Design Charts for Evaluating Impact Forces on DissipativeGranular Soil Cushions

This paper concerns the problem of designing standard artificial tunnels for rock boulder protection. The proposed approach consists in uncoupling the problem of the dynamic response of the granular dissipative soil cushion placed on the top of artificial tunnels from the dynamic response of the reinforced concrete structure underneath. An already conceived elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model capable of simulating the penetration process of the boulder within the soil stratum and reproducing the force acting on the boulder is briefly described. Its simplified one-dimensional formulation is outlined. A modified version of the model, taking into account large displacements occurring when either impacts on loose granular soils or high energetic content impacts on dense sand strata are considered, is also introduced. To validate the approach, some in situ test results are numerically simulated. A simplified numerical approach is proposed for obtaining the evolution with time of both impact force and boulder penetration, bypassing the use of the rheological model. This goal is achieved by introducing some abaci obtained numerically with reference to an ideal dense sand soil stratum of reference

Experimental and numerical study of rock-fall impacts on granular soils” Rivista Italiana di Geotecnica

Anno XXXI

A rheological model for the description of boulder impacts on granular strata

This paper considers the mechanics of rock boulders impacting on granular strata. The study is aimed at improving the numerical methods devoted both to describing boulder trajectories along slopes and designing preventive structures in mountain regions. The problem is analysed by using a simplified approach inspired by the lumped mass method. This is based on (a) the macroelement concept, (b) the definition of generalised stresses and displacements, and (c) delayed plasticity theory. Both vertical and inclined impacts on horizontal strata and vertical impacts on inclined slopes are discussed. The numerical results are obtained by using a finite difference numerical discretisation to integrate, over time, a coupled system of two-dimensional differential equations. Most of the input data requested by the model are basic and geotechnically meaningful, and comparison of the numerical results with the experimental data seems to be quite promising

GENETIC ANALYSES ON BONE REMAINS: THE UNIVERSITY OF ROME “SAPIENZA” LABORATORY OF FORENSIC GENETICS’ EXPERIENCE

Genetic analyses on bone remains in the field of human identification represent one of the most stimulating and complex challenges for forensic geneticists. Unlike the analysis of biological traces such as blood, semen, saliva or urine, that usually do not present any particular technical and operational difficulty so that personal identification can be achieved, as appropriate, more or less easily through comparing the genetic profile obtained from the sample with the one available as reference, the identification of bone remains forces the analysts to face multiple and complex variable factors (e.g. the degradation of genetic material and the environmental contamination of the samples) that can affect the success of the analysis in the sense of obtaining a complete and interpretable STR profile. In such cases an accurate evaluation of the characteristics of the sample and the environmental conditions to which this finding has been exposed is extremely important. This presentation describes the methods used in the Laboratory of Forensic Genetics of the Department S.A.I.M.L.A.L of the University of Rome "Sapienza" for the analysis of bone remains, to the purpose of either personal identification or the assessment of a parental relationship. The authors will present a selection of 20 cases came under their observation during the years 2007-2011, for which the genetic analyses were performed on different bone samples (femur, tibia, humerus, mandible) using different extraction, amplification and STR typing methods. The results obtained will be compared in order to assess for each case the specific role of 3 important variable factors: the age of the remains, the environmental conditions of storage/finding and the cause of death. 6 out of the 20 cases showed interpretation problems related to the Low Copy Number (LCN, or Low Template -LT) DNA condition due to DNA degradation (i.e. the effects of high temperatures in case of charred remains; the acceleration of autolytic processes in case of hexumation of a corpse) and/or the presence of DNA inhibitors (e.g. Calcium Phosphate, Humic Acid) that likely were co-extracted with the DNA from the evidence sample. The results show that the possibility of obtaining a complete and interpretable genetic profile depends largely on the 3 variable factors mentioned above, particularly with regard to the environmental conditions of storage/finding of the remains, thus confirming the need to optimize the analytical methods in order to minimize the effects of environmental inhibitors. After attending this presentation, attendees will understand some principles of genetic analysis on bone remains, the challenges related to this kind of investigation especially for what concerns criminal cases and the importance of the honesty of the forensic scientist when a certain and unequivocal interpretation of the DNA profile obtained cannot be provided. This presentation will impact the forensic community by highlighting the importance of bone remains as an evidentiary sample in forensic caseworks and the difficulties related to the genetic analysis of such samples due to degradation and/or inhibition factors: in these cases it is fundamental for the scientist to consider that asserting that a complete and interpretable genetic profile is not obtained from a sample (thus the sample cannot be considered useful for a comparison) does not mean a failure but, on the contrary, reveals scientific honesty and should stimulate the necessary progress in this field

Indagini genetiche su reperti ossei: esperienza del laboratorio di genetica forense dell'Università di Roma "Sapienza"

L’analisi di reperti ossei in ambito identificativo rappresenta ad oggi una delle sfide più stimolanti e complesse per i genetisti forensi. A differenza dell’analisi di tracce biologiche quali sangue, sperma, saliva o urina, le quali non presentano particolari difficoltà dal punto di vista tecnico-operativo per cui l’identificazione personale può essere raggiunta, a seconda dei casi, più o meno facilmente tramite il confronto del profilo genetico ottenuto con quello di riferimento disponibile caso per caso, nell’identificazione di resti ossei ci si trova a dover affrontare molteplici e complesse variabili (degradazione del materiale genetico nonché contaminazione ambientale dei reperti) in grado di condizionare il buon esito dell’analisi nel senso dell’ottenimento di un profilo STR completo ed interpretabile. In tali casi risulta infatti spesso tanto difficile quanto auspicabile riconoscere e valutare a priori la specifica tipologia del reperto in esame e le condizioni ambientali a cui tale reperto è stato esposto. Nel presente lavoro vengono illustrate le metodiche impiegate nel Laboratorio di Genetica Forense del Dipartimento SAIMLAL dell'Università di Roma “Sapienza” nell’analisi di resti ossei, ai fini sia identificativi che di accertamento del rapporto parentale. Nei casi esaminati, le analisi genetiche sono state eseguite su campioni ossei diversi (femore, tibia, omero, mandibola) utilizzando la medesima metodica di estrazione del DNA abbinata a kit commerciali di amplificazione e tipizzazione degli STR differenti ed i risultati ottenuti sono stati confrontati al fine di evidenziare il ruolo specifico, per ogni singolo caso in esame, dei seguenti fattori variabili: età dei reperti, condizioni ambientali di conservazione/ritrovamento e modalità del decesso. I risultati ottenuti mostrano che la possibilità di ottenere un profilo genetico utile dipende strettamente dalle variabili precedentemente indicate, con particolare riguardo alle condizioni ambientali di conservazione/ritrovamento dei resti ossei, confermando la necessità di approfondire le conoscenze sulla natura e gli effetti degli inibitori dell’amplificazione del DNA al fine di ottimizzare le metodiche analitiche riducendo al minimo gli effetti inibenti di tali sostanze