Innovative passive reinforcements for the gradual stabilization of a landslide according with the observational method

A large number of landslides occur in North-Eastern Italy during every rainy period due to the particular hydrogeological conditions of this area. Even if there are no casualties, the economic losses are often significant, and municipalities frequently do not have sufficient financial resources to repair the damage and stabilize all the unstable slopes. In this regard, the research for more economically sustainable solutions is a crucial challenge. Floating composite anchors are an innovative and low-cost technique set up for slope stabilization: it consists in the use of passive sub-horizontal reinforcements, obtained by coupling a traditional self-drilling bar with some tendons cemented inside it. This work concerns the application of this technique according to the observational method described within the Italian and European technical codes and mainly recommended for the design of geotechnical works, especially when performed in highly uncertain site conditions. The observational method prescribes designing an intervention and, at the same time, using a monitoring system in order to correct and adapt the project during realization of the works on the basis of new data acquired while on site. The case study is the landslide of Cischele, a medium landslide which occurred in 2010 after an exceptional heavy rainy period. In 2015, some floating composite anchors were installed to slow down the movement, even if, due to a limited budget, they were not enough to ensure the complete stabilization of the slope. Thanks to a monitoring system installed in the meantime, it is now possible to have a comparison between the site conditions before and after the intervention. This allows the evaluation of benefits achieved with the reinforcements and, at the same time, the assessment of additional improvements. Two stabilization scenarios are studied through an FE model: the first includes the stabilization system built in 2015, while the second evaluates a new solution proposed to further increase the slope stability

Photoelectron Spectra of Lignin Model Compounds

The He I photoelectron (PE) spectra of the 77 lignin subunits were measured and arranged in classes of compounds according to the following functional groups: aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, carboxylic acids, functionalized polymethyl benzenes and miscellaneous lignin subunits. In all spectra the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) was assigned to a jt-orbital

Recursos genéticos de macieira.

A maçã é de grande importância econômica e social, sendo a segunda fruta mais produzida no mundo. Grande parte desse sucesso é devido a atuação dos programas de melhoramento genético no desenvolvimento de cultivares adequadas às necessidades das regiões de cultivo e as exigências dos consumidores. No entanto, para que novas cultivares sejam obtidas, é fundamental que existam recursos genéticos conservados de maneira adequada e em quantidade suficiente para prover a diversidade genética necessária. Isso se torna ainda mais importante no atual cenário global, com mudanças climáticas iminentes que podem alterar de maneira drástica o cultivo da macieira. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi reunir e discutir as principais informações sobre os recursos genéticos da macieira, para que possa ser utilizado como material de apoio para pesquisas e, dessa forma, contribuir para o desenvolvimento dessa frutífera

Fair graph representation learning: Empowering NIFTY via Biased Edge Dropout and Fair Attribute Preprocessing

The increasing complexity and amount of data available in modern applications strongly demand Trustworthy Learning algorithms that can be fed directly with complex and large graphs data. In fact, on one hand, machine learning models must meet high technical standards (e.g., high accuracy with limited computational requirements), but, at the same time, they must be sure not to discriminate against subgroups of the population (e.g., based on gender or ethnicity). Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are currently the most effective solution to meet the technical requirements, even if it has been demonstrated that they inherit and amplify the biases contained in the data as a reflection of societal inequities. In fact, when dealing with graph data, these biases can be hidden not only in the node attributes but also in the connections between entities. Several Fair GNNs have been proposed in the literature, with uNIfying Fairness and stabiliTY (NIFTY) (Agarwal et al., 2021) being one of the most effective. In this paper, we will empower NIFTY's fairness with two new strategies. The first one is a Biased Edge Dropout, namely, we drop graph edges to balance homophilous and heterophilous sensitive connections, mitigating the bias induced by subgroup node cardinality. The second one is Attributes Preprocessing, which is the process of learning a fair transformation of the original node attributes. The effectiveness of our proposal will be tested on a series of datasets with increasingly challenging scenarios. These scenarios will deal with different levels of knowledge about the entire graph, i.e., how many portions of the graph are known and which sub-portion is labelled at the training and forward phases

Enhancement of optical absorption by modulation of the oxygen flow of TiO2 films deposited by reactive sputtering

Oxygen-deficient TiO2 films with enhanced visible and near-infrared optical absorption have been deposited by reactive sputtering using a planar diode radio frequency magnetron configuration. It is observed that the increase in the absorption coefficient is more effective when the O2 gas supply is periodically interrupted rather than by a decrease of the partial O2 gas pressure in the deposition plasma. The optical absorption coefficient at 1.5 eV increases from about 1 102 cm 1 to more than 4 103 cm 1 as a result of the gas flow discontinuity. A red-shift of 0.24 eV in the optical absorption edge is also observed. High resolution transmission electron microscopy with composition analysis shows that the films present a dense columnar morphology, with estimated mean column width of 40 nm. Moreover, the interruptions of the O2 gas flow do not produce detectable variations in the film composition along its growing direction. X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman experiments indicate the presence of the TiO2 anatase, rutile, and brookite phases. The anatase phase is dominant, with a slight increment of the rutile and brookite phases in films deposited under discontinued O2 gas flow. The increase of optical absorption in the visible and near-infrared regions has been attributed to a high density of defects in the TiO2 films, which is consistent with density functional theory calculations that place oxygen-related vacancy states in the upper third of the optical bandgap. The electronic structure calculation results, along with the adopted deposition method and experimental data, have been used to propose a mechanism to explain the formation of the observed oxygen-related defects in TiO2 thin films. The observed increase in sub-bandgap absorption and the modeling of the corresponding changes in the electronic structure are potentially useful concerning the optimization of efficiency of the photocatalytic activity and the magnetic doping of TiO2 films

Retrospective evaluation of clinical and pathological features, as well as diagnostic and treatment protocols of primary vaginal malignancy

Objectives: Our study aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics and diagnostic and treatment protocols of primary vaginal carcinoma. Also, we compared the clinical and pathological features of primary vaginal carcinoma which intersect with cervical and vulvar carcinomas. Material and methods: Sixteen patients with primary vaginal carcinoma, admitted to the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital between January 1983 and December 2012, were evaluated retrospectively. FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) Surgical staging was performed. The SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) program was used for statistical analyses. Results: The histological distribution of the 16 patients with primary vaginal carcinoma was as follows: 9 patients (56.3%) with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 5 (31.3%) with rhabdomyosarcoma, and 2 (12.5%) with adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: The stage of the disease was found the be the main factor affecting the survival

Spin Transfer from a Ferromagnet into a Semiconductor through an Oxide barrier

We present results on the magnetoresistance of the system Ni/Al203/n-doped Si/Al2O3/Ni in fabricated nanostructures. The results at temperature of 14K reveal a 75% magnetoresistance that decreases in value up to approximately 30K where the effect disappears. We observe minimum resistance in the antiparallel configurations of the source and drain of Ni. As a possibility, it seems to indicate the existence of a magnetic state at the Si/oxide interface. The average spin diffusion length obtained is of 650 nm approximately. Results are compared to the window of resistances that seems to exist between the tunnel barrier resistance and two threshold resistances but the spin transfer seems to work in the range and outside the two thresholds

USO DA BIODIVERSIDADE EM QUINTAIS DE COMUNIDADES TRADICIONAIS DA BAÍA DE CHACORORE, BARÃO DE MELGAÇO, MATO GROSSO, BRASIL

O objetivo do estudo é caracterizar os quintais das Comunidades tradicionais de pescadores localizados na bacia do Alto Paraguai nas redondezas da baia de Chacororé: Cuiabá Mirim e Porto Brandão, levantando dados referentes à: estrutura e composição vegetal, as diferentes etnocategorias de uso das plantas pelos moradores locais e a abordagem socioeconômica e cultural das comunidades em destaque. A fase de coleta de dados no campo ocorreu durante abril e maio de 2011 nas Comunidades pertencentes ao município de Barão de Melgaço/MT. Nos quintais estudados catalogaram-se plantas pertencentes a 82 espécies distribuídas em 46 famílias botânicas em Cuiabá Mirim e 96 espécies distribuídas em 48 famílias botânicas em Porto Brandão. A família Fabaceae foi a mais expressiva em Porto Brandão, entretanto em Cuiabá Mirim, Anacardiaceae foi a mais relatada pelos moradores. O número de espécies encontradas por propriedade variou de 9 a 38 espécies com média de 18 espécies em Cuiabá Mirim e 7 a 33 espécies, com média de aproximadamente 19 espécies em Porto Brandão. Com relação às categorias de uso, a população das Comunidades de Cuiabá Mirim e Porto Brandão a maioria das plantas mantidas e cultivadas nos quintais é direcionada à complementação alimentar dos moradores da comunidade

Removability Efficiency of Heavy Metals with Modified Humate from Aqueous Media

The main aim of this work was to study the possibility of using amine-modified humate as a sorbent for the purification of water from heavy metal ions (Cu&Co). One of the effective methods of creating new sorbents of humic acids is chemical modification based on the high reactivity of the functional groups in the composition of humic acids. The possibility of modification of humic acid with bis(3-aminopropyl) amine was illustrated. Modification was carried out with the aim of increasing its sorption capacity. Metalhumate complexes were also obtained by an ion-exchange procedure with modified humate (Mod-Hum) by employing metal salts such as Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O, Co(CH3COO)2·4H2O. Maximum sorption percentages of Mod-Hum achieved were about 99.2% for Cu (II) and 90% for Co (II). The sorption degree depending on pH changes was studied in the range of 2 to 8, the sorption ability of the sorbents was stated to increase with the increase in pH. The degree of sorption of copper (ІІ) on Mod-Hum in the studied range of рН 5 was higher and of cobalt (II) for which the sorption is optimal at higher values (рН 7-8). It is stated that sorption degree increases with the increase in time from 15 min to 2 h. The adsorption of toxic metal ions with Mod-Hum was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The experimental results on determination of the adsorption isotherm were evaluated with the Langmuir equation. It is shown that the sorbent develops a high sorption capacity in regard to ions of Cu (18.42 mg/g) and Со (16.25 mg/g). All the obtained complex compounds were analyzed and characterized by FT infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)