Pathological Studies Research Articles

Pathological and Molecular Studies on Some Pathogenic Bacteria in Meleagris Gallopavo of Hybrid Converter Breeds in Egypt

Pathological and Molecular Studies on Some Pathogenic Bacteria in Meleagris Gallopavo of Hybrid Converter Breeds in Egypt

Research Progress in the Molecular Mechanism of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Alzheimer's Disease and Regulation by Natural Plant Products.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prominent neurodegenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system in the elderly. Current understanding of AD primarily centers on the gradual decline in cognitive and memory functions, believed to be influenced by factors including mitochondrial dysfunction, β-amyloid aggregation, and neuroinflammation. Emerging research indicates that neuroinflammation plays a significant role in the development of AD, with the inflammasome potentially mediating inflammatory responses that contribute to neurodegeneration. Recent studies in AD pathology have identified a novel form of inflammasome referred to as NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Pathological alterations closely associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation have been observed in the brain tissues of AD patients, transgenic mice, and in vitro neurocyte models. Numerous studies have demonstrated the potent neuroprotective properties of natural plant products (NPPs) against NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated AD pathology. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the NLRP3 inflammasome, its involvement in AD pathology, and the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of NPP targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Histological differences among thrombi in thrombotic diseases.

This review aims to summarize the histological differences among thrombi in acute myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, venous thromboembolism, and amniotic fluid embolism, a newly identified thrombosis. Acute coronary thrombi have a small size, are enriched in platelets and fibrin, and show the presence of fibrin and von Willebrand factor, but not collagen, at plaque rupture sites. Symptomatic deep vein thrombi are large and exhibit various phases of time-dependent histological changes. Cancer-associated venous thromboemboli contain invasive cancer cells that penetrate the vascular walls, and small cancer cell aggregates are observed within the thrombi. The thrombus composition in atherosclerotic and cardioembolic ischemic strokes varies from case to case, while the thrombi in cancer-associated ischemic stroke are rich in platelets and fibrin. A pathological study on amniotic fluid embolism identified uterine vein thrombi and massive platelet-rich microthrombi in the lungs. Atherothrombus formation is induced by plaque disruption and may occlude a narrow lumen within a short time. Venous thrombi may grow to a large size in a multistage or chronic manner. Cancer cells can directly contribute to venous thrombus formation. The thrombus formation in amniotic fluid embolism may explain the occurrence of consumptive coagulopathy and cardiopulmonary collapse.

Spatial transcriptome reveals histology-correlated immune signature learnt by deep learning attention mechanism on H&E-stained images for ovarian cancer prognosis

BackgroundThe ability to predict the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer can greatly improve disease management. However, the knowledge on the mechanism of the prediction is limited. We sought to deconvolute the attention feature learnt by a deep learning convolutional neural networks trained with whole-slide images (WSIs) of hematoxylin-and-eosin (H&E)–stained tumor samples using spatial transcriptomic data.MethodsIn this study, 773 WSIs of H&E-stained tumor sections from 335 patients with treatment naïve high-grade serous ovarian cancer who were included in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Pan-Cancer study were used to train, and validate, and to test a ResNet101 CNN model modified with attention mechanism. WSIs from patients in an independent cohort were used to further evaluate the model.ResultsThe prognostic value of the predicted H&E-based survival scores from the trained model on patient survival was evaluated. The attention signals learnt by the model were then examined their correlation with immune signatures using spatial transcriptome. After validating the model with the testing datasets, pathway enrichment analysis showed that the H&E—based survival score significantly correlated with certain immune signatures and this was validated spatially using spatial transcriptome data generated from ovarian cancer FFPE samples by correlating the selected signature and attention signal.ConclusionsIn conclusion, attention mechanism might be useful to identify regions for their specific immune activities. This could guide future pathological study for the useful immunological features that are important in modulating the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients.

Bilateral Renal Fungal Bezoars and Perinephric Abscess in an Infant With Arthrogryposis-Renal Dysfunction-Cholestasis Syndrome: A Clinico-pathologic Case Report.

The patients with Arthrogryposis-Renal dysfunction-Cholestasis (ARC) syndrome have genetic susceptibility to the opportunistic infections due to the involvement of VPS33B (vacuolar protein sorting 33 homolog B) in phagolysosome fusion in macrophages. Detailed pathologic studies in ARC patients are missing in literature due to the lack of autopsy. We described the first autopsy case of ARC syndrome in a 2-month-old male infant. His death was due to recurrent sepsis and multiorgan failure despite the appropriate poly-antibiotic therapy and supportive care. The autopsy showed invasive renal candidiasis including bilateral destructive pyelonephritis, pelvic obstructive fungal bezoars, and right large perinephric abscess. The main other findings included severe chronic liver changes and pneumonia. Liver exhibited intrahepatocyte cholestasis, large multinucleated hepatocytes, diffuse portal, bridging and perivenular fibrosis, and interlobular bile duct proliferation. The neuropathologic examination was unremarkable. This case report highlights 3 novel findings. The ARC syndrome-related immunodeficiency may predispose to renal fungal bezoars and perinephric abscess. Cholestatic stress may result in the proliferation of interlobular ducts as an adaptive response. Absence of spinal motor neuron degeneration suggests that the neurogenic amyotrophy is due to the lack of synaptic vesicle trafficking and membrane fusion rather than the defect in cell survival-related autophagosome-lysosome fusion.

Dual-Labeled Small Peptides in Cancer Imaging and Fluorescence-Guided Surgery: Progress and Future Perspectives

Dual-labeled compounds that combine radiolabeling and fluorescence labeling represent a significant advancement in precision oncology. Their clinical implementation enhances patient care and outcomes by leveraging the high sensitivity of radioimaging for tumor detection and taking advantage of fluorescence-based optical visualization for surgical guidance. Non-invasive radioimaging facilitates immediate identification of both primary tumors and metastases, while fluorescence imaging assists in decision-making during surgery by offering a spatial distinction between malignant and non-malignant tissue. These advancements hold promise for enhancing patient outcomes and personalization of cancer treatment. The development of dual-labeled molecular probes targeting various cancer biomarkers is crucial in addressing the heterogeneity inherent in cancer pathology and recent studies had already demonstrated the impact of dual-labeled compounds in surgical decision-making (NCT03699332, NCT03407781). This review focuses on the development and application of small dual-labeled peptides in the imaging and treatment of various cancer types. It summarizes the biomarkers targeted to date, tracing their development from initial discovery to the latest advancements in peptidomimetics. Through comprehensive analysis of recent preclinical and clinical studies, the review demonstrates the potential of these dual-labeled peptides to improve tumor detection, localization, and resection. Additionally, it highlights the evolving landscape of dual-modality imaging, emphasizing its critical role in advancing personalized and effective cancer therapy. This synthesis of current research underscores the promise of dual-labeled peptides in enhancing diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic outcomes in oncology.

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC ANGIOGRAPHY DATA SET CONTAINING ABDOMINAL AORTIC SEGMENTATION

BACKGROUND: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely actively in radiology. The effectiveness of AI algorithms essentially depends on the availability of relevant and representative training and test datasets. Currently, such datasets are highly demanded in open access, particularly CT angiographic (CTA) studies of the abdominal aorta containing not only pathology classification but also vessel segmentation. The disadvantages of existing solutions include small sample volume, narrow specialization, and disparate data preparation methodology. AIM – Design of a CTA dataset containing abdominal aortic segmentation for cases of normal, dilatation, thrombosis, and calcinosis. METHODS: In accordance with the methodology of AI-algorithms testing, the terms of reference for datasets preparation were developed, the necessary sample volume was calculated and approval of the independent ethical committee was obtained. Previously designed original algorithm of semi-automatic segmentation of abdominal aorta on CTA-studies using open access software Slicer 3D was used. Inclusion criteria: CTA studies, or abdominal CT studies with contrast enhancement; presence of arterial phase of the scan; slice thickness not more than 3 mm. Exclusion criteria: presence of any foreign objects in the aortic lumen, aortic dissection. The algorithm was tested on patient data obtained from the Unified Radiologic Information System. Expert evaluation of the compliance of the obtained results with the formed requirements, as well as the assessment of time costs when using the developed segmentation algorithm was carried out. RESULTS: The calculated sample size was 100 CTA studies with a slice thickness ≤ 1.2 mm. Population data: the number of unique patients was 100, the proportion of female patients was 51%; the median age was 62 years ranged from 18 to 84 years. The proportion of pathologic studies was 61%, of which (including combined pathology): 60 cases contained calcification, both by 18 cases with aortic dilatation and thrombosed lumen. Different non-overlapping masks were used for each object. The dataset is presented in the public domain. The average processing time is 0.8 hours per 100 CT-images. CONCLUSION: The public dataset containing 100 CTA studies of segmented abdominal aorta for normal, dilated, thrombotic and calcified cases was created. Results are valuable for AI-algorithms design and anthropomorphic 3D-modeling.

Generation and Characterization of a New Aging Skin Human Dermal Extracellular Matrix Scaffold.

In vitro skin aging models represent a valuable tool for the study of age-related pathologies and potential treatments. However, the currently available models do not adequately represent the complex microenvironment of the dermis since they generally focus on cutaneous cellular senescence, rather than the full range of factors that contribute to the aging process, such as structural and compositional alteration of the dermal extracellular matrix. The following protocol describes the extraction and characterization of human adult extracellular matrix scaffolds for use in in vitro aging models.

Identification of Key Biomarkers Associated with Glioma Hemorrhage: Evidence from Bioinformatic Analysis and Clinical Validation.

Hemorrhagic stroke is a known complication of glioma, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate key biomarkers of glioma-related hemorrhage to provide insights into glioma molecular therapies. Data were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in glioma by contrasting glioblastoma (GBM) with low-grade gliomas (LGGs). We conducted enrichment analyses using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and Gene Ontology (GO) databases through the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). A STRING-based protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was developed to identify hub genes, which were subsequently analyzed for their functions in the GeneCards database. To identify angiogenesis-associated genes, we utilized the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. A clinical pathological study was conducted using immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining to confirm the findings. In the GEO database, the GEO Series Experiments GSE26576 and GSE184941 included 4523 and 1471 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. We identified 2715 DEGs using the cBioPortal within the TCGA database. A Venn diagram identified 39 common DEGs. The KEGG pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis highlighted functions related to angiogenesis. PPI network analyses pinpointed 13 hub genes. Through cross-referencing a gene set related to tumor angiogenesis in the GeneCards database, we identified MMP-2 and EGFR as key genes. In the HPA database, we observed EGFR and MMP-2 expression in the normal cerebral cortex, confirmed by IHC. In GEPIA database, high MMP-2 levels were associated with decreased survival time, while EGFR expression showed no significant differences in survival. A clinical study of 21 patients, 11 in the control group and 10 in the stroke group with glioma hemorrhage, revealed no significant differences in their characteristics or comorbidities. IDH1 positivity was higher in the control group (4/11) vs the stroke group (0/10). Tumor cells exhibited increased MMP-2 and EGFR expression, with stronger staining in the stroke group. Our study concluded that IDH1, MMP-2, and EGFR are implicated in the molecular mechanism of glioma hemorrhage as key biomarkers. MMP-2 and IDH1 are potential targets for molecular therapy.

Association of Glymphatic Function With Clinical Characteristics in Patients With Clinical and Asymptomatic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

Abnormal glymphatic system-related proteins have been identified in a small-scale pathologic study of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). However, it remains unclear whether glymphatic dysfunction occurs in vivo in patients with CJD and whether this decline begins during the preclinical stage. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between glymphatic dysfunction and clinical characteristics in patients with CJD, as well as potential glymphatic impairment in preclinical CJD. This prospective cohort study recruited patients with CJD and healthy controls (HCs) from the Department of Neurology at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, from 2018 to 2022. In addition, a family with preclinical genetic CJD carrying the G114V pathogenic variant was followed over 6 years with 3 evaluations. All participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) to measure glymphatic function in vivo and 18F-fludeoxyglucose-PET to identify CJD-related metabolic patterns. Associations between the DTI-ALPS index and Medical Research Council Prion Disease Rating Scale (MRC-PDRS) score were evaluated using multiple linear regression. We enrolled 35 patients with CJD (mean age 59.6 ± 10.7 years, 40% female, with the time from onset to glymphatic dysfunction assessment averaging 39% of the total disease course), 28 age-matched and sex-matched HCs, and a family with preclinical genetic CJD consisting of 7 carriers and 7 noncarriers. Patients with CJD exhibited lower DTI-ALPS values compared with HCs (p < 0.001). Partial correlation analyses revealed significant correlations between the DTI-ALPS index and MRC-PDRS score (r = 0.346, p = 0.049) and disease progression (r = -0.468, p = 0.006), but not with disease duration or cognitive severity after adjusting for age and sex. Multivariate linear analysis demonstrated that poorer MRC-PDRS scores (β = 0.702, p = 0.014) were associated with a lower DTI-ALPS index. The DTI-ALPS index of asymptomatic G114V carriers showed no significant difference compared with noncarriers. However, a preclinical CJD case exhibited an 8.2% decrease in the DTI-ALPS index 3.3 years before onset. No significant correlation was found between regional metabolic standardized uptake value ratios and DTI-ALPS index. Our study indicates that glymphatic dysfunction is associated with CJD severity and disease progression. Glymphatic dysfunction may occur in the preclinical stage, but these findings should be interpreted with caution because they are based on individual findings.

Protective effects of myrtenol against paraquat-induced toxicity in rats

BackgroundParaquat (PQ) is a widely used pesticide, can cause severe intoxication and respiratory failure. Myrtenol (Mrl), an essential oil derived in various plants, exhibits several biological properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This study aims to investigate the protective potential of Mrl against oxidative stress and inflammation caused by PQ exposure.MethodsTwenty-five Wistar albino rats were divided into the following groups (n = 5 in each group): a control group (treated by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)), a PQ group (exposed to 54 mg/m³ aerosol PQ), and two treatment groups that were exposed to PQ aerosol and administered oral Mrl at doses of 25 mg/kg/day and 50 mg/kg/day, respectively. The final group was exposed to PQ aerosol and treated with oral dexamethasone at a dose of 0.03 mg/kg/day. Various hematological, oxidative, inflammatory, and pathological indices were measured at the conclusion of the treatment period.ResultsPQ decreases the levels or activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and Thiol, while increasing the levels or activities of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Mrl restored activites of SOD, and CAT, as well as thiol levels to near-control values while reducing TNF-α, IL-6, and MDA levels. Pathological studies further confirmed the therapeutic effects of Mrl.ConclusionThe results of this study demonstrate the promising therapeutic effects of Mrl against inhaled PQ in rats.

Neurobiology of COVID-19-Associated Psychosis/Schizophrenia: Implication of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling.

COVID-19 exhibits not only respiratory symptoms but also neurological/psychiatric symptoms rarely including delirium/psychosis. Pathological studies on COVID-19 provide evidence that the cytokine storm, in particular (epidermal growth factor) EGF receptor (EGFR, ErbB1, Her1) activation, plays a central role in the progression of viral replication and lung fibrosis. Of note, SARS-CoV-2 virus (specifically, S1 spike domain) mimics EGF and directly transactivates EGFR, preceding the inflammatory process. In agreement, the anticancer drugs targeting EGFR such as Nimotuzumab and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are markedly effective on COVID-19. However, these data might raise a provisional caution regarding implication of psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia. The author's group has been investigating the etiologic and neuropathologic associations of EGFR signaling with schizophrenia. There are significant molecular associations between schizophrenia and EGFR ligand levels in blood as well as in the brain. In addition, perinatal challenges of EGFR ligands and intraventricular administration of EGF to rodents and monkeys both resulted in severe behavioral and/or electroencephalographic endophenotypes relevant to this disorder. These animal models also display postpubertal abnormality in soliloquy-like self-vocalization as well as in intercortical functional connectivity. Here, we discuss neuropsychiatric implication of coronavirus infection and its interaction with the EGFR system, by searching related literatures in PubMed database as of the end of 2023.

Research hotspots and trends in lung cancer STAS: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.

This study employed the R software bibliometrix and the visualization tools CiteSpace and VOSviewer to conduct a bibliometric analysis of literature on lung cancer spread through air spaces (STAS) published since 2015. On September 1, 2024, a computer-based search was performed in the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection dataset for literature on lung cancer STAS published between January 1, 2015, and August 31, 2024. VOSviewer was used to visually analyze countries, institutions, authors, co-cited authors, and keywords, while CiteSpace was utilized to analyze institutional centrality, references, keyword bursts, and co-citation literature. Descriptive analysis tables were created using Excel 2021. A total of 243 articles were included from the WOS, with a significant increase in annual publications observed since 2018. China, Kadota K, and Fudan University were leading countries, authors, and institutions by publication volume. The top three authors by co-citation count were Kadota K, Chen C, and Adusumilli PS. The journal with the highest publication volume was Lung Cancer, with the most influential journal among the top 10 being the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. The most frequently cited reference was "Lobectomy Is Associated with Better Outcomes than Sublobar Resection in Spread through Air Spaces (STAS)-Positive T1 Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis." Keyword clustering categorized the research into four main areas: pathological studies of lung cancer STAS, biological mechanisms, prognostic assessment, and imaging analysis. Current research hotspots include deep learning, lung squamous cell carcinoma, and air spaces STAS. The current research on lung cancer STAS primarily focuses on pathological studies, biological mechanisms, prognostic assessments, and preoperative imaging model predictions. This study's findings provide new insights and directions for future research in this area. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#myprospero, identifier 589442.

Comparative Evaluation of Vincristine Sulfate and Vinblastine Sulfate for the Treatment of Transmissible Venereal Tumor in Dogs: A Pre-clinical and Pathological Study

Comparative Evaluation of Vincristine Sulfate and Vinblastine Sulfate for the Treatment of Transmissible Venereal Tumor in Dogs: A Pre-clinical and Pathological Study

Out-of-distribution detection in digital pathology: Do foundation models bring the end to reconstruction-based approaches?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown promising results for computational pathology tasks. However, one of the limitations in clinical practice is that these algorithms are optimised for the distribution represented by the training data. For out-of-distribution (OOD) data, they often deliver predictions with equal confidence, even though these often are incorrect. In the pursuit of OOD detection in digital pathology, this study evaluates the state-of-the-art (SOTA) in computational pathology OOD detection, based on diffusion probabilistic models, specifically by adapting the latent diffusion model (LDM) for this purpose (AnoLDM). We compare this against post-hoc methods based on the latent space of foundation models, which are SOTA in general computer vision research. The approaches are not only evaluated on data from the same medical centres as the training set, but also on several datasets with data distribution shifts. The results show that AnoLDM performs similarly well or better than diffusion model based approaches published in previous studies in computational pathology but with reduced computational costs. However, our optimal configuration of an approach based on foundation models (kang_residual) outperforms AnoLDM on OOD detection on data not experiencing any covariate shifts, with an AUROC of 96.17 versus 91.86. Interestingly, AnoLDM is more successful at handling the data distribution shifts investigated in this study. However, both AnoLDM and kang_residual suffer substantial loss in the performance under the data distribution shifts, hence future work should focus on improving the generalisation of OOD detection for computational pathology applications.

Risk Factors Influencing Cognitive Function in Elderly Patients With Late-Life Depression: A Scoping Review.

In recent years, cognitive impairment has emerged as a pivotal symptom in elderly patients with depression, exerting a substantial impact on the course and prognosis of diseases. Moreover, it persists even following remission from depression during the rehabilitation period. However, there remains an incomplete understanding of the relevant influencing factors for cognitive impairment in elderly depressed patients, which seriously impedes the development of risk prediction models and the subsequent research on precision intervention programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of negative influencing factors and assessment tools for cognitive impairment in patients with late-life depression (LLD), thereby providing a theoretical framework for the construction of subsequent targeted intervention programs. The search strategy employed in this study followed an evidence-based approach, utilizing a systematic scoping review to thoroughly explore six English and four Chinese databases up until November 2023. Two researchers independently conducted article screening and employed thematic analysis to categorize the results into themes. Following two rounds of rigorous screening conducted by the evidence-based research team, data were meticulously extracted and succinctly summarized from five distinct themes encompassing socio-demographic, physiological, psychological, genetic, and other related factors. In addition, a comprehensive compilation of 19 diverse assessment tools was undertaken. Ultimately, a total of 22 articles met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this study. These comprised five longitudinal studies, nine pathological controlled studies, five cross-sectional studies, two cohort studies, and one randomized controlled study. Cognitive dysfunction is an important symptom of LLD, which seriously affects the survival of patients. At present, the research on its influencing factors mainly includes socio-demographic, physiological, psychological, genetic, and other related factors. There have been existing cognitive function assessment tools specifically for those 18- to 65-year-old patients of major depressive disorder, but there is still a lack of reliability and validity tests in LLD.

Clinical and Pathological studies of blackleg disease in cattle, Cholistan Desert, Punjab, Pakistan

Clinical and Pathological studies of blackleg disease in cattle, Cholistan Desert, Punjab, Pakistan

Surgical planning of small bowel neuroendocrine tumors

Introduction: The mesenteric extension of small bowel neuroendocrine tumors is the surgical limiting factor because of the risk of postoperative short bowel syndrome due to superior mesenteric artery involvement. Recent pathological studies have shown that this vascular involvement is due to mesenteric tumor deposits, differentiated from lymph node metastases. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the performances of computed tomography (CT) for small bowel neuroendocrine tumors surgical planning. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study and all patients undergoing surgery for small bowel neuroendocrine tumor between January 2014 and March 2019 were included. Preoperative CTs were reviewed, blinded from surgical and pathological data, by two radiologists. Diagnostic accuracy and interobserver reliability analysis were performed. Results: 45 patients (mean age: 61 years; [28-84 years]; 23 men) were evaluated. The CT sensitivity to identify the mesenteric mass was 97% (37/38) with a ĸ of 0.73. The positive predictive value of CT to anticipate a right colic resection was 86% (18/21). The negative predictive value of CT was high ([97% (34/35) to 100% (35/35)] for duodenal resection (ĸ = 0.78). Regarding retropancreatic lymph node invasion, the CT sensitivity was poor (24%, 4/17), with a high ĸ (0.88). The level of involvement by the mesenteric mass was correlated with the length and the percentage of remaining small bowel. Conclusions: CT is essential for small bowel neuroendocrine tumors surgical planning, being accurate in defining the mesenteric tumor deposits, allowing to anticipate, with a good reproducibility, the length and percentage of remaining small bowel and the necessity for a right colectomy.

Pathological studies on natural infection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and co-infection with porcine circovirus 2 associated post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome among swine herds of Kerala, Southern India

Pathological studies on natural infection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and co-infection with porcine circovirus 2 associated post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome among swine herds of Kerala, Southern India

Design, construction, and supervision issues: Altos del Lago building, a case study

The collapse or evacuation of residential buildings due to not withstanding gravitational loads has caused not only loss of human lives but also economic damages. They are also a significant detriment to the engineering profession’s reputation. Therefore, it is essential for the engineering community to analyze the causes of these failures and document each case to learn from mistakes and prevent them from happening again. In recent years, construction has increased considerably in developing countries such as Colombia. Reinforced concrete construction is often preferred due to faster material supply and availability of labor compared to steel structures. With this increase in construction, work control has not been adequate, and problems have been founded in some buildings in cities such as Medellin, Cartagena, Rionegro, among others. This paper summarizes the aspects that were taken into account for the study of pathology and vulnerability of a 19-story reinforced concrete building in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia, which, due to the findings, had to be subsequently demolished. The analyzes carried out along with field and laboratory studies are presented. Some of the aspects found were incorrect analysis and design criteria, poor quality of materials, and poor aspects of supervision. This paper also aims to make a reflection about some bad practices and common errors that are developed in structural engineering consulting firms, as well as in the construction practice.