Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from MIDPAC Expedition stations

The cores described in this report were taken on MIDPAC (Middle Pacific) Expedition in August-September 1950 by Scripps Institution of Oceanography from, the R/V Horizon. A total of 106 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at Scripps for sampling and study. The coring sites, all in the tropical central Pacific.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from SOMIRMAS cruise stations

The cores and dredges described at this site were taken on the SOMIRMAS cruise from 5 July to 14 August 1990 by the MusÈum National d'Histoire Naturelle from the R/V Marion Dufresne. A total of 30 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at MNHN for sampling and study.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from SEYMAMA-SHIVA cruise stations

The cores and dredges described at this site were taken on the SEYMAMA-SHIVA cruise from 17 August to 14 September 1990 by the MusÈum National d'Histoire Naturelle from the R/V Marion Dufresne. A total of 33 cores and dredges were recovered and are available at MNHN for sampling and study.

India's senior citizen's policy and an examination of the life of senior citizens in North Delhi

The paper investigates the ageing situation in India and the development of the government initiatives for the welfare of senior citizens. It also presents the initial results of a survey that the author conducted in 2011 in North Delhi. The main features related to ageing in India are 'feminisation', 'rurality' and 'poverty'. The survey in North Delhi reveals the differences between the male and the female senior citizens, and the vulnerability of the latter, in particular. The social security coverage such as pensions and health insurance was found quite limited among the respondents.

Bovedas Encamonadas: Origen, Evolucion, Geometria y Construccion entre los Siglos XVII y XVIII en el Virreinato de Perú

Desde la creación del Virreinato del Perú, en el siglo XVI, los arcos, bóvedas y cúpulas se acostumbraban a levantar con piedra y fábrica. Sin embargo estas tierras eran sacudidas periodicamente por terremotos, produciendo el colapso de la mayoría de estas edificaciones. Para el siglo XVII los alarifes ya habían experimentado diversas maneras de levantar bóvedas, sin haberse encontrado una respuesta razonable en términos de tiempo, economía y estabilidad frente a los sismos. En medio de este panorama se produjo la introducción de las bóvedas encamonadas a mediados del siglo XVII, consolidandose en el resto de la centuria hasta el punto de terminar convirtiéndose en un recurso tradicional y de estimada elaboración dentro de la arquitectura virreinal peruana. Las bóvedas encamonadas se realizaban con tablas de madera (camones) que se solapaban entre sí para formar arcos (cerchas), los cuales definían la forma que tendrían las bóvedas, y eran estabilizados lateralmente mediante correas. Sobre los arcos y correas se colocaba un cerramiento que podía ser un entablado, unos listones de madera o simplemente un tendido a base de cañas. En la mayoría de casos se finalizaba con un recubrimiento aislante de barro por el extradós y otro decorativo de yeso por el intradós. Precisamente estas bóvedas constituyen el objeto de la presente tesis, específicamente en su devenir histórico entre los siglos XVII y XVIII en el ámbito territorial del Virreinato del Perú, partiendo del examen de los tratados de arquitectura coetáneos y del estudio de las bóvedas de madera en España, para finalizar con el análisis de las características geométricas y constructivas que lograron definir en ellas los alarifes peruanos. Since the creation of the Viceroyalty of Peru, in the sixteenth century, arches, vaults and domes were accustomed to build with stone and masonry. However, these lands were periodically shaken by earthquakes, causing the collapse of most of these buildings. For the seventeenth century the master masons had already experienced several ways to build vaults, without having found a reasonable response in terms of time, economy and stability against earthquakes. Into this context the master carpenters introduced the wooden vaults since seventeenth century, and this constructive system was consolidated around the rest of the century to the end point of becoming a traditional and estimated resource of the Peruvian colonial architecture. The wooden vaults were made with timber planks (camones) that overlapped each other to form arches (cerchas), which defined the shape of the vaults, and were stabilized laterally by purlins. Above the arches and purlins placed planks, wooden strips or just cane. In most cases ended with a mud plaster insulating the extrados and a decorative gypsum plaster on the intrados. Precisely these vaults are the subject of this thesis, specifically in its historical way between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the territory of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Since an examination of the architectural treatises and the Spanish wooden vaults, and concluding with the analysis of the geometric and constructive system that Peruvian builders were able to define on them.

Rammed earth walls in Serón de Nágima castle (Soria, Spain): Constructive lecture

The Raya or frontier between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón was fortified with a system of castles and walled-cities that were useful during the several conflicts that took place in the Late Medieval Age. The Serón de Nágima castle defended the communication road between the axis of the Jalón river valley, which flows into the Ebro, and Duero valley. Its uniqueness stems from the fact that it is one of the few fortifications in the area where rammed earth is the only building system used. In this paper, the castle building fundaments are exposed mainly focusing on the techniques and building processes developed from the interpretation of the legible constructive signs in its walls.

New Constructive Solutions to Improve Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings and their Economic Viability

The improvement of energy efficiency in existing buildings is always a challenge due to their particular, and sometimes protected, constructive solutions. New constructive regulations in Spain leave a big undefined gap when a restoration is considered because they were developed for new buildings. However, rehabilitation is considered as an opportunity for many properties because it allows owners to obtain benefits from the use of the buildings. The current financial and housing crisis has turned society point of view to existing buildings and making them more efficient is one of the Spanish government’s aims. The economic viability of a rehabilitation action should take all factors into account: both construction costs and the future operative costs of the building must be considered. Nevertheless, the application of these regulations in Spain is left to the designer’s opinion and always under a subjective point of view. With the research work described in this paper and with the help of some case-studies, the cost of adapting an existing building to the new constructive regulations will be studied and Energetic Efficiency will be evaluated depending on how the investment is recovered. The interest of the research is based on showing how new constructive solutions can achieve higher levels of efficiency in terms of energy, construction and economy and it will demonstrate that Life Cycle Costing analysis can be a mechanism to find the advantages and disadvantages of using these new constructive solutions. Therefore, this paper has the following objectives: analysing constructive solutions in existing buildings - to establish a process for assessing total life cycle costs (LCC) during the planning stages with consideration of future operating costs - to select the most advantageous operating system – To determine the return on investment in terms of construction costs based on new techniques, the achieved energy savings and investment payback periods.

Examination of the quality of spinach leaves using hyperspectral imaging

The present research is focused on the application of hyperspectral images for the supervision of quality deterioration in ready to use leafy spinach during storage (Spinacia oleracea). Two sets of samples of packed leafy spinach were considered: (a) a first set of samples was stored at 20 °C (E-20) in order to accelerate the degradation process, and these samples were measured the day of reception in the laboratory and after 2 days of storage; (b) a second set of samples was kept at 10 °C (E-10), and the measurements were taken throughout storage, beginning the day of reception and repeating the acquisition of Images 3, 6 and 9 days later. Twenty leaves per test were analyzed. Hyperspectral images were acquired with a push-broom CCD camera equipped with a spectrograph VNIR (400–1000 nm). Calibration set of spectra was extracted from E-20 samples, containing three classes of degradation: class A (optimal quality), class B and class C (maximum deterioration). Reference average spectra were defined for each class. Three models, computed on the calibration set, with a decreasing degree of complexity were compared, according to their ability for segregating leaves at different quality stages (fresh, with incipient and non-visible symptoms of degradation, and degraded): spectral angle mapper distance (SAM), partial least squares discriminant analysis models (PLS-DA), and a non linear index (Leafy Vegetable Evolution, LEVE) combining five wavelengths were included among the previously selected by CovSel procedure. In sets E-10 and E-20, artificial images of the membership degree according to the distance of each pixel to the reference classes, were computed assigning each pixel to the closest reference class. The three methods were able to show the degradation of the leaves with storage time.

Validity and reliability of AMPET Greek versión: a first examination of learning motivation in Greek PE settings

Validity and reliability of AMPET Greek versión: a first examination of learning motivation in Greek PE settings