Vibration analysis of the civic tower in Rieti

In the last decades the definition of a suitable monitoring system for identifying the dynamic behavior of structures has had a central position in the civil engineering research area. The vibration analysis leads to the recognition of the reference state of structures which is essential to determine the integrity level when extreme events occur, such as earthquakes. The latest seismic events occurred in the world have shown the essential role of the new passive seismic techniques which aim to protect structures and the importance of supervising the building construction operations and the adopted improvement measures. In this work the structural monitoring of the civic tower located in Rieti is presented. In the tower a non-conventional TMD has been installed via an inter-story isolation system at the top floor by means of High Damping Rubber Bearings (HDRB). The general goal is to define a monitoring system suitable with this experimental case through the vibration analysis. Several aspects will be taken into account: the choice of sensors setup, the measured quantities and the extraction of structural information. Firstly this will allow to define the structure’s reference state featured by frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes. Moreover the effective design of the monitoring system would lead to the characterization of the dynamic behavior of the structure equipped with a passive vibration control system. Different tests have been carried forward: ambient vibration test (AVT), forced vibration test (FVT) with vibrodyne and seismic test (ST). The AVT and the FVT enable to define the monitoring system and check the reliability of the adopted identification tools, among which an Output Only algorithm stands out: the Observer Kalman Filter System Id. On the other hand the ST will point out some preliminary information about the dynamic behaviour of the structure equipped with a non conventional Tuned Mass Damper referring it to higher levels of vibrations

'I thought I am Modern Slavery': Giving a Voice to Trafficked Women

This article addresses the lack of women’s voices in the trafficking discourse by presenting women’s perspectives on policy support. Undertaken as part of doctoral study at the University of Hull, the research asked formerly trafficked women about their experiences of trafficking and anti-trafficking professionals about their work with victims. This paper focuses on women’s views on material help, health care and social support, a perceived culture of disbelief, and family rights. Their narratives highlight a continuation of exploitation through restrictive policy practices, and identify gaps in policy and provision around family reunification, loss of children, and rights for trafficked wives. The paper offers a review of women’s experience against assistance stipulated in the Council of Europe (2005) Convention, and also the newer anti-trafficking measures introduced by the EU Parliamentary Directive (EUP, 2011). In this way, women’s voicing of experience highlights the limitations of current policies and practices

Narratives of Human Trafficking: Ways of Seeing and Not Seeing the Real Survivors and Stories

This paper addresses the two grand narratives in the migration-crime-security nexus and critiques their impact on our ability to see and not see real survivors and their stories of being trafficked. Focusing on the UK and female survivors, the paper explores the crime master narrative for its construction of the social and cultural template – the official way of seeing the ‘right sort’ of crime victim in trafficking (the VoT or modern slave). From this standpoint, anyone falling short of the template is susceptible to criminal scrutiny as someone culpable in her own exploitation. Similarly, the paper will examine the security narrative for its construction of the social and cultural template – the official way of seeing the ‘wrong sort’ of migrant (undocumented, unskilled and racially different). Borne of political, social and cultural attitudes to UK immigration, the security narrative hides the reality of a migrant labour force without rights of citizenship or belonging. The paper also shares stories of survivors of trafficking which illustrate how they are seen or not seen, but which survivors tell to promote their political visibility

Skeletal Myogenic Progenitors Originating from Embryonic Dorsal Aorta Coexpress Endothelial and Myogenic Markers and Contribute to Postnatal Muscle Growth and Regeneration

Skeletal muscle in vertebrates is derived from somites, epithelial structures of the paraxial mesoderm, yet many unrelated reports describe the occasional appearance of myogenic cells from tissues of nonsomite origin, suggesting either transdifferentiation or the persistence of a multipotent progenitor. Here, we show that clonable skeletal myogenic cells are present in the embryonic dorsal aorta of mouse embryos. This finding is based on a detailed clonal analysis of different tissue anlagen at various developmental stages. In vitro, these myogenic cells show the same morphology as satellite cells derived from adult skeletal muscle, and express a number of myogenic and endothelial markers. Surprisingly, the latter are also expressed by adult satellite cells. Furthermore, it is possible to clone myogenic cells from limbs of mutant c-Met-/- embryos, which lack appendicular muscles, but have a normal vascular system. Upon transplantation, aorta-derived myogenic cells participate in postnatal muscle growth and regeneration, and fuse with resident satellite cells. The potential of the vascular system to generate skeletal muscle cells may explain observations of nonsomite skeletal myogenesis and raises the possibility that a subset of satellite cells may derive from the vascular system