Improving the seismic resistance of cultural heritage buildings

The paper addresses a possible methodology to improve the seismic resistance of cultural heritage buildings (CHB). The ICOMOS recommendations are briefly reviewed and recent research issues are addressed, with a focus on: (a) Behavior of masonry components under cyclic loading (tension, compression and shear); (b) Behavior of stone masonry shear walls under cyclic and dynamic loading; (c) Behavior of dry masonry blocks and structures under dynamic loading; (d) Possibilities of numerical analysis at the laboratory and engineering levels; (e) Monastery of Jerónimos as a case study: An EC funded research project aiming at reducing seismic vulnerability of CHB

Study, design and development of a new add-on function for the FRICTORQ® - Friction Test Instrument

The assessment of handle properties is of utmost importance in materials in our everyday life. There is a wide range of materials there are used in contact with the human skin, which may cause several unpleasant skin reactions. The FRICTORQ® is a laboratory equipment developed by the authors to measure the friction coefficient in fabrics, to enable a quantitative assessment of touch/handle, in order to predict the comfort behaviour of 2D/3D structures when used or touched by humans. In a further development, the FRICTORQ® was redesigned to accommodate a new testing kit function to determine the friction coefficient of fabrics in a liquid environment. This new design will be explained and the results obtained while testing different swimwear fabrics and hospital garments will be also presented and discussed

Pathway for cyanotoxin valorization: microscystin as case study

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Myrteae phylogeny, calibration, biogeography and diversification patterns: increased understanding in the most species rich tribe of Myrtaceae

Myrteae (c. 2500 species; 51 genera) is the largest tribe of Myrtaceae and an ecologically important groups of angiosperms in the Neotropics. Systematic relationships in Myrteae are complex, hindering conservation initiatives and jeopardizing evolutionary modelling. A well-supported and robust phylogenetic hypothesis was here targeted towards a comprehensive understanding of the relationships within the tribe. The resultant topology was used as a base for key evolutionary analyses such as age estimation, historical biogeography and diversification rate patterns. One nuclear (ITS) and seven chloroplast (psbAtrnH, matIC, ndhF, trnl-trnF, trnQ-rps16, rpl16 and rpl32-trnL) DNA regions for 115 taxa representing 46 out of the 51 genera in the tribe were accessed and analysed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference tools for phylogenetic reconstruction. Dates of diversification events were estimated and contrasted using two distinct fossil sets (macro and pollen) in BEAST. The subsequent dated phylogenies were compared and analysed for biogeographical patterns using BioGeoBEARS and diversification rates using BAMM. Myrteae phylogeny presents strong statistical support for three major clades within the tribe: Australasian group, Myrtus group and Main Neotropical Lineage. Dating results from calibration using macrofossil are an average of 20 million years older and show an early Paleocene origin of Myrteae, against a mid-Eocene one from the pollen fossil calibration. Biogeographic analysis shows the origin of Myrteae in Zealandia in both calibration approaches, followed by a widespread distribution throughout the still-linked Gondwana continents and diversification of Neotropical endemic lineages by later vicariance. Best configuration shift indicates three points of acceleration in diversification rates, all of them occurring in the Main Neotropical Lineage. Based on the reconstructed topology, several new taxonomic placements were recovered, including: the relative position of Myrtus communis, the placement of the Blepharocalyx group, the absence of generic endemism in the Caribbean, and the paraphyletism of the former Pimenta group. Distinct calibration approaches affect biogeography interpretation, increasing the number of necessary long distance dispersal events in the topology with older nodes. It is hypothesised that biological intrinsic factors such as modifications of embryo type and polyploidy might have played a role in accelerating shifts of diversification rates in Neotropical lineages. Future perspectives include formal subtribal classification, standardization of fossil calibration approaches and better links between diversification shifts and trait evolution

Evaluation of the bibliometric scenario of the Delphi method with Brazilian affiliations

The Delphi method is a technique used to reach consensus among specialists in an area who will be able to predict demands or analyze conjunctures about strategic themes. Within this context, the present work consisted of a bibliometric evaluation performed in the Scopus database with the aid of VOSviewer software, prioritizing journals with an affiliation of Brazilian institutions and that made use of the Delphi method for the development of their research. Data collection went through validation stages, and the results obtained showed that this tool was used in several areas of knowledge, with great emphasis on health, more specifically in Medicine, Nursing, and Public health. Together, these three areas accounted for more than 60% of publications made available

Characterization of Blood Oxidative Stress in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: Increase in Lipid Peroxidation and SOD Activity

This study evaluated the oxidative stress through enzymatic and nonenzymatic biomarkers in diabetic patients with and without hypertension and prediabetics. The SOD and CAT (in erythrocytes) and GPx (in plasma) enzymatic activities, plasma levels of lipid peroxidation, and total thiols were measured in the blood of 55 subjects with type 2 diabetes and 38 subjects without diabetes (9 pre-diabetics and 29 controls) aged 40–86 years. The total SOD activity and the lipid peroxidation were higher in diabetics compared to nondiabetics. In stratified groups, the total SOD activity was different for the hypertensive diabetics compared to the prediabetics and normotensive controls. Lipid peroxidation was significantly higher in both groups of diabetics (hypertensive and normotensive) compared to prediabetic groups and hypertensive and normotensive controls. There was no significant difference in the CAT and GPx activities, as well as in the concentration of total thiols in the groups studied. Present data strongly suggest the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of diabetes, revealing that the increased lipid peroxidation has a close relationship with high glucose levels, as observed by the fasting glucose and HbA1c levels. The results evidence the correlation between lipid peroxidation and DM, irrespective of the presence of hypertension

Analysis of Strict Social Isolation (SSI-Lockdown) Measures Impacts on Atmospheric Pollutant Emissions and Health Risks on Roads with Intense Vehicle Flow in the City of Fortaleza-Ceara/Brazil

In early 2020, governments of many countries adopted strict social isolation (SSI) measures to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Disease (COVID-19). Thus, the present work aimed to evaluate the influence of those SSI measures on atmospheric pollutants emissions and their potential health risks in the city of Fortaleza - Ceará. To this end, static and dynamic analyses were carried out in order to investigate the levels of some atmospheric pollutants found in four main avenues during SSI and post-SSI periods.  In addition, some health indicators were investigated by analyzing potential Particulate Matter (PM) deposition in the respiratory tract of populations exposed to those environments. Our results for both dynamic and static analyses show that all pollutant concentrations from those avenues displayed an increase between SSI and the post-SSI period. The total PM2.5 dose deposited in the respiratory tract and potential total PM10 respiratory deposition showed increases between the SSI and post-SSI periods. The inhaled-dose numbers also showed considerable increases for all avenues when comparing SSI and post-SSI periods. According to our results, SSI contributed to decreases in atmospheric pollutant emissions, in potential particulate matter respiratory tract deposition and, consequently, in the inhaled particulate matter dose

Experimental behavior of masonry wall-to-timber elements connections strengthened with injection anchors

Out-of-plane failure mechanisms observed in stone masonry buildings subjected to seismic action are often a direct result of poor connections between structural elements. During a seismic event these weak connections become incapable of assuring proper load transmission. Therefore, the need to prevent these phenomena is of critical importance in understanding the behavior of unstrengthened masonry buildings along with the necessity of developing effective strengthening solutions. This paper presents injection anchors as a viable option to improve anchorage between masonry and timber elements on historical buildings, as for example wall-to-timber framed wall or wall-to-timber diaphragm connections. The experimental campaign consisted of quasi-static monotonic and cyclic pullout tests performed on real scale specimens, representative of wall-to-timber framed wall connections found in late 19th century buildings of downtown Lisbon, Portugal. Combined cone-bond failure was obtained in all 7 tests. Boundary conditions of the specimens greatly affected the results in terms of maximum pullout force, dissipated energy, and strength degradation. Displacement ductility of the strengthened connections is high. The force-displacement curves clearly pointed out the influence on the results of the wall's compressive stress state and the contribution of friction in the grout/masonry interface.This work was partially funded by project FP7-ENV-2009-1-244123-NIKER of the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission, which is gratefully acknowledged. Authors would like to thank the technical staff of the Structures Lab. of University of Minho for the assistance provided preparing and carrying out the tests and also, Monumenta, Ltd. for the construction of the masonry walls and Cintec (R) for the installation of the injection anchors

Generating spatially entangled itinerant photons with waveguide quantum electrodynamics

Realizing a fully connected network of quantum processors requires the ability to distribute quantum entanglement. For distant processing nodes, this can be achieved by generating, routing, and capturing spatially entangled itinerant photons. In this work, we demonstrate the deterministic generation of such photons using superconducting transmon qubits that are directly coupled to a waveguide. In particular, we generate two-photon N00N states and show that the state and spatial entanglement of the emitted photons are tunable via the qubit frequencies. Using quadrature amplitude detection, we reconstruct the moments and correlations of the photonic modes and demonstrate state preparation fidelities of 84%. Our results provide a path toward realizing quantum communication and teleportation protocols using itinerant photons generated by quantum interference within a waveguide quantum electrodynamics architecture

Water and otolith chemistry: implications for discerning estuarine nursery habitat use of a juvenile flatfish

Variations in otolith elemental composition are widely used to reconstruct fish movements. However, reconstructing habitat use and environmental histories of fishes within estuaries is still a major challenge due to the dynamic nature of these coastal environments. In this study, we performed a laboratory experiment to investigate the effects of variations in salinity (three levels; 5, 18, 30) and temperature (two levels; 16, 21 C) on the otolith elemental composition (Mg:Ca, Mn:Ca, Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca) of juvenile Senegalese sole Solea senegalensis. Temperature and salinity treatments mirrored the natural conditions of the estuarine habitats occupied by juvenile Senegalese sole, thereby providing information on the applicability of otolith microchemistry to reconstruct habitat use patterns within estuarine nurseries, where individual fish move across complex salinity and temperature gradients. While Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca in otoliths were both positively related to salinity, no temperature effect was observed. Partition coefficients, proxies for element incorporation rates increased with increasing salinity for Sr (DSr) and Ba (DBa). In contrast, salinity and temperature had little influence on otolith Mn:Ca and Mg:Ca, supporting physiological control on the incorporation of these elements. Our results are a stepping stone for the interpretation of otolith chemical profiles for fish collected in their natural habitats and contribute to better understanding the processes involved in otolith element incorporation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio