Problems concerning cutting tool performance during TBM work: modelisation and testing of the rock under the action of the tool

In rock excavation engineering, cutting performance prediction plays an important role in machine and cutting tool design. In the past, experimental and theoretical studies on the interaction between rock and TBM tools were conducted for the explanation of the intimate mechanism of rock failure and to obtain knowledge that was able to improve the performances of the TBMs. Nevertheless,, despite several decades of academic rock mechanics and practical rock engineering, there is still a lack of some fundamental knowledge on rock-tool interaction. The objective of this paper is to evaluate a model that predicts the distributed displacement and stresses under a TBM disk, taking into account, in the failure mode, the constitutive law of the rock, the presence of the tunnel head, the amount of the natural stress due to the high overburden, and the forces caused by the TBM disk on the tunnel head. Some laboratory tests were also planned to validate the theoretical results

The Changing Landscape of Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus in Italy Between 2003 and 2022

Context In the last decade the Sanger method of DNA sequencing has been replaced by next-generation sequencing (NGS). NGS is valuable in conditions characterized by high genetic heterogeneity such as neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM).Objective To compare results of genetic analysis of patients with NDM and congenital severe insulin resistance (c.SIR) identified in Italy in 2003-2012 (Sanger) vs 2013-2022 (NGS).Methods We reviewed clinical and genetic records of 104 cases with diabetes onset before 6 months of age (NDM + c.SIR) of the Italian dataset.Results Fifty-five patients (50 NDM + 5 c.SIR) were identified during 2003-2012 and 49 (46 NDM + 3 c.SIR) in 2013-2022. Twenty-year incidence was 1:103 340 (NDM) and 1:1 240 082 (c.SIR) live births. Frequent NDM/c.SIR genetic defects (KCNJ11, INS, ABCC8, 6q24, INSR) were detected in 41 and 34 probands during 2003-2012 and 2013-2022, respectively. We identified a pathogenic variant in rare genes in a single proband (GATA4) (1/42 or 2.4%) during 2003-2012 and in 8 infants (RFX6, PDX1, GATA6, HNF1B, FOXP3, IL2RA, LRBA, BSCL2) during 2013-2022 (8/42 or 19%, P = .034 vs 2003-2012). Notably, among rare genes 5 were recessive. Swift and accurate genetic diagnosis led to appropriate treatment: patients with autoimmune NDM (FOXP3, IL2RA, LRBA) were subjected to bone marrow transplant; patients with pancreas agenesis/hypoplasia (RFX6, PDX1) were supplemented with pancreatic enzymes, and the individual with lipodystrophy caused by BSCL2 was started on metreleptin.Conclusion NGS substantially improved diagnosis and precision therapy of monogenic forms of neonatal diabetes and c.SIR in Italy

Diabetic ketoacidosis at the onset of disease during a national awareness campaign: a 2-year observational study in children aged 0-18 years

After a previous survey on the incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at onset of type 1 diabetes in children in 2013-2014 in Italy, we aimed to verify a possible decline in the incidence of DKA at onset during a national prevention campaign

The Silent Epidemic of Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents in Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

To compare the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with the frequency of DKA during 2017-2019

Performance and modelling of indenters and cutting tools for the assessment of rock tunnelling borability

The action of the cutting tools of rock TBMs can be studied by means of practical observations and measurements of the equipment parameters. The action of indenters of laboratory instrumentation is directly measured because they are aimed to microscale rock characterisation. Both the pèrevious features are in direct interaction with some of the rock properties: for this reasons numerical modelling can help to study the behaviour of the tools. In this paper the approach of this problem is give

Performance and modelling of indenters and cutting tools for the assessment of rock tunnelling borability

The action of the cutting tools of rock TBMs can be studied by means of practical observations and measurements of the equipment parameters. The action of indenters of laboratory instrumentation is directly measured because they are aimed to microscale rock characterisation. Both the pèrevious features are in direct interaction with some of the rock properties: for this reasons numerical modelling can help to study the behaviour of the tools. In this paper the approach of this problem is give