Optimal seismic upgrading of a reinforced concrete school building with metal-based devices using an efficient multi-criteria decision-making method

In the paper, the seismic retrofitting of an existing reinforced concrete school building located in the district of Naples has been examined. The school, which was designed to sustain gravity load only, is composed of seven constructions separated with seismic joints. One of these constructions has been retrofitted with different intervention techniques, namely reinforced concrete walls, steel concentric, eccentric and buckling restrained braces and steel shear panels, whose non-linear behaviour under seismic actions in terms of performance point detection have been evaluated and compared using Capacity Spectrum Method. Finally, the choice of the best intervention technique from economic, structural and environmental point of view has been done utilising an efficient multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, the so-called TOPSIS method. From the performed analyses it was found that buckling restrained braces provide optimal solution for the seismic upgrading of the examined reinforced concrete school building

P-RANSAC: An Integrity Monitoring Approach for GNSS Signal Degraded Scenario

Satellite navigation is critical in signal-degraded environments where signals are corrupted and GNSS systems do not guarantee an accurate and continuous positioning. In particular measurements in urban scenario are strongly affected by gross errors, degrading navigation solution; hence a quality check on the measurements, defined as RAIM, is important. Classical RAIM techniques work properly in case of single outlier but have to be modified to take into account the simultaneous presence of multiple outliers. This work is focused on the implementation of random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm, developed for computer vision tasks, in the GNSS context. This method is capable of detecting multiple satellite failures; it calculates position solutions based on subsets of four satellites and compares them with the pseudoranges of all the satellites not contributing to the solution. In this work, a modification to the original RANSAC method is proposed and an analysis of its performance is conducted, processing data collected in a static test

Effects of physical exercise on adiponectin, leptin, and inflammatory markers in childhood obesity: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: New findings on adipose tissue physiology and obesity-Associated inflammation status suggest that modification of the adipokine level can be relevant for the long-Term prevention of obesity-Associated chronic disease. Objectives: The scope of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of physical exercise in reducing the systemic inflammation related to obesity in children. Methods: We conducted a systematic review with meta-Analysis of controlled randomized trials, identified through electronic database search, which investigated the effect of physical exercise, without concomitant dietary intervention, on adiponectin, leptin, and/or other inflammatory markers in children up to age 18 years with a body mass index greater than the 95th percentile for age and sex. Results: Seven trials were included in the meta-Analysis, with a total of 250 participants. Compared with the control group without any lifestyle modification, the physical exercise resulted in a reduction in leptin [standardized mean difference (SMD)-1.13; 95% confidence interval (95%CI):-1.89 to-0.37; I2 = 79.9%] and interleukin-6 (SMD-0.84; 95%CI:-1.45 to-0.23, I2 = 0.9%) and an increase in adiponectin plasma concentration (SMD 0.69; 95%CI: 0.02-1.35; I2 = 74.3%). Conclusions: These results indicate that physical exercise improved the inflammatory state in children with obesity. It is unclear whether this effect can reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in adulthood. Clinical trials with a uniform intervention protocol and outcome measurements are required to put our knowledge on adipose tissue biology into a clinical perspective

Assessment of the design criteria for concentric V-braced steel structures according to Italian and European codes

The critical review of design methodologies provided by the NTC2008, in agreement with the European seismic code (Eurocode 8) for steel Concentrically Braced Frames with chevron (or inverted V) diagonals (CBF-V), carried out by deepening the seismic behaviour of such typical steel seismic resistant structures, aims to provide more efficient design criteria able to ensure adequate safety levels under seism. As reference case studies, common structural configurations of CBF-V are designed according to the NTC2008 provisions. Each case study is designed through both the Linear Static (LS) and Dynamic (LD) analysis. For braces either Circular Hollow Sections (CHS) or HE profiles are used. General critical issues have been evidenced in the design process. The seismic performance of investigated structures is evaluated by non-linear static analyses, in order to appraise the most relevant behavioural issues, like the behaviour factor, the failure modes and the effectiveness of the capacity design criteria. A discussion on the obtained results has allowed to point out the pros and cons of the current design approach

Butyrate modulating effects on pro-inflammatory pathways in human intestinal epithelial cells

Butyrate acts as energy source for intestinal epithelial cells and as key mediator of several immune processes, modulating gene expression mainly through histone deacetylation inhibition. Thanks to these effects, butyrate has been proposed for the treatment of many intestinal diseases. Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of butyrate on the expression of a large series of target genes encoding proteins involved in pro-inflammatory pathways. We performed quantitative real-time-PCR analysis of the expression of 86 genes encoding proteins bearing to pro-inflammatory pathways, before and after butyrate exposure, in primary epithelial cells derived from human small intestine and colon. Butyrate significantly down-regulated the expression of genes involved in inflammatory response, among which nuclear factor kappa beta, interferon-gamma, Toll like 2 receptor and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Further confirmations of these data, including studies at protein level, would support the use of butyrate as effective therapeutic strategy in intestinal inflammatory disorders