Detour-impact index method and traffic gathering algorithm for assessing alternative paths of disrupted roads

Infrastructure plays a key role in society. Recent collapses of bridges have underlined their importance for road functionality, causing disruptions to commuters and emergency vehicles. Major issues arise on rural roads, where the lack of redundancy leads to the isolation of entire communities. Actual approaches to assess the resilience of countryside roads rely on the availability of specific datasets, limiting their practical application; this issue is typically related to traffic data. This research aims to propose innovative algorithms to assess the road network’s vulnerability in rural areas, including a novel traffic data collection process and its calibration. The aggregate metric is called Detour-Impact Index (DII) and compares user costs before and after a disruptive event. The method uses traditional network-impact metrics in combination with a new algorithm that allows us to gather quantitative traffic data starting from qualitative information. User travel time showed good agreement between the proposed procedure and traditional web-based methods. Furthermore, the paper provides user delay costs functions accounting for traffic composition, trip purposes, vehicle operative costs, nonlinear volume–capacity relation, and average daily traffic. A significant aspect is the adaptability of this framework, as it is designed to be coupled with existing approaches. The method is demonstrated on a case study in Tuscany (Italy).The first, third and sixth authors acknowledge that, this work was partly financed by FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145- FEDER-007633. This work was supported by the FCT Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant SFRH/ BD/145478/2019

Risk management for bridges: a case study of unforeseen failure mode

Risk management plays a crucial role in the stakeholders’ decision making because it is directly related to safety, serviceability and economy. There is now a growing concern about how to relocate known risks into an acceptance threshold: this implies the evaluation of several options obtained from hazard scenarios considering the related consequences. In parallel, practitioners usually rely on standard tools for risk assessment, and on structural codes to compute performances. Although this approach is currently widely implemented, this research shows that hazardous situations can arise in properly designed infrastructures, due to errors in management. This paper deals with such issue, also highlighting a gap in current codes that could contribute to losses caused by unforeseen failure modes. In this study, a preliminary FMEA assessment was performed to identify the failure modes that required a deeper quantitative analysis. In a second step, a quantitative analysis was implemented, using a modular methodology that combines reliability theory with a risk-based approach. The results evidenced that a wider analysis focused on the identification of vulnerable areas shall be considered in every stage of the asset management. Furthermore, the dynamic of this process is regulated by the established safety level concerning possible damages to people, production sites and commercial activities.This work was partly financed by FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI01-0145-FEDER-007633. This work was supported by the FCT Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant SFRH/BD/145478/2019. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 769255

Sustainable safety evaluation of roads network in case of extreme weather events

Recent failures in road networks highlight their vulnerability towards natural hazards, particularly to extreme weather events. This paper proposes a method to evaluate the safety of road networks in case of collapse of one or more bridges. In addition, relevant consequences in terms of safety of human life, direct and indirect cost are crucial aspects to consider. The framework described here is based on the knowledge of road and river network, of the individual bridges and of the traffic data. However, this approach can be generalized in case of interruption of road network due to other causes. An algorithm has been developed to extract traffic data from Google and elaborate it throughout a procedure based on the application of the USA Highway Capacity Manual. This consents to have a quantitative definition of the road traffic directly from the users and to get updated traffic data. The maps are processed throughout a GIS software and, thanks to the application of a routing algorithm and proper constraints, it is possible to evaluate the effects of the interruption of one or more bridges. The consequences are evaluated in terms of drivers’ delay and time cost. This provides useful information about priority of intervention with the aim of proposing to stakeholders a suitable instrument for disaster prevention and management

Modulation of blood redox status by the progression of induced apical periodontitis in rats

This study aimed to investigate if apical periodontitis in different periods changes systemic levels of the antioxidant and pro-oxidant parameters in Wistar rats. Twenty-four rats were randomly allocated into healthy animals, apical periodontitis at 14 days (AP14) and apical periodontitis at 28 days (AP28). The first mandibular molars were accessed in the AP groups, and the pulp chamber was exposed to the oral environment, inducing the apical lesion. After 14 and 28 days, the animals were anesthetized, euthanized, and hemimandibles were collected for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis to measure lesion volume, bone volume (BV), percent of bone to total tissue volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular space (Tb.Sp). A histological examination of the remaining bone was also performed. Finally, blood samples were collected for oxidative biochemistry analysis, investigating glutathione (GSH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and lipid peroxidation (TBARS). The lesion volume was greater at 28 than at 14 days, as shown by micro-CT. AP14 and AP28 had decreased BV and Tb.Th, but only AP28 showed a reduction in BV/TV. Tb.N and Tb. Sp were increased in apical periodontitis at 28 days. In the histopathological analysis, AP14 had focal regions of moderate mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate, and AP28 had an intense inflammatory infiltrate with bacterial colonies. In the biochemical evaluation, GSH, TEAC, and TBARS were increased after 14 days. However, GSH returned to control levels, TEAC was similar to AP14, and TBARS increased significantly after 28 days. Therefore, the oxidative biochemistry response was modulated according to the progression of periapical damage. After 14 days, the organism could still react to the injury. However, at 28 days, the antioxidant response decreased, associated with an increase in TBARS

Arte Nova e Eclectismo no palacete projectado por Ernesto Korrodi para a família Bouhon

In the early twentieth century, Interior Design resulted from the work of architects, decorators, painters and carvers. Although then integrated into the world of decorative arts, we believe that already existed as a profession regulated by a coherent network design principles and the understanding of interior space as global web of relationships established between plans, ornament, lighting and furniture solutions. At the end of the previous century, before the need for a reform of industrial training, the Portuguese Government opened a tender for hiring of foreign teachers. We emphasize the role of Ernesto Korrodi (1870-1944). His works arise from an attitude paradoxically modern and eclectic, leaning one hand on a reinterpretation of solutions referenced in the medieval period or the Renaissance, on the other, based on formulas from Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau or Secession. In his projects certain rooms and hierarchies remain, but these are intersect with the needs aroused by technical innovations, which causes an attempt to answer to the emergence of new functions and features in the house, along with the hygienists demands of the moment. This article consists in the analysis of Bouhon home, located in the city of Covilhã, Portugal. If Art Nouveau is visible in the elevations, inside we find a cleaner space, marked by decorative notes which we can find in tiles and embedded in the stucco or coffered ceilings. The ornament thus contributes to the dignity of the walls, wainscots and ceiling plans, assuming a key role in the spatial composition.No início do século XX, o design de interiores resultava do trabalho desenvolvido por arquitectos, decoradores, pintores ou entalhadores. Embora então integrado no universo das artes decorativas, acreditamos que já existia como prática profissional regulada por uma rede coerente de princípios de concepção e pelo entendimento do espaço interior como teia global de relações que se estabelece entre planos, ornamento, iluminação e mobiliário. No final do século anterior, perante a necessidade de proceder a uma reforma do ensino industrial, o governo português abrira um concurso para contratação de professores estrangeiros. Evidenciamos o papel de Ernesto Korrodi (1870-1944). As suas obras decorrem de uma atitude paradoxalmente ecléctica e moderna, apoiando-se por um lado, numa reinterpretação de soluções referenciadas no período medieval ou na Renascença; por outro, em fórmulas sediadas nos movimentos Arts and Crafts, Arte Nova (Art Nouveau) ou Secessão. Nos seus projectos persistem determinadas dependências e hierarquias, mas estas se cruzam com as necessidades despertadas pelas inovações técnicas, o que faz com que se preocupe também com a resposta à eclosão de novas funções e mobiliário na casa, a par das exigências higienistas do momento. O presente artigo consiste na análise da casa da família Bouhon, localizada na cidade da Covilhã, Portugal. Se a Arte Nova marca as suas fachadas, no interior deparamo-nos com espaços mais depurados, marcados por apontamentos decorativos, incorporados na azulejaria e nos tectos estucados ou em caixotões. O ornamento contribui, deste modo, para a dignificação dos planos das paredes, lambris e tectos, assumindo um papel fundamental na composição espacial

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost