On the use of the Peak Stress Method for the calculation of Residual Notch Stress Intensity Factors: a preliminary investigation

Residual stresses induced by welding processes significantly affect the engineering properties of structural components. If the toe region of a butt-welded joint is modeled as a sharp V-notch, the distribution of the residual stresses in that zone is asymptotic with a singularity degree which follows either the linear-elastic or the elastic-plastic solution, depending on aspects such as clamping conditions, welding parameters, material and dimension of plates. The intensity of the local residual stress fields is quantified by the Residual Notch Stress Intensity Factors (R-NSIFs), which can be used in principle to include the residual stress effect in the fatigue assessment of welded joints. Due to the need of extremely refined meshes and to the high computational resources required by non-linear transient analyses, the R-NSIFs have been calculated in literature only by means of 2D models. It is of interest to propose new coarse-mesh-based approaches which allow residual stresses to be calculated with less computational effort. This work is aimed to investigate the level of accuracy of the Peak Stress Method in the R-NSIFs evaluation

Potential Health Benefits of Anthocyanins in Oxidative Stress Related Disorders

Anthocyanins are naturally occurring water-soluble plant pigments belonging to the flavonoids chemical class. The red, blue and purple colours of leaves, flowers and fruits of plants confirm that they are rich sources of anthocyanins. Many in vivo and in vitro studies reveal that anthocyanins have different health beneficial effects such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, antihypertensive and anticancer properties. Major benefits of anthocyanin administration are owing to their potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Recent investigations have revealed that anti-inflammatory activities of anthocyanins follow the inhibitory pathways of NFкB-mediated decline of inflammatory cytokines production. Inhibition of the anti-inflammatory pathways also influences the modulation of arteriolar disorders and cardiovascular complications due to anthocyanin administration. Moreover, anthocyanins improve diabetes, obesity and cancer pathology by inhibiting NF-кB-mediated inflammatory pathways. However, considerable variations in activities do exist among structurally diverse anthocyanins. This review appraises the recent literature regarding the health benefits of anthocyanins and their molecular mechanisms in various oxidative stress related pathophysiological conditions