Behavior of Half-Joints: Design and Simulation of Laboratory Tests

European countries are characterized by an extensive infrastructural network, mainly built around the 1960s and 1970s. In that period prefabrication processes were starting to gain ground, and one of the most spread and studied typologies of bridges was constituted by reinforced or prestressed concrete decks. Those structures have gone through years of service, which caused the inevitable degradation of the materials and relevant deterioration of structural elements. Moreover, the design and construction processes of that period have soon become obsolete, and the knowledge relative to the influence of detailing increased significantly. One particular element that has been commonly used has been the half-joint, which is easy to prefabricate and has a strategic impact. However, in recent years this solution is showing critical aptitudes in resisting structural degradation and material decay. In addition, structural health monitoring (SHM) strategies are gaining attention since they are a very useful tool for gathering information on the current state of the structure and then for evaluating intervention plans to improve safety. Indeed, existing bridges, despite their working age, are still crucial to the development and sustainability of community life, and their decommissioning would be an act of critical impact on the communities (e.g., economy, logistics, sustainability). This contribution presents the design and the simulation of laboratory tests on half-joints of reinforced concrete beams that will be developed at the Politecnico di Torino in a subsequent step of the present research. They are designed to test and compare different monitoring techniques along with different steel reinforcement configurations. Specifically, the first part of the manuscript focuses on a review of the literature regarding the design, strengthening, and monitoring of half-joints. Subsequently, the laboratory setup to test half-joints is presented along with the numerical simulation to support the experimental design. Laboratory tests will involve the use of monitoring systems to detect the local response of the system and also to propose new solutions specifically for this type of connection using emerging technologies. Numerical collapse simulations show the effect of different reinforcement configurations and the collapse behavior

FRCM retrofitting techniques for masonry walls: a literature review and some laboratory tests

The experimental characterisation of externally bonded composite materials as strengthening solutions for masonry structures, such as basalt textile reinforced mortar (BTRM) or fiber reinforced concrete (FRC), has been receiving increasing attention due to their outstanding mechanical performance. Several studies have been demonstrated the efficiency of this retrofitting solution for increasing the mechanical strength and the displacement capacity of masonry material. In this paper the state-of-art of the most relevant achievements in the experimental investigations and numerical analysis of retrofitted masonry wall have been critically reviewed. Firstly, a detailed collection of several experimental tests using different textile reinforced mortar and/or fiber reinforced mortar has been conducted. Special focus has been given to the test set-up and load configuration type adopted for experiments. Subsequently, several modelling techniques have been treated in order to detect the best approach simulating the interaction between reinforcement system and masonry ranging from macro and micro modelling, concentrated and diffused plasticity model and diverse constitutive laws. Finally, an overview of some original experimental outcomes from laboratory tests is presented. This results will play a major role in for the validation of the numerical models for the prediction of the shear strength and the ductile behavior of reinforced masonry that will be developed in a further step of this research

Oral health-related quality of life of paediatric patients with AIDS

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Children with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) exhibit impaired dental status, which can affect their quality of life. This study assessed the oral health-related quality of life of these patients and associated factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The "Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14", rating overall and domain-specific (oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional well being, and social well being) oral health-related quality of life (OHR-QoL) was completed by 88 children with AIDS assisted in the Child Institute, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Parents or guardians provided behavioural and socio-demographic information. The clinical status was provided by hospital records. OHR-QoL covariates were assessed by Poisson regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The most affected OHR-QoL subscale concerned oral symptoms, whose rate was 23.9%. The direct answer for oral health and well being made up a rate of 47.7%. Brushing the teeth less than two times a day and viral load exceeding 10,000 HIV-RNA copies per millilitre of plasma were directly associated (p < 0.05) with a poorer oral health-related quality of life.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Children with more severe AIDS manifestations complained of poorer status of oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional and social well being related to their oral health. Recognizing the factors that are associated with poorer OHR-QoL in children with AIDS may contribute to the planning of dental services for this population.</p

Morphology and morphometry of the human sublingual glands in mouth floor enlargements of edentulous patients

Asymptomatic mouth floor enlargements may be observed in edentulous patients. These masses, which protrude from the mouth floor, may complicate the fitting of dentures and require surgery. Whether this "entity" may be considered an anatomical variation of the mouth floor or represent specific alterations in the sublingual gland is not known. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to investigate the morphological and morphometric aspects of the sublingual glands of edentulous patients with mouth floor enlargements and compare the glands of these patients with the sublingual glands of human cadavers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Microscopic evaluation was performed on human sublingual glands from edentulous patients with mouth floor enlargements (n=20) and edentulous cadavers (n=20). The patients and cadavers were of similar ages. The data were compared using Mann-Whitney U, Fisher's exact and Student's t tests (p<0.05). RESULTS: Acinar atrophy, duct-like structures, mononuclear infiltrates, replacement of parenchyma with fibrous/adipose tissue, mucous extravasation and oncocytosis were similar between the groups (p>0.05). Only the variables "autolysis" and "congested blood vessels" presented statistical difference between groups (p=0.014; p=0.043). The morphometric study revealed that the volume densities of acini, ducts, stroma and adipose tissue were similar between the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The microscopic characteristics of the sublingual glands in mouth floor enlargements in edentulous patients correspond to characteristics associated with the normal aging process. The glands are not pathological and represent an age-related alteration that occurs with or without the presence of the mouth floor enlargements

What is Said and What is Not. The Semantics/Pragmatics Interface

This volume contains essays that explore explicit and implicit communication through linguistic research. Taking as a framework Paul Grice's theories on \u201cwhat is said,\u201d the contributors explore a number of areas, including: the boundary between semantics and pragmatics; the concept of implicit communication; the idea of the logical form of our assertions; the notion of conventional meaning; the phenomenon of deixis, which refers to when an utterance require context in order to be understood fully; the treatment of definite descriptions; and the different kinds of pragmatic processes

Una nuova generazione di italiani : l'idea di cittadinanza tra i giovani figli di immigrati

L\u2019intensificarsi degli effetti dei processi di globalizzazione e, in particolare, dei crescenti flussi migratori, trasformano l\u2019idea di cittadinanza. La crisi di una piena coincidenza tra comunit\ue0 politica, comunit\ue0 di residenti e comunit\ue0 che si riconosce in un ethos nazionale rende problematica la conservazione di quel delicato equilibrio tra inclusione ed esclusione, universalismo e riconoscimento delle differenze, su cui ha trovato fondamento l\u2019idea moderna di cittadinanza. La cittadinanza diviene allora uno dei luoghi principali di confronto e contesa sulla sovranit\ue0 e sull\u2019identit\ue0, include domande di riconoscimento delle differenze collettive e, pi\uf9 in generale, veicola istanze di trasformazione delle regole di gestione dello spazio pubblico e di quello politico. I processi migratori sembrano particolarmente efficaci nel mettere luce le incongruenze tra due dimensioni che hanno caratterizzato l\u2019idea classica di cittadinanza: garantire l\u2019inclusione e l\u2019ampliamento della partecipazione alla vita comune di tutti coloro che vivono all\u2019interno del territorio della comunit\ue0 escludendo chi viene definito estraneo. La questione appare particolarmente rilevante in Italia dove una legge sulla cittadinanza ispirata da un rigido ius sanguinis rende molto difficile il riconoscimento dello status di cittadino per chi, pur essendo nato in Italia e avendo qui trascorso tutta la sua vita, ha genitori stranieri. La presente ricerca illustra come le \u201cseconde generazioni\u201d parlano della cittadinanza e quale senso assume per loro dirsi e sentirsi italiani. Comprendere meglio il loro interesse per l\u2019acquisizione della cittadinanza italiana ci \ue8 parso un buon punto di partenza per riflettere sui come sta cambiando la societ\ue0 italiana e la nostra idea di \u201citalianit\ue0\u201d

Submerged Floating Tunnels under Seismic Motion: Vibration Mitigation Issues

In the work here described, a 3D finite element model of a SFT (Submerged Floating Tunnel) has been developed within the ANSYS numerical code. The model, which takes geometrical and mechanical nonlinearities and soil-structure interaction into account, has been subjected to multiple-support seismic excitation. It is found, from transient dynamic analyses, that in the anchoring elements near to the tunnel ends the elastic limit of the material is largely exceeded under design seismic actions. By introducing inelastic material behavior in the bars, the effect of energy dissipation due to hysteresis on the global response is estimated. Attention has been devoted as well to the control of longitudinal oscillations of the tunnel; in most design proposals the tunnel itself acts as a continuous element, since no intermediate structural joints are allowed due to tightness requirements. Consequently, at the tunnel ends, elastic-plastic spring devices can be applied, trying to reduce the relative displacement between the structure and the shore though limiting the axial stress in the tunnel. In the paper the strain-stress relationships in the bars, the displacements and stress time histories at the different sections along the tunnels and the displacement-force curve of the onlinear elastic-plastic spring device are given, allowing for a comparison between the elastic and inelastic behavior

Citizenship and multiple belonging : representations of inclusion, identification and participation among children of immigrants in Italy

This article aims to explore how children of immigrants enrolled in higher secondary schools in Milan conceive and speak about citizenship. It illustrates how the formal, participatory and identity dimensions of citizenship come to be articulated in a complex and changeable way in relation to discourses and contexts. In particular, it attempts to look more closely at the transformations of belonging, which today seems to be composed of different layers that underline different aspects: admittance stresses the universalistic claim to be equal, to not be excluded on the basis of discrimination or prejudice; identification conserves a particularistic and essentialist meaning, it stresses the importance and the 'unavoidableness' of difference; involvement regards lifestyles, everyday relations, it confers importance on the possibility to participate on behalf of a specific interest and have a stake in a community's life and future. Therefore, citizenship assumes different meanings when discourses shift from one layer to another