Caravan politics in the depoliticised city:Applying and opposing exceptional measures for Dutch Traveller, Sinti, and Roma caravan sites

This article analyses the depoliticisation of Dutch caravan politics, which has resulted in massive pitch shortages threatening the existence of the specific caravan housing culture of Dutch Travellers, Sinti and Roma groups. The rationality underlying the repressive governance of caravans is understood as a depoliticised affirmation of technocratic solutions to an unwanted and racialised housing culture. However, as in many other European countries, Dutch authorities have been summoned to work on Roma and Traveller inclusion programmes and address pitch shortages. The increased pressure on the Dutch government culminated in 2018 when it adopted a new framework that prohibits any further measures to repress caravan culture. In what follows, a situated account of depoliticised caravan politics – and resistance to it (i.e. re-politicisation efforts) – is presented by examining the case of Teersdijk, a large campsite in the city of Nijmegen

Internal Migration and Regional Population Dynamics in Europe: Romanian Case Study

The report analyses population migration and change in Romania over the period 1984-1994. The analysis of population change is conducted for 2948 communes and towns, the finest administrative division for which population data are available. The lack of migration data on the level of communes and towns makes in-depth analysis of the migration for small spatial units impossible. For that reason analysis of the patterns of migration is conducted for 40 Judete (also referred to as counties or regions) and the capital city of Bucharest, i.e. 41 units altogether. Council of Europe Publishing, F-67075 Strasbourg - Cedex, France

True Aneurysm of the Superficial Temporal Artery

AbstractTrue aneurysms of the superficial temporal artery are rare in contrast to false aneurysms of the superficial temporal artery. We report a case of a true aneurysm that developed spontaneously in an HIV patient. The patient was treated with surgical excision of the aneurysm with an uneventful recovery. Histology revealed a true aneurysm. Clinical presentation and treatment as well as a review of the literature are presented

Experimental evaluation of dowel-type timber joints with wooden dowels

Dowel-type timber joints made of wood are of particular interest for interventions on built heritage because such heritage buildings often involve timber structures. Wooden dowels offer a lower cost when compared with other connectors and conform to the tendency for using wood-based solutions to retrofit timber structures. However, there is a significant lack of information regarding the modelling of these wooden connectors' responses, in terms of analytical expressions as numerical models. Therefore, this paper presents the results of an extensive experimental campaign of timber-to-timber joints using wooden dowels. Two wood species were considered: chestnut as a hardwood and spruce as a softwood. The wooden dowels were always made of massaranduba, a Brazilian hardwood. The aim of the experimental campaign was to obtain and analyse the response of this type of connection, and then to compare it with the load-carrying capacity accessed through the available analytical expressions to verify its accuracy. The test results highlighted the advantages of using wooden dowels in timber joints. Moreover, it became clear that further analysis and research studies are needed to suggest new expressions that are in accordance with the behaviour of the connection.- (undefined

New Converter Solution with a Compact Modular Multilevel Structure Suitable for High-Power Medium-Voltage Wind Turbines

Modern wind turbines with increasing power levels are continuously emerging. These power levels are reaching a point where excessively high currents are obtained if the traditional low-voltage wind-turbine structure is adopted. High currents lead to excessively high losses and the need for bulky and heavy conductors to carry them. A medium-voltage structure should be a more competitive alternative to be adopted in high-power wind turbines. In this paper, a new converter solution with a modular multilevel structure suitable for driving modern/future high-power medium-voltage wind turbines is proposed. This converter topology has desirable features common to modular multilevel converters such as the improved reliability at high voltage levels, and the possibility to synthesize high-power-quality staircase-shape voltages, which leads to low requirements for harmonic and $\frac{dv}{dt}$ filters. Furthermore, the proposed converter presents reduced capacitance and inductance requirements compared to other well-established modular multilevel converter topologies, which should result in a lighter and more compact solution. The proposed solution could potentially allow for the reduction of the overall costs of the supporting structure required to withstand the weight of the wind turbine. Simulation and experimental results are presented in this paper to validate the proposed topology

Elastodynamic transient analysis of a four-cylinder valvetrain system with camshaft flexibility

This paper presents an analysis of a line of valvetrains in a four-cylinder, four-stroke in-line diesel engine. The method highlighted in this paper predicts the vibration signature together with the prevailing contact conditions and frictional characteristics exhibited in the valvetrain system. This integrated dynamic and tribological investigation provides a practical approach that can be used during the design or the evaluation phase of automotive valvetrain systems

Dispatchable High-Power Wind Turbine Based on a Multilevel Converter with Modular Structure and Hybrid Energy Storage Integration

This paper presents a new multilevel converter solution with modular structure and hybrid energy-storage integration suitable to drive modern/future high-power medium-voltage wind turbines. The hybrid energy-storage integration means that part of the converter submodules are built with batteries and part of them with conventional capacitors. Since traditional wind turbines are non-dispatchable generators, the integration of an energy storage system could be beneficial in multiple ways as the wind power plant could provide stability support to the grid, improvement of the unit commitment and economic dispatch, and the power plant owner could increase his revenues in the electricity market. The capacitors of the proposed converter are responsible to transfer the power produced by the wind turbine to the grid, and the batteries are only charged/discharged with the mismatch between the power produced by the turbine and the power to be injected into the grid, considering a dispatchable operation where the power injected into the grid is different from the power generated by the turbine. The medium-voltage structure could be an interesting option to overcome problems related to high currents in modern/future high-power wind turbines resulting in more efficient, more compact and lighter solutions. Modular multilevel converters are suitable to handle medium-voltage levels and they allow for a straightforward integration of energy storage systems in a decentralized manner

Direct Observation of Martensitic Phase-Transformation Dynamics in Iron by 4D Single-Pulse Electron Microscopy

The in situ martensitic phase transformation of iron, a complex solid-state transition involving collective atomic displacement and interface movement, is studied in real time by means of four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy. The iron nanofilm specimen is heated at a maximum rate of ∼10^(11) K/s by a single heating pulse, and the evolution of the phase transformation from body-centered cubic to face-centered cubic crystal structure is followed by means of single-pulse, selected-area diffraction and real-space imaging. Two distinct components are revealed in the evolution of the crystal structure. The first, on the nanosecond time scale, is a direct martensitic transformation, which proceeds in regions heated into the temperature range of stability of the fcc phase, 1185−1667 K. The second, on the microsecond time scale, represents an indirect process for the hottest central zone of laser heating, where the temperature is initially above 1667 K and cooling is the rate-determining step. The mechanism of the direct transformation involves two steps, that of (barrier-crossing) nucleation on the reported nanosecond time scale, followed by a rapid grain growth typically in ∼100 ps for 10 nm crystallites