Quasistatic crack evolution for a cohesive zone model with different response to loading and unloading: a Young measures approach

A new approach to irreversible quasistatic fracture growth is given, by means of Young measures. The study concerns a cohesive zone model with prescribed crack path, when the material gives different responses to loading and unloading phases. In the particular situation of constant unloading response, the result contained in [G. Dal Maso, C. Zanini: Quasi-static crack growth for a cohesive zone model with prescribed crack path. Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh Sect. A, 137A (2007), 253–279.] is recovered. In this case, the convergence of the discrete time approximations is improved

Context Semantics, Linear Logic and Computational Complexity

We show that context semantics can be fruitfully applied to the quantitative analysis of proof normalization in linear logic. In particular, context semantics lets us define the weight of a proof-net as a measure of its inherent complexity: it is both an upper bound to normalization time (modulo a polynomial overhead, independently on the reduction strategy) and a lower bound to the number of steps to normal form (for certain reduction strategies). Weights are then exploited in proving strong soundness theorems for various subsystems of linear logic, namely elementary linear logic, soft linear logic and light linear logic.Comment: 22 page

Crusade for Justice and the Question of Authenticity in African American Autobiography

This article aims at investigating the concept of authenticity and its connections with authority and cultural dominance in Ida B. Wells\ub4s Crusade for Justice. Set in the Reconstruction period, Wells\u2019s autobiography incorporates authenticating strategies typical of slave narratives and post-Emancipation political memoirs, therefore it can be analyzed as a work of transition that embodies the profound shift in authenticating issues occurring after Emancipation

How robotic surgery is changing our understanding of anatomy

The most recent revolution in our understanding and knowledge of the human body is the introduction of new technologies allowing direct magnified vision of internal organs, as in laparoscopy and robotics. The possibility of viewing an anatomical detail, until now not directly visible during open surgical operations and only partially during dissections of cadavers, has created a 'new surgical anatomy'. Consequent refinements of operative techniques, combined with better views of the surgical field, have given rise to continual and significant decreases in complication rates and improved functional and oncological outcomes. The possibility of exploring new ways of approaching organs to be treated now allows us to reinforce our anatomical knowledge and plan novel surgical approaches. The present review aims to clarify some of these issues. \ua9 2017 Arab Association of Urology

Variational problems in fracture mechanics

We present some recent existence results for the variational model of crack growth in brittle materials proposed by Francfort and Marigo in 1998. These results, obtained in collaboration with Francfort and Toader, cover the case of arbitrary space dimension with a general quasiconvex bulk energy and with prescribed boundary deformations and applied loads.Comment: 9 page

The Statistical Analyses of the White-Light Flares: Two Main Results About Flare Behaviours

We present two main results, based on the models and the statistical analyses of 1672 U-band flares. We also discuss the behaviours of the white-light flares. In addition, the parameters of the flares detected from two years of observations on CR Dra are presented. By comparing with the flare parameters obtained from other UV Ceti type stars, we examine the behaviour of optical flare processes along the spectral types. Moreover, we aimed, using large white-light flare data,to analyse the flare time-scales in respect to some results obtained from the X-ray observations. Using the SPSS V17.0 and the GraphPad Prism V5.02 software, the flares detected from CR Dra were modelled with the OPEA function and analysed with t-Test method to compare similar flare events in other stars. In addition, using some regression calculations in order to derive the best histograms, the time-scales of the white-light flares were analysed. Firstly, CR Dra flares have revealed that the white-light flares behave in a similar way as their counterparts observed in X-rays. As seen in X-ray observations, the electron density seems to be a dominant parameter in white-light flare process, too. Secondly, the distributions of the flare time-scales demonstrate that the number of observed flares gets a maximum value in some particular ratios, which are 0.5 or its multiples, and especially positive integers. The thermal processes might be dominant for these white-light flares, while non-thermal processes might be dominant in the others. To reach better results for the behaviour of the white-light flare process along the spectral types, much more stars in a wide spectral range, from the spectral type dK5e to dM6e, must be observed in the white-light flare patrols.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 5 tabl