scholarly journals Ancient Materials and Singular Constructions

Author(s):  
Paloma Pineda

Analysis and evaluation of seismic reliability of masonry cultural heritage buildings by means of numerical models is a difficult task, owing to uncertainties that mainly affect structural behaviour and mechanical material properties. The former includes lack of information on model definition -geometry, constraints, materials, constructive details...-, and the latter is focused on non-linear masonry behaviour and low tensile strength. Furthermore, if a comprehensive study of structural behaviour is going to be performed, accuracy and suitability of the analytical or numerical method selected are essential issues. For those reasons, multidisciplinary analyses combining numerical, experimental and heritage tools may be very useful to face the challenge of effective preservation. This chapter focuses on the role of the building materials as controllers of collapse phenomena under seismic loading. The first section is devoted to some heritage strategies that may be learnt from the wisdom of ancient builders. The second section focuses on numerical strategies, reviewing different constitutive models via FEM under seismic loading and analysing the role of the control parameters. That section provides a brief reflexion on different analytical strategies. Finally, as a way of conclusion, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of historic building materials and associated techniques within a dynamic framework, by means of multidisciplinary tools is provided.

Author(s):  
Paloma Pineda

Analysis and evaluation of seismic reliability of masonry cultural heritage buildings by means of numerical models is a difficult task, owing to uncertainties that mainly affect structural behaviour and mechanical material properties. The former includes lack of information on model definition -geometry, constraints, materials, constructive details...-, and the latter is focused on non-linear masonry behaviour and low tensile strength. Furthermore, if a comprehensive study of structural behaviour is going to be performed, accuracy and suitability of the analytical or numerical method selected are essential issues. For those reasons, multidisciplinary analyses combining numerical, experimental and heritage tools may be very useful to face the challenge of effective preservation. This chapter focuses on the role of the building materials as controllers of collapse phenomena under seismic loading. The first section is devoted to some heritage strategies that may be learnt from the wisdom of ancient builders. The second section focuses on numerical strategies, reviewing different constitutive models via FEM under seismic loading and analysing the role of the control parameters. That section provides a brief reflexion on different analytical strategies. Finally, as a way of conclusion, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of historic building materials and associated techniques within a dynamic framework, by means of multidisciplinary tools is provided.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kopasker

Existing research has consistently shown that perceptions of the potential economic consequences of Scottish independence are vital to levels of support for constitutional change. This paper attempts to investigate the mechanism by which expectations of the economic consequences of independence are formed. A hypothesised causal micro-level mechanism is tested that relates constitutional preferences to the existing skill investments of the individual. Evidence is presented that larger skill investments are associated with a greater likelihood of perceiving economic threats from independence. Additionally, greater perceived threat results in lower support for independence. The impact of uncertainty on both positive and negative economic expectations is also examined. While uncertainty has little effect on negative expectations, it significantly reduces the likelihood of those with positive expectations supporting independence. Overall, it appears that a general economy-wide threat is most significant, and it is conjectured that this stems a lack of information on macroeconomic governance credentials.


2021 ◽  
pp. 106907272110025
Author(s):  
Consuelo Arbona ◽  
Weihua Fan ◽  
Ayoung Phang ◽  
Norma Olvera ◽  
Marcel Dios

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) refers to the tendency to fear the unknown and to worry excessively about potential future negative outcomes. In the career decision-making process, college students experience uncertainty regarding the future of occupational opportunities and the evolution of their interests and capabilities. Anxiety is a well-established predictor of career indecision. Therefore, this study examined the role of anxiety as a mediator in the relation of IU and rumination to three dimensions of career decision making difficulties among college students ( N = 678). Results of path analyses indicated that as hypothesized, after controlling for age, intolerance of uncertainty was directly and indirectly (though anxiety) related to the three dimensions of career decision making difficulties: lack of readiness, lack of information, and inconsistent information. Results suggested that career choice interventions may be enhanced with a targeted emphasis on coping with the uncertainty involved in career decision making among college students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii159-ii160
Author(s):  
Roberta Rudà ◽  
Riccardo Pascuzzo ◽  
Francesca Mo ◽  
Alessia Pellerino ◽  
Peter B Barker ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND There is lack of information on the role of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the development of seizures in patients with lower grade gliomas. Increase of glutamate and downregulation of GABA have been suggested in preclinical models and human surgical samples to be associated with brain tumor-related epilepsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS We prospectively investigated with the use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) the differences in the ratio of metabolites (glutamate/GABA, glutamate/creatine and GABA/creatine) in the peritumoral areas between patients with or without seizures in a series of lower grade gliomas. Tumors were classified according to WHO Classification of 2016 as follows:11 grade II IDH mutated and 1p/19q codeleted; 3 grade III IDH mutated and 1p/19q codeleted; 6 grade II IDH mutated and 1p/19q intact; 1 grade III IDH mutated and 1p/19q intact; 1 grade II IDH wild-type. Patients received surgery alone or followed by temozolomide chemotherapy according to the presence of risk factors. RESULTS At baseline evaluation, maximum glutamate/GABA values were significantly higher (p=0.023) in the peritumoral area of patients with seizures (1.008 ± 0.368) with respect to those without seizures (0.691 ± 0.170). No other metabolites ratio showed significant differences between the two groups. Similar results were obtained when analyzing the metabolites ratio in the examinations during the follow-up. In the cohort of patients with seizures (n.14) variations of metabolite ratios were not associated with tumor location, 1p/19q codeletion, use of AEDs, concomitant chemotherapy or seizure characteristics (type, duration, frequency). CONCLUSIONS The study is ongoing with the aim of analyzing further the correlations between ratio of metabolites and status of the tumor (stable vs progressive).


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathália Vieira Batista ◽  
Roberta Cristelli Fonseca ◽  
Denise Perez ◽  
Rafaela Vaz Sousa Pereira ◽  
Juliana de Lima Alves ◽  
...  

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is known to be an important mediator of anaphylaxis. However, there is a lack of information in the literature about the role of PAF in food allergy. The aim of this work was to elucidate the participation of PAF during food allergy development and the consequent adipose tissue inflammation along with its alterations. Our data demonstrated that, both before oral challenge and after 7 days receiving ovalbumin (OVA) diet, OVA-sensitized mice lacking the PAF receptor (PAFR) showed a decreased level of anti-OVA IgE associated with attenuated allergic markers in comparison to wild type (WT) mice. Moreover, there was less body weight and adipose tissue loss in PAFR-deficient mice. However, some features of inflamed adipose tissue presented by sensitized PAFR-deficient and WT mice after oral challenge were similar, such as a higher rate of rolling leukocytes in this tissue and lower circulating levels of adipokines (resistin and adiponectin) in comparison to nonsensitized mice. Therefore, PAF signaling through PAFR is important for the allergic response to OVA but not for the adipokine alterations caused by this inflammatory process. Our work clarifies some effects of PAF during food allergy along with its role on the metabolic consequences of this inflammatory process.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Cheng ◽  
Y. Lawrence Yao

Laser forming of steel is a hot forming process with high heating and cooling rate, during which strain hardening, dynamic recrystallization, and phase transformation take place. Numerical models considering strain rate and temperature effects only usually give unsatisfactory results when applied to multiscan laser forming operations. This is mainly due to the inadequate constitutive models employed to describe the hot flow behavior. In this work, this limitation is overcome by considering the effects of microstructure change on the flow stress in laser forming processes of low carbon steel. The incorporation of such flow stress models with thermal mechanical FEM simulation increases numerical model accuracy in predicting geometry change and mechanical properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 106120
Author(s):  
Marcia Domínguez ◽  
Rafael Zarzuela ◽  
Ignacio Moreno-Garrido ◽  
María Carbú ◽  
Jesús M. Cantoral ◽  
...  

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