Domes of adobe and stone on the rural architecture of centre of Castilla y León (Spain)

In the centre of Castilla y León (extensive zone of Spain) still there are some examples of the old rural buildings linked to the economic activities that have been developed in the agrarian field. These are called chozos and casetas, and they have been erected with domed solutions using the autochthonous materi-als: the mud in the region of Tierra de Campos and the stone in the region of Montes Torozos. The influence of traditional construction techniques of both elements has generated a singular typological range rarely seen in the rest of the Península Ibérica. All different types of domes found in this place will be explained from its construction process, adding its structural capacity and energy bioclimatic qualities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- En el centro de Castilla y León todavía se mantienen algunos ejemplos de antiguas construcciones rurales vinculadas a las actividades económicas que se han desarrollado en el ámbito agrario. Éstas, conocidas como chozos y casetas, han sido ejecutadas con soluciones cupuliformes empleándose los materiales que más a mano se disponen, siendo el barro más característico en la región de Tierra de Campos y la piedra en la comarca de Montes Torozos. La influencia de las técnicas constructivas tradicionales de ambos elementos ha generado un abanico tipológico singular poco visto en el resto de la península. Los diferentes tipos de cúpulas encontrados se explicarán desde su proceso constructivo, añadiendo su capacidad estructural y sus cualidades bioclimáticas.

Integrated Studies for the Evaluation of Conservation Treatments on Stone Material from Archaeological Sites. Application to the Case of Merida (Spain)

The application of conservation treatments, such as consolidation and protection ones, has been demonstrated ineffective in many cases, and even harmful. Evaluation studies should be a mandatory task, ideally before and after the intervention, but both tasks are complex and unusual in the case of archaeological heritage. This study is mainly focused on analyzing changes in petrophysical properties of stone material from archaeological sites of Merida (Spain), evaluating, both on site and in laboratory, effects derived from different conservation treatments applied in past interventions, throughout the integration of different non-destructive techniques (NDT) and portable devices of analysis available at the Institute of Geosciences (CSIC,UCM). These techniques allow, not only assessment of effectiveness and alteration processes, but also monitoring durability of treatments, focused mainly on 1996 intervention in the case of Roman Theater, as well as different punctual interventions from the 90’s until date in the House of Mitreo. Studies carried out on archaeological sites of Merida permit us to compare outcomes and also check limitations in the use of those equipments. In this paper we discuss about the use of some techniques, their integration and limits, for the assessment of conservation treatments, showing some examples of Merida’s case study.

Comparative analysis for the assessment of restoration treatments on stone material from the roman theater of Merida (Spain)

The overall goal of the project is the study of effects of conservation treatments applied on stone material from archaeological sites, i n terms of superficial changes, effectiveness and durability. In this sense, one of the first premises is characterize the surface of the treated and untreated material in order to determine changes in physical and chemical properties.

Changes in Petrophysical Properties of the Stone Surface due to Past Conservation Treatments in Archaeological Sites of Merida (Spain)

Petrophysical properties, such as porosity, permeability, density or anisotropy de-termine the alterability of stone surfaces from archaeological sites, and therefore, the future preservation of the material. Others, like superficial roughness or color, may point out changes due to alteration processes, natural or man-induced, for ex-ample, by conservation treatments. The application of conservation treatments may vary some of these properties forcing the stone surface to a re-adaptation to the new conditions, which could generate new processes of deterioration. In this study changes resulting from the application of consolidating and hydrophobic treatments on stone materials from the Roman Theatre (marble and granite) and the Mitreo’s House (mural painting and mosaics), both archaeological sites from Merida (Spain), are analyzed. The use of portable field devices allows us to perform analyses both on site and in la-boratory, comparing treated and untreated samples. Treatments consisted of syn-thetic resins, consolidating (such as tetraethoxysilane TEOS) and hydrophobic products. Results confirm that undesirable changes may occur, with consequences ranging from purely aesthetic variations to physical, chemical and mechanical damages. This also permits us to check limitations in the use of these techniques for the evaluation of conservation treatments.

NDT for the detection and characterization of superficial treatments on stone material from archaeological sites of Merida (Spain)

Different treatments (consolidation and water-repellent) were applied on samples of marble and granite from the Front stage of the Roman Theatre of Merida (Spain). The main goal is to study the effects of these treatments on archaeological stone material, by analyzing the surface changes. X-Ray Fluorescence and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy techniques, as well as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance have been used in order to study changes in the surface properties of the material, comparing treated and untreated specimens. The results confirm that silicon (Si) marker tracking allows the detection of applied treatments, increasing the peak signal in treated specimens. Furthermore, it is also possible to prove changes both within the pore system of the materialand in the distribution of surface water, resulting from the application of these products

The Sda1 Protein Is Required for Passage through Start

We have used affinity chromatography to identify proteins that interact with Nap1, a protein previously shown to play a role in mitosis. Our studies demonstrate that a highly conserved protein called Sda1 binds to Nap1 both in vitro and in vivo. Loss of Sda1 function causes cells to arrest uniformly as unbudded cells that do not increase significantly in size. Cells arrested by loss of Sda1 function have a 1N DNA content, fail to produce the G1 cyclin Cln2, and remain responsive to mating pheromone, indicating that they arrest in G1 before Start. Expression of CLN2 from a heterologous promoter in temperature-sensitive sda1 cells induces bud emergence and polarization of the actin cytoskeleton, but does not induce cell division, indicating that the sda1 cell cycle arrest phenotype is not due simply to a failure to produce the G1 cyclins. The Sda1 protein is absent from cells arrested in G0 and is expressed before Start when cells reenter the cell cycle, further suggesting that Sda1 functions before Start. Taken together, these findings reveal that Sda1 plays a critical role in G1 events. In addition, these findings suggest that Nap1 is likely to function during G1. Consistent with this, we have found that Nap1 is required for viability in cells lacking the redundant G1 cyclins Cln1 and Cln2. In contrast to a previous study, we have found no evidence that Sda1 is required for the assembly or function of the actin cytoskeleton. Further characterization of Sda1 is likely to provide important clues to the poorly understood mechanisms that control passage through G1.

Effects of passage history and sampling bias on phylogenetic reconstruction of human influenza A evolution

In this paper we determine the extent to which host-mediated mutations and a known sampling bias affect evolutionary studies of human influenza A. Previous phylogenetic reconstruction of influenza A (H3N2) evolution using the hemagglutinin gene revealed an excess of nonsilent substitutions assigned to the terminal branches of the tree. We investigate two hypotheses to explain this observation. The first hypothesis is that the excess reflects mutations that were either not present or were at low frequency in the viral sample isolated from its human host, and that these mutations increased in frequency during passage of the virus in embryonated eggs. A set of 22 codons known to undergo such “host-mediated” mutations showed a significant excess of mutations assigned to branches attaching sequences from egg-cultured (as opposed to cell-cultured) isolates to the tree. Our second hypothesis is that the remaining excess results from sampling bias. Influenza surveillance is purposefully biased toward sequencing antigenically dissimilar strains in an effort to identify new variants that may signal the need to update the vaccine. This bias produces an excess of mutations assigned to terminal branches simply because an isolate with no close relatives is by definition attached to the tree by a relatively long branch. Simulations show that the magnitude of excess mutations we observed in the hemagglutinin tree is consistent with expectations based on our sampling protocol. Sampling bias does not affect inferences about evolution drawn from phylogenetic analyses. However, if possible, the excess caused by host-mediated mutations should be removed from studies of the evolution of influenza viruses as they replicate in their human hosts.

Interisland and interarchipelago transfer of stone tools in prehistoric Polynesia.

Tracing interisland and interarchipelago movements of people and artifacts in prehistoric Polynesia has posed a challenge to archaeologists due to the lack of pottery and obsidian, two materials most readily used in studies of prehistoric trade or exchange. Here we report the application of nondestructive energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis to the sourcing of Polynesian artifacts made from basalt, one of the most ubiquitous materials in Polynesian archaeological sites. We have compared excavated and surface-collected basalt adzes and adze flakes from two sites in Samoa (site AS-13-1) and the Cook Islands (site MAN-44), with source basalts from known prehistoric quarries in these archipelagoes. In both cases, we are able to demonstrate the importing of basalt adzes from Tutuila Island, a distance of 100 km to Ofu Island, and of 1600 km to Mangaia Island. These findings are of considerable significance for Polynesian prehistory, as they demonstrate the movement of objects not only between islands in the same group (where communities were culturally and linguistically related) but also between distant island groups. Further applications of EDXRF analysis should greatly aid archaeologists in their efforts to reconstruct ancient trade and exchange networks, not only in Polynesia but also in other regions where basalt was a major material for artifact production.

The Mice at play in the CALIFA survey. A case study of a gas-rich major merger between first passage and coalescence

We present optical integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations of the Mice, a major merger between two massive (≳10^11 M_⊙) gas-rich spirals NGC 4676A and B, observed between first passage and final coalescence. The spectra provide stellar and gas kinematics, ionised gas properties, and stellar population diagnostics, over the full optical extent of both galaxies with ~1.6 kpc spatial resolution. The Mice galaxies provide a perfect case study that highlights the importance of IFS data for improving our understanding of local galaxies. The impact of first passage on the kinematics of the stars and gas has been significant, with strong bars most likely induced in both galaxies. The barred spiral NGC 4676B exhibits a strong twist in both its stellar and ionised gas disk. The edge-on disk galaxy NGC 4676A appears to be bulge free, with a strong bar causing its “boxy” light profile. On the other hand, the impact of the merger on the stellar populations has been minimal thus far. By combining the IFS data with archival multiwavelength observations we show that star formation induced by the recent close passage has not contributed significantly to the total star formation rate or stellar mass of the galaxies. Both galaxies show bicones of high ionisation gas extending along their minor axes. In NGC 4676A the high gas velocity dispersion and Seyfert-like line ratios at large scaleheight indicate a powerful outflow. Fast shocks (vs ~ 350 km s^-1) extend to ~6.6 kpc above the disk plane. The measured ram pressure (P/k = 4.8 × 10^6 K cm^-3) and mass outflow rate (~8−20 M_⊙ yr^-1) are similar to superwinds from local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, although NGC 4676A only has a moderate infrared luminosity of 3 × 10^10 L_⊙. Energy beyond what is provided by the mechanical energy of the starburst appears to be required to drive the outflow. Finally, we compare the observations to mock kinematic and stellar population maps extracted from a hydrodynamical merger simulation. The models show little enhancement in star formation during and following first passage, in agreement with the observations. We highlight areas where IFS data could help further constrain the models.

The Role of Passage Topic Knowledge in Typical and Poor Comprehenders' Recall

This dissertation examines the role of topic knowledge (TK) in comprehension among typical readers and those with Specifically Poor Comprehension (SPC), i.e., those who demonstrate deficits in understanding what they read despite adequate decoding. Previous studies of poor comprehension have focused on weaknesses in specific skills, such as word decoding and inferencing ability, but this dissertation examined a different factor: whether deficits in availability and use of TK underlie poor comprehension. It is well known that TK tends to facilitate comprehension among typical readers, but its interaction with working memory and word decoding is unclear, particularly among participants with deficits in these skills. Across several passages, we found that SPCs do in fact have less TK to assist their interpretation of a text. However, we found no evidence that deficits in working memory or word decoding ability make it difficult for children to benefit from their TK when they have it. Instead, children across the skill spectrum are able to draw upon TK to assist their interpretation of a passage. Because TK is difficult to assess and studies vary in methodology, another goal of this dissertation was to compare two methods for measuring it. Both approaches score responses to a concept question to assess TK, but in the first, a human rater assigns a score whereas in the second, a computer algorithm, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA; Landauer & Dumais, 1997) assigns a score. We found similar results across both methods of assessing TK, suggesting that a continuous measure is not appreciably more sensitive to variations in knowledge than discrete human ratings. This study contributes to our understanding of how best to measure TK, the factors that moderate its relationship with recall, and its role in poor comprehension. The findings suggest that teaching practices that focus on expanding TK are likely to improve comprehension across readers with a variety of abilities.

Improving Colorado Mountain Highway Culvert Stream Crossings for Trout Passage

Highways can be effective barriers to animal migration. Where highways cross over streams, a passageway, typically a culvert, not designed for fish access can cut off an organism from miles of habitat. Traditional methods of culvert design, to convey floodwaters, reduced access to aquatic and riparian range. The Colorado Department of Transportation likely has numerous culverts that restrict aquatic passage. This paper provides guidance to CDOT for assessment of stream geomorphic conditions affecting culvert performance for fish passage, understanding aquatic organism habitat requirements, and incorporating ecological parameters into culvert designs that benefit fish and other organisms. A case study illustrates culvert problems in a difficult geomorphic setting including a fish passage assessment to evaluate stream stability for long-term culvert reliability.

Partial collapse of a ventilated stone façade: Diagnosis and analysis of the anchorage system

The mechanical behaviour of transventilated façades performed by natural stone is necessarily based on the correct execution of both anchoring elements on the stone cladding as in the ones corresponding to the enclosure support, either with brick masonry walls or reinforced concrete walls. In the case studied in the present work, the origin of the damages suffered on the façade of a building located in Alcoy has been analyzed, where the detachment of part of the outer enclosure occurred. This enclosure is a transventilated façade formed by Bateig Blue stone tiles. To this end, “in situ” tests of the anchoring systems employed have been performed, as well as laboratory tests of mechanical characterization of the material and of different types of anchor, comparing these results with those obtained in both the simplified analytical models of continuum mechanics as developed by the Finite Element Method (FEM).

Relationship between static and dynamic elastic modulus of calcarenite heated at different temperatures: the San Julián's stone

The San Julián’s stone is the main material used to build the most important historical buildings in Alicante city (Spain). This paper describes the analysis developed to obtain the relationship between the static and the dynamic modulus of this sedimentary rock heated at different temperatures. The rock specimens have been subjected to heating processes at different temperatures to produce different levels of weathering on 24 specimens. The static and dynamic modulus has been measured for every specimen by means of the ISRM standard and ultrasonic tests, respectively. Finally, two analytic formulas are proposed for the relationship between the static and the dynamic modulus for this stone. The results have been compared with some relationships proposed by different researchers for other types of rock. The expressions presented in this paper can be useful for the analysis, using non-destructive techniques, of the integrity level of historical constructions built with San Julián’s stone affected by fires.