Appunti sulla situazione apistica in sardegna: 2. i periodi di fioritura

This work is the first methodological attempt to find a model capable of determining the time and duration of flowering in plants typical of Sardinian flora. Essential to territorial characterization and identification of nomadic itineries, these factors were related to the microenvironmental conditions found in three distinct areas: coastal, hill and mountainous. The results obtained provided a preliminary set of data indispensable to the determination of the apiarian potential of our incultivated areas

Pseudococcus affinis MASK., new vector of grapevine trichoviruses A and B

Research Note Grapevine trichovirus A (GVA) and grapevine trichovirus B (GVB) were successfully transferred with bulk transmission trials under controlled conditions, from infected grapevines to herbaceous hosts by Pseudococcus affinis MASK., a pseudococcid mealybug that may attack grapevines. P. affinis is the fourth mealybug species capable of vectoring GVA and GVB, confirming that transmission by mealybugs of grapevine trichoviruses may not be species-specific

On the possible relationship between Kober stem grooving and grapevine virus A

Investigations were carried out to establish possible correlations of two diseases of the rugose wood complex, i.e. Rupestris stem pitting (RSP) and Kober stem grooving (KSG) with grapevine virus A (GVA) and grapevine leafroll associated viruses I (GLRaV I) and III (GLRaV III). To this purpose 84 clonal accessions of different wine grape cultivars were analyzed by ELISA and by indexing onto the indicators Vitis rupestris, Kober 5BB and LN 33. The results obtained clearly indicated that none of the viruses taken into consideration is apparently involved in the etiology of RSP. Conversely, a remarkably close association of GVA with KSG was discovered

Behavior of Full-Scale Porous GFRP Barrier under Blast Loads

This research paper is part of the SAS (Security of Airport Structures) Project funded by the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection, whose objective was to develop and deploy a fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fencing system intended to protect airport infrastructures against terrorist acts. In the paper, the efficacy of the proposed glass FRP discontinuous (porous) barrier under blast loads is presented by showing the results of the blast test campaign conducted on full-size specimens with a focus on the reduction of the blast shock wave induced by the barrier. A simplified model predicting the reduction of the shock wave beyond the barrier is proposed and validated via the experimental data obtained in the project

Earthquake induced floor accelerations on a high-rise building: Scale model tests on a shaking table

The paper discusses results of shaking table tests on an in-scale high-rise building model. The purpose was to calibrate a dynamic numerical model for multi-hazard analyses to investigate the effects of floor acceleration. Accelerations, because of vibration of non-structural elements, affect both the comfort and safety of people. The research investigates the acceleration effects of both seismic and wind forces on an aeroelastic in-scale model of a multi-story building. The paper discusses the first phase of experiments and gives results of floor accelerations induced by several different base seismic impulses. Structural analyses were first performed on the full-scale prototype to take soil-structure interaction into account. Subsequently the scale model was designed through aeroelastic scale laws. Shaking table experiments were then carried out under different base accelerations. The response of the model and, in particular, amplification of effects from base to top are discussed

The BIM-based Integrated Design of the SHiP Project Decay Volume

The Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment is a new general-purpose fixed target facility proposed at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator to search for longlived exotic particles associated with Hidden Sectors and Dark Matter. This paper reports on the BIM integrated design of SHiP’s decay volume, a conical steel vessel under vacuum that should host several large particle physics detector systems. The use of BIM characterized the design of the decay volume, both in the modeling and structural design phase, and in the process definition phase for the realization and implementation in the facility of the device. This procedure helps to minimize the risks of incorrect design and construction of the device during the whole process. With the automation of the virtual model and the use of interoperable software, in addition to speeding up the exchange of information, it is possible also to export the detailed information of the structural design directly to the numerical control machines for the prefabrication of the various steel modules. Then, the BIM approach to support the integrated design of the SHiP project decay volume from the conceptual planning to the construction phase is shown in this work

Potential of remote sensing data to support the seismic safety assessment of reinforced concrete buildings affected by slow-moving landslides

Different forms of hazard can affect structures throughout their existence. The occurrence of a seismic event in areas exposed to different risks or already affected by other phenomena is highly likely, especially in countries characterized by high seismicity and equally high hydrogeological risk, as Italy. Nevertheless, the seismic safety assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is commonly carried out considering the seismic action only, generally applied to an analytical model, neglecting the stress–strain state induced by previous ongoing phenomena. The aim of this work is to highlight the importance of the seismic safety assessment in a multi-hazard analysis, cumulating the action coming from two different hazards: landslide and earthquake. An existing RC building, located in an area affected by an intermittent landslide phenomenon with slow kinematics, that may also be subjected to strong earthquakes, is used as case study. The Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) approach is used to monitor the evolution in time of the landslide. DInSAR deformation data are used to detect surface ground movements applied to building foundations. A non-linear static analysis procedure is implemented for the code-based seismic safety assessment, in two different scenarios. The seismic assessment of the case-study building is implemented in a condition of structure deformed only for gravity loads, and, then, in a state of known landslide-induced deformed configuration. A comparison is proposed between the building seismic safety assessment performed in both cases, with or without the consideration of the landslide-induced displacements, showing the importance of a multi-hazard evaluation

Assessing the effect of tsunami-induced vertical loads on RC frames

The increasing number of people, structures and economic activities being exposed to tsunami hazards makes it important to estimate the effects of this hazard on coastal developments. Tsunami onshore flow generates significant loading on buildings and infrastructure, which can lead to structural failure. Literature works recently proposed a non-linear static analysis method, called Variable Depth Pushover (VDPO), for assessing the performance of buildings under the lateral pressures induced by a tsunami onshore flow. This methodology was developed under the assumption that the building is watertight. However, in the case of buildings with breakaway cladding (e.g., masonry infills), the water flow passing through the building induces vertical loads on horizontal structural members, due to uplift and buoyancy pressures, that should be considered during the analysis. Thus, to address this phenomenon, in this paper a numerical investigation is performed considering a combination of tsunami-induced horizontal and vertical loads on a case-study reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frame with breakaway infills, typical of Mediterranean construction. The building model is subjected to a VDPO analysis that applies different types and sizes of vertical loading on the horizontal elements of the building, as the tsunami inundation depth increases. From the results of this analysis, the effects of tsunamiinduced vertical load components on the case-study building in terms of damage propagation and failure mode are discussed, and the significance of considering vertical loading is proven

Incidence of grapevine trunk diseases on four cultivars in Sardinia, Southern Italy

Esca proper and Botryosphaeria dieback are among the most widespread Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs), characterized by similar decline symptoms. In the present work, chronic, apoplexy and death symptoms were analysed separately in four vineyards and four different cultivars, on more than 1,000 vines per cultivar, taking into account ten-year annual surveys. The cumulative incidence of plants with chronic symptoms (CHR) reached high values on 'Sauvignon Blanc' (81.9 %), 'Cabernet Sauvignon' (79.4 %) and 'Cannonau' (66.5 %), but it was low on 'Merlot' (25.1 %). 'Sauvignon Blanc' showed the highest cumulative incidence of apoplectic events (23.1 %) and dead cordons (49.2 %), while 'Cannonau' had the greatest number of dead plants (28.8 %). In each symptom category, incidence among cultivars differed significantly according to χ2 test at P ≤ 0.05. Annual incidence of foliar symptoms fluctuated over ten years (ranging from 0.9-9.5 % in 'Merlot' to 6.3‑59.1 % in 'Cabernet Sauvignon'), mostly with regard to CHR. On average, every year only 33.9 % of plants showing CHR had expressed symptoms in the previous year, while 48.6 % did not show symptoms the following year. Conversely, most of the plants exhibiting apoplexy or death were symptomatic the previous year. According to Tuckey HSD test (P ≤ 0.05) 'Merlot' had the highest incidence of plants showing CHR symptoms for the first time (72.1 %) and of apparently recovered plants (76.3 %), while 'Cabernet Sauvignon' exhibited the highest incidence of plants showing CHR symptoms also the previous year (50.0 %). The 'Cabernet Sauvignon' attitude to show chronic symptoms with a certain continuity was also confirmed by the low incidence of plants with hidden symptoms (lack of symptoms in previously symptomatic vines). On the contrary, the incidence of acute symptoms (apoplectic events and dead plants) was quite low on 'Cabernet Sauvignon'. The present study confirms that GTD incidence is influenced by cultivar. All the cultivars assessed were susceptible, but with differences in intensity, type (chronic or acute) and fluctuation of symptoms. It cannot be excluded, however, that besides the genotype also external factors, as the vigour conferred by the type of soil or the combination with the rootstock, may have influenced the results