1,776 research outputs found
The ancient Athena Temple in Syracuse (Sicily): an investigation on structural stability
No full text
Il restauro del campanile del Duomo di Monza: scelte di progetto e tecniche d’intervento
No full textIl campanile del Duomo di Monza è stato oggetto, recentemente, di approfondite indagini (Binda, Poggi et al., 2001), promosse per valutare le condizioni di stabilità della torre in vista di un generale intervento conservativo. Tali indagini hanno evidenziato la presenza di fenomeni di dissesto - soprattutto quelli legati alle caratteristiche e al comportamento locale dei materiali – molto gravi.
È stato di conseguenza attivato un articolato processo conoscitivo e decisionale per definire, attraverso successive fasi di progressivo affinamento, un progetto di consolidamento mirato all’uso minimo delle tecniche più adeguate (sia tradizionali che innovative) ad affrontare i singoli aspetti della sicurezza strutturale inizialmente evidenziati e successivamente approfonditi con analisi e indagini sperimentali in sito e in laboratorio, tuttavia sempre nel rispetto dell’esistente.
Nel presente lavoro sono sinteticamente presentate la principali fasi di evoluzione del progetto di intervento, oltre che le soluzioni costruttive e tecnologiche adottate, facendo cenno anche all’intenso dibattito che ha accompagnato lo sviluppo del progetto su aspetti cruciali del difficile rapporto sicurezza strutturale/conservazione
Effects of Floods on Masonry Walls: NDTs for measuring drying rates (CHEF Chapter 7, Paragr. 7.5)
No full textAfter an investigation on the most recent floods occurred in Italy, an experimental research started on site on full-scale masonry models. The masonry materials used and the full scale models were largely investigated in the past and subjected to decay caused by the crystallisation of sodium sulphate solution coming from the foundations.
Within the frame of the CHEF Contract a research program was developed on the studied walls. A flood has been simulated by adding water to the walls of the full-scale salt contaminated models for a period of several days.
The aim was to evaluate with ND techniques the evolution of the decay after the introduction of uncontaminated new water, simulating a flood. Radar, thermovision, sonic tests as well as drilling tests were applied to evaluate the moisture distribution in the masonry, after flooding and after natural drying both on treated and non treated walls
After the flood (CHEF Chapter 3, Paragr. 3.3)
No full textThe planning of preventive measures before, during and after flooding in a specific target region such as the European Union requires strategic planning of the legal basis at the earliest possible stage. Interventions made after a flood must avoid worsening the damage to cultural heritage. Some recommendations and best practice advice for moveable objects and buildings are presented
Past and current stress conditions of temple G1 in My So'n, Vietnam
No full textThe work describes a survey of one of the Hindu temples of the monumental area of My Son in central Vietnam, named G1 by Parmentier at the beginning of the XX century. Also, the paper illustrates the results of numerical analyses of the temple both at its current state and at its presumed original conditions. The temple is in a rather bad state, as most of the vaults were already collapsed at the time of Parmentier’s expedition, and further on destroyed during the Vietnam War. Numerical analyses were carried out to evaluate the presumable stress conditions of the still intact temple and determine whether or not the self-weight alone might be the cause for the partial collapse. Also, the current stress conditions were determined, to avert any further possibility of failure. The numerical models take the layered nature of masonry into account. The masonry leaves were supposed to be either perfectly connected or independent, the last one being the less conservative assumption
Chapter 1: Failures due to long-term behaviour of heavy structures
No full texteditor/a cura di L. Bind
La valutazione del danno di differenti malte da ristilatura dovuta al processo di cristallizzazione salina
No full textIn laboratorio è stato riprodotto il processo di degrado per cristallizzazione salina su provini di
muratura in laterizio, sottoposti a ristilatura con malte differenti, allo scopo di verificarne la
loro compatibilità con il substrato originale. Oltre alle modalità previste dalle
raccomandazioni Rilem, per la valutazione del danno è stato impiegato un dispositivo laser,
strumento che ha consentito di misurare ad ogni lettura la continua perdita di materiale
superficiale nel tempo lungo uno o più profili del campione, fornendo un parametro di danno
capace di descrivere il processo di degrado del materiale.
Il processo di degrado per cristallizzazione salina è stato poi modellato come un processo
stocastico nella variabile, definita come la quantità di materiale perso dal sistema nel tempo.
Un’elaborazione dei dati sperimentali raccolti ha permesso la costruzione di curve di fragilità
utili al calcolo della probabilità di superamento nel tempo di una data soglia di danno
Diagnosis of congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection by PCR in dried samples
No full textBackground – The ease of collection and handling of neonatal dried blood spots (DBS) can promote their use in the neonatal screening for congenital CMV(cCMV) infection.However the viral load in the blood can be lower than the threshold of some methods of detection.Since urine or saliva of infected babies usually have viral loads higher than those in the blood we compared the results of CMV-DNA detection in neonatal dried samples of urine (DUS), saliva (DSS) and blood in the aim of identifying alternative methods for cCMV diagnosis and screening.
Methods - Viral DNA was searched by means of nested PCR (gB gene) in both dried and conventional urine and saliva samples collected from 115 unselected newborns (≤ 14 days).DBS samples were tested to assess the nature of the infection (Binda et al 2003).
Results – On a whole fourteen newborns gave positive results in at least one dried sample. DBS test identified four of them as cCMV cases.As to the 111 DBS negative cases DUS positivity was confirmed on liquid samples in one instance and DSS positivity in two.Six babies were DSS positive only.
Conclusions – Use of dried samples seems to be a reliable, fast and simple means for diagnosis and screening of cCMV infection.The highest positivity of DSS test can be due to the high sensitivity of the test observed in a preceding validation assay.The role, if any, of remnants of breast milk will be investigated
Experiencing the armed struggle : the Soweto generation and after
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 354-369).This study explores the experiences of the rank-and-file soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Anny. Extensive interviews by the author and other researchers reveal the voices of the soldiers themselves. The African National Congress and Pan African Congress archives at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Fort Hare supplement and verify these oral testimonies, as do some published sources. Most previously published materials about the armed struggle against apartheid have already focused on diplomacy, strategy and tactics, operations, leadership, and human rights abuses to the neglect of the soldiers' actual experiences. This study complements these with significant new oral history materials from the Soweto generation of soldiers and their successors. When dealing with MK, many authors have documented issues of the camp structure in Angola, and operations inside South Africa, so much of this detail is only addressed briefly, leaving space to explore the soldiers' experiences. In the case of APLA, very little has been written on its history, and more detail is provided on these subjects. This study therefore deals with the soldiers' politicisation and motivation for joining the armed struggle, their experiences in leaving South Africa and training in exile, the crises in exile which limited their effectiveness for a time, their return to fight in South Africa, and their difficulties in the "new" South Africa. These materials reveal that vast problems remain facing these veterans of the struggle against apartheid, and that they have the potential, if properly supported and employed, to contribute substantially to the development of present day South Africa. Conversely, if their neglect continues, they also have the potential to bring vast harm to the country. Further use of the investigative tools of oral history, especially if extended to the former soldiers' vernacular languages, is necessary to augment the history of South Africa, and these soldiers' contributions
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