Life Cycle Vulnerability Assessment of Masonry Infilled Steel Frame Structures

In this study, the anticipated cost throughout a structure’s operational period has been estimated, following a life cycle model. A scenario has been defined in order to assess the structural performance of a mid-rise infilled steel frame over its expected lifetime. Since the characteristics of the index building play a critical role in estimating the losses, the one selected is designed and modelled based on common existing residential buildings. The life cycle cost of the index building has been estimated by considering progressive deterioration due to aging of the structure (e.g. corrosion, fatigue) and also cumulative damage caused by extreme sudden events (e.g. earthquake, hurricane, flood, blast, etc.). The adapted model is capable of considering the initial construction cost along with the cost of damage and failure consequences including death and injuries, as well as discounting cost over time. The performance of the index building at different life stages has been assessed by implementing incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). Using the obtained results, the exceedance probabilities required for the cost analysis are calculated by means of fragility curves for multiple damage limit states. Furthermore, the limit states’ exceedance frequencies are obtained by convolving fragilities with site a specific hazard curve. Having a good understanding of the structural behavior and its expected cost forecast can be beneficial as a decision making tool for planning and allocating financial resources in case of both pre- and post- disaster

IDA & Cloud Method for Fragility Assessment of Bare & Infilled Steel Frame Structures

In this study, the seismic performance of two- and four- storey steel framed structures has been assessed and compared in terms of capacity and fragility. Full scale three-dimensional models of the selected structures have been simulated once as bare steel frame and once while considering the effect of masonry infilled panels, to have the most realistic representation. Furthermore, the selected structures have been designed following two methods of only gravity loading and considering additional seismic excitation. The seismic behaviour has been evaluated through Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and the Cloud method (NLTHA). A comparison of resultant structural behaviour and fragility functions for both bare and infilled cases indicates that the structural effect of masonry infill panels should not be neglected, as they have a significant influence on the lateral stiffness, strength and ductility of the entire structural system and ignoring it would be hazardous

A Mobile Application for Multi-Hazard Physical Vulnerability Prioritization of Schools

This paper introduces a series of tools for a rapid yet reliable visual multi-hazard vulnerability prioritization of school infrastructure against potentially destructive natural hazards, i.e., earthquake, typhoon, and flood. The proposed tools can assist and speed up the process of identifying the most vulnerable school buildings for further decision-making. For each considered school, a set of parameters, including general information on the building and its occupants, structural and nonstructural characteristics, and secondary vulnerability modifiers, are first gathered. For each parameter, a vulnerability rating is assigned to its possible attributes, finally determining a vulnerability index for each considered school building exposed to earthquake, wind, and flood hazards. A mobile application has been developed for the entire process to assist the surveyors by increasing the efficiency and speed. The applicability of the proposed methodology and mobile application is tested by conducting an assessment of 115 elementary schools located in the city of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. A statistical analysis of the gathered data along with the estimated vulnerability indices, allow the identification of the most vulnerable school buildings for more detailed structural analysis, and retrofitting/strengthening planning and conceptual design

GLOSI taxonomy: A tool for ‘seismic risk assessment’ oriented classification of school buildings

For the seismic vulnerability and risk assessment of school infrastructure in a region, it becomes necessary first to identify and classify these constructions into a distinct number of structural typologies characterised by their vulnerability features. This enables us to rank the expected vulnerability of different typologies at the initial screening stage as well as to characterise the representative index buildings of different typologies for detailed vulnerability quantification. Currently, a systematic and comprehensive taxonomy tailored for the school buildings is not available. The present paper thus develops a globally applicable structural taxonomy to be used in the seismic risk assessment of school infrastructure within the framework of the Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS) of the World Bank. Application as well as verification of the proposed taxonomy is tested to a range of school construction types from different countries across the world

Increasing Seismic Resilience of Philippines’ School Infrastructure through Structural Retrofitting

Philippines is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, regularly subjected to destructive seismic events, inflicting loss of lives and costly damage to the country’s infrastructure. Educational facilities are often among the most exposed and vulnerable infrastructure, requiring special attention in terms of seismic risk assessment and prioritization for structural retrofitting and disaster risk reduction. Hence, this study first investigates the seismic performance of two index buildings representing typical existing schools in the Philippines. The selection of the two index buildings follows a recently conducted rapid visual survey in the region and the gathering of detailed structural drawings of typical schools. The results obtained through nonlinear static analysis of the modelled index buildings indicate the possibility of a soft storey mechanics at the ground floor of both structures. To mitigate the identified structural deficiencies and improve the overall seismic performance of the two case-study structures, a retrofitting measure is then proposed. Specifically, fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping is designed for all beams and columns following recent international provisions and state-of-the-art practice. Furthermore, the effect of FRP retrofitting on the seismic capacity of the selected structures is measured through derivation of fragility functions for various damage states. The results of the analysis indicate a considerable improvement in the overall seismic performance of each considered structural system, particularly as the structure enters its inelastic behaviour. This study represents the first step toward identifying the most technically feasible and economical mitigation strategy for the vulnerable schools in the Philippines

Resilient communities through safer schools

Access to education is a basic human right. It is the 4th of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and education is strongly associated with poverty reduction. Providing facilities to educate children requires construction of school buildings and rapid expansion of curricula. However, in the rush to fulfil the right to education, are children being put at risk? What attention is being given to structural safety during the construction of new school facilities? The growing consensus among stakeholders is that public school infrastructure in developing countries worldwide is particularly susceptible to natural hazards. This highlights a compelling need for developing and implementing effective, integrated, and ‘ground-real’ strategies for assessing and radically improving the safety and resilience of schools across those countries. To this aim, the paper explores two main issues: effectiveness at scale and the relevance of multiple hazard effects on the resilience of school infrastructure. Specifically, the paper first discusses the challenges associated with the World Bank Global Program for Safer School (GPSS) and the development of its Global Library of School Infrastructure (GLOSI), highlighting the issues associated with producing a tool which can be effective at scale and support nationwide risk models for school infrastructure across the world, so that fairness and relevance of investment can be achieved. This is followed by the illustration of a number of specific tools developed by the authors to expand the risk prioritization procedures used for seismic hazard, to other hazards such as flood and windstorm and to quantify the reduction in seismic fragility obtained by implementing specific strengthening strategies. Rapid visual survey forms, a mobile app, a multi-hazard risk prioritization ranking, and numerical fragility relationships are presented and their application discussed in relation to a case study in the Philippines. The proposed tools represent a first step toward a detailed multi-hazard risk and resilience assessment framework of school infrastructure. The aim is to allow stakeholders and decision-makers to quickly identify the most vulnerable structures among the surveyed stock, to guide more detailed data collection campaigns and structural assessment procedures, such as analytical vulnerability approaches, and ultimately to plan further retrofitting/strengthening measures or, if necessary, school replacement/relocation

Role of MicroRNA Profile Modifications in Hepatitis C Virus-Related Mixed Cryoglobulinemia

Hepatitis C virus infection is closely related to lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs), including mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) and some lymphomas. Modification of the expression of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) has been associated with different autoimmune diseases and/or LPDs. No data exist about the modifications in miRNA expression in HCV-associated LPDs. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression levels of a panel of miRNAs previously associated with autoimmune/LPDs in a large population of HCV patients with and without MC or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), to identify potential markers of evolution of HCV infection. PBMC expression of miR-Let-7d, miR-16, miR-21, miR-26b, miR-146a and miR-155 was evaluated by real-time PCR in 167 HCV patients (75 with MC [MC-HCV], 11 with HCV-associated NHL [NHL-HCV], 81 without LPD [HCV]) and in 35 healthy subjects (HS). A significant increase in miR-21 (p<0.001), miR-16 (p<0.01) and miR-155 (p<0.01) expression was detected in PBMCs from only NHL patients whereas a significant decrease in miR-26b was detected in both MC and NHL subjects (p<0.01) when compared to HS and HCV groups. A restoration of miR-26b levels was observed in the post-treatment PBMCs of 35 HCV-MC patients experiencing complete virological and clinical response following antiviral therapy. This study, for the first time, shows that specific microRNAs in PBMC from HCV patients who developed MC and/or NHL are modulated differently. The specific, reversible downregulation of miR-26b strongly suggests the key role it plays in the pathogenesis of HCV-related LPDs and its usefulness as a biomarker of the evolution of HCV infection to these disorders

Long- and short-range correlations and their event-scale dependence in high-multiplicity pp collisions at 1as = 13 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations are measured in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The yields of particle pairs at short-( 06\u3b7 3c 0) and long-range (1.6 < | 06\u3b7| < 1.8) in pseudorapidity are extracted on the near-side ( 06\u3c6 3c 0). They are reported as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in the range 1 < pT< 4 GeV/c. Furthermore, the event-scale dependence is studied for the first time by requiring the presence of high-pT leading particles or jets for varying pT thresholds. The results demonstrate that the long-range \u201cridge\u201d yield, possibly related to the collective behavior of the system, is present in events with high-pT processes as well. The magnitudes of the short- and long-range yields are found to grow with the event scale. The results are compared to EPOS LHC and PYTHIA 8 calculations, with and without string-shoving interactions. It is found that while both models describe the qualitative trends in the data, calculations from EPOS LHC show a better quantitative agreement for the pT dependency, while overestimating the event-scale dependency. [Figure not available: see fulltext.