analysis of the micro voids fraction in structural steels and its evolution during plastic deformation until failure

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Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p < .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p < .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come

Influence of Mechanical Anisotropy on Micro-Voids and Ductile Fracture Onset and Evolution in High-Strength Low Alloyed Steels

In this paper results of a wide and innovative mechanical assessment, that was performed on large diameter spiral line pipes for gas transportation, are reported. The anisotropic material hardening has been characterized by tensile (smooth and notched specimens), torsion, and compression tests. Tests were performed in the pipe of the pipe with specimens machined along several orientations, taking into account the pipe through thickness direction. The influence of different triaxiality stress states on anisotropic behavior of the material have also been analyzed by means of tensile tests on notched specimens. After the experiments, the material was assessed by measuring the void distribution on the material as is, and on many deformed and fractured specimens, including tensile tests at different triaxiality, and torsion tests. The results showed that in such a class of materials, the experimental void fraction is fully negligible and not related to the applied plastic strain, even at the fracture proximity. As a consequence it can be concluded that, the plastic softening hypothesis may be dropped and damage due to void evolution hypothesis is not adequate

Investigation of the Energy Distribution of Stress-Induced Oxide Traps by Numerical Analysis of the TAT of HEs

This paper investigates by numerical modeling the results of substrate hot electron (SHE) injection experiments in virgin and stressed devices and the corresponding increase of the contribution of HEs to the gate current due to the stress-induced oxide traps. Experimental evidence of HE trap-assisted tunneling (HE TAT) is found after Fowler-Nordheim (FN) stress and SHE stress. An accurate physically based model developed to interpret the experimental results allowed us to study the energy distribution of generated oxide traps in the two different stress regimes. It is found that degradation in HE stress conditions and FN stress conditions cannot be explained by the same trap distribution. For a given stress-induced low field leakage current, a larger concentration of traps in the top part of the oxide band gap is needed to explain HE TAT after SHE stress than after FN stress. The range of trap energy where each technique is sensitive is also identified

PREVALENZA DI TBEV IN IXODES RICINUS RACCOLTE IN FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA NEL PERIODO 2005-2009

Il virus della Encefalite da zecche (TBEV), dalla met\ue0 degli anni \u201990 del secolo scorso, costituisce un problema importante di sanit\ue0 pubblica nelle regioni nord-orientali del paese; in particolare nella regione alpina del Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) l\u2019incidenza di TBE nell\u2019ultimo quinquennio ha raggiunto il valore di 15.8/100.000. L\u2019UCO di Igiene dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Trieste, in collaborazione con il Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata alla Difesa delle Piante dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Udine e il Dipartimento di Prevenzione, ASS3 Alto Friuli, ha condotto, tra il 2005 e il 2009, un esteso studio sulla prevalenza dell\u2019infezione da TBEV nel vettore Ixodes ricinus in diversi siti della regione FVG. I risultati dello studio evidenziano un progressivo incremento della prevalenza di TBEV nel vettore che passa dallo 0.27% del 2005 al 0.58% del 2009 ed un allargamento dell\u2019area interessata alla fascia prealpina della regione. I dati relativi alla caratterizzazione molecolare dei campioni positivi confermano la circolazione nell'area studiata di virus appartenenti al sottotipo europeo occidentale. Le differenze nucleotidiche riscontrate tra i diversi campioni confermano la validit\ue0 dei risultati e si raggruppano in cluster evolutivi in parte riconducibili alle varianti Hypr e Neudoerfl circolanti nei paesi vicini

Combined control and navigation approach to the robotic capture of space vehicles

The potentialities of In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) to extend the operational life of satellites and the need to implement Active Debris Removal (ADR) to effectively tackle the space debris problem are well known among the space community. Research on technical solutions to enable this class of missions is thriving, also pushed by the development of new generation sensors and control systems. Among private companies, space agencies and universities, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been developing technologies in this field for decades. Several solutions have been proposed over the years to safely capture orbital objects, the majority relying on robotic systems. A promising option is the employment of an autonomous spacecraft (chaser) equipped with a highly dexterous robotic arm able to perform the berthing with a resident space object. This operation poses complex technical challenges both during the approach phase and after contact. In this respect, the design of an effective, reliable, and robust Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system, for which several algorithmic architectures and hardware configurations are possible, plays a key role to ensure safe mission execution. This work presents the outcomes of a research activity performed by a consortium of universities under contract with ESA with the goal to develop the navigation and control subsystems of a GNC system for controlling a chaser equipped with a redundant manipulator. Both the final approach until capture and the target stabilization phase after capture are considered in the study. The proposed solution aims at the implementation of a combined control strategy. Robust control methods are adopted to design control laws for the uncertain, nonlinear dynamics of the chaser and of the complete chaser–target stack after capture. Visual–based solutions, i.e., relying on active/passive electro– optical sensors, are selected for relative navigation. A complete sensor suite for relative and absolute navigation is part of the GNC system, including transducers for robot joint measurements. To properly validate the proposed solutions, a complete numerical simulator has been developed. This software tool allows to thoroughly assess the system performance, accounting for all the relevant external disturbances and error sources. A realistic synthetic image generator is also used for relative navigation performance assessment. This paper presents the design solutions and the results of preliminary numerical testing, considering three mission scenarios to prove the flexibility of the solution and its applicability to a wide range of operational cases