicos, (2) afeição, (3) papel do tutor/professor, (4) teorias psicológicas, (5) interatividade, (6) evasão, (7) relatos de experiências, (8) avaliação de treinamento, desenvolvimento e educação a distância e (9) outros. Os temas tecnologia educacional a distância com fundamentos psicológicos e afeição obtiveram maior frequência nas publicações. Neste estudo, registrou-se, também, que, embora em ascensão desde 2006, os anos de maiores publicações da Psicologia na educação a distância foram 2008 e 2009. Sugere-se que estudos futuros ampliem esta pesquisa para incluir bases de dados internacionais.This study investigated the contributions of Psychology to Distance Learning. A literature review of national publications between 1999 to 2009 was made in the electronic databases SciELO, LILACS, PsycINFO, BVS and Google Scholar. From the 69 studies selected, 15 were excluded because they were not compatible with the research. The results showed nine themes: (1) the distance learning technology with psychological grounding, (2) affection, (3)the role of the tutor/professor, (4) psychological theories, (5) interactivity, (6) dropout, (7) reports of experiences, (8) assessment of distance training, development and education and (9) others. The topics distance education technology with psychological grounding and affection had a larger frequency in the publications. Since 2006, there was an increasing number of publications in psychology distance education, but the years of major publications were from 2008 to 2009. It is suggested that future studies expand this research including international databases.El presente estudio investigó las contribuciones de la Psicología para la Educación a Distancia – EAD. Para eso, fue realizada una revisión bibliográfica de publicaciones nacionales, entre 1999 y 2009 en las bases de datos SciELO, Lilacs, PsycINFO, BVS y Google Académico. Fueron seleccionados 69 estudios, de los cuales se excluyeron 15, por no ser compatibles con la pesquisa. Los resultados evidenciaron nueve ejes temáticos (1) tecnología educacional la distancia con fundamentos psicológicos; (2) afección; (3) papel del tutor/profesor; (4) teorías psicológicas; (5) interactividad; (6) evasión; (7) relatos de experiencias, (8) evaluación de entrenamiento, desarrollo y educación distancia y (9) otros. Los temas tecnología educacional a distancia con fundamentos psicológicos y afección obtuvieron mayor frecuencia en las publicaciones. En ese estudio se registró, también, que, aunque en ascensión desde 2006, los años de mayores publicaciones de la psicología en la educación a distancia, fueron 2008 y 2009. Se sugiere que estudios futuros amplíen esa pesquisa para incluir bases de datos internacionales

Overview of the TCV tokamak experimental programme

The tokamak a configuration variable (TCV) continues to leverage its unique shaping capabilities, flexible heating systems and modern control system to address critical issues in preparation for ITER and a fusion power plant. For the 2019-20 campaign its configurational flexibility has been enhanced with the installation of removable divertor gas baffles, its diagnostic capabilities with an extensive set of upgrades and its heating systems with new dual frequency gyrotrons. The gas baffles reduce coupling between the divertor and the main chamber and allow for detailed investigations on the role of fuelling in general and, together with upgraded boundary diagnostics, test divertor and edge models in particular. The increased heating capabilities broaden the operational regime to include T (e)/T (i) similar to 1 and have stimulated refocussing studies from L-mode to H-mode across a range of research topics. ITER baseline parameters were reached in type-I ELMy H-modes and alternative regimes with \u27small\u27 (or no) ELMs explored. Most prominently, negative triangularity was investigated in detail and confirmed as an attractive scenario with H-mode level core confinement but an L-mode edge. Emphasis was also placed on control, where an increased number of observers, actuators and control solutions became available and are now integrated into a generic control framework as will be needed in future devices. The quantity and quality of results of the 2019-20 TCV campaign are a testament to its successful integration within the European research effort alongside a vibrant domestic programme and international collaborations

Are Reports of Psychological Stress Higher in Occupational Studies? A Systematic Review across Occupational and Population Based Studies

This study was funded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Modelling of the effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W divertor of JET

Effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W target of JET ITER-Like Wall was studied with multi-scale calculations. Plasma input parameters were taken from ELMy H-mode plasma experiment. The energetic intra-ELM fuel particles get implanted and create near-surface defects up to depths of few tens of nm, which act as the main fuel trapping sites during ELMs. Clustering of implantation-induced vacancies were found to take place. The incoming flux of inter-ELM plasma particles increases the different filling levels of trapped fuel in defects. The temperature increase of the W target during the pulse increases the fuel detrapping rate. The inter-ELM fuel particle flux refills the partially emptied trapping sites and fills new sites. This leads to a competing effect on the retention and release rates of the implanted particles. At high temperatures the main retention appeared in larger vacancy clusters due to increased clustering rate

Migraine in women: the role of hormones and their impact on vascular diseases

Migraine is a predominantly female disorder. Menarche, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, and also the use of hormonal contraceptives and hormone replacement treatment may influence migraine occurrence. Migraine usually starts after menarche, occurs more frequently in the days just before or during menstruation, and ameliorates during pregnancy and menopause. Those variations are mediated by fluctuation of estrogen levels through their influence on cellular excitability or cerebral vasculature. Moreover, administration of exogenous hormones may cause worsening of migraine as may expose migrainous women to an increased risk of vascular disease. In fact, migraine with aura represents a risk factor for stroke, cardiac disease, and vascular mortality. Studies have shown that administration of combined oral contraceptives to migraineurs may further increase the risk for ischemic stroke. Consequently, in women suffering from migraine with aura caution should be deserved when prescribing combined oral contraceptives

Tritium distributions on W-coated divertor tiles used in the third JET ITER-like wall campaign

Tritium (T) distributions on tungsten (W)-coated plasma-facing tiles used in the third ITER-like wall campaign (2015–2016) of the Joint European Torus (JET) were examined by means of an imaging plate technique and β-ray induced x-ray spectrometry, and they were compared with the distributions after the second (2013–2014) campaign. Strong enrichment of T in beryllium (Be) deposition layers was observed after the second campaign. In contrast, T distributions after the third campaign was more uniform though Be deposition layers were visually recognized. The one of the possible explanations is enhanced desorption of T from Be deposition layers due to higher tile temperatures caused by higher energy input in the third campaign

Interpretative and predictive modelling of Joint European Torus collisionality scans

Transport modelling of Joint European Torus (JET) dimensionless collisionality scaling experiments in various operational scenarios is presented. Interpretative simulations at a fixed radial position are combined with predictive JETTO simulations of temperatures and densities, using the TGLF transport model. The model includes electromagnetic effects and collisions as well as □(→┬E ) X □(→┬B ) shear in Miller geometry. Focus is on particle transport and the role of the neutral beam injection (NBI) particle source for the density peaking. The experimental 3-point collisionality scans include L-mode, and H-mode (D and H and higher beta D plasma) plasmas in a total of 12 discharges. Experimental results presented in (Tala et al 2017 44th EPS Conf.) indicate that for the H-mode scans, the NBI particle source plays an important role for the density peaking, whereas for the L-mode scan, the influence of the particle source is small. In general, both the interpretative and predictive transport simulations support the experimental conclusions on the role of the NBI particle source for the 12 JET discharges