Three-dimensional modelling of the interaction between buildings and tunnelling operations

An extensive programme of research has been carried out at Oxford University on finite elementanalysis of the interaction between masonry buildings and ground movements induced by tunnelling. The focushas been on the development of a predictive tool for assessing the probable damage to buildings. This paperpresents a brief summary of the work, with reference to other more detailed papers. The method is illustratedwith reference to the case of the Ramsgate harbour approach tunnel, in which a large diameter tunnel in chalkwas excavated at very low cover directly beneath a row of cottages. Both field measurements and analyses revealthat in this case the building responds flexibly, following rather closely the greenfield settlements, which weresmall. The slight damage to the buildings was also correctly modelled

Shear modulus measurements on isolated human lens nuclei

The use of a spinning lens test to determine ex vivo the shear modulus of 22 isolated human lens nuclei with ages ranging from 34 to 63 years is described. In this test procedure, the lens nucleus is spun about its polar axis. Images of the nucleus viewed from directions perpendicular to the polar axis are collected; these are used to quantify the deformations induced in the nucleus by the rotational motion. Data on these deformations are used to infer, by applying finite element inverse analysis, values for the shear modulus of the nucleus. The data on shear modulus obtained from this test program indicate that the nucleus stiffens very rapidly with age. These data are shown to compare well with the results of a related study (Wilde et al., 2012) in which the shear modulus of the nucleus is determined by similar spinning lens tests conducted on the entire lens substance

Finite element analysis of two cylindrical expansion problems involving near incompressible material behaviour

Soil mechanics report SM056/85Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:7623.47(OUEL--1580/85) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Design of wide-bandwidth analogue circuits for heat transfer instrumentation in transient tunnels

SIGLELD:7623.47(OUEL--1382/81). / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Analytical and model studies of reinforcement of a layer of granular fill on a soft clay subgrade

Soil mechanics report no. 68/86Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:7623.47(OUEL--1660) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Prenatal alcohol exposure and white matter microstructural changes across the first 6–7 years of life: A longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study of a South African birth cohort

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can affect brain development in early life, but few studies have investigated the effects of PAE on trajectories of white matter tract maturation in young children. Here we used diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) repeated over three time points, to measure the effects of PAE on patterns of white matter microstructural development during the pre-school years. Participants were drawn from the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), an ongoing birth cohort study conducted in a peri-urban community in the Western Cape, South Africa. A total of 342 scans acquired from 237 children as neonates (N = 82 scans: 30 PAE; 52 controls) and at ages 2–3 (N = 121 scans: 27 PAE; 94 controls) and 6–7 years (N = 139 scans: 45 PAE; 94 controls) were included. Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy and other antenatal covariates were collected from 28 to 32 weeks’ gestation. Linear mixed effects models with restricted maxium likelihood to accommodate missing data were implemented to investigate the effects of PAE on fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in specific white matter tracts over time, while adjusting for child sex and maternal education. We found significant PAE-by-time effects on trajectories of FA development in the left superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP-L: p = 0.001; survived FDR correction) and right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF-R: p = 0.046), suggesting altered white matter development among children with PAE. Compared with controls, children with PAE demonstrated a more rapid change in FA in these tracts from the neonatal period to 2–3 years of age, followed by a more tapered trajectory for the period from 2–3 to 6–7 years of age, with these trajectories differing from unexposed control children. Given their supporting roles in various aspects of neurocognitive functioning (i.e., motor regulation, learning, memory, language), altered patterns of maturation in the SCP and SLF may contribute to a spectrum of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive difficulties often experienced by children with PAE. This study highlights the value of repeated early imaging in longitudinal studies of PAE, and focus for early childhood as a critical window of potential susceptibility as well as an opportunity for early intervention