Combination of 3D solid finite elements with rotation-free beam elements for non-linear analysis of fiber reinforced polymer rebars

We present a combination of three dimensional (3D) solid elements and rotation-free beam elements for non-linear analysis of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) of rebars. The matrix material is modelled by 3D solid elements while the fibers are modelled with rotation-free beam elements. The absence of rotation variables in the beam elements allows the straightforward coupling of 3D solid and beam elements using a formulation with displacement nodal degrees of freedom only. Both solid and beam elements are formulated in an updated Lagrangian description. The behavior of the matrix and the fiber material are modelled with an elastic-damage model. The efficiency and accuracy of the combined 3D-beam element formulation are verified in examples of application to the analysis of FRP rebars up to fracture in axial, bending and shear tests for which experimental results are available.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Monitoring of Zarzuela Racecourse structure by means of no-destructive techniques for durability assessment.

Present paper describes some aspects of the restoration project recently undertaken in La Zarzuela Racecourse, designed by E. Torroja and Dominguez in 1934. Despite the good mechanical work of steel, it has started a deterioration process which has caused the corrosion of reinforcement by carbonation. It has been detected corrosion attack in some places due the breaking of the upper waterproofing membrane of the shell which enabled the water to remain long periods in the roof and therefore promoted corrosion of reinforcement. For the repair first an assessment of the degree of corrosion was made. The restoration project finally consisted in the injection of all the cracks in order to assure the joint work of the shell and the patching of the deteriorated zones. Profiting these works it was installed a monitoring system of corrosion sensors. Results of the recording are given in the paper

An issue of concern: unique truncated ORF8 protein variants of SARS-CoV-2

Open reading frame 8 (ORF8) shows one of the highest levels of variability among accessory proteins in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). It was previously reported that the ORF8 protein inhibits the presentation of viral antigens by the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I), which interacts with host factors involved in pulmonary inflammation. The ORF8 protein assists SARS-CoV-2 in evading immunity and plays a role in SARS-CoV-2 replication. Among many contributing mutations, Q27STOP, a mutation in the ORF8 protein, defines the B.1.1.7 lineage of SARS-CoV-2, engendering the second wave of COVID-19. In the present study, 47 unique truncated ORF8 proteins (T-ORF8) with the Q27STOP mutations were identified among 49,055 available B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 sequences. The results show that only one of the 47 T-ORF8 variants spread to over 57 geo-locations in North America, and other continents, which include Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Based on various quantitative features, such as amino acid homology, polar/non-polar sequence homology, Shannon entropy conservation, and other physicochemical properties of all specific 47 T-ORF8 protein variants, nine possible T-ORF8 unique variants were defined. The question as to whether T-ORF8 variants function similarly to the wild type ORF8 is yet to be investigated. A positive response to the question could exacerbate future COVID-19 waves, necessitating severe containment measures

Raymond Gibson (1938–2023): in memoriam

On 29 January 2023, Raymond (Ray) Gibson (Fig. 1), Professor Emeritus of Liverpool John Moores University, died in a hospital on the Wirral. He lived a very busy life, rich in travels and scientific discoveries, and he was one of the most authoritative world experts in the taxonomy of nemerteans. Ray was born on 23 November 1938 in Catterick Village in Yorkshire. He gained his Private Pilot’s License aged 17 and had several adventures in the small plane. In 1965 after leaving the Royal Airforce as a qualified pilot he got his B.Sc. in Zoology First class degree from Leeds University and in 1968 gained his Ph.D. from Leeds University. Ray began his interest in nemerteans when he was a student at Leeds University. His Ph.D. supervisor was Dr. Joe Jennings, who at the time was researching the nutrition and digestion of nemerteans and “turbellarians” (a grade of free-living platyhelminths). Ray’s first articles on the nutrition and biology of Malacobdella grossa were published when he was at Leeds University (Gibson 1967, 1968; Gibson & Jennings 1969). In 1971 Ray joined the Liverpool Regional College of Technology (this became Liverpool Polytechnic and then Liverpool John Moores University), where he worked for 30 years. His first book (Gibson 1972) is an excellent summary of knowledge on nemertean biology at the time and has ‘entangled’ (rather than ‘hooked’) young students worldwide in the following generations into this field. Ray’s exploratory enthusiasm was unmatched. He would come early in the morning and spend the day in concentrated writing, microscopy, or figure preparation. An ashtray was ever present next to his microscope and cigarettes and black coffee were all he needed to sustain him through the long days. For a long time, the histology unit was complete with the all-pervasive smell of xylene. He supervised post-graduates from many countries and backgrounds, teaching them the intricacies of paraffin sectioning and histochemistry.Peer reviewe

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Erratum: Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Interpretation: By quantifying levels and trends in exposures to risk factors and the resulting disease burden, this assessment offers insight into where past policy and programme efforts might have been successful and highlights current priorities for public health action. Decreases in behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks have largely offset the effects of population growth and ageing, in relation to trends in absolute burden. Conversely, the combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in non-communicable diseases at the global level, which presents both a public health challenge and opportunity. We see considerable spatiotemporal heterogeneity in levels of risk exposure and risk-attributable burden. Although levels of development underlie some of this heterogeneity, O/E ratios show risks for which countries are overperforming or underperforming relative to their level of development. As such, these ratios provide a benchmarking tool to help to focus local decision making. Our findings reinforce the importance of both risk exposure monitoring and epidemiological research to assess causal connections between risks and health outcomes, and they highlight the usefulness of the GBD study in synthesising data to draw comprehensive and robust conclusions that help to inform good policy and strategic health planning

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues