Experimental and Analytical Study of Masonry Infill Reinforced Concrete Frames Retrofitted with Steel Braces

In the present work a seismic retrofitting technique is proposed for masonry infilled reinforced concrete frames based on the replacement of infill panels by K-bracing with vertical shear link. The performance of this technique is evaluated through experimental tests. A simplified numerical model for structural damage evaluation is also formulated according to the notions and principles of continuum damage mechanics. The proposed model is calibrated with the experimental results. The experimental results have shown an excellent energy dissipation capacity with the proposed technique. Likewise, the numerical predictions with the proposed model are in good agreement with experimental results

Reacondicionamiento sísmico de pórticos de hormigón armado con relleno de mampostería

Tanto las investigaciones experimentales y numéricas como las observaciones llevadas a cabo en áreas afectadas por terremotos aportan de forma continua nuevos datos sobre el comportamiento sísmico de las construcciones. Los avances en este campo redundan en normativas más exigentes y sistemas constructivos más efectivos. Dentro de la ingeniería sísmica, uno de los objetivos está en proporcionar métodos simplificados de evaluación del daño potencial en una estructura sometida a acciones sísmicas como forma de medir la posible reparabilidad de la misma. En el presente trabajo se propone una técnica de reacondicionamiento sísmico aplicada a pórticos de hormigón armado con relleno de mampostería. La eficiencia de dicha técnica es evaluada mediante ensayos experimentales. Asimismo se propone un modelo numérico simplificado de evaluación de daño estructural cuya validación es llevada a cabo con los resultados experimentales anteriores

Combined TRPC3 and TRPC6 blockade by selective small-molecule or genetic deletion inhibits pathological cardiac hypertrophy

Chronic neurohormonal and mechanical stresses are central fea-tures of heart disease. Increasing evidence supports a role forthe transient receptor potential canonical channels TRPC3 andTRPC6 in this pathophysiology. Channel expression for both is nor-mally very low but is increased by cardiac disease, and geneticgain- or loss-of-function studies support contributions to hypertro-phy and dysfunction. Selective small-molecule inhibitors remainscarce, and none target both channels, which may be useful giventhe high homology among them and evidence of redundant sig-naling. Here we tested selective TRPC3/6 antagonists (GSK2332255Band GSK2833503A; IC50,3–21 nM against TRPC3 and TRPC6) andfound dose-dependent blockade of cell hypertrophy signaling trig-gered by angiotensin II or endothelin-1 in HEK293T cells as well as inneonatal and adult cardiac myocytes. In vivo efficacy in mice andrats was greatly limited by rapid metabolism and high protein bind-ing, although antifibrotic effects with pressure overload were ob-served. Intriguingly, although gene deletion of TRPC3 or TRPC6alone did not protect against hypertrophy or dysfunction frompressure overload, combined deletion was protective, support-ing the value of dual inhibition. Further development of thispharmaceutical class may yield a useful therapeutic agent forheart disease management.Fil: Seo, Kinya. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Rainer, Peter P.. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados Unidos. Medical University of Graz. Department of Medicine; AustriaFil: Shalkey Hahn, Virginia. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, Dong-ik. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Jo, Su-Hyun. Kangwon National University School of Medicine; Corea del Sur. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Andersen, Asger. Aarhus University Hospital. Department of Cardiology; DinamarcaFil: Liu, Ting. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Xu, Xiaoping. GlaxoSmithKline Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit; Estados UnidosFil: Willette, Robert N.. GlaxoSmithKline Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit; Estados UnidosFil: Lepore, John J.. GlaxoSmithKline Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit; Estados UnidosFil: Marino, Joseph P.. GlaxoSmithKline Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit; Estados UnidosFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. ational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Schnackenberg, Christine G.. GlaxoSmithKline Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit; Estados UnidosFil: Kass, David A.. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Department of Medicine; Estados Unido

Calculation of Galois groups

In the 19th Century Galois developed a method for determining whether an equation is solvable. It relied on the close relationship between fields and their automorphism group. This paper is a survey of the techniques of Galois theory. After presenting the main results of elementary Galois theory and some useful facts about factorization, I develop the important methods of calculating the Galois group and give a proof of the Chebotarev density theorem

Highlighting tensions in recruitment and selection research and practice

In this article we highlight five tensions that exist in recruitment and selection (R&S) research and practice today and that are centered around the 'efficiency press' and so called 'research-practice' gap. Identified tensions are desires for (1) innovation and efficiency, (2) customization and consistency, (3) transparency and effectiveness, (4) wide-reach and coherence, and (5) diversity and standardization. Each tension is illustrated with findings from the five studies of this Special Issue that were presented at the third meeting of the European Network of Selection Researchers (August 2014), and supplemented with empirical data on the research-practice gap in R&S (period 2009-2013). We consider how we might move forward in addressing the 'efficiency press' in research as well as managing these tensions in practice

Talk-based approaches to support people who are distressed by their experience of hearing voices: a scoping review

Background: The positive effects of both antipsychotic medication and cognitive behavioral therapy in psychosis (CBTp) for people who are distressed by their experience of hearing voices remain limited. As a result, there has been a recent surge in talk-based individual approaches. Many of these continue not to be very well known nor implemented in practice. Some of the approaches may focus more on understanding and dealing constructively with voices, an element that has been identified as potentially helpful by voice hearers. Existing barriers to a wider implementation include both the widespread pathologization of hearing voices and a lack of mental health professionals who have been trained and trusted to carry out these new interventions. Methods: This scoping review aimed to identify and describe a current synthesis of talk-based individual approaches for people who hear voices, including studies independently of method of study or approach, diagnosis of voice hearers nor of the professional background of interventionists. Results: Nine different talk-based approaches were identified. These included: (1) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp); (2) AVATAR therapy; (3) Making Sense of Voices (MsV) aka Experience Focused Counselling (EFC); (4) Relating Therapy; (5) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; (6) Smartphone-based Coping-focused Intervention; (7) Prolonged and Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy; (8) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and (9) Individual Mindfulness-based Program for Voice Hearing. The different approaches differed greatly in relation to the number of sessions, length of time offered and the scientific evidence on efficacy. Psychologists represented the main professional group of interventionists. CBTp and the MsV/EFC approach also included health professionals, like nurses, as implementers. Most of the approaches showed positive outcomes in relation to voice related distress levels. None identified overall or voice specific deteriorations. Conclusion: There appears to be a strong case for the implementation of a broader heterogeneity of approaches in practice. This would also be in line with recommendations for recovery focused services and requirements of voice hearers. A greater emphasis on whole systems implementation and thus the involvement of frontline staff, like nurses, in the delivery of these approaches would likely reduce the research-practice implementation gap

DMAIC in Lithium-Ion-Battery Production

DMAIC refers to a data-driven cycle of analysis steps used for improving, optimizing and stabilizing business processes with the steps Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC). In this paper, we will demonstrate the Define, Measure, and Analyze steps for the calendering step in Lithium-Ion-Battery Production. It appears that the measurement system is at least questionable. Moreover, we identified influential factors for thickness and porosity of the foil

Online Linear Discriminant Analysis for Data Streams with Concept Drift

Various methods based on classical classification methods such as linear discriminant analysis (LDA) have been developed for working on data streams in situations with concept drift. Nevertheless, the updated classifiers of such methods may result in a bad prediction error rate in case the underlying distribution incrementally changes further on. Therefore, we invented a rather general extension to such methods to improve the forecasting quality. Under some assumptions we estimate a model for the time-dependent concept drift that is used to predict the forthcoming distributions of the features. These predictions of distributions are finally used in the LDA to build the classification rule and hence for predicting new observations. In a simulation study we consider different kinds of concept drift and compare the new extended methods with the methods these are based on

A randomised controlled pilot study of Experience Focused Counselling with voice hearers

Background: There is a need for improved psychosocial interventions for distressed voice hearers.Aims: To evaluate a novel approach to hearing voices: Experience Focused Counselling (EFC) aka Making Sense of Voices.Study design and methods: Twelve voice hearers were randomly assigned to a 44-week EFC or Treatment As Usual intervention as part of a pilot study design.Results: At the end of intervention, EFC showed clinically large treatment effect improvements on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale – Expanded Version psychotic symptoms (Cohen’s d=1.6) and overall psychopathology domains (d=1.3), and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales voices (d=1) and delusions (aka non-shared reality) (d=1) scales. EFC voice hearers also felt more able to do first trauma disclosures (n=4) than TAU group voice hearer (n=1).Discussion: EFC improvements may have been related to the focus on reducing voices-related distress. EFC holds some promise as a safe and effective intervention for voice hearers, with possible improvements in general psychopathology, psychosis, voices and non-shared reality (aka delusions)-related distress. This will need replicating in more powerful studies