Osteology of Galeamopus pabsti sp. nov. (Sauropoda: Diplodocidae), with implications for neurocentral closure timing, and the cervico-dorsal transition in diplodocids

Diplodocids are among the best known sauropod dinosaurs. Numerous specimens of currently 15 accepted species belonging to ten genera have been reported from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of North and South America, Europe, and Africa. The highest diversity is known from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States: a recent review recognized 12 valid, named species, and possibly three additional, yet unnamed ones. One of these is herein described in detail and referred to the genus Galeamopus. The holotype specimen of Galeamopus pabsti sp. nov., SMA 0011, is represented by material from all body parts but the tail, and was found at the Howe-Scott Quarry in the northern Bighorn Basin in Wyoming, USA. Autapomorphic features of the new species include a horizontal canal on the maxilla that connects the posterior margin of the preantorbital and the ventral margin of the antorbital fenestrae, a vertical midline groove marking the sagittal nuchal crest, the presence of a large foramen connecting the postzygapophyseal centrodiapophyseal fossa and the spinopostzygapophyseal fossa of mid- and posterior cervical vertebrae, a very robust humerus, a laterally placed, rugose tubercle on the concave proximal portion of the anterior surface of the humerus, a relatively stout radius, the absence of a distinct ambiens process on the pubis, and a distinctly concave posteroventral margin of the ascending process of the astragalus. In addition to the holotype specimen SMA 0011, the skull USNM 2673 can also be referred to Galeamopus pabsti. Histology shows that the type specimen SMA 0011 is sexually mature, although neurocentral closure was not completed at the time of death. Because SMA 0011 has highly pneumatized cervical vertebrae, the development of the lamination appears a more important indicator for individual age than neurocentral fusion patterns. SMA 0011 is one of very few sauropod specimens that preserves the cervico-dorsal transition in both vertebrae and ribs. The association of ribs with their respective vertebrae shows that the transition between cervical and dorsal vertebrae is significantly different in Galeamopus pabsti than in Diplodocus carnegii or Apatosaurus louisae, being represented by a considerable shortening of the centra from the last cervical to the first dorsal vertebra. Diplodocids show a surprisingly high diversity in the Morrison Formation. This can possibly be explained by a combination of geographical and temporal segregation, and niche partitioning

Shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beams under impact loads by the lumped damage framework

Impact loadings such as vehicle collisions or falling rocks on a structure could lead it to collapse and, eventually, to fatal victims. Among possible alternatives to analyse this issue, Lumped Damage Mechanics is an interesting option due to its formulation and easiness for practical application. Therefore, this paper presents a simplified lumped damage model to evaluate reinforced concrete structures under impact loads with shear failure mode. In the proposed approach, the damage variable is considered as an output parameter. Such damage variable takes values between zero and one that quantifies the concrete cracking due to impact loading. The proposed formulation was applied in experiments of reinforced concrete beams under impact loads that presents shear collapse. The obtained results showed good accuracy between the proposed model and the actual structural behaviour. Moreover, a possible flowchart for practical applications is also presented. Since the model parameters are easily associated to inelastic phenomena, the proposed formulation might become accessible to engineers in practice

Overpaints with cultural significance. How to define authenticity? The case of Afonso de Albuquerque’s portrait

Removal or not removal of repaints and overpaints is always complex and the justification for it isn’t always objective. This type of operation can sometimes result in a worn out surface with several losses of painting which normally are supposed to be restored and integrated. Justified by the search or by the reposition of authenticity, both these operations (restoration and integration) will change the values formerly attributed to the object. When one is dealing with works of art which are generally recognized as being cultural significant, different values should be interpreted and discussed between stakeholders and specialists from different areas of expertise in a multidisciplinary platform before carrying out any intervention. This isn’t always easy to achieve and the conservator usually has the difficult task of transforming subjective concepts into an objective solution. In this paper we present a case-study, the panel portrait of Afonso de Albuquerque, currently exhibited in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisboa), which the current investigation process as proven to be the portrait of another governor, but repainted to resemble the viceroy of Portuguese India during a restoration process in the 1960s regarded has “technically difficult”. Several episodes throughout the history of the Viceroy and Governors portrait Gallery and this specific panel gave the repaint historic, documental and iconographic values. Investigation is still ongoing and new facts may alter the definition of values attributed to this portrait and its authentic state in a process conservators should be ever more concerned with during restoration interventions, namely chromatic integration

Online Deception and Situations Conducive to the Progression of Non-Payment Fraud

Adopting the criminal event perspective, we explore how online fraudsters make use of urgency cues in their interactions with potential victims throughout the progression of an online nonpayment fraud attempt. Integrating claims from the ‘Interpersonal-Deception Theory’ with situational explanations of crime, we investigate whether fraudsters’ presentations of verbal cues of urgency during the early stages of a criminal event are followed by a consistent presentation of verbal and non-verbal urgency cues. To answer this question, we posted a large number of ‘for-sale’ advertisements over a classified-ad website and interacted with online fraudsters and legitimate users who responded to our ads over email. Our findings highlight the relevance of the criminal event perspective in guiding research on targets and offenders in cyberspace

Benefits of maintenance management software: a study on Portuguese market

In a world where maintenance has evolved over the years, it is expected that technological investment will continue to grow and become even more important for the development of maintenance, contributing to the profitability of organisations. This dissertation seeks to identify the benefits obtained by organisations after the implementation of maintenance management software. From an extensive literature review and contacts made with the industry, a set of benefits were included in a questionnaire to Portuguese companies belonging to different sectors, with the purpose of assessing the level of measurement of each benefit and evaluating the acceptance of the project of maintenance management software in organisations. Results demonstrate that many companies confirm the achievement of the benefits suggested in the questionnaire. However, this research has also shown that few organisations evaluate the benefits in such a way that translate the benefits into financial value. The study contributes with findings that are based on empirical research, providing market data that are useful for both vendors of maintenance management software and companies that use or intend to use this type of system.Num mundo em que a manutenção tem evoluído ao longo dos anos, é esperado que o investimento tecnológico continue a crescer e se torne ainda mais importante no desenvolvimento da manutenção, contribuindo para a rentabilidade das organizações. Esta dissertação procura identificar os benefícios obtidos pelas empresas após a implementação de software de gestão de manutenção. A partir de uma extensa revisão de literatura e contatos realizados com a indústria, identificaram-se um conjunto de benefícios que foram incluídos num questionário realizado a empresas Portuguesas de diferentes setores, com o intuito de verificar o nível de medição de cada benefício e avaliar a aceitação do projeto de software de gestão de manutenção nas organizações. Os resultados demonstram que muitas empresas confirmam a obtenção dos benefícios sugeridos no questionário. No entanto, esta investigação revela também que poucas organizações avaliam os benefícios de tal forma que consigam traduzi-los em valor financeiro. O estudo contribui com conclusões que se baseiam em pesquisa empírica, disponibilizando dados de mercado que são úteis tanto para fornecedores de software de gestão de manutenção como para empresas que utilizam ou pretendem vir a utilizar este tipo de sistema

Characterization of phylogenetic networks with NetTest

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Typical evolutionary events like recombination, hybridization or gene transfer make necessary the use of phylogenetic networks to properly depict the evolution of DNA and protein sequences. Although several theoretical classes have been proposed to characterize these networks, they make stringent assumptions that will likely not be met by the evolutionary process. We have recently shown that the complexity of simulated networks is a function of the population recombination rate, and that at moderate and large recombination rates the resulting networks cannot be categorized. However, we do not know whether these results extend to networks estimated from real data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We introduce a web server for the categorization of explicit phylogenetic networks, including the most relevant theoretical classes developed so far. Using this tool, we analyzed statistical parsimony phylogenetic networks estimated from ~5,000 DNA alignments, obtained from the NCBI PopSet and Polymorphix databases. The level of characterization was correlated to nucleotide diversity, and a high proportion of the networks derived from these data sets could be formally characterized.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have developed a public web server, <it>NetTest </it>(freely available from the software section at <url>http://darwin.uvigo.es</url>), to formally characterize the complexity of phylogenetic networks. Using NetTest we found that most statistical parsimony networks estimated with the program TCS could be assigned to a known network class. The level of network characterization was correlated to nucleotide diversity and dependent upon the intra/interspecific levels, although no significant differences were detected among genes. More research on the properties of phylogenetic networks is clearly needed.</p

Imersão na digitalização das redes sociais em turismo e patrimônio: uma mudança de paradigma

Con esta investigación nos proponemos analizar diferentes redes sociales involucradas en la evolución del turismo y la potenciación del patrimonio, particularmente en las últimas dos décadas, antes de que la pandemia de la covid 19 irrumpiera en nuestras vidas. Se realizó un estudio bibliográfico longitudinal cualitativo de los temas definidos y un cruce de los resultados obtenidos. Concluimos el análisis con una valoración cuantitativa de la evolución del número de turistas y los ingresos por viajes y turismo en revistas especializadas. Los resultados, basados en análisis bibliográficos, llevaron a un aumento del número de turistas y a la evolución de los ingresos por viajes y turismo aunque con una ligera caída no significativa en 2018. No obstante, no podemos confirmar una realidad diferente a la que esperábamos. La curva significativamente creciente en el momento fundamental del estudio (2020) se revierte sin una fecha de recuperación prevista a causa de las restricciones nacionales e internacionales al turismo