A Critical State Evaluation of Fines Effect on Liquefaction Potential

Published results from laboratory tests show that an increase in the percentage of fines generally leads to a reduction of the cyclic liquefaction resistance of a sand, while empirical correlations from in-situ tests consider the presence of fines as beneficial. In order to study this seemingly not univocal effect of tines content, this paper involves the integrated framework of Critical State Soil Mechanics. For this purpose, firstly the effect of tines on the location of the Critical State Line (CSL) is studied through statistical analysis of a large data set of triaxial element tests. Results show that fines affect the CSL location in the (e-lnp) space, but not its slope in (p-q) space. In particular, an increase of fines content practically leads to a clockwise rotation of the CSL in (e-lnp) space. Introducing this finding as a mere change in parameter values of an appropriate Critical State constitutive model, simulations of cyclic undrained triaxial tests were performed. These simulations show that the presence of fines is beneficial at relatively small effective stresses, i.e. the stresses prevailing at liquefiable layers in-situ. Furthermore, these simulations show that the effect is reversed at relatively large effective stresses, i.e. the stresses usually considered in laboratory tests

Improved Methodology for Estimating Seismic Coefficients for the Pseudo-Static Stability Analysis of Earth Dams

This paper presents an improved methodology for estimating seismic coefficients for the pseudo-static stability analysis of earth dams, which is based on a statistical analysis of input data and results for 112 potential failure surfaces, as estimated from 28 two dimensional seismic response analyses for eight (8) different zoned earth dams and high embankments. The new methodology employs design diagrams and equations and estimates the maximum and the effective seismic coefficients as a function of: (a) the peak ground acceleration at the free-field surface of the foundation soil, (b) the predominant period of the seismic excitation, (c) the eigenperiod of the earth dam, (d) the dam foundation conditions, and (e) the dimensionless ratio z/H of the maximum depth z of the failure surface over the height H of the earth dam. The proposed methodology offers accuracy and consistency with a standard deviation of the relative error in the estimation of the seismic coefficients in the order of ±24

Voluntary exercise inhibits intestinal tumorigenesis in ApcMin/+ mice and azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium-treated mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epidemiological studies suggest that physical activity reduces the risk of colon cancer in humans. Results from animal studies, however, are inconclusive. The present study investigated the effects of voluntary exercise on intestinal tumor formation in two different animal models, <it>Apc</it>^Min/+mice and azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-treated mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In Experiments 1 and 2, five-week old female <it>Apc</it>^Min/+mice were either housed in regular cages or cages equipped with a running wheel for 6 weeks (for mice maintained on the AIN93G diet; Experiment 1) or 9 weeks (for mice on a high-fat diet; Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, male CF-1 mice at 6 weeks of age were given a dose of AOM (10 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) and, 12 days later, 1.5% DSS in drinking fluid for 1 week. The mice were then maintained on a high-fat diet and housed in regular cages or cages equipped with a running wheel for 16 weeks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the <it>Apc</it>^Min/+mice maintained on either the AIN93G or the high-fat diet, voluntary exercise decreased the number of small intestinal tumors. In the AOM/DSS-treated mice maintained on a high-fat diet, voluntary exercise also decreased the number of colon tumors. In <it>Apc</it>^Min/+mice, voluntary exercise decreased the ratio of serum insulin like growth factor (IGF)-1 to IGF binding protein (BP)-3 levels. It also decreased prostaglandin E₂and nuclear ��-catenin levels, but increased E-cadherin levels in the tumors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate hat voluntary exercise inhibited intestinal tumorigenesis in <it>Apc</it>^Min/+mice and AOM/DSS-treated mice, and the inhibitory effect is associated with decreased IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio, aberrant β-catenin signaling, and arachidonic acid metabolism.</p

Clinical, physiologic, and radiographic factors contributing to development of hypoxemia in moderate to severe COPD:a cohort study

Background: Hypoxemia is a major complication of COPD and is a strong predictor of mortality. We previously identified independent risk factors for the presence of resting hypoxemia in the COPDGene cohort. However, little is known about characteristics that predict onset of resting hypoxemia in patients who are normoxic at baseline. We hypothesized that a combination of clinical, physiologic, and radiographic characteristics would predict development of resting hypoxemia after 5-years of follow-up in participants with moderate to severe COPD Methods: We analyzed 678 participants with moderate-to-severe COPD recruited into the COPDGene cohort who completed baseline and 5-year follow-up visits and who were normoxic by pulse oximetry at baseline. Development of resting hypoxemia was defined as an oxygen saturation ≤88% on ambient air at rest during follow-up. Demographic and clinical characteristics, lung function, and radiographic indices were analyzed with logistic regression models to identify predictors of the development of hypoxemia. Results: Forty-six participants (7%) developed resting hypoxemia at follow-up. Enrollment at Denver (OR 8.30, 95%CI 3.05–22.6), lower baseline oxygen saturation (OR 0.70, 95%CI 0.58–0.85), self-reported heart failure (OR 6.92, 95%CI 1.56–30.6), pulmonary artery (PA) enlargement on computed tomography (OR 2.81, 95%CI 1.17–6.74), and prior severe COPD exacerbation (OR 3.31, 95%CI 1.38–7.90) were independently associated with development of resting hypoxemia. Participants who developed hypoxemia had greater decline in 6-min walk distance and greater 5-year decline in quality of life compared to those who remained normoxic at follow-up. Conclusions: Development of clinically significant hypoxemia over a 5-year span is associated with comorbid heart failure, PA enlargement and severe COPD exacerbation. Further studies are needed to determine if treatments targeting these factors can prevent new onset hypoxemia. Trial registration COPDGene is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00608764 (Registration Date: January 28, 2008) Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-016-0331-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Mechanisms of Physical Activity Limitation in Chronic Lung Diseases

In chronic lung diseases physical activity limitation is multifactorial involving respiratory, hemodynamic, and peripheral muscle abnormalities. The mechanisms of limitation discussed in this paper relate to (i) the imbalance between ventilatory capacity and demand, (ii) the imbalance between energy demand and supply to working respiratory and peripheral muscles, and (iii) the factors that induce peripheral muscle dysfunction. In practice, intolerable exertional symptoms (i.e., dyspnea) and/or leg discomfort are the main symptoms that limit physical performance in patients with chronic lung diseases. Furthermore, the reduced capacity for physical work and the adoption of a sedentary lifestyle, in an attempt to avoid breathlessness upon physical exertion, cause profound muscle deconditioning which in turn leads to disability and loss of functional independence. Accordingly, physical inactivity is an important component of worsening the patients’ quality of life and contributes importantly to poor prognosis. Identifying the factors which prevent a patient with lung disease to easily carry out activities of daily living provides a unique as well as important perspective for the choice of the appropriate therapeutic strategy

Analysis of circular tunnels due to seismic P-wave propagation, with emphasis on unreinforced concrete liners

A set of closed-form expressions to calculate tunnel liner forces due to compressional seismic P-wave propagation is presented. The results are compared against a state-of-practice method that considers only shear S-waves, and verified against dynamic numerical analyses. Under the realistic assumption of full-slip conditions at the liner-rock mass interface, it is shown that P-waves can lead to significantly higher axial hoop forces compared to S-waves, and can be critical for tunnels bored through areas of irregular topography/geological stratigraphy. The findings are of particular interest for the analysis of unreinforced concrete tunnel liners, where earthquake effects can be a governing factor