Further results on elementary Lie algebras and Lie A-algebras.

A finite-dimensional Lie algebra L over a field F of characteristic zero is called elementary if each of its subalgebras has trivial Frattini ideal; it is an A-algebra if every nilpotent subalgebra is abelian. This paper is a continuation of the study of these algebras initiated by the authors in a previous paper. If we denote by $\mathcal{A}$, $\mathcal{G}$, $\mathcal{E}$, $\mathcal{L}$, $\Phi$ the classes of A-algebras, almost algebraic algebras, E-algebras, elementary algebras and $\phi$-free algebras respectively, then it is shown that: \mathcal{L} \subset \Phi \subset \mathcal{G} \mathcal{L} \subset \mathcal{A} \subset \mathcal{E} \mathcal{G} \cap \mathcal{A} = \mathcal{L}. It is also shown that if L is a semisimple Lie algebra all of whose minimal parabolic subalgebras are $\phi$-free then L is an A-algebra, and hence elementary. This requires a number of quite delicate properties of parabolic subalgebras. Finally characterisations are given of $E$-algebras and of Lie algebras all of whose proper subalgebras are elementary

Structural vulnerability of Nepalese Pagoda temples

Nepal is located in one of the most severe earthquake prone areas of the world, lying between collisions of Indian to the Eurasian plate, moving continuously, resulting in frequent devastating earthquakes within this region. Moreover, different authors refer mention that the accumulated slip deficit (central seismic gap) is likely to produce large earthquakes in the future. Also, the analysis of the available information of previous earthquakes indicates the potential damage that can occurs in unreinforced traditional masonry structures in future earthquakes. Most of the Nepalese pagoda temples were erected following very simple rules and construction details to accomplish with seismic resistance requirement, or even without any consideration for seismic resistance, during the period of Malla dynasty (1200-1768). Presently, conservation and restoration of ancient monuments are one of the major concerns in order to preserve our built heritage, transferring it to the future generations. The present paper is devoted to outline particular structural fragility characteristics in the historic Nepalese pagoda temples which affect their seismic performance. Moreover, based on the parametric analysis identified structural weaknesses/fragilities of pagoda topology, the associated traditional building technology and constructional details

Strategies for building pathology reports in an urban rehabilitation process: Project of the Old City Centre of Coimbra

The increasing interest on architectural heritage associated to the recognised building value, at economic, social and cultural levels have stimulated, in the recent decades, the urban rehabilitation and renovation o several cities in Europe. Despite the strategy or method adopted in a city renovation process, its efficiency depends mainly on: type of buildings (structural systems, construction techniques and materials); intervention level (singular buildings, groups of buildings, urban zones, etc.); and, project objective (risk assessment, decision making to support future rehabilitation projects, definition of council maintenance policies, etc.). In what concerns large renovation programs of old city centres, choosing the most adequate approach for inspection, appraisal and diagnosis is a complex task that can determine the success or failure of the project purpose. This paper describes the preparation phase of the inspection of 700 buildings located in the old city centre of Coimbra (Portugal), where a global renovation process is planned for the forthcoming years. In the scope of the renovation and rehabilitation process, the city council contract a complete identification and inspection survey of the buildings, directed on three different domains: (a) architectural typologies, (b) constructive and pathological condition of buildings, and (c) socio-demographic characterisation, of this part of the city. It will be present the check-lists developed and some of the obtained results on point (b), related to roofing systems, and exterior façades. This diagnosis procedure shows that the inspection results quality is quite dependent on the items surveyed for each construction element (roof, façade, internal members, installation efficiency), as well as on the possibility of their correlation for a single building. The adopted method has been applied on 70% of the buildings inspected within the project perimeter. Further treatment of the inspection and appraisal data will allow the developing pathology reports and list repair actions, and estimating rehabilitation costs. It will also help to produce defect level diagrams and seismic building risk maps, but, most important, to improve and guide a renewal strategy and intervention methodology for old buildings

Out-of-plane seismic response of stone masonry walls: experimental and analytical study of real piers

This paper presents the application of an existing simplified displacement-based procedure to the characterization of the nonlinear force-displacement relationship for the out-of-plane behaviour of unreinforced traditional masonry walls. According to this procedure, tri-linear models based on three different energy based criteria were constructed and confronted with three experimental tests on existing stone masonry constructions. Moreover, a brief introduction is presented regarding the main characteristics of the in situ cyclic testing recently carried out using distributed loads, as well as results obtained during the experimental campaigns performed. The comparison between the experimental and the analytical results are presented and discussed

Seismic vulnerability assessment of the old city centre of Seixal, Portugal

The seismic vulnerability assessment of old traditional masonry building stocks, in a seismic risk mitigation perspective, is truly essential not only for buildings with recognized historical and patrimonial value, but also, in relation to regular buildings. In this sense, this paper approaches the issue of the seismic vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings through the application of a simplified methodology to building stock of the old city centre of Seixal, Portugal. This methodology is based on a vulnerability index, suitable in the evaluation of damage and in the creation of large scale loss scenarios (economical and human). Over 500 buildings were evaluated in accordance with the referred methodology and the results obtained were then integrated into a Geographical Information System tool. The integration of this kind of vulnerability and loss results into a GIS tool allows that city councils or regional authorities make their decisions based on a global view of the site under analysis, which led to more accurate and faster decisions either in terms of risk mitigation strategies or rehabilitation plans. This tool can also assumes great importance in the construction of safety and rescue plans

Vulnerability assessment of urban building stock: a hierarchic approach

In the last decades the evaluation of the seismic risk are of rising concern, considered essential in the activity and definition of strategy planning and urban management. The evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of the existent building stock in the perspective of the seismic risk mitigation should not be placed only in relation to the isolated buildings of relevant historical and cultural importance, but also, in relation to the agglomerate of buildings in urban centres. The chronological construction process frequently results in characteristic heterogeneity of masonry and wall connection quality. In addition, buildings do not constitute independent units given that they share the mid-walls with adjacent buildings and the façade walls are aligned. This way, as post-seismic observations proved, buildings do not have an independent structural behaviour, but they interact amongst themselves, mainly for horizontal actions and so the structural performance should be studied at the level of the aggregate and not only for each isolated building. In most cases, for masonry structures there is no need for sophisticated dynamic analyses for seismic resistance verification or vulnerability assessment. This is even more relevant when an assessment at the level of a city centre is pursued. In this work, the results of evaluation of the vulnerability will be presented in accordance to three proposed methodologies based on a vulnerability index that consequently allows the evaluation of damage and creation of loss scenarios (economical and human) not only at the level of the building and its façade walls but also at the level of the aggregates. It will be discussed and evaluated the application of the referred methodologies and its integration in an SIG platform

Genetic diversity of Lusitano horse in Brazil using pedigree information

This study aimed to evaluate population parameters and to describe the genetic diversity of the Lusitano breed in Brazil using pedigree data. Two populations were evaluated: total population (TP) containing 18,922 animals, and reference population (RP) composed of a part of TP containing 8,329 animals, representing the last generation. The generation interval (10.1 ± 5.1 years) was in the range for horse populations. Pedigree completeness in RP shows almost 100% filling in the three most recent generations, indicating improvement in the pedigree data and accuracy of the results, and the inbreeding coefficient (4.46%) and average relatedness (5.97%) for RP, indicating control on the part of breeders. The effective population size was 89 (TP) and 90 (RP). The effective number of founders (fe) were 33 and 29, effective number of ancestors (fa) were 30 and 26, and effective number of founder genomes (fg) were 19 and 15 for TP and RP, respectively, indicating a reduction of genetic variability in the last generations. The total number of ancestors that explains 100% of the genetic diversity in the Lusitano breed in Brazil was 427 (TP) and 341 (RP). The reproductive parameters, probabilities of gene origin showing loss of variability in the last generations, and the genetic contributions of ancestors suggest the need to monitor genetic diversity over time in breeding programs to allow control of the next generations and to increase their variability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estimation of Risk-Neutral Density Surfaces

Option price data is often used to infer risk-neutral densities for future prices of an underlying asset. Given the prices of a set of options on the same underlying asset with different strikes and maturities, we propose a nonparametric approach for estimating risk-neutral densities associated with several maturities. Our method uses bicubic splines in order to achieve the desired smoothness for the estimation and an optimization model to choose the spline functions that best fit the price data. Semidefinite programming is employed to guarantee the nonnegativity of the densities. We illustrate the process using synthetic option price data generated using log-normal and absolute diffusion processes as well as actual price data for options on the S&P500 index. We also used the risk-neutral densities that we computed to price exotic options and observed that this approach generates prices that closely approximate the market prices of these options.

On the heating of source of the Orion KL hot core

We present images of the J=10-9 rotational lines of HC3N in the vibrationally excited levels 1v7, 1v6 and 1v5 of the hot core (HC) in Orion KL. The images show that the spatial distribution and the size emission from the 1v7 and 1v5 levels are different. While the J=10-9 1v7 line has a size of 4''x 6'' and peaks 1.1'' NE of the 3 mm continuum peak, the J=10--9 1v5 line emission is unresolved (<3'') and peaks 1.3'' south of the 3 mm peak. This is a clear indication that the HC is composed of condensations with very different temperatures (170 K for the 1v7 peak and $>230$ K for the 1v5 peak). The temperature derived from the 1v7 and 1v5 lines increases with the projected distance to the suspected main heating source I. Projection effects along the line of sight could explain the temperature gradient as produced by source I. However, the large luminosity required for source I, >5 10^5 Lsolar, to explain the 1v5 line suggests that external heating by this source may not dominate the heating of the HC. Simple model calculations of the vibrationally excited emission indicate that the HC can be internally heated by a source with a luminosity of 10^5 Lsolar, located 1.2'' SW of the 1v5 line peak (1.8'' south of source I). We also report the first detection of high-velocity gas from vibrationally excited HC3N emission. Based on excitation arguments we conclude that the main heating source is also driving the molecular outflow. We speculate that all the data presented in this letter and the IR images are consistent with a young massive protostar embedded in an edge-on disk.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, To be published in Ap.J. Letter

Error-correcting code on a cactus: a solvable model

An exact solution to a family of parity check error-correcting codes is provided by mapping the problem onto a Husimi cactus. The solution obtained in the thermodynamic limit recovers the replica symmetric theory results and provides a very good approximation to finite systems of moderate size. The probability propagation decoding algorithm emerges naturally from the analysis. A phase transition between decoding success and failure phases is found to coincide with an information-theoretic upper bound. The method is employed to compare Gallager and MN codes.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, with minor correction