The ripple effects of large-scale transport infrastructure investment

We analyze the general equilibrium effects of an asymmetric decrease in transport costs, combining a large-scale spatial dynamic general equilibrium model for 267 European NUTS-2 regions with a detailed transport model at the level of individual road segments. As a case study, we consider the impact of the road infrastructure investments in Central and Eastern Europe of the European Cohesion Policy. Our analysis suggests that the decrease in transportation costs benefits the targeted regions via substantial increases in gross domestic product (GDP) and welfare compared to the baseline, and a small increase in population. The geographic information embedded in the transport model leads to relatively large predicted benefits in peripheral countries such as Greece and Finland, which hardly receive funds, but whose trade links cross Central and Eastern Europe, generating profit from the investments there. The richer, Western European nontargeted regions also enjoy a higher GDP after the investment in the East, but these effects are smaller. Thus, the policy reduces interregional disparities. There are rippled patterns in the predicted policy spillovers. In nontargeted countries, regions trading more intensely with regions where the investment is taking place on average benefit more compared to other regions within the same country, but also compared to neighboring regions across an international border. We uncover that regions importing goods from Central and Eastern Europe enjoy the largest spillovers. These regions become more competitive and expand exports, to the detriment of other regions in the same country.     

Updating Numerical Models of Masonry Arch Bridges by Operational Modal Analysis

This article aims at presenting and discussing the strategies for updating the finite element numerical modeling of stone masonry arch bridges using operational modal analysis. The study comprehended three bridges: two old ones, the St. Lázaro and the Lagoncinha bridges, and a recently constructed bridge in Vila Fria, Portugal. Updating of the bridge models is performed by comparing the numerical and experimental modal parameters. Three-dimensional detailed numerical models are used to perform modal analysis of the bridges. Experimental modal identification of the bridges is based on the measurement of their acceleration responses during normal operation. The assigned material properties are also based on available results obtained from in situ and laboratory tests and on the results of visual inspection and historical research carried out for both old bridges.     

Orientation of the Romanesque churches in the region of Val d’Aran,Spain (11th–13th centuries)

This study examines an ensemble of Romanesque churches in the region of Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees, built between the 11th and 13th centuries. Seven topographical studies performed between 2014 and 2015 examined these churches systematically using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) as a data‐acquisition technique. The data obtained allowed for a geometrically accurate analysis of the orientation of these churches based on four Romanesque liturgies: Gemma animae (c.1120), by Honorius of Autun; Rationale divinorum officiorum (c.1150), by Jean Beleth; Mitralis de Officio (1190), by Sicard, Bishop of Cremona; and Prochiron, vulgo rationale divinorum officiorum (1291), by Guillaume Durand.     

The origin of the term plasticity in the neurosciences: Ernesto Lugaro and chemical synaptic transmission

The Italian psychiatrist Ernesto Lugaro can be regarded as responsible for introducing the term plasticity into the neurosciences as early as 1906. By this term he meant that throughout life the anatomo-functional relations between neurons can change in an adaptive fashion to enable psychic maturation, learning, and even functional recovery after brain damage. Lugaro's concept of plasticity was strongly inspired by a neural hypothesis of learning and memory put forward in 1893 by his teacher Eugenio Tanzi. Tanzi postulated that practice and experience promote neuronal growth and shorten the minute spatial gaps between functionally associated neurons, thus facilitating their interactions. In addition to discovering the cerebellar cells known by his name and advancing profound speculations about the functions of the glia, Lugaro lucidly foresaw the chemical nature of synaptic transmission in the central nervous system, and was the first to propose the usage of the terms "nervous conduction" and "nervous transmission" in their currently accepted meaning.     

Evidence of Metallic Plating on Archaeological Artefacts by Voltammetry of Microparticles

Voltammetry of microparticles using a paraffin‐impregnated graphite electrode (VMP/PIGE) was applied as a very local and non‐invasive analytical technique in order to investigate the presence of remains of metallic plating on two ferrous and one cuprous artefact from the medieval period. The analyses have been performed locally and selectively on regions presenting particular features, such as texture, cohesion and colour differences. The results confirm local differences in chemical composition, leading to conclusions about the presence of metallic plating on these artefacts.     

Use of ground penetrating radar to map subsurface archaeological features in an urban area

The ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique was used to investigate the subsurface in an urban area located in Mesagne (Italy) to obtain a map of the archaeological features in the ground. The GPR survey was undertaken at selected locations placed near (about 50 m) to a necropolis dating from the Messapian to the Roman imperial age, using a GSSI Sir System 2 incorporating 200 and 500 MHz centre frequency antennae. The selected areas (A and B) were surveyed along parallel 1 m spaced profiles using a 200 MHz antenna in area A and along parallel 0.5 m spaced profiles using a 500 MHz antenna in area B. For the selected areas the processed data were visualised in 3D space not only by means of the standard time slice technique, but also by means of a recently proposed approach, namely by iso-amplitude surfaces of the complex trace amplitude. The immediacy in revealing the spatial positioning of highly reflecting bodies, such as the anomaly interpreted as an old hypogeum room in area A, makes 3D visualisation techniques very attractive in archaeological applications of GPR. Their sensitivity to the signal/noise ratio is, on the other hand, highlighted by the quite poor performance in area B, where the only reliable result provided by all the techniques was the ancient living surface reflection, whereas none of them could effectively enhance the visibility of weak hyperbola reflections noted on 2D sections and probably related to the walls located on the ancient living surface. The performance of the various techniques in these two different situations allowed insights into their main advantages and drawbacks to be gained.     

Empirical Formulation for Estimating the Fundamental Frequency of Slender Masonry Structures

The fundamental frequency of a structure enables better assessment of its seismic demand for an efficient design and planning of its maintenance and retrofit strategy. The frequency is independent of the type of external loads, however, depends on structural stiffness, mass, damping and boundary conditions. In the case of slender masonry structures such as towers, minarets chimneys, and pagoda temples, it is influenced by mass and stiffness distribution, connection to adjacent structures, material properties, aspect ratio and slenderness ratio. In this present article, the data collected from various literature reviews on the slender masonry structures regarding dynamic, geometrical, and mechanical characteristics have been correlated to identify the major parameters influencing the fundamental frequency of such structures. The database has been used for developing an empirical formulation for predicting the fundamental frequency of such structures. The comparison between the experimental fundamental frequencies and the estimated fundamental frequencies are carried out in order to define reliability and accuracy of these empirical formulae.