scholarly journals Geodetic and UAV Monitoring in the Sustainable Management of Shallow Landslides and Erosion of a Susceptible Urban Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 385
Author(s):  
Paul Sestras ◽  
Ștefan Bilașco ◽  
Sanda Roșca ◽  
Branislav Dudic ◽  
Artan Hysa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Hilly Terrain ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Active Landslide ◽  
The City ◽  
Construction Zones ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
A Current

Landslides are a worldwide occurring hazard that can produce economic impact and even fatalities. The collection and monitoring of data regarding active landslides are important for predicting future landslides in that region, and is critical to minimize the losses caused. In the expanding metropolitan area of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, drastic changes of land use and increasement of construction zones represent a current evolution issue. The urban sprawl phenomenon imposed the expansion of the city limits and outside the old built-up area, and due to the hilly terrain and geomorphology, natural hazards such as landslides and erosion processes are susceptible to appearance or reactivation. The study incorporates interdisciplinary research composed of evaluation of a landslide susceptible hotspot located in an area of interest to the municipality by means of geodetic and topographic precise measurements, combined with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) monitoring of surface movement and GIS spatial analysis. The data obtained in a span of over two years reveal that the investigated slope is subjected to a shallow active landslide of a few centimeters per year, and based on the 64 individual placed landmarks the highest displacement value was 67 mm. Through geomatic tools the exchange rate of the slope surface was evaluated with comprehensive volume calculations, such as displacement, erosion, and accumulation that illustrate a volume of material displaced of 107.2 m3 and the accumulated one of 55.7 m3. The results provide valuable insight into the complex landslide and erosion dynamics that are crucial when predicting future movements and prevention measures.

scholarly journals A Matter of Life and Death – Trade and Burial around St Giles’ Cathedral: Archaeological Investigations at Parliament House, Edinburgh

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 1-70
Author(s):  
Mike Roy ◽  
R Cerón-Carrasco, ◽  
A Craster ◽  
M Cross ◽  
N Crowley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Late Medieval Period ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
High Street ◽  
Trading Activities ◽  
The City ◽  
Health And Mortality ◽  
Insight Into

Archaeological evaluation of the Southern Courtyard of the Parliament House complex, to the south of St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh’s Old Town, has provided a valuable insight into the lives, health and mortality of the inhabitants of the late medieval city. The evaluation revealed a backland area in the centre of medieval Edinburgh, with deposits rich in artefactual and ecofactual material derived from the everyday lives of the populace, underlying early burghal surfaces. The presence of artefacts including a small leather assemblage and a seal matrix may indicate production and trading activities between the High Street and the Cowgate in the late medieval period. Above these surfaces, and underlying fragmentary evidence of the post-medieval Meal Market, numerous late medieval inhumations were recorded; these belonged to the southward expansion of St Giles’ graveyard. This report details the analysis of the skeletal remains, illuminating the health and demography of the population of the city from around the mid-15th to the early-to-mid-16th century.  

Respect and the city: the mediating role of respect in citizen participation

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Zenker ◽  
Adrian Seigis
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Citizen Satisfaction ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Public Protest ◽  
The City ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeTo develop a city, officials frequently invest a great deal of taxpayers' money in large‐scale place development projects, which are often sparsely supported by the citizens because such projects often lead to unwanted effects (such as gentrification). This results in conflicts between planners and citizens, which are expressed in public protest and resistance. The instrument of citizen participation is repeatedly raised as a solution for such conflicts, but it remains unclear how and especially why this concept should be effective. The purpose of this paper is to empirically highlight the mediating role in this process: the feeling of being respected. By this means, the paper will contribute to a better general understanding of citizen participation.Design/methodology/approachIn an experimental scenario study (n=368), different types of citizen participation (i.e. cases where the result was binding for the city vs non‐binding) were researched using a between‐groups design. To validate results, in a second step, the outcome was discussed with three experts, all of whom have worked in the field.FindingsSurprisingly, it seems that neither the type of participation nor satisfaction with the project makes a difference with regards to citizen satisfaction, but simply the condition of being asked. One could argue that the feeling of being respected is the main mediator in this process. These results show the effectiveness of the participation tool in general, and give a possible explanation for this effect.Originality/valueThis paper concentrates on the variables underlying citizen participation. It shows empirically that the feeling of being respected is the mediator within this process. By this means, the paper offers a valuable insight into citizen participation in general and discusses its usage in place marketing.

scholarly journals Antithetic integral feedback for the robust control of monostable and oscillatory biomolecular circuits

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah Olsman ◽  
Fulvio Forni
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear Behavior ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Feedback Systems ◽  
Biomolecular Systems ◽  
Integral Control ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Integral Feedback ◽  
Classical Control ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractBiomolecular feedback systems are now a central application area of interest within control theory. While classical control techniques provide valuable insight into the function and design of both natural and synthetic biomolecular systems, there are certain aspects of biological control that have proven difficult to analyze with traditional methods. To this end, we describe here how the recently developed tools of dominance analysis can be used to gain insight into the nonlinear behavior of the antithetic integral feedback circuit, a recently discovered control architecture which implements integral control of arbitrary biomolecular processes using a simple feedback mechanism. We show that dominance theory can predict both monostability and periodic oscillations in the circuit, depending on the corresponding parameters and architecture. We then use the theory to characterize the robustness of the asymptotic behavior of this circuit in a nonlinear setting.

Study of the resistor material of an automotive spark plug by use of the charge-up effect along with elemental mapping in an electron microprobe

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 742-743
Author(s):  
D. R. Liu ◽  
S. S. Shinozaki ◽  
J. S. Park ◽  
B. N. Juterbock
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microprobe ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Coated Sample ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Elemental Mapping ◽  
Spark Plug ◽  
Carbon Coated ◽  
Electron Image ◽  
Electron Imaging ◽  
Insight Into

The electric and thermal properties of the resistor material in an automotive spark plug should be stable during its service lifetime. Containing many elements and many phases, this material has a very complex microstructure. Elemental mapping with an electron microprobe can reveal the distribution of all relevant elements throughout the sample. In this work, it is demonstrated that the charge-up effect, which would distort an electron image and, therefore, is normally to be avoided in an electron imaging work, could be used to advantage to reveal conductive and resistive zones in a sample. Its combination with elemental mapping can provide valuable insight into the underlying conductivity mechanism of the resistor.This work was performed in a CAMECA SX-50 microprobe. The spark plug used in the present report was a commercial product taken from the shelf. It was sectioned to expose the cross section of the resistor. The resistor was known not to contain the precious metal Au as checked on the carbon coated sample. The sample was then stripped of carbon coating and re-coated with Au.

Turkish Muslims in a German city: Entrepreneurial and residential self-determination

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Sarah Hackett
Keyword(s):  
Residential Patterns ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
German City ◽  
Post War ◽  
Oral History Interviews ◽  
The City ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Term Objective

Drawing upon a collection of oral history interviews, this paper offers an insight into entrepreneurial and residential patterns and behaviour amongst Turkish Muslims in the German city of Bremen. The academic literature has traditionally argued that Turkish migrants in Germany have been pushed into self-employment, low-quality housing and segregated neighbourhoods as a result of discrimination, and poor employment and housing opportunities. Yet the interviews reveal the extent to which Bremen’s Turkish Muslims’ performances and experiences have overwhelmingly been the consequences of personal choices and ambitions. For many of the city’s Turkish Muslim entrepreneurs, self-employment had been a long-term objective, and they have succeeded in establishing and running their businesses in the manner they choose with regards to location and clientele, for example. Similarly, interviewees stressed the way in which they were able to shape their housing experiences by opting which districts of the city to live in and by purchasing property. On the whole, they perceive their entrepreneurial and residential practices as both consequences and mediums of success, integration and a loyalty to the city of Bremen. The findings are contextualised within the wider debate regarding the long-term legacy of Germany’s post-war guest-worker system and its position as a “country of immigration”.

Quantum Mechanical Interpretation of the Ultra-Low Energy Methyl-Rotation Dynamics in Porous Metal-Organic Frameworks Probed by Low-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy and ab initio Simulations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Li ◽  
Adam J. Zaczek ◽  
Timothy M. Korter ◽  
J. Axel Zeitler ◽  
Michael T. Ruggiero
Keyword(s):  
Ab Initio ◽  
Metal Organic Frameworks ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Rotor Dynamics ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Void Space ◽  
Ab Initio Simulations ◽  
Metal Organic ◽  
Insight Into

<div>Understanding the nature of the interatomic interactions present within the pores of metal-organic frameworks</div><div>is critical in order to design and utilize advanced materials</div><div>with desirable applications. In ZIF-8 and its cobalt analogue</div><div>ZIF-67, the imidazolate methyl-groups, which point directly</div><div>into the void space, have been shown to freely rotate - even</div><div>down to cryogenic temperatures. Using a combination of ex-</div><div>perimental terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, low-frequency</div><div>Raman spectroscopy, and state-of-the-art ab initio simulations,</div><div>the methyl-rotor dynamics in ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 are fully charac-</div><div>terized within the context of a quantum-mechanical hindered-</div><div>rotor model. The results lend insight into the fundamental</div><div>origins of the experimentally observed methyl-rotor dynamics,</div><div>and provide valuable insight into the nature of the weak inter-</div><div>actions present within this important class of materials.</div>

A Review of Phytochemical and Pharmacological Studies of Inula Species

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 557-567
Author(s):  
Aparoop Das ◽  
Anshul Shakya ◽  
Surajit Kumar Ghosh ◽  
Udaya P. Singh ◽  
Hans R. Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Important Ingredient ◽  
Pharmacological Activities ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
The Family ◽  
Pharmacological Studies ◽  
Perennial Herbs ◽  
Insight Into

Background: Plants of the genus Inula are perennial herbs of the family Asteraceae. This genus includes more than 100 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Africa and Asia including India. Many of them are indicated in traditional medicine, e.g., in Ayurveda. This review explores chemical constituents, medicinal uses and pharmacological actions of Inula species. Methods: Major databases and research and review articles retrieved through Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline were consulted to obtain information on the pharmacological activities of the genus Inula published from 1994 to 2017. Results: Inula species are used either alone or as an important ingredient of various formulations to cure dysfunctions of the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, urinary system, central nervous system and digestive system, and for the treatment of asthma, diabetes, cancers, skin disorders, hepatic disease, fungal and bacterial infections. A range of phytochemicals including alkaloids, essential and volatile oils, flavonoids, terpenes, and lactones has been isolated from herbs of the genus Inula, which might possibly explain traditional uses of these plants. Conclusion: The present review is focused on chemical constituents, medicinal uses and pharmacological actions of Inula species and provides valuable insight into its medicinal potential.

Food and Religious Identities in the Venetian Inquisition, ca. 1560–ca. 1640

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-214
Author(s):  
Eleanor Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Lived Religion ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Access Points ◽  
Counter Reformation ◽  
Eating Practices ◽  
The City ◽  
Insight Into

Through Venetian Inquisition trials relating to Protestantism, witchcraft, and Judaism, this article illuminates the centrality of food and eating practices to religious identity construction. The Holy Office used food to assert its model of post-Tridentine piety and the boundaries between Catholics and the non-Catholic populations in the city. These trial records concurrently act as access points to the experiences and beliefs—to the lived religion—of ordinary people living and working in Venice from 1560 to 1640. The article therefore offers new insight into the workings and impacts of the Counter-Reformation.

scholarly journals Geochemical Mapping, Risk Assessment, and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Road Dust Using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF)

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 614
Author(s):  
Muhammad Faisal ◽  
Zening Wu ◽  
Huiliang Wang ◽  
Zafar Hussain ◽  
Chenyang Shen
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Matrix Factorization ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Contamination Factor ◽  
Road Dust ◽  
Positive Matrix Factorization ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Positive Matrix ◽  
The City

Heavy metals in road dust pose a significant threat to human health. This study investigated the concentrations, patterns, and sources of eight hazardous heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, and Hg) in the street dust of Zhengzhou city of PR China. Fifty-eight samples of road dust were analyzed based on three methods of risk assessment, i.e., Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo), Potential Ecological Risk Assessment (RI), and Nemerow Synthetic Pollution Index (PIN). The results exhibited higher concentrations of Hg and Cd 14 and 7 times higher than their background values, respectively. Igeo showed the risks of contamination in a range of unpolluted (Cr, Ni) to strongly polluted (Hg and Cd) categories. RI came up with the contamination ranges from low (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb) to extreme (Cd and Hg) risk of contamination. The risk of contamination based on PIN was from safe (Cu, As, and Pb) to seriously high (Cd and Hg). The results yielded by PIN indicated the extreme risk of Cd and Hg in the city. Positive Matrix Factorization was used to identify the sources of contamination. Factor 1 (vehicular exhaust), Factor 2 (coal combustion), Factor 3 (metal industry), and Factor 4 (anthropogenic activities), respectively, contributed 14.63%, 35.34%, 36.14%, and 13.87% of total heavy metal pollution. Metal’s presence in the dust is a direct health risk for humans and warrants immediate and effective pollution control and prevention measures in the city.

scholarly journals The European Green Capital Award—Is It a Dream or Reality for Belgrade (Serbia)?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6182
Author(s):  
Marijana Pantić ◽  
Saša Milijić
Keyword(s):  
Urban Transformation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Transmission Of Knowledge ◽  
Current State ◽  
Transitional Countries ◽  
Great Hope ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The City ◽  
Insight Into

An agreement of cooperation and transmission of knowledge regarding the nomination for the European Green Capital Award (EGCA) was signed between the mayors of Belgrade and Ljubljana (EGCA 2016 winner) in September 2018. The candidacy of Belgrade was finally realized in October 2019. Great hope was placed in this endeavour because internationally recognized awards, such as the EGCA, represent enormous capital for both the city and the state. The EGCA requires serious preparation and significant fulfilment of preconditions. Many economically strong and environmentally responsible cities competed for the award, but did not win. On the other hand, the capital of Serbia does not appear to be an obvious winning candidate, especially as it is differentiated from the previous winners by being a non-EU city and by the fact that it is still undergoing an intense urban transformation, characteristic of transitional countries. Therefore, the main aim of this article is to present a review of the current state of Belgrade’s environmental qualities and its comparison with the EGCA criteria and with Grenoble as one of the winning competitors. The article gives a full overview of the EGCA requirements with certain details on required indicators, gives relevant insight into the procedure, which could be of use for any future candidacy, and discusses potential benefits for winners, losers and repeat candidacies.

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