Calibration of the dynamic behaviour of incomplete structures in archeological sites: The case of Villa Diomede portico in Pompeii

This paper reports the research activities carried out on Villa Diomede in Pompeii, built during the "Pre-Roman period" (i.e. the 3rd century BC) and discovered between 1771 and 1774 during the archaeological excavations. It is one of the greatest private buildings of Pompeii and it is located on the western corner of the modern archeological site. Three levels compose the building: the ground floor, the lower quadriportico with a square plan and a series of colonnades on the four sides around the inner garden and the cryptoportico. Villa Diomede was damaged by the strong earthquake occurred in AD 63 that caused the collapse of the western pillars of the quadriportico and later damaged after the big eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. In June 2015 a series of nondestructive tests (NDT) were carried out by the authors in order to obtain information on the state of conservation of the building and to assess its structural behavior. Direct and tomographic sonic pulse velocity tests, ground penetrating radar, endoscopies and operational modal analysis were performed on the remaining structural elements on the two levels of the Villa. The present paper reports the main outcomes and findings of ambient vibration tests implemented to extract the modal parameters in terms of eigenfrequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios. Operational modal analysis and output-only identification techniques were applied to single stone pillars of the quadriportico structure and then to the entire square colonnade of Villa Diomede. Results are then used to study the soil-structure interaction at a local level and extend the gained information for the numerical calibration of the whole structure. Thanks to this methodology a detailed model updating procedure of the quadriportico was performed to develop reliable numerical models for the implementation of advance structural and seismic analysis of this "incomplete" archaeological structure

Operational modal analysis for the characterization of ancient water towers in Pompeii

In the framework of an investigation campaign carried out in June 2015 by the authors on four ancient water towers (10\u201320 BC) in the archaeological site of Pompeii, modal analysis and output-only identification techniques were employed to extract the dynamic properties in order to assess structural vulnerabilities and support numerical model updating. The four investigated towers (selected among the fourteen present within the archaeological site) are free-standing structures at least 6 m tall, belonging to the Castellum Aquae, i.e. the ancient aqueducts system of the city. During the Roman Age, until the destruction of Pompeii due to the volcanic eruption in 79 AD, water towers provided fresh water to houses, palaces and villas. This particular type of structures are classified as no. 1, 2, 3 and 4 by archaeological literature: no. 1 and 4 are made of soft stone masonry (tuff, limestone), while no. 2 and 3 are composed by brickwork masonry. The paper reports the outcomes of ambient vibration tests performed on four towers in terms of extracted modal parameters using various operational modal analysis techniques. Obtained data are then used to study numerically the soil-structure interaction problem and implement model updating procedures

The Regulation of Rat Liver Xanthine Oxidase CONVERSION IN VITRO OF THE ENZYME ACTIVITY FROM DEHYDROGENASE (TYPE D) TO OXIDASE (TYPE O)

Abstract The aerobic oxidation of xanthine by rat liver supernatant was greatly stimulated by the addition of methylene blue or of NAD+: the latter was reduced during the reaction. Storage of the supernatant at -20° brought about an enhancement of the xanthine oxidation rate measured without addition of cofactors. A similar "activation" was caused by prior incubation at 37° of the unfractionated liver homogenate, or of the supernatant separated after sonic disruption of the homogenate. The same effect was obtained by treatment with solvents, or by prior incubation at 37° of the supernatant in the presence of proteolytic enzymes or under anaerobic conditions. The presence of xanthine accelerated the effect of proteolytic enzymes and of anaerobiosis. Only the changes caused by anaerobiosis could be reversed by incubating the supernatant in air before the assay. The reaction rate was apparently unaffected by these treatments if activity of the enzyme was measured in the presence of methylene blue or of NAD+. The latter, however, was not reduced during the oxidation of xanthine by "activated" supernatants stored at -20° if the reaction was run in the presence of oxygen. If the reaction was in anaerobiosis, uric acid and a corresponding amount of NADH were formed by fresh, supernatant, and by supernatants activated at -20° or by prior incubation in anaerobiosis, but not by supernatant activated by trypsin. The hypothesis is formulated that most of the xanthine oxidase of rat liver supernatant is a dehydrogenase (Type D), and may be converted (activated) into an oxidase (Type O)

High-Current Field Emission from an Atomic Quantum Wire

Linear chains of carbon atoms have been proposed as the electron emitting structures of open tip carbon nanotubes subject to an electric field. To better understand the implications of the results of Smalley and collaborators, the electromagnetic response of linear carbon chains to both static and dynamics fields have been studied, making use of ab-initio methods. It is found that the associated emission currents, plotted as a function of the bias potential, follow Fowler-Nordheim intensity-voltage curves typical of the field emission of metallic tips. Under standard bias conditions, linear carbon chains of one nanometer of length are expected to deliver currents of the order of one microampere. These systems behave, furthermore, as conducting needles in photoabsorption processes. Linear carbon chains are thus likely to constitute the ultimate atomic-scale realization of metallic wires.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, RevTe

Flat bidifferential ideals and semihamiltonian PDEs

In this paper we consider a class of semihamiltonian systems characterized by the existence of a special conservation law. The density and the current of this conservation law satisfy a second order system of PDEs which has a natural interpretation in the theory of flat bifferential ideals. The class of systems we consider contains important well-known examples of semihamiltonian systems. Other examples, like genus 1 Whitham modulation equations for KdV, are related to this class by a reciprocal trasformation.Comment: 18 pages. v5: formula (36) corrected; minor change

Comparative prediction of cardiac events by wall motion, wall motion plus coronary flow reserve, or myocardial perfusion analysis: a multicenter study of contrast stress echocardiography

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine whether the increasing difficulty of assessing wall motion (WM), Doppler coronary flow reserve on the left anterior descending coronary artery (CFR-LAD), and myocardial perfusion (MP) during stress echocardiography (SE) was justified by increasing prognostic information in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.BackgroundThe use of echocardiographic contrast agents during SE permits the assessment of both CFR-LAD and MP, but their relative incremental prognostic value is undefined.MethodsThis study followed a multicenter cohort of 718 patients for 16 months after high-dose dipyridamole contrast SE for evaluation of known or suspected coronary artery disease. The ability of WM, CFR-LAD, and MP to predict cardiac events was studied by multivariable models and risk reclassification.ResultsAbnormal SE was detected as a reversible WM abnormality in 18%, reversible MP defect in 27%, and CFR-LAD <2 in 38% of subjects. Fifty cardiac events occurred (annualized event rate 6.0%). A normal MP stress test had a 1-year hard event rate of 1.2%. The C-index of outcomes prediction based on clinical data was improved with MP (p < 0.001) and WM/CFR-LAD (p = 0.037), and MP (p = 0.003) added to clinical and WM data. Net risk reclassification was improved by adding MP (p < 0.001) or CFR-LAD (net reclassification improvement p = 0.001) in addition to clinical and WM data. The model including clinical data, WM/CFR-LAD, and MP performed better than that without MP did (p = 0.012).ConclusionsThe multiparametric assessment of WM, CFR-LAD and MP during stress testing in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease is feasible. Contrast SE allowed better prognostication, irrespective of the use of CFR-LAD or MP. The addition of either CFR-LAD or MP assessment to standard WM analysis and clinical parameters yielded progressively higher values for the prediction of cardiac events and may be required in today's intensively treated patients undergoing SE, because their average low risk of future cardiac events requires methods with higher predictive sensitivity than that available with standalone WM assessment

The (Mis)understanding of Scientific Uncertainty? How Experts View Policy-Makers, the Media and Publics

Frequent claims that publics ‘misunderstand’ science ignore the contested definition of scientific uncertainty itself. Scientific uncertainty means different things in the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, while public controversies show that these interpretations of scientific uncertainty have different implications for policy and decision-making. This prompts analysis of the ways that experts view scientific uncertainty and how they characterise the (mis)understandings of this uncertainty by policy-makers, media and publics. Experts from diverse academic fields define scientific uncertainty differently depending on their disciplinary background. For example, mathematics provides experts from the natural sciences with a practice language that facilitates communication with those sharing this cultural competence, but it does not suffice for engaging with wider audiences. Further, experts’ views of diverse publics come across as folk theories, in Arie Rip’s terms, which, compiled from disparate pieces of information, can be used to fill a gap in the knowledge about publics

Differential Calculi on Associative Algebras and Integrable Systems

After an introduction to some aspects of bidifferential calculus on associative algebras, we focus on the notion of a "symmetry" of a generalized zero curvature equation and derive Backlund and (forward, backward and binary) Darboux transformations from it. We also recall a matrix version of the binary Darboux transformation and, inspired by the so-called Cauchy matrix approach, present an infinite system of equations solved by it. Finally, we sketch recent work on a deformation of the matrix binary Darboux transformation in bidifferential calculus, leading to a treatment of integrable equations with sources.Comment: 19 pages, to appear in "Algebraic Structures and Applications", S. Silvestrov et al (eds.), Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, 202

Systematic coarse-graining of environments for the non-perturbative simulation of open quantum systems

Conducting precise electronic-vibrational dynamics simulations of molecular systems poses significant challenges when dealing with an environment composed of numerous vibrational modes. Here, we introduce novel techniques for the construction of effective phonon spectral densities that capture accurately open system dynamics over a finite time interval of interest. When combined with existing non-perturbative simulation tools, our approach can reduce significantly the computational costs associated with many-body open system dynamics