Semi-quantitative seismic risk screening tool for existing buildings in Canada

The National Research Council Canada (NRC) recently developed a semi-quantitative seismic risk screening tool (SQST) for existing buildings in Canada. The SQST aims to supersede the Manual for Screening of Buildings for Seismic Investigation developed by NRC in the early 1990s. The SQST consists of three key components: (1) a structural scoring system that quantitatively assesses the structural seismic risk based on probability of collapse; (2) a non-structural component scoring system that qualitatively assesses the seismic risk of non-structural components based on seismic demand; and (3) a ranking procedure that prioritizes potentially hazardous buildings for seismic evaluations and possible upgrading. The SQST intends to inexpensively identify and exempt buildings with acceptable life safety risk and optimize the allocation of resources to assess the seismic risk of portfolios of buildings. Seismic screening with the SQST can be completed with either paper-based screening forms or a web-based application. The applicability of the SQST is demonstrated by conducting a pilot study for 33 existing buildings across Canada.

Advancements in NRC’s Primary Spectral Irradiance Scale Realization

The National Research Council (NRC) of Canada has been working to establish new facilities and to improve measurement capabilities traceable to the International System of Units (SI units) in optical radiometry. The NRC primary spectral irradiance scale has transitioned from a detector-based approach in the range of 700 nm to 1600 nm to a detector and source-based realization from 250 nm to 2500 nm. A high temperature blackbody (HTBB) acts as the primary light source for the calibration of 1000 W FEL spectral irradiance standard lamps. The thermodynamic temperature of the HTBB is determined using an NRC-designed wide-band filter radiometer, with spectral responsivity SI-traceable to the NRC optical power scale. This new facility has significantly improved measurement uncertainties compared to the previous NRC spectral irradiance scale.

Circuit Techniques in GaN Technology for High-Temperature Environments

As a wide bandgap semiconductor, Gallium Nitride (GaN) device proves itself as a suitable candidate to implement high temperature (HT) integrated circuits. GaN500 is a technology available from the National Research Council of Canada to serve RF applications. However, this technology has the potential to boost HT electronics to higher ranges of operating temperatures and to higher levels of integration. This paper summarizes the outcome of five years of research investigating the implementation of GaN500-based circuits to support HT applications such as aerospace missions and deep earth drilling. More than 15 integrated circuits were implemented and tested. We performed the HT characterization of passive elements integrated in GaN500 including resistors, capacitors, and inductors up to 600 °C. Moreover, we developed for the first time several digital circuits based on GaN500 technology, including logic gates (NOT, NAND, NOR), ring oscillators, D Flip-Flop, Delay circuits, and voltage reference circuits. The tested circuits are fabricated on a 4 mm × 4 mm chip to validate their functionality over a wide range of temperatures. The logic gates show functionality at HT over 400 °C, while the voltage reference circuits remain stable up to 550 °C.

SNSF Datastory - Central role in the evaluation procedures: The evaluation panels and their members

The National Research Council of the SNSF decides whether an application is funded or not. The 89 evaluation panels prepare its decisions. Every year, they evaluate several thousand applications.

Key comparison BIPM.RI(I)-K4 of the absorbed dose to water standards of the NRC, Canada and the BIPM in 60Co gamma radiation

Main text A new key comparison of the standards for absorbed dose to water of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Canada and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) was carried out in the 60Co radiation beam of the BIPM in October 2020. The comparison result, based on the calibration coefficients for three transfer standards and evaluated as a ratio of the NRC and the BIPM standards for absorbed dose to water, is 0.9995 with a combined standard uncertainty of 3.4 parts in 103. The result agrees within the uncertainties with the comparison carried out in 2009. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suitable for entry in the BIPM key comparison database. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database https://www.bipm.org/kcdb/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCRI, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Key comparison BIPM.RI(I)-K1 of the air-kerma standards of the NRC, Canada and the BIPM in 60Co gamma radiation

Main text A new key comparison of the standards for air kerma of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Canada and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) was carried out in the 60Co radiation beam of the BIPM in October 2020. The comparison result, based on the calibration coefficients for three transfer chambers and expressed as a ratio of the NRC and the BIPM standards for air kerma, is 1.0022 with a combined standard uncertainty of 2.2 parts in 103. The result agrees within the uncertainties with the indirect comparison carried out in 2009. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suitable for entry in the BIPM key comparison database. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database https://www.bipm.org/kcdb/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCRI, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

A standardized approach for case selection and genomic data analysis of maternal exomes for the diagnosis of oocyte maturation and early embryonic developmental arrest in IVF

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVETo develop a methodology for case selection and whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis in infertile women due to recurrent oocyte maturation defects(OOMD) and/or preimplantation embryo lethality (PREMBL).DESIGNRetrospective cohort study.SETTINGIVF patients attending the Istanbul Memorial Hospital (2015-2021). WES and bioinformatics were performed at Igenomix and National Research Council, Italy.PATIENTSA statistical methodology for identification of infertile endophenotypes (recurrent low oocyte maturation rate, LMR, low fertilization rate, LFR, and preimplantation developmental arrest, PDA, was developed using a large IVF dataset (11,221 couples). 28 OOMD/PREMBL infertile women were subsequently enrolled for WES.INTERVENTION30X-WES was performed on women’s gDNA. Pathogenic variants were prioritized using a custom-made bioinformatic pipeline set to minimize false positive discoveries through resampling in control cohorts (i.e., HGDP and 1,343 WES from oocyte donors). Individual scRNAseq data from 18 human MII oocytes and antral granulosa cells(AGC) was used for genome-wide validation.MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREIdentification of High-impact variants causative of OOMD/PREMBL endophenotypes.RESULTSVariant prioritization analysis identified 265 unique variants in 248 genes (average per sample 22.4). 87.8% of genes harbouring high-impact variants are expressed by MII oocytes and/or AGC, significantly higher compared to a random sample of controls. Seven of the 28 women (25%) are homozygous carriers of missense pathogenic variants in known candidate genes for OOMD/PREMBL, including PATL2, NLRP5 (N=2), TLE6,PADI6, TUBB8 and TRIP13. Furthermore, novel gene-disease associations were identified. One LMR woman was a homozygous carrier of high impact variants in ELSA, an essential gene for phopase I meiotic transition in mice, whereas three women carried biallelic pathogenic variants in CEP128 gene, participating in the formation of the spindle in mitosis and ciliogenesis.CONCLUSIONSThis analytical framework revealed known and new genes associated with isolated recurrent OOMD/PREMBL, providing essential indications for scaling this strategy to larger studies.

Digital Archaeology: From Interdisciplinarity to the ‘Fusion’ of Core Competences Towards the Consolidation of New Research Areas

The aim of this article is to explore the interdisciplinary turn observed in the development of humanities computing, in terms of integration and fusion of expertise. The debate started with the Seminar on Discipline umanistiche e informatica. Il problema dell’integrazione, held in 1991 at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Moving backwards in time, already from the 1960s the role of ‘integration’ was at the heart of many interdisciplinary initiatives supported by the National Research Council of Italy and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei as part of their coordinated efforts to promote scientific progress. Through a number of archaeological case studies pivoting around the Etruscan civilisation, it will be shown how over time archaeological computing, and its evolution towards digital archaeology, has found in GIS and multimedia systems a unitary platform on which methods and practice of data acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and communication can converge. The concept of ‘fusion’, however, is much more recent and responds to a global resource management model, which combines the methods of archaeology with the objectives of Heritage Science, along the research path that goes from field and laboratory investigation to the protection, enhancement and communication of cultural heritage.

From Lithological Modelling to Groundwater Modelling: A Case Study in the Tiber River Alluvial Valley

This study presents the results of a research project financed by the Lazio Regional Government. The research focused on defining an integrated model of recent alluvial deposits in the Tiber River. To achieve this objective, geological boreholes were made to monitor the aquifer and in situ and laboratory tests were carried out. The data obtained were used to detail stratigraphic aspects and improve the comprehension of water circulation beneath the recent alluvial deposits of the Tiber River in the urban area of Rome, between the Ponte Milvio bridge and the Tiber Island. The stratigraphic intervals recognised in the boreholes were parameterised based on their litho-technical characteristics. The new data acquired, and integrated with existing data in the database of Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the Italian National Research Council, made it possible to produce a three-dimensional model of the lithologies in the study area. The model of the subsoil, simplified for applied reasons, was described in hydrostratigraphic terms: three different lithotypes were subjected to piezometric levels monitoring. Finally, the research generated a numerical hydrological model in a steady state. In general, this study demonstrates how a numerical hydrogeological model calibrated by piezometric monitoring data can support the construction of a geological model, discarding or confirming certain hypotheses and suggesting other means of reconstructing sedimentary bodies.

Acceptable Limits for n-Hexane in Spacecraft Atmospheres

INTRODUCTION:The Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs) for C2-C9 alkanes set by NASA in 2008 under the guidance and approval of the National Research Council specifically excluded SMACs for n-hexane. Unlike other C2-C9 alkanes, n-hexane can cause polyneuropathy after metabolism in humans or rodents and so requires more stringent SMACs than the other members of this group do. This document reviews the relevant published studies of n-hexane toxicity to develop exposure duration-specific SMACs for n-hexane of 200 ppm for 1 hour, 30 ppm for 24 hours, and 2.4 ppm for 7 days, 30 days, 180 days, and 1000 days.Garcia HD. Acceptable limits for n-hexane in spacecraft atmospheres. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(12):956–961.