Lipid biomarkers in the Enol Lake (Asturias, Northern Spain): coupled natural and human induced environmental history

The lipid content of three cores from Lake Enol (Picos de Europa National Park, Asturias, Northern Spain) was studied. The n-alkane profiles indicated a major input from terrigenous plants [predominance of high molecular weight (HMW) alkanes] since ca. 1695 AD to the water body, although the uppermost cm revealed a predominance of organic matter (OM) derived from algae, as the most abundant alkane was C17. Three units revealing different environmental conditions were defined. Unit A (ca. 1695–1860 AD) in the lowermost parts of ENO13-10 (< 12 cm) and ENO13-15 (< 28 cm) was identified and was characterized by higher OM input and evidence of minimal degradation (high CPI values, predominance of HMW n-alkanoic acids and good correspondence between the predominant n-alkane and n-alkanoic acid chains). These findings could be linked to the Little Ice Age, when cold and humid conditions may have favored an increase in total organic carbon (TOC) and n-alkane and n-alkanoic acid content (greater terrigenous OM in-wash), and may have also reduced bacterial activity. In Unit B (ca. 1860–1980 AD) the lack of correspondence between the n-alkane and n-alkanoic acid profiles of ENO13-10 (12–4 cm) and ENO13-15 (28–8 cm) suggested a certain preferential microbial synthesis of long chain saturated fatty acids from primary OM and/or bacterial activity, coinciding with a decrease in OM input, which could be linked to the global warming that started in the second half of the 19th century. In ENO13-7 the low OM input (low TOC) was accompanied by some bacterial degradation (predominance ofHMWn-alkanoic acids but with a bimodal distribution) in the lowermost 16–5 cm. Evidence of considerable phytoplankton productivity and microbial activity was especially significant in Unit C (ca. 1980–2013 AD) identified in the uppermost part of all three cores (5 cm in ENO13-7, 4 cm in ENO13-10 and 8 cm in ENO13-15), coinciding with higher concentrations of n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids, which were considered to be linked to warmer and drier conditions, as well as to greater anthropogenic influence in modern times. Plant sterols, such as b-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol, were significantly present in the cores. In addition, fecal stanols, such as 24-ethylcoprostanol from herbivores, were present, thereby indicating a continuous and significant pollution input derived from these animals since the 17th century, being more important in the last 20 years.

A model of air transport passenger incidents and rights

This paper describes a representation of the legal framework in the air transport passenger's rights domain and the foremost incidents that trigger the top of consumer complaints ranking in the EU. It comprises the development of a small network of three ontologies, formalisation of scenarios, specification of properties and identification of relations. The approach is illustrated by means of a case study based in the context of a real life cancelled flight incident. This is part of an intended support-system that aims to provide both consumers and companies with relevant legal information to enhance the decision-making process.

Similarities and Differences in Barrel Vaults of Traditional and Stately Houses in the Historic Centre of Arequipa, Perú

The traditional architecture of the centre of the city of Arequipa has been analyzed by comparing floor-plans of houses from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in order to explain the reasons behind the arrangement of their constructional elements and the evolution of said elements and floor-plans. The historic centre of Arequipa, a city located in the South of Perú, South America (Latitude 16°23' South, Longitude 71 °31' West), is based on a ground plan from 1540 that was set during the city's Spanish foundation. It was declared Patrimony of the Humanity by UNESCO. The manorial architecture is widely known for its decorated fronts and one-of-a-kind designs, but its differences with respect to the popular architecture are not based exclusively on decorative aspects. Peru's colonial period finished around 1825, but the barrel-vault, construction style continued in Arequipa through 1868, when an earthquake destroyed the city. Thereafter, the vaults were replaced by roofs made of rails, with cinders made out of the lava stone. The stately houses belonged to the founding families who settled around the main square on forty nine blocks that formed a square-grid, street layout. Also belonging to this category are the houses of landlords and traders from post-colonial times.

Functionalism and Caprice in Stonecutting. The Case of the Nativity Chapel in Burgos Cathedral

Starting from the inaugural text of Philibert de L'Orme, stereotomic treatises and manuscripts are subject to the opposing forces of reason and fancy. The Nativity Chapel in Burgos Cathedral provides an outstanding case study on this subject. It was built in 1571-1582 by Martín de Bérriz and Martín de la Haya, using an oval vault resting on trumpet squinches to span a rectangular bay. Bed joints and rib axes are not planar curves, as usual in oval vaults. This warping is not capricious; we shall argue that it is the outcome of a systematic tracing method. As a result of this process, the slope of the bed joints increases slightly in the first courses, but stays fairly constant after the third course; this solution prevents the upper courses from slipping. Thus, in the Nativity Chapel of Burgos Cathedral, the constraints of masonry construction fostered a singular solution verging on capriccio. It is also worthwhile to remark that the warping of the joints is not easily appreciable to the eye and that the tracing process does not seem to start from a previous conception of the resulting form. All this suggests that we should be quite careful when talking about the whimsical character of Late Gothic and Early Renaissance; in some occasions, apparent caprice is the offspring of practical thinking.

The British Influence in the Birth of Spanish Sport

Sports started to gain relevance in Spain around the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century as a leisure and health option of the upper classes imported from Britain. Its early development was intertwined with the spread of other kinds of physical activities with much more tradition on the continent: gymnastics and physical education. First played by the ruling classes – aristocracy and high bourgeoisie – sports permeated towards petty bourgeoisie and middle classes in urban areas such as Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastián and Santander. This pattern meant that the expansion of sports was unavoidably tied to the degree of industrialisation and cultural modernisation of the country. Since 1910, and mainly during the 1920s, sport grew in popularity as a spectacle and, toa much lesser degree, as a practice among the Spanish population.

Process of Expropriation of Buildings for the Construction of the New Dock of the Port of Cartagena (Spain) in the 18th Century

The need of the Bourbon monarchy to build a Naval Base in the Bay of Cartagena (Spain) during the eighteenth century, implied performing various actions on the environment which allowed the construction of the new dock. One of the priority actions was the transformation of the watershed of the streams that flowed into Mandaraches´s sea. For this reason, a dike was designed and constructed in the northern part of the city. The design of this great work, which was designed as a fortification of the city, was subject to considerable uncertainties. Its proximity to the city involved the demolition of several buildings in the San Roque´s neighborhood. The greater or lesser number of affected buildings and the value of the just indemnification for the expropriation of them, become decisive factors to determine if the work was viable for the Royal Estate or not.

Late Gothic German Vault Design Methods and Its Relationship with Spanish Ribbed Vaults

The arrival of European master masons to Burgos and Toledo during the mid-fifteenth century was essential for the promotion of the late Gothic ribbed vault design techniques in Spain. The Antigua Chapel in Seville Cathedral, designed by the Spanish master mason Simón de Colonia on 1497, provides an outstanding case study on this subject. This vault is characterized by the interlacing of the ribs near the springing, reflecting the influence of German ribbed vault designs. This paper analyses the relationship between German ribbed vaults and their design methods with those of Spanish ribbed vaults; with particular attention to the presence of ribs that cut through one another above the springing, materialized in the work of Simón de Colonia. This characteristic is reflected in some manuscripts in the German area, like the Wiener Sammlungen (15th-16th centuries) and the Codex Miniatus 3 (ca. 1560-1570), but no Spanish documents of the same period make reference to it.

The Irregular Ribbed Vault of the Sacristy of the Cathedral of Saint-Jean Baptiste in Perpignan

The vault of the sacristy of the Cathedral of Saint-Jean Baptiste in Perpignan (France), constructed by the Majorcan architect Guillem Sagrera between 1433 and 1447, is an outstanding, yet strikingly unknown, example of rib vaulting. This paper analyzes the overall construction of the form of the vault, characterized by its highly irregular perimeter, with particular attention to an isolated decorated corbel which solves the problem of the wall support of a group of six ribs and is in stark contrast with the rest of the supports, which are completely unadorned. Given the extreme rigour of Sagrera in all his works (and this one in particular), this apparent “capriccio” must be justified not only by decorative or formal requirements, but also by the constructive logic of Gothic vaulting system

Test on Tile Vaults in France in the 19th Century

Durante el s. XIX las bóvedas tabicadas se desarrollan enormemente, ampliando sus usos a nuevos tipos y extendiendose por zonas dónde no se habían utilizado tradicionalmente. Además, comienza a utilizarse el cemento como aglomerante en lugar del yeso. En este contexto se realizan muchos ensayos sobre ellas, con el objeto de validar un sistema que resultaba nuevo por estas razones. Se estudian a continuación una serie de ensayos de resistencia realizados en Francia entre 1837 y 1865, todos ellos sobre bóvedas de tamaño y geometría similar: entre 4 y 5 m de luz, y con flecha 1/10 de la luz, un tipo muy empleado en ese momento para la construcción de fábricas. El primero de ellos busca medir experimentalmente el empuje de una de estas bóvedas, para cerrar un debate sobre la existencia o no de empujes en las bóvedas tabicadas. Los siguientes quieren obtener la carga de rotura de las bóvedas, con el objeto de construir después unas similares.

Concrete Meccanos: Precast Constructions after the Second World War in the Netherlands

Estudio de soluciones prefabricadas de hormigón no estandarizadas en los Países Bajos tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Horseshoe arch in Toledo

Ponencia en el II Congreso Internacional de Historia de la Construcción celebrado en Cambridge (Reino Unido).

Spanish ribbed vaults in the 15th and 16th centuries

Proceedings of the First International Congress on Construction History : Madrid, 20th-24th January 2003

The Gothic Ribbed vaults in Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón

The Gothic Ribbed vaults in Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. Second International Congress on Construction History. Construction History Society. Cambridge. Reino Unido. Vol: III. Pags: 2415-2431. ISBN. 0-7017-0205-2

Crossing trellis vaults in Spain and México

The general aim of this study can be summarized in contributin gempirical evidence on the existence, design, fabrication and functioning of the crossing trellis vaults asa constructive expression of the Spanish renaissance moved to the New Spain, today México, and their mutual relation.

Portuguese Vaulting System at the Dawn and Early Modern Period. Between tradition and Innovation

Portuguese Vaulting System at the Dawn and Early Modern Period. Between tradition and Innovation. III International Congress on Construction History . Brandenburg university of technology Cottbus, Germany. Colab: Soraya Genin, Krista de Jonge.