Task 2 - Deliverable 4: Software for strong-motion data display and processing

The deliverable 4 is composed by a set of routines created to read and process the time series stored in the data base format, that is an ASCII file with a 43 row header, with the name codified as specified in the Deliverable 1. The files can also be read in SAC format

Thermomechanical and morphological properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/anhydrous calcium terephthalate nanocomposites

Calcium terephthalate anhydrous salts (CATAS), synthetized by reaction of terephthalic acid with metal (Ca) oxide were incorporated at dierent weight contents (0-30 wt. %) in recycled Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET) by melt processing. Their structure, morphology, thermal and mechanical properties (tensile and flexural behavior) were investigated. Results of tensile strength of the dierent formulations showed that when the CATAS content increased from 0.1 to 0.4 wt. %, tangible changes were observed (variation of tensile strength from 65.5 to 69.4 MPa, increasing value for E from 2887 up to 3131 MPa, respectively for neat rPET and rPET_0.4CATAS). A threshold weight amount (0.4 wt. %) of CATAS was also found, by formation at low loading, of a rigid amorphous fraction at the rPET/CATAS interface, due to the aromatic interactions (π-π conjugation) between the matrix and the filler. Above the threshold, a restriction of rPET/CATAS molecular chains mobility was detected, due to the formation of hybrid mechanical percolation networks. Additionally, enhanced thermal stability of CATAS filled rPET was registered at high content (Tmax shift from 426 to 441 offiC, respectively, for rPET and rPET_30CATAS), essentially due to chemical compatibility between terephthalate salts and polymer molecules, rich in stable aromatic rings. The singularity of a cold crystallization event, identified at the same loading level, confirmed the presence of an equilibrium state between nucleation and blocking eect of amorphous phase, basically related to the characteristic common terephthalate structure of synthetized Ca-Metal Organic Framework and the rPET matrix

ITACA: Italian Accelerometric Archive

ITACA is the Italian strong motion database. It contains more than 2000 three component waveforms generated by about 1000 earthquakes from 1972 to 2009. Strong motion data come mainly from National Accelerometric Network, operated by Dipartimento della Protezione Civile - DPC. Corrected and uncorrected time-series as well as spectral data can be downloaded in ASCII format. ITACA interfaces allow to set parameters of interest and retrieve specific events, stations, waveforms and their metadata

The Friendly Health Issue Network to Support Computer-Assisted Education for Clinical Reasoning in Multimorbidity Patients

Clinical reasoning in multimorbidity conditions asks for the ability to anticipate the possible evolutions of the overall health state of a patient and to identify the interactions among the concurrent health issues and their treatments. The HIN (Health Issue Network) approach, as Petri Nets-based formal language, is introduced as capable of providing a novel perspective to facilitate the acquisition of such competencies, graphically representing the network among a set of health issues (HIs) that affect a person throughout their life, and describing how HIs evolve over time. The need to provide a more immediate user-oriented interface has led to the development of f-HIN (friendly HIN), a lighter version based on the same mathematical properties as HIN, from which stems in turn the f-HINe (friendly HIN extracted) model, used to represent networks related to either real patients’ clinical experiences extracted from electronic health records, or from teacher-designed realistic clinical histories. Such models have also been designed to be embedded in a software learning environment that allows drawing a f-HIN diagram, checking for its format correctness, as well as designing clinical exercises for the learners, including their computer-assisted assessment. The present paper aims at introducing and discussing the f-HIN/f-HINe models and their educational use. It also introduces the main features of the software learning environment it was built upon, pointing out its importance to: (i) help medical teachers in designing and representing the context of a learning outcome; and (ii) handle the complex history of a multimorbidity patient, to be conveyed in Case-Based Learning (CBL) exercises

Soglie di indifferenza. Sull'immanazione metodologica

The article, focused on the Giorgio Agamben's research methodology, deals with the concept of the threshold of indifference aiming to deepen its meaning and strategic function. Therefore it is an investigation into the author's unsaid. Starting from the hypothesis that this Agamben's concept is the result of the engagement of the reflection of Gilles Deleuze, real stone guest of Agambenian studies, on that of Walter Benjamin, the comparison has been started with the operators who seem to preside over the Benjaminian threshold (the dialectics at a standstill) and the Deleuzian zone of indiscernibility (the disjunctive synthesis). Introduced in this philosophical context, the threshold of indifference came to be delineated as a tactic of the immanation, as a tactic of the tertium datur, the third included: an intensive and non-substantial third, which results from the de-identification of the terms of dichotomies and binary relations as a new starting point

Identification of accelerometric stations in ITACA with distinctive features in their seismic response

In this work, we analyze the records of the Italian strong motion database (ITACA, http://itaca.mi.ingv.it) with the aim of identifying stations affected by site effects that are not captured by standard seismic classification schemes. In particular, we consider four different site classifications, two of them based on geological/geophysical characteristics and two driven by data. For each classification we develop a ground motion prediction equation using a random effect approach to isolate the between-station and within-station distribution of errors. The site coefficients obtained for the different classes confirm that site amplification effects are significant for both the horizontal and vertical components. The between-station error normalized to the standard deviation of the between-station error distribution is then used to identify stations characterized by large errors, attributable to site effects not accounted for by the classification schemes. The results show that large errors can affect the predictions when the site effects are not uniquely related to the reduction of the seismic impedance in the uppermost layers. For example, amplifications of ground motion over the long period range are observed for stations installed within alluvial closed-shape basins, as consequence of locally generated surface waves. For these stations, classifications based on the horizontal to vertical response spectra ratio are not reliable, since amplifications are also affecting the vertical component. Another interesting feature which emerges from the analysis is the significant de-amplification of short period spectral ordinates that seems to be related to stations typically set in at the foundation level of massive structures. To increase the usefulness of the data set, the most important distinctive features of the strong motion stations are documented in the ITACA database reports containing the instrument information and the available geological-geotechnical data