Jet-Pacs Project: Dynamic Experimental Tests and Numerical Results Obtained for a Steel Frame Equipped with Hysteretic Damped Chevron Braces

The experimental and numerical results obtained by Research Units of the University of Basilicata and University of Calabria for a steel frame, bare or equipped with metallic yielding hysteretic dampers (HYDs), are compared. The shaking table tests were performed at the Structural Laboratory of the University of Basilicata within a wide research program, named JETPACS (“Joint Experimental Testing on Passive and semiActive Control Systems”), which involved many Research Units working for the Research Line 7 of the ReLUIS (Italian Network of University Laboratories of Earthquake Engineering) 2005–2008 project. The project was entirely founded by the Italian Department of Civil Protection. The test structure is a 1/1.5 scaled two-story, single-bay, three-dimensional steel frame. Four HYDs, two for each story, are inserted at the top of chevron braces installed within the bays of two parallel plane frames along the test direction. The HYDs, constituted of a low-carbon U-shaped steel plate, were designed with the performance objective of limiting the inter-story drifts so that the frame yielding is prevented. Two design solutions are considered, assuming the same stiffness of the chevron braces with HYDs, but different values of both ductility demand and yield strength of the HYDs. Seven recorded accelerograms matching on average the response spectrum of Eurocode 8 for a high-risk seismic region and a medium subsoil class are considered as seismic input. The experimental results are compared with the numerical ones obtained considering an elastic-linear law for the chevron braces (in tension and compression), providing that the buckling be prevented, and the Bouc-Wen model to simulate the response of HYDs.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance of mosaic glasses from the Mediterranean area*

Ancient mosaic glass tesserae sampled from archaeological sites located in the Mediterranean area have been analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP‐OES). The aim of the research was to understand the role played by 3d transition metals in the optical properties of such samples. In order to better identify the specific effect of the main chromophorous element, modern samples have been prepared in the laboratory by adding to a colourless base frit controlled concentrations of colouring oxides. Samples with compositional and optical properties similar to the ancient ones have been obtained. For all these modern samples, as well as for all the ancient ones, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements have been performed. The features of the EPR spectra could be successfully associated with the presence and abundance of the paramagnetic colouring ions (namely iron, manganese and copper) and to their oxidation states. This could be a basic step towards understanding the provenance and chronological attribution of mosaic glass tesserae.     

Disclosing mineralogical phases in medioeval iron nails by non-destructive neutron techniques

There is not only one methodology for the study of mineralogical phases in archaeological samples. In this paper, we discuss a strategy applied to ancient iron nail samples completely based on non-destructive analyses. The archaeological samples come from the archaeological site of Valle delle Forme (province of Brescia–Italy) and date back to the 1300–1400 ad. Neutron-based techniques, like time-of-flight neutron diffraction and neutron tomography, have been used to determine the mineralogical composition and the structure of nails. An independent check for the assessment of the presence of different mineralogical phases was given by Raman spectroscopy. The combination of different non-destructive techniques has provided very useful information on their chemical composition, nature of the patina and corrosion features of the nails (also in the bulk of the samples).     

海外所藏两铺河北地区北魏金铜释迦多宝并坐像名品探析

两千载一气呵成的中国佛教史中无疑烙有世俗权力的深刻烙印,如北魏中晚期释迦多宝二佛并坐造像的风靡一时,即与其作为孝文帝、冯太后“二圣政治”宗教宣传品的现世功用不无关联。河北地区系北朝施造铜、石单体释迦多宝二佛并坐像的根据地之一,本文选取流失海外的两铺出自河北地区的北魏金铜二佛并坐像名品加以探析。     

Children's and parents' perspectives on risks and safety in three Belgrade neighbourhoods

The article examines children's and parents' perspectives on risks and safety in the neighbourhood in the context of Serbian society undergoing turbulent transformation. The evidence for the analysis comes from a small-scale survey with parents and 13–14-year-old schoolchildren and eight group interviews with the children in three Belgrade urban settings. The data show that the main difference between children's and parents' perspective is situated along the axis general risks in broader society vs. particular knowledge of risks and coping strategies embedded in the neighbourhoods. Such difference is related to different social positions of adults and children but is also significantly marked by specific social context. Bearing in mind recent brutalisation of Serbian society, risk anxiety in general is lower than might be expected. Due to weak institutions parents still rely considerably on social safety nets within the neighbourhoods. Their practices are generally more instructive than restrictive, thus implicitly supporting the practices through which children exercise significant agency in using places. Different spatial characteristics of the studied neighbourhoods emerged as an important contextual variable in both children's and parents' perspective on risks. The under-urbanised suburban locations are perceived as more risky, contrary to experience in the West.     

Design and performance of microlith implemented projectiles during the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: experimental and archaeological evidence

The study comprises an experimentally based investigation of interaction between temporal change in the morphology of microlithic tools and transformations in projectile technology during the Late Pleistocene in the Levant. Archery experiments with differently designed arrows fitted with various types of microliths representing subsequent Epipaleolithic cultures of the Levant allowed analyzing performance abilities of the arrows, identifying projectile damage types characteristic of particular hafting modes, detecting factors influencing the frequency of projectile damage and estimating the frequency of projectile damage expected to be found in archaeological samples. The data obtained through the experiments applied in the analysis of the archaeological microliths from Geometric Kebaran and Natufian sites in Israel indicate different approaches to the design of projectiles fitted with microliths characteristic for these cultures. The shift in design, associated with such important economic and social transformations as transition to sedentary settlements and a broad-spectrum economy, may reflect a demand for light, flexible and efficient projectile weapons requiring low time and labor investment for preparation and retooling. The use of such efficient weapons in conditions of growing population density and restricted areas available for Natufian hunter–gatherers can be considered as one of the factors that could have affected the subsequent transition to food production that took place in the early Holocene.     

Stable isotope analysis of Late Upper Palaeolithic human and faunal remains from Grotta del Romito (Cosenza), Italy

Stable isotope analysis of carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and sulphur (δ³⁴S) were carried out on one of the largest assemblages of Late Upper Palaeolithic human remains in Southern Europe, at Grotta del Romito (Cosenza), Italy. The burials were stratigraphically dated from ca. 18,000 to 13,000 cal BP, which was confirmed by a series of new AMS dates made directly on the bone collagen. Dietary reconstruction from carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes revealed that eight of the nine individuals analysed, dating to the Final Epigravettian, had very consistent diets, rich in terrestrial animal protein, regardless of their age or sex. These included two individuals who were suffering from severe pathologies. A single individual, dating to the Evolved Epigravettian had a more variable diet, which was significantly enriched in protein from marine or freshwater fish compared to the later burials. Overall, the results are consistent with the very limited number of other studies which describe a change to more specialised and less variable subsistence strategies, in this case the hunting of large herbivores, towards the end of the Palaeolithic period. Sulphur isotope values of all of the nine burials and several faunal samples were notably consistent, showing no evidence of long-distance migration to the site from a different geological zone.     

茶馆、戏园与通俗教育——晚清民国时期成都的娱乐与休闲政治

晚清民国时期的茶馆戏园,作为公共空间为大众提供娱乐,从中除了可以了解人们在茶馆戏园的日常生活外,还可以看到改良精英和地方政府竭力改革戏曲作为控制大众娱乐的一部分,把他们的政治灌输在表演的节目之中,把他们所认为的"新的"、"进步的"情节加入到传统戏曲中,以"教育"民众.精英和国家对茶馆戏园的改良和控制揭示了大众文化与精英文化之间、地方文化的独特性与国家文化的同一模式之间的斗争.在国家权力及其文化霸权之下,大众娱乐不可避免地被改变了.但国家要达到控制的目的远非轻而易举,从晚清改革到国民政府的崩溃,成都地方文化和习惯堡垒顽固地坚守着它们的防线,充分显示了近代中国文化变化与持续性同时并存这样一个重要的历史现象.