11 research outputs found
Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Priority Cultural Heritage Structures in the Philippines
At the end of 2013 two catastrophic events occurred in the Philippines: the M 7.2 earthquake
in Bohol and the strongest ever recorded Typhoon Haiyan, causing destruction across the islands of Cebu,
Bohol and the Visayas region. These events raised the need to carry out a multi-hazard risk assessment of
heritage buildings, many of which were irretrievably lost in the disasters. Philippines’ Department of
Tourism engaged ARS Progetti S.P.A., Rome, Italy, and the Center for Conservation of Cultural Property
and Environment in the Tropics (CCCPET), University of Sto. Tomas, Manila, to undertake the
“Assessment of the Multi-Hazard Vulnerability of Priority Cultural Heritage Structures in the
Philippines”, with experts from University College London, UK, and De La Salle University.
The main objective of the project was to reduce the vulnerability of cultural heritage structures to multiple
natural hazards, including earthquake, typhoon, flood, by: (i) prioritizing of specific structures based on
hazard maps and historical records; (ii) assessing their vulnerability; and (iii) recommending options to
mitigate the impacts on them. The paper presents the methodology introduced to determine the seismic
risk these heritage buildings are exposed to. All the selected cultural heritage structures are under the
jurisdiction of the National Museum Commission of Philippines and of the National Commission for
Culture and Arts
Introducing a new tool for greenhouse gas calculation tailored for cropland: rationale, operational framework and potential application
The new GHG calculator named SECTOR (Source-selective and Emission-adjusted GHG CalculaTOR for Cropland) is based on the IPCC Tier 2 approach for rice as well as other crops. The new features of SECTOR facilitate high flexibility in terms of entering newly obtained emission factors, easy data transfer from crop statistics for entering activity data and detailed specifications of GHG scenarios. A new procedure of entering frequency-based data on current water management practices was also developed. Moreover, the tool allows deviating from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines by considering field records with high background levels of N₂O emissions in the overall assessment of GHG emissions. This article assesses different applications of the tool, namely as add-ons to field measurements, for GHG calculation at national/sectorial scale and within measurement, reporting and verification of development projects. SECTOR is downloadable in the form of templates that can be used to develop custom versions with varying levels of disaggregated data entries at different scales. A case study for rice production in one Vietnamese province demonstrates the potential to display GHG results in combination with GIS. SECTOR can easily be adjusted to incorporate new emission factors and calculation procedures expected in forthcoming revisions of the IPCC Guidelines
Assessment of the Multi-Hazard Vulnerability of Priority Cultural Heritage Structures in the Philippines
Combined Point-of-Care Nucleic Acid and Antibody Testing for SARS-CoV-2 following Emergence of D614G Spike Variant
Rapid COVID-19 diagnosis in the hospital is essential, although this is complicated by 30%–50% of nose/throat swabs being negative by SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT). Furthermore, the D614G spike mutant dominates the pandemic and it is unclear how serological tests designed to detect anti-spike antibodies perform against this variant. We assess the diagnostic accuracy of combined rapid antibody point of care (POC) and nucleic acid assays for suspected COVID-19 disease due to either wild-type or the D614G spike mutant SARS-CoV-2. The overall detection rate for COVID-19 is 79.2% (95% CI 57.8–92.9) by rapid NAAT alone. The combined point of care antibody test and rapid NAAT is not affected by D614G and results in very high sensitivity for COVID-19 diagnosis with very high specificity
Combined point of care nucleic acid and antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 following emergence of D614G Spike Variant
Rapid COVID-19 diagnosis in hospital is essential, though complicated by 30-50% of nose/throat swabs being negative by SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT). Furthermore, the D614G spike mutant now dominates the pandemic and it is unclear how serological tests designed to detect anti-Spike antibodies perform against this variant. We assess the diagnostic accuracy of combined rapid antibody point of care (POC) and nucleic acid assays for suspected COVID-19 disease due to either wild type or the D614G spike mutant SARS-CoV-2. The overall detection rate for COVID-19 is 79.2% (95CI 57.8-92.9%) by rapid NAAT alone. Combined point of care antibody test and rapid NAAT is not impacted by D614G and results in very high sensitivity for COVID-19 diagnosis with very high specificity
Complement lectin pathway activation is associated with COVID-19 disease severity, independent of MBL2 genotype subgroups
IntroductionWhile complement is a contributor to disease severity in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, all three complement pathways might be activated by the virus. Lectin pathway activation occurs through different pattern recognition molecules, including mannan binding lectin (MBL), a protein shown to interact with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. However, the exact role of lectin pathway activation and its key pattern recognition molecule MBL in COVID-19 is still not fully understood.MethodsWe therefore investigated activation of the lectin pathway in two independent cohorts of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, while also analysing MBL protein levels and potential effects of the six major single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in the MBL2 gene on COVID-19 severity and outcome.ResultsWe show that the lectin pathway is activated in acute COVID-19, indicated by the correlation between complement activation product levels of the MASP-1/C1-INH complex (p=0.0011) and C4d (p<0.0001) and COVID-19 severity. Despite this, genetic variations in MBL2 are not associated with susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection or disease outcomes such as mortality and the development of Long COVID.ConclusionIn conclusion, activation of the MBL-LP only plays a minor role in COVID-19 pathogenesis, since no clinically meaningful, consistent associations with disease outcomes were noted
Introducing a new tool for greenhouse gas calculation tailored for cropland: rationale, operational framework and potential application
The new GHG calculator named SECTOR (Source-selective and Emission-adjusted GHG CalculaTOR for Cropland) is based on the IPCC Tier 2 approach for rice as well as other crops. The new features of SECTOR facilitate high flexibility in terms of entering newly obtained emission factors, easy data transfer from crop statistics for entering activity data and detailed specifications of GHG scenarios. A new procedure of entering frequency-based data on current water management practices was also developed. Moreover, the tool allows deviating from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines by considering field records with high background levels of N2O emissions in the overall assessment of GHG emissions.
This article assesses different applications of the tool, namely as add-ons to field measurements, for GHG calculation at national/sectorial scale and within measurement, reporting and verification of development projects. SECTOR is downloadable in the form of templates that can be used to develop custom versions with varying levels of disaggregated data entries at different scales. A case study for rice production in one Vietnamese province demonstrates the potential to display GHG results in combination with GIS. SECTOR can easily be adjusted to incorporate new emission factors and calculation procedures expected in forthcoming revisions of the IPCC Guidelines
The effectiveness of home-based dynamic balance exercise training through telerehabilitationin improving the ankle’s stability and functional ability of sedentary individuals with chronic ankle sprain – a randomized controlled trial
Many literature have supported that dynamic balance exercise is effective among active individuals with chronic ankle instability. However, there is a paucity of evidence whether it is effective among sedentary individuals with chronic ankle instability. This study is a randomized controlled clinical trial and the participants were 15 sedentary individuals with CAI who were randomly assigned to either experimental or control group. The intervention consisted of a four (4) week home-based balance training program through telerehabilitation, thrice a week, 60 minutes each day. Both groups performed specific dynamic balance exercises consisted of: (1) single-limb hops to stabilization; (2) hop to stabilization reach; (3) unanticipated hop to stabilization; and (4) single-limb activities with eyes closed and open. However, a modification which is a handheld support, was used by the control group to remove the therapeutic effect of the exercise. Essentially, the primary outcomes obtained were the ankle stability and functional ability of the participants. In the within-group scores, results show that both groups have significant differences between pre-test and post-test in terms of ankle stability and functional ability with a p-value of \u3c0.05. Moreover, results in between-group differences show that there was significant difference between the two groups as to functional ability, but not in terms of ankle stability which resulted in a p-value of \u3e0.05. The occurrence of having no significant difference as to ankle stability may be due to inaccuracy of measurements since this was done merely by the participants using the outcome measure SEBT as compared to the functional ability wherein FAAM is a patient-assessed tool. Also, a short duration of four (4) weeks might not be enough as to improving ankle stability. In conclusion, dynamic balance exercises were effective in improving the functional ability of sedentary individuals with CAI but not their ankle stability