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Finite element simulations on the ultimate response of extended stiffened end-plate joints
No full textThe design criteria and the corresponding performance levels characterize the response of extended stiffened end-plate beam-to-column joints. In order to guarantee a ductile behavior, hierarchy criteria should be adopted to enforce the plastic deformations in the ductile components of the joint. However, the effectiveness of thesecriteria can be impaired if the actual resistance of the end-plate material largely differs from the design value due to the potential activation of brittle failure modes of the bolt rows (e.g., occurrence of failure mode 3 in the place of mode 1 per bolt row). Also the number and the position of bolt rows directly affect the joint response. The presence of a bolt row in the center of the connection does not improve the strength of the joint under both gravity, wind and seismic loading, but it can modify the damage pattern of ductile connections, reducing the gap opening between the end-plate and the column face. On the other hand, the presence of a central bolt row can influence the capacity of the joint to resist the catenary actions developing under a column loss scenario, thus improving the joint robustness. Aiming at investigating the influence of these features on both the cyclic behavior and the response under column loss, a wide range of finite element analyses (FEAs) were performed and the main results are described and discussed in this paper
Le fondazioni museali pubbliche e private: il modello italiano in prospettiva comparata
No full textLa relazione, selezionata in seguito a call for papers, ha ad oggetto le fondazioni museali in Italia, confrontandole con l'esperienza inglese e tedesca. Emerge la possibilità di distinguere due tipologie: grandi fondazioni museali nazionali, quasi sempre statali e di diritto speciale (fondazioni di diritto pubblico); fondazioni regionali e cittadine di comunità, dove sono sperimentate diversamente le commistioni tra diritto privato e diritto pubblic
How effective is information on soil-landscape units for determining spatio-temporal variability of near-surface soil moisture?
No full textIn the last decades, a growing interest in fostering advanced interdisciplinary studies is leading to the establishment of observatories in pilot catchments for long-term monitoring of hydrological variables and fluxes. Nevertheless prior to sensor network installation, this investment necessitates preliminary surveys on key-variables such as near-surface soil moisture in order to prevent risks of erronously distributing sensors by missing sufficient spatial information for understanding hydrological processes within land-atmosphere interactions. The availability of maps describing areas with similar morphological, topographical, soil and vegetation characteristics enable preliminary surveys to be organized for capturing spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture as best as possible. The soil-landscape classification can be considered as an interesting approach for grouping mapping units with similar hydrological behavior. We therefore assume soil-landscape units as “hydrotopes” or “hydrological similar units”. Six transects were established along two hillsides of the Upper Alento River catchment (southern Italy) which is a proper candidate to become a Critical Zone Observatory. Specifically, in this paper we use a soil-landscape map to infer spatial and temporal dynamics of soil moisture measured along these transects, whereas quantitative analyses were obtained by using multivariate techniques. The effectiveness of available information on soil-landscape mapping units is evaluated with respect to different observed patterns of soil moisture: wetter- and drier-than average observation points belong to agricultural and forested hillslopes, respectively. Soil texture and topographical controlling factors, especially clay content and slope gradient, are found to explain approximately 70% of the spatial variability of soil moisture in the forested hillslopes. The spatial organization explained by the environmental controlling factors decreases to 45% in the cases of the agricultural hillslopes mainly due to perturbations induced by grazing and tillage practices
Dimensioni e prospettive della ricerca educativa negli scenari di Horizon 2020
No full textNel framework definito da Horizon 2020, che definisce uno spazio di azione strategico e trasversale alle scienze umane e sociali, l’European Educational Research Association, identifica in prima istanza l’educazione come il principale volano dell’innovazione culturale e sociale ed identifica spazi ed ambiti di intervento per la ricerca educativa che richiedono di essere ripensati in modo riflessivo
X- and C-band SAR data to monitoring ground deformations and slow-moving landslides for the 2016 Manta and Portoviejo earthquake (Manabì, Ecuador)
No full textGround deformation due to catastrophic natural events have a powerful destructive potential both on people and buildings. In recent years Remote Sensing techniques have proved to be very useful to detect and monitor earth surface and ground deformation phenomena, by helping with their a priori and a posteriori analysis. In particular, Differential SAR Interferometry is widely implemented for such scenarios. In this work, such technique has been applied to observe the effects of the 7.8 Mw earthquake that hit the coast of Ecuador on April 16, 2016. Displacement maps were generated from Sentinel-1 data and compared with the damage reported in the city of Portoviejo, highlighting several critical situations and showing very interesting results. The paper allows to underline the usefulness of using Differential SAR Interferometry and Remote
Sensing together with ground truth data comparison. The results so far obtained provide a first base for further evaluations, by using also COSMO-SkyMed imagery, which will represent a valid support for land management authorities
INfORM: Inference of NetwOrk Response Modules
No full textDetecting and interpreting responsive modules from gene expression data by using network-based approaches is a common but laborious task. It often requires the application of several computational methods implemented in different software packages, forcing biologists to compile complex analytical pipelines. Here we introduce INfORM (Inference of NetwOrk Response Modules), an R shiny application that enables non-expert users to detect, evaluate and select gene modules with high statistical and biological significance. INfORM is a comprehensive tool for the identification of biologically meaningful response modules from consensus gene networks inferred by using multiple algorithms. It is accessible through an intuitive graphical user interface allowing for a level of abstraction from the computational steps
A collaborative approach for improving the security of vehicular scenarios: The case of platooning
No full textAutonomous vehicles platooning has received considerable attention in recent years, due to its potential to
significantly benefit road transportation, improving traffic efficiency, enhancing road safety and reducing fuel
consumption. The Vehicular ad hoc Networks and the de facto vehicular networking standard IEEE 802.11p
communication protocol are key tools for the deployment of platooning applications, since the cooperation
among vehicles is based on a reliable communication structure. However, vehicular networks can suffer different
security threats. Indeed, in collaborative driving applications, the sudden appearance of a malicious attack can
mainly compromise: (i) the correctness of data traffic flow on the vehicular network by sending malicious
messages that alter the platoon formation and its coordinated motion; (ii) the safety of platooning application by
altering vehicular network communication capability. In view of the fact that cyber attacks can lead to dangerous
implications for the security of autonomous driving systems, it is fundamental to consider their effects on
the behavior of the interconnected vehicles, and to try to limit them from the control design stage.
To this aim, in this work we focus on some relevant types of malicious threats that affect the platoon safety,
i.e. application layer attacks (Spoofing and Message Falsification) and network layer attacks (Denial of Service
and Burst Transmission), and we propose a novel collaborative control strategy for enhancing the protection
level of autonomous platoons. The control protocol is designed and validated in both analytically and experimental
way, for the appraised malicious attack scenarios and for different communication topology structures.
The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is shown by using PLEXE, a state of the art inter-vehicular communications
and mobility simulator that includes basic building blocks for platooning. A detailed experimental
analysis discloses the robustness of the proposed approach and its capabilities in reacting to the malicious attack
effects
Assessing detection limits in magnetic nanoparticle enhanced microwave imaging
No full textMagnetic nanoparticles-aided microwave imaging is an emerging modality for the diagnosis of early stage tumors. It exploits the possibility of modulating the response at microwaves of magnetic nanoparticles, employed as contrast agent selectively accumulated into the tumor. In this paper, we describe the results of an experimental study aimed at establishing the actual detection limits of the approach, namely the minimum amount of magnetic nanoparticles to be delivered for a reliable imaging. The assessment is carried out on breast phantoms made of ex-vivo minced pig tissues and using commercially available magnetic nanoparticles. The results show that it is possible to detect amounts of magnetic nanoparticles between 2 and 7 mg, dispersed in a volume of about one cubic centimeter, depending on the breast type. While such quantities are already consistent with those currently reachable via active selective targeting, an in-depth analysis of the results allows to identify strategies to further lower the detection limits up to four times, by refining the measurement set-up and setting the amplitude of the polarizing magnetic field modulating the nanoparticle response to a suitable value
The influence of moment resisting beam-to-column connections on seismic behavior of chevron concentrically braced frames
No full textChevron concentrically braced frames (C-CBFs) are very popular lateral-resisting systems, often opted for steel
buildings due to their improved architectural functionality and reduced cost of fabrication and erection as X
bracings. According to EN 1998-1 these systems are expected to provide limited ductility, thus penalizing the
design of C-CBFs with smaller values of the behavior factor (namely q = 2 and q = 2.5 for medium “DCM” and
high ductility class “DCH”, respectively). To improve the ductility and the energy dissipation capacity of chevron
bracings, the influence of the secondary frame effect provided by moment resisting beam-to-column connections
belonging to the braced bays is investigated in this paper. To this aim, parametric non-linear analyses are carried
out on a set of structural archetypes representative of low, medium and high-rise multi-story buildings. The
results show that fully restrained joints can have beneficial effects providing an additional reserve of strength,
stiffness and ductility