Earthquake Protection of Colonial Bell Towers in Colima,Mexico with Externally Prestressed FRPs

A methodology for the seismic vulnerability reduction of old masonry towers with external prestressing is presented. It is applied at the Colonial bell-towers of the Cathedral of Colima, Mexico, characterized for being a high seismic area (M>7.5). The 3D FE models are calibrated with experimental data and assessed through nonlinear static approaches including the seismic demand and an accurate validated masonry model. Based on an extensive parametric study on different configurations of old masonry towers, it is selected an optimal prestressing force and device. The Colonial towers are retrofitted with four prestressing devices of FRPs to convert them into a high energy-dissipative reinforced masonry. The external vertical prestressing is included at key points identified in the seismic vulnerability assessment. This technique is in compliance with the demand for architectural conservation and may be located without drilling and unbounded in order to be fully removable. The seismic performance is enhanced by increasing force, displacement, and internal confinement. It is observed an upgrading of 35% and 20% of displacement capacity. With these results it is corroborated that external vertical prestressing allows a substantial increment of ductility for seismic energy dissipation purposes.     

Anthropogenic units fingerprinted by REE in archaeological stratigraphy: Mas d'Is (Spain) case

On occasions, archaeologists have to deal with serious difficulties to differentiate between processes that ultimately are responsible for the formation of stratigraphic units.Sometimes we face problems related with depositional units in multilayered deposits and other times, we ask for the character of some dark surface soils, very similar to natural paleosols and usually associated with archaeological findings. In both cases, the problems we must address concern the relative impact of human activities.The imbalance between anthropic and natural processes in the formation of archaeological deposits is crucial for a correct interpretation of the processes involved in the formation of archaeological sites, but also of their occupation-abandonment dynamics and the understanding of their spatial behaviors and relationship with the environment.In this paper we propose a new methodological approach for the identification of anthropogenic fingerprints in stratigraphic units through Rare Earth Elements (REE) soil analysis. The role of REE for the effective identification of sediment provenance due to their coherent behavior during weathering, erosion and fluvial transportation and their high resistance to chemical mobilization is well known in other areas of knowledge. We try to explore its potentiality in a challenging archaeological context. Our purpose was to identify human traces in stratigraphic units where archaeological materials are scarce or absent intertwined with others richer in archaeological remains by the determination of multiple elements and statistical studies. We believe that Rare Earth Elements (REE) soil analysis provides unique insights for a better characterization of natural and archaeological sediments but more importantly to recognize different stages of the gradient. We expect to discern between natural versus anthropic units and between primary versus secondary deposits (redeposition), using the case of the Neolithic site of Mas d'Is (Alicante, Spain) as an example. The application of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) remarks differences in REE values, those analysis show differences between units of undoubtedly anthropogenic origin and control samples taken from natural sediments –including marls bedrock–, in their vicinity, but also we could notice finer nuances like the degree of human contributions to paleosols formation.     

Squatting Social Centres in a Sicilian City: Liberated Spaces and Urban Protest Actors

The Social Centres in Italy are simultaneously “liberated spaces”, empty and unused large buildings squatted by groups of radical left/antagonist activists to self‐manage social and countercultural activities, and “political contentious places”. They are indeed urban but not only local protest actors, denouncing the scarcity of spaces of sociability outside of commercial circuits, campaigning against market‐oriented urban renewal, property speculation, and on other anti‐capitalistic issues addressed outside the occupied spaces. The long history of Social Centres in Catania, the second largest city of Sicily, is reconstructed and explained through the choices and actions made by the squatters/activists, depending on their political‐ideological orientation, on the one hand; and by the opportunities and constraints of the specific political and socio‐spatial structure, which they had to face, on the other. The Social Centres, CPO Experia, CSOA Guernica, CSA Auro, and more recently CSO Liotru, are the main analysed empirical cases.     

Biological mineral content in Iberian skeletal cremains for control of diagenetic factors employing multivariate statistics

The aim of this study was to define a strategy for a correct selection of bone samples by employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for reconstructing the biological mineral content in bones through the determination of major elements, trace elements and Rare Earth Elements (REE, lanthanides) in skeletal cremains of ancient Iberians (III–II B.C), discovered in the Necropolis of Corral de Saus (Moixent, Valencia) between 1972 and 1979. The biological mineral content was determined taking into account diagenetic factors. A control method for a better reading of results was applied. To explore large geochemical datasets and to reduce the number of variables, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used, thus, providing a deeper insight into the structure of the variance of the dataset. PCA shows that the elemental profiles of bone and soil samples are clearly different. Bone samples obtained from the outer bone layer were shown to have a different elemental composition; more similar to soil samples than samples of the inner bone layer. PCA scores and loadings plots were preferred to dendrograms obtained using Cluster Analysis, due to the limits of the latter one to appreciate the spatial ordering of samples. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), a frequently used supervised classification method, was applied to differentiate between degradation states of bone samples. PLS-DA results obtained in this study confirmed that changes derived from different burning conditions were associated with transformations in the mineral part of the bones. Accordingly, carbonized bones can be differentiated from cremated bones. Class assignment of bone samples with uncertain thermal conditions in dependence on their elemental composition has shown to be feasible. Consequently, for biochemical-archaeological studies the analysis and statistical classification of carbonized and cremated archaeological bones, as well as those exposed to unknown thermal conditions together with experiments in modern bones, are recommended.     

Starch grain characterization of Prosopis chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz and P. flexuosa DC,and the analysis of their archaeological remains in Andean South America

The fruit (pods) of Prosopis (Fabaceae) are frequently recovered from pre-Hispanic Argentinian archaeological sites, suggesting that this genus was of importance in ancient economies in this region. Yet it is only recently that archaeobotanists have begun to carry out systematic research into this genus. Therefore many questions remain to be addressed concerning the food value of Prosopis fruit, and its potential contribution. This paper examines starch from the pods of two species, Prosopis flexuosa and Prosopis chilensis, for the purposes of describing and classifying their morphological features and biometrical parameters. Pods of both species were gathered from two extremes (northern and southern) of the Hualfín Valley, Catamarca, Argentina. Starch abundance is estimated and compared with that of Zea mays, an economically important plant with high concentrations of starch. This paper reveals that Prosopis pods contain very low amounts of starch compared to starch-rich edible species. Despite this, the recovery of Prosopis starch grains can be successfully used to assess archaeological tool uses. Prosopis starch grains were found to be highly variable in shape. Grain size ranged between 10 and 20 μm. Granule irregularity and the high birefringence under polarized light are two of the most important diagnostic features. No significant statistical differences were found in the structure (morphology, size and hilum) of the starch of the same species from both localities. Finally, the implications for the role of this plant in past societies are discussed.     

Why Gross National Disposable Income Should Replace Gross National Income

Unilateral transfers, and notably remittances, are a growing source of income for developing countries. However, Gross National Income (GNI), which is widely used as an indicator for living standards, does not record them. Gross National Disposable Income (GNDI), by contrast, includes both income and unilateral transfers, thus providing a more exhaustive account of people's available income in an open economy. Yet, GNDI is rarely available in major reports and is sometimes confused with the GNI. This article calculates the GNDI for 27 countries amongst the world's top remittance receivers and demonstrates the usefulness of this measure for analysis and policy making in developing countries. The article also provides some critical insights into the role of income and unilateral transfers in the balance of payments.     

The casting core composition and provenance of the Goljamata Kosmatka (Bulgaria) bronze head

The composition of casting core residues from the interior of a 4th century BC bronze head, unearthed in a Thracian tomb of central Bulgaria, was studied by means of petrographic, SEM, chemical and XRD analyses. Results indicated that the sand–clay mixture is dominantly rich in rock and mineral fragments, mostly derived from metamorphic and plutonic silica-rich rocks. No significant compositional differences were noted between the five analysed samples, except for content of bronze impurities and oxidation products. On the basis of geological studies and of chemical comparison with potteries of various ages, speculations were made about the location of the bronze foundry. The results are compatible with a derivation of the casting core from northeast Greece and the southern areas of F.Y.R.O. Macedonia and Bulgaria have terrains compatible with the casting core composition     

A Saxon Fish Weir and Undated Fish Trap Frames Near Ashlett Creek,Hampshire, UK: Static Structures on a Dynamic Foreshore

The remains of a wooden V-shaped fish weir and associated structures have been discovered near Ashlett Creek on the tidal mudflats of Southampton Water in Hampshire, southern Britain. Radiocarbon dating of oak roundwood stakes taken from the main weir structure date it to the middle Saxon period. Clusters of as-yet undated roundwood posts within the catchment area of the weir are interpreted as the frames for fish traps that are assumed to pre- or post-date the operational period of the weir itself. The weir is contemporary with wooden V-shaped fish weirs found elsewhere in southern and central Britain, and also Ireland, but its circular catchment ‘pound’ remains restricted, in these islands, to the Solent and Severn estuaries: it has a close parallel with another Saxon-era weir on the nearby Isle of Wight. It also shows striking structural similarities with examples in use today in Basse Normandy, on the southern shore of the English Channel. The paper discusses the function and operation of the weir, and places it in its social and historical context. Regressive cartography demonstrates that the structures have become exposed as a result of saltmarsh retreat in this area of Southampton Water since the nineteenth century. The radiocarbon dates returned for the posts demonstrate that this transgression of the marsh must have been preceded by a prolonged period of progradation, which covered and preserved the site; its subsequent re-exposure has negative implications for its survival.