Evolution of Soil Settlements under a Rockfill Dam Based on Potential Earthquake Harmfulness (PEH) 'Case of Boumerdes Earthquake, Algeria 2003'

Author(s):  
Faroudia Meziani ◽  
Amar Kahil ◽  
Smail Gabi

Earthquakes are part of the natural cataclysms that are responsible for the destruction of entire cities, causing the deaths of millions of people and often have disastrous economic consequences. Therefore, it is important to consider measures of the intensity of seismic movement in risk analysis (Potential Earthquake Harmfulness ‘PEH’). The purpose of this study is to model the mass of soil under a rockfill embankment in order to evaluate the soil settlement under the effect of an earthquake of Boumerdes (Algeria 2003) using “plaxis” finite element code. The PEH characterizes in our study the Aria intensity IA(t) and the cumulative absolute velocity CAV(t), on the one hand, and on the other hand, empirical correlations between the indicators of harmfulness (PEH) and the settlements under the base of the dike. The correlations thus obtained (Uy-PEH) are slightly influenced by the gravitational loads and a tighter dispersion of the point cloud is observed on the correlations (Uy-IA).

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-116
Author(s):  
Stelio Mangiameli

The essay starts from a comparison in the European Union between the economic and financial crisis of 2009 and the health crisis of 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, the scarce capacity of Member States and European institutions to carry out the recovery of the economic European condition and transformation of the European government system after the 2009 crisis, despite the indications of the Commission's Blueprint (of 2012) and of the Report of the five presidents (of 2015). On the other hand, in the face of the health crisis, the reaction of the European institutions seemed more decisive with the creation of various instruments to combat the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. These include in particular the Recovery fund - Next Generation EU, linked to the 2021-2027 MFF. The reaction to the pandemic shows the possibilities of the European Union to create a community of States in solidarity and with its own identity also in the international scenario. However, it is by no means certain that this idea can prevail over the one that sees the European Union as simply a free trade organization between the Member States. The decisions that will be taken in the Conference on the future of Europe between 2021 and 2022 appear to be decided to define the evolution of the European Union.


Author(s):  
D. Dahlke ◽  
M. Linkiewicz

This paper compares two generic approaches for the reconstruction of buildings. Synthesized and real oblique and vertical aerial imagery is transformed on the one hand into a dense photogrammetric 3D point cloud and on the other hand into photogrammetric 2.5D surface models depicting a scene from different cardinal directions. One approach evaluates the 3D point cloud statistically in order to extract the hull of structures, while the other approach makes use of salient line segments in 2.5D surface models, so that the hull of 3D structures can be recovered. With orders of magnitudes more analyzed 3D points, the point cloud based approach is an order of magnitude more accurate for the synthetic dataset compared to the lower dimensioned, but therefor orders of magnitude faster, image processing based approach. For real world data the difference in accuracy between both approaches is not significant anymore. In both cases the reconstructed polyhedra supply information about their inherent semantic and can be used for subsequent and more differentiated semantic annotations through exploitation of texture information.


Author(s):  
D. Dahlke ◽  
M. Linkiewicz

This paper compares two generic approaches for the reconstruction of buildings. Synthesized and real oblique and vertical aerial imagery is transformed on the one hand into a dense photogrammetric 3D point cloud and on the other hand into photogrammetric 2.5D surface models depicting a scene from different cardinal directions. One approach evaluates the 3D point cloud statistically in order to extract the hull of structures, while the other approach makes use of salient line segments in 2.5D surface models, so that the hull of 3D structures can be recovered. With orders of magnitudes more analyzed 3D points, the point cloud based approach is an order of magnitude more accurate for the synthetic dataset compared to the lower dimensioned, but therefor orders of magnitude faster, image processing based approach. For real world data the difference in accuracy between both approaches is not significant anymore. In both cases the reconstructed polyhedra supply information about their inherent semantic and can be used for subsequent and more differentiated semantic annotations through exploitation of texture information.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
David Torregrosa-Fuentes ◽  
Yolanda Spairani Berrio ◽  
José Antonio Huesca Tortosa ◽  
Jaime Cuevas González ◽  
Adrián José Torregrosa Fuentes

<p><strong>Extended Abstract:</strong></p><p>We present a methodological approach for the representation, visualisation and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) models of meaningful details in stone reliefs provided by digital documentation tools and subsequent processing. For this aim, anthropomorphous shapes engraved on a flat stone slab found in Sierra de Fontcalent (Alicante) are studied. The object under consideration was located near two archaeological sites, Cova del Fum–a cave with presence of the Chalcolithic material (López, 2010)–and the archaeological site of Fontcalent, with remains from different phases of occupation spanning from 7th-6thBC to the 20thcentury (Ximénez, 2012).</p><p>In the last few years, the use of digital tools provided by new technologies and software development has left traditional work methodology behind (De Reu et al., 2014)while enabling the development of new approaches to both minimise heritage alteration and provide objective and accurate information (Lopez-Menchero, Marchante, Vincent, Cárdenas, &amp; Onrubia, 2017). 3D documentation allows recording of cultural heritage at a reasonable cost with precision and quality through digital photography and SfM (Structure from Motion) photogrammetry with specialised software (De Reu et al., 2013).</p><p>In this project, recording and documentation with digital photography and automated photogrammetric techniques are applied to the Fontcalent stone slab for its digitisation and subsequent 3D representation. From the resulting model, a two-folded line of study is obtained. On the one hand, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is generated to study the microtopographies of the stone with geographic analysis techniques provided by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from different lighting conditions and surface reflections, which are calculated by hillshading or LRM (Local Relief Model) for the interpretation of the object (Carrero-Pazos, Vilas, Romaní, &amp; Rodríguez, 2014;Gawior, Rutkiewicz, Malik &amp; Wistuba, 2017).On the other hand, from both the 3D model and the point cloud, the study is completed with the application of the methods of analysis and visualisation based on the Morphological Residue Model (MRM) which stands out every single detail of the surface morphology of the object (Caninas, Pires, Henriques, &amp; Chambino, 2016;Correia, Pires, &amp; Sousa, 2014). Further visualisations are based on Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) which provides different shadows and reflections over the object from the application of a multidirectional illumination (Happa et al., 2010; Malzbender, Gelb, Wolters, &amp; Zuckerman, 2000; Mudge et al., 2010).</p><p>The  results thus obtained of the  Fontcalent  stone  slab  allow  us  to  visualise  several  characteristic  elements. The anthropomorphous figure awaking interest is also combined with the figure resulting from different visualisations applied with GIS techniques which may resemble a zoomorph. The use of visualisation techniques shown in this study has been fundamental in order to recognise the latter element. The composition reveals a zigzag line already appreciated before the study so that it is interesting to check if visualisations based on GIS techniques are able to highlight it though being shallow incisions. In our experience regarding this study, visualisation by using the hillshading technique shows a greater level of 3D detail than that provided by the application of the sky-view factor technique which offers a flattering view. However, the former  technique  may occasionally show  shadows  which  hide  other  details, unlike the  latter  technique  which  plots  the entire slab surface illuminated while differentiating the associated microtopography on the basis of its marks. The use of shaders  in  combination  with  hillshading  and  particularly  combined  with  high  pass filtering, contributes  to improving the visualisation and accuracy of shadowed areas. As a result, we conclude that the results obtained in this work by lighting techniques with GIS add a greater level of detail in comparison to those provided by the mesh or the point cloud.</p><p>The study of the Fontcalent stone slab paves the way for two working hypotheses to be developed: on the one hand, its anthropological origin possibly related to the Chalcolithic, and on the other hand, its study as natural geological formations with ichnofossils.</p><p>The digitisation of cultural heritage with available 3D technologies should be a mandatory requirement when facing any study, analysis or intervention.  With  the  current  development  of  such techniques, we  have  verified  their  contribution  to fundamental characteristics in the corresponding stages of visualisation and study. Thus, the proposed methodology is presented as an accurate and complete alternative for the study and analysis of the existing cultural heritage, and opens new  ways  for  the  revision,  reinterpretation  and  revaluation  of  the  previously  evaluated  heritage  through  traditional techniques.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-145
Author(s):  
Tadeusz Wojewódzki

Many problems of contemporary organizations originate in the area of axiology. In management practice, however, the problem of values is often reduced to stimulus-motivation of behavior and does not exceed the paradigm of socio-technical effectiveness. This is why strictly axiological problems are not identified and recognized as axiological but are often referred to in terms of their technical or economic consequences. In result, management practice deals rather with effects than actual causes of experienced problems. From the point of view of methodology of decision-making such state-of-affairs requires intervention. There are at least two ways to recommend changes with respect to such situation. First one, direct way, involves promoting axiological reflection among managers. Second one, the indirect, seeks to stimulate axiological consciousness through management consulting products that are built on essential axiological theory. The following paper focuses on the second of above mentioned ways and discusses particular consulting product called MSE™. On the one hand, the cognitive benefits of application of the MSE™ consist in implementation and validation of theory of integrated humanities in organizational context. Practical benefits, on the other hand, rely on opportunities emerging from MSE™ that allow for diagnosis of intellectual mental infrastructure of contemporary organizations and changes recommendation resulting therefrom.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (223) ◽  
pp. 11-38
Author(s):  
Velimir Bole ◽  
Miha Dominko ◽  
Ada Gustin-Habus ◽  
Janez Prasnikar

The paper deals with the performance of former Yugoslav countries during the Great Recession. It compares the performance of peripheral countries (Slovenia and Croatia) with those of superperipheral countries (Bosnia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia). The focus of the analysis is the four channels of crisis transmission and amplification: the capital surge as the external channel on the one hand, and the financial accelerator, the banking credit extension, and liquidity as internal channels on the other. While the external channel drove the dynamics of the crisis, the internal channels amplified, broadened, and prolonged its drastic economic consequences. The paper depicts the trajectory of the consequences of the Great Recession for both peripheral and super-peripheral countries. It shows that, regarding financial stability, peripheral countries outperformed superperipheral countries in the boom phase, but not in the bust and recovery phases. The crucial factor influencing such a deterioration of peripheral countries? financial stability was the policy measures enforced by the European Commission and ECB, calibrated to the needs of the largest and strongest economies of the euro area, while neglecting the asymmetric dynamics of European economies in the bust and recovery phases. The paper concludes with a warning that something similar could happen in the present crisis triggered by the Covid-19 virus.


1975 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 395-407
Author(s):  
S. Henriksen

The first question to be answered, in seeking coordinate systems for geodynamics, is: what is geodynamics? The answer is, of course, that geodynamics is that part of geophysics which is concerned with movements of the Earth, as opposed to geostatics which is the physics of the stationary Earth. But as far as we know, there is no stationary Earth – epur sic monere. So geodynamics is actually coextensive with geophysics, and coordinate systems suitable for the one should be suitable for the other. At the present time, there are not many coordinate systems, if any, that can be identified with a static Earth. Certainly the only coordinate of aeronomic (atmospheric) interest is the height, and this is usually either as geodynamic height or as pressure. In oceanology, the most important coordinate is depth, and this, like heights in the atmosphere, is expressed as metric depth from mean sea level, as geodynamic depth, or as pressure. Only for the earth do we find “static” systems in use, ana even here there is real question as to whether the systems are dynamic or static. So it would seem that our answer to the question, of what kind, of coordinate systems are we seeking, must be that we are looking for the same systems as are used in geophysics, and these systems are dynamic in nature already – that is, their definition involvestime.


Author(s):  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Markus Appel

Abstract. Two experiments examined the influence of stories on recipients’ self-perceptions. Extending prior theory and research, our focus was on assimilation effects (i.e., changes in self-perception in line with a protagonist’s traits) as well as on contrast effects (i.e., changes in self-perception in contrast to a protagonist’s traits). In Experiment 1 ( N = 113), implicit and explicit conscientiousness were assessed after participants read a story about either a diligent or a negligent student. Moderation analyses showed that highly transported participants and participants with lower counterarguing scores assimilate the depicted traits of a story protagonist, as indicated by explicit, self-reported conscientiousness ratings. Participants, who were more critical toward a story (i.e., higher counterarguing) and with a lower degree of transportation, showed contrast effects. In Experiment 2 ( N = 103), we manipulated transportation and counterarguing, but we could not identify an effect on participants’ self-ascribed level of conscientiousness. A mini meta-analysis across both experiments revealed significant positive overall associations between transportation and counterarguing on the one hand and story-consistent self-reported conscientiousness on the other hand.


2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (03) ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
R. G. Meyer ◽  
W. Herr ◽  
A. Helisch ◽  
P. Bartenstein ◽  
I. Buchmann

SummaryThe prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) has improved considerably by introduction of aggressive consolidation chemotherapy and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). Nevertheless, only 20-30% of patients with AML achieve long-term diseasefree survival after SCT. The most common cause of treatment failure is relapse. Additionally, mortality rates are significantly increased by therapy-related causes such as toxicity of chemotherapy and complications of SCT. Including radioimmunotherapies in the treatment of AML and myelodyplastic syndrome (MDS) allows for the achievement of a pronounced antileukaemic effect for the reduction of relapse rates on the one hand. On the other hand, no increase of acute toxicity and later complications should be induced. These effects are important for the primary reduction of tumour cells as well as for the myeloablative conditioning before SCT.This paper provides a systematic and critical review of the currently used radionuclides and immunoconjugates for the treatment of AML and MDS and summarizes the literature on primary tumour cell reductive radioimmunotherapies on the one hand and conditioning radioimmunotherapies before SCT on the other hand.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (188) ◽  
pp. 487-494
Author(s):  
Daniel Mullis

In recent years, political and social conditions have changed dramatically. Many analyses help to capture these dynamics. However, they produce political pessimism: on the one hand there is the image of regression and on the other, a direct link is made between socio-economic decline and the rise of the far-right. To counter these aspects, this article argues that current political events are to be understood less as ‘regression’ but rather as a moment of movement and the return of deep political struggles. Referring to Jacques Ranciere’s political thought, the current conditions can be captured as the ‘end of post-democracy’. This approach changes the perspective on current social dynamics in a productive way. It allows for an emphasis on movement and the recognition of the windows of opportunity for emancipatory struggles.


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