Search results for " road"
showing 10 items of 120 documents
Metal distribution in road dust samples collected in an urban area close to a petrochemical plant at Gela, Sicily
2006
Eight samples of road dust were collected from three different localities (industrial, urban, peripheral) of the town of Gela (Italy) to characterize their chemical composition and to assess (a) the influence of the petrochemical plant and the urban traffic on the trace element content in different grain-size fractions of street dust and (b) the solid-phase speciation of the analysed metal using sequential extraction. The samples were sieved into six particle size ranges: 500–250, 250–125, 125–63, 63–40, 40–20 and <20 μm and then analysed for 15 trace elements by ICP-MS. Sequential extraction of metals was performed on each subsample. A principal component analysis was also carried out to d…
A methodology to identify critical road sections by means of cyclist's fatigue
2020
This paper proposes a procedure for determining cyclists’ fatigue state along a specific road, as a function of some external variables related to the environmental context. When the physical fatigue reaches extreme levels, the cyclist’s ability to deal with an unexpected event or with an emergency condition is particularly limited; further, poor road pavement conditions may increase occurrence probability of critical events. In order to identify the potentially most dangerous road paths, the authors defined a methodology to build a model for cyclist’s fatigue evaluation in terms of Heart Rate class. The proposed procedure is based on the collection of simple data processed by means of Patt…
Un sondeig a la via Augusta al terme municipal de la Salzadella (el Baix Maestrat, Castelló)
2016
This paper presents the results of an excavation in the Via Augusta near the town of la Salzadella (Castellón) located between the mansions of Intibili and Ildum. Although the road was partially destroyed in the excavation of a ditch, a section of its eastern half it was discovered.
Las infraestructuras viarias de Saguntum en época imperial: propaganda, prestigio social y poder municipal
2015
During the government of Augustus the city of Sagunto was transformed in a place symbol of modernity. It is no coincidence that the necessary developing infrastructures were consolidated around it for an optimal development: higher quality viae or better port platforms. Different type of streets emerged following an order of importance depending many times on the wealth of their users. Towards the exit of the city burial monuments were placed honoring relevant citizens. As many other major towns of Hispania, Saguntum is not an exception of great transformations.
Introducing the BICA Society
2010
The Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures Society, or the BICA Society, is a recently formed nonprofit organization. The purpose of the Society is to promote and facilitate the transdisciplinary study of biologically inspired cognitive architectures (BICA), in particular, aiming at the emergence of a unifying, generally accepted framework for the design, characterization and implementation of human-level cognitive architectures. The First International Conference on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures (BICA 2010) is at the same time officially the First Annual Meeting of the BICA Society.
Development of a Hybrid Method to Generate Gravito-Inertial Cues for Motion Platforms in Highly Immersive Environments
2021
Motion platforms have been widely used in Virtual Reality (VR) systems for decades to simulate motion in virtual environments, and they have several applications in emerging fields such as driving assistance systems, vehicle automation and road risk management. Currently, the development of new VR immersive systems faces unique challenges to respond to the user’s requirements, such as introducing high-resolution 360° panoramic images and videos. With this type of visual information, it is much more complicated to apply the traditional methods of generating motion cues, since it is generally not possible to calculate the necessary corresponding motion properties that are needed to …
Evaluating the effects of man-induced topographic changes in landscape structure on soil erosion by water: a case study in Sicily
2012
Understanding Safety-Related Issues for Pedestrians at Modern Roundabouts. Journal of Sustainable Development, 5(4):23-37
2012
This paper examines the safety-related issues for pedestrians at modern roundabouts. For this purpose findings of research studies documented in the scientific literature and best practices have been examined trying to focus on roundabout installations by a pedestrians safety perspective. Whereas one of the main reasons for which roundabouts are built is related to safety benefits, roundabout design features and implications in road casualties have been commented first to evaluate the influence of roundabouts on pedestrian safety and then to identify design elements that have such a high potential for traffic safety. At last, measures and treatments that can be taken in the roundabouts desi…
Criteria for Laboratory Studies on Fine Soils Treated with Lime
2011
When selecting the appropriate materials for constructing road infrastructures, an important way for minimizing both the economical and environmental impact is to make use of lime for treating those natural soils that, involved in the earthwork for opening road fences, are not suitable, as they are in nature, to fulfill the specific requirements for being used as part of road construction, such as road embankments (including the capping layer) or the improved subgrade or, again, the sub-formation. From this point of view, the treatment of fine soils with lime (if needed, with lime and cement) can be considered as one of the main measures for preserving the natural environment since it fulfi…
Infrastructure, Tariff and Legal Action: How to Achieve a Climate-Friendly Transport System
2011
Transportation absorbs about 70% of oil consumption in EU countries. The fuels that burn in the field of transport are composed of 96% of oil. Energy efficiency of road and air traffic must also be improved. But transport environmental impacts reductions should be made necessarily through a transfer of traffic from the car, lorries and aircraft to train, ship, and non motorized two-wheelers into the EU cities. In fact the former are large producers of greenhouse gases, while the latter are more environmentally friendly means of transport in climate. Reaching an annual increase of 1% of the modal split in favour of more sustainable means of transport on the environment must be set as a goal …