Coupling of boundary element regions with the boundary element tearing and interconnecting method (BETI)

The boundary integral equation for elasticity is valid for a single domain consisting of homogeneous material properties. In the case of heterogeneity the consideration of different material properties is possible with a coupling of boundary element regions. Of course each region is again homogeneous. Another simulation application of multiple regions is the simulation of an industrial process, where different subdomains of a homogenous domain are treated differently due to a mechanical process. For instance, this is the case in tunnelling, where excavation is performed in a staged procedure. In the simulation of such an excavation process regions are deactivated step by step. As the material behaviour can be nonlinear an accurate simulation of such a staged process is a necessary requirement. Thus, the domain is decomposed into subregions which are coupled to neighbouring regions. There are different coupling strategies existing. In some of them stiffness matrices of subdomains are worked out which are the basis for the coupling and solution of the problem. A traditional method is the coupling of interface surfaces only [1]. In this method the stiffness matrix of a region is computed on the basis of the coupling surfaces (interfaces), whereas the coupling surface may be not identical to the complete surface of a subdomain and the size of the stiffness matrix is determined by the degrees of freedom of the coupling surface. In an application where the boundary conditions change (e.g. from interface to Neumann condition) from one calculation step to the other, the stiffness matrix has to be calculated new. A modern coupling technique is the Boundary Element Tearing and Interconnecting (BETI) method [2], similar to the method of Finite Element Tearing and Interconnecting (FETI) [3]. In this method the region stiffness matrix is worked out for the entire boundary of the region. The stiffness matrices of all regions remain the same during the whole analysis, even if the boundary conditions change during the simulation process. In setting up the equation system each subdomain is treated completely separated and independent from the others. Thus, a parallelisation of the computational work is ideally suited and implemented in the present computer code. In this work the theory of both mentioned coupling techniques are introduced briefly. The differences of both methods are worked out and advantages/disadvantages are shown and will be demonstrated. The accuracy of the results as well as the computational performance will be shown and compared based on a realistic simulation example

Efficient and realistic 3-D Boundary Element simulations of underground construction using isogeometric analysis

The paper outlines some recent developments of the boundary element method (BEM) that makes it more user friendly and suitable for a realistic simulation in geomechanics, especially for underground excavations and tunnelling. The innovations refer to the introduction of isogeometric concepts, elasto-plastic analysis and the simulation of ground support. The introduction of isogeometric concepts for the description of the excavation boundaries results in less user and analysis effort, since complex geometries can be modelled with few parameters and degrees of freedom. No mesh generation is necessary. In order to consider heterogeneous and inelastic ground conditions a domain discretisation is used but the use of isogeometric methods results in a minimum of user effort. Efficient methods are also presented for modelling rock bolts. A comparison of results of test examples with other numerical methods and analytical solutions confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed implementation. A practical example with a complex geometry is presented.Comment: 33 pages, 25 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2003.1021

Expression variations in ectodysplasin-A gene (eda) may contribute to morphological divergence of scales in haplochromine cichlids

Background Elasmoid scales are one of the most common dermal appendages and can be found in almost all species of bony fish differing greatly in their shape. Whilst the genetic underpinnings behind elasmoid scale development have been investigated, not much is known about the mechanisms involved in moulding of scales. To investigate the links between gene expression differences and morphological divergence, we inferred shape variation of scales from two different areas of the body (anterior and posterior) stemming from ten haplochromine cichlid species from different origins (Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria and riverine). Additionally, we investigated transcriptional differences of a set of genes known to be involved in scale development and morphogenesis in fish. Results We found that scales from the anterior and posterior part of the body strongly differ in their overall shape, and a separate look on scales from each body part revealed similar trajectories of shape differences considering the lake origin of single investigated species. Above all, nine as well as 11 out of 16 target genes showed expression differences between the lakes for the anterior and posterior dataset, respectively. Whereas in posterior scales four genes (dlx5, eda, rankl and shh) revealed significant correlations between expression and morphological differentiation, in anterior scales only one gene (eda) showed such a correlation. Furthermore, eda displayed the most significant expression difference between species of Lake Tanganyika and species of the other two younger lakes. Finally, we found genetic differences in downstream regions of eda gene (e.g., in the eda-tnfsf13b inter-genic region) that are associated with observed expression differences. This is reminiscent of a genetic difference in the eda-tnfsf13b inter-genic region which leads to gain or loss of armour plates in stickleback. Conclusion These findings provide evidence for cross-species transcriptional differences of an important morphogenetic factor, eda, which is involved in formation of ectodermal appendages. These expression differences appeared to be associated with morphological differences observed in the scales of haplochromine cichlids indicating potential role of eda mediated signal in divergent scale morphogenesis in fish.Peer reviewe

Transcriptomics unravels molecular players shaping dorsal lip hypertrophy in the vacuum cleaner cichlid, Gnathochromis permaxillaris

BackgroundTeleosts display a spectacular diversity of craniofacial adaptations that often mediates ecological specializations. A considerable amount of research has revealed molecular players underlying skeletal craniofacial morphologies, but less is known about soft craniofacial phenotypes. Here we focus on an example of lip hypertrophy in the benthivorous Lake Tangnayika cichlid, Gnathochromis permaxillaris, considered to be a morphological adaptation to extract invertebrates out of the uppermost layer of mud bottom. We investigate the molecular and regulatory basis of lip hypertrophy in G. permaxillaris using a comparative transcriptomic approach.ResultsWe identified a gene regulatory network involved in tissue overgrowth and cellular hypertrophy, potentially associated with the formation of a locally restricted hypertrophic lip in a teleost fish species. Of particular interest were the increased expression level of apoda and fhl2, as well as reduced expression of cyp1a, gimap8, lama5 and rasal3, in the hypertrophic lip region which have been implicated in lip formation in other vertebrates. Among the predicted upstream transcription factors, we found reduced expression of foxp1 in the hypertrophic lip region, which is known to act as repressor of cell growth and proliferation, and its function has been associated with hypertrophy of upper lip in human.ConclusionOur results provide a genetic foundation for future studies of molecular players shaping soft and exaggerated, but locally restricted, craniofacial morphological changes in fish and perhaps across vertebrates. In the future, we advocate integrating gene regulatory networks of various craniofacial phenotypes to understand how they collectively govern trophic and behavioural adaptations.Peer reviewe

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Observation of top quark pairs produced in association with a vector boson in pp collisions at s=8 √s=8TeV

Measurements of the cross sections for top quark pairs produced in association with a W or Z boson are presented, using 8 TeV pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb −1 , collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Final states are selected in which the associated W boson decays to a charged lepton and a neutrino or the Z boson decays to two charged leptons. Signal events are identified by matching reconstructed objects in the detector to specific final state particles from t t ¯ W tt¯W or t t ¯ Z tt¯Z decays. The t t ¯ W tt¯W cross section is measured to be 382 − 102 + 117 fb with a significance of 4.8 standard deviations from the background-only hypothesis. The t t ¯ Z tt¯Z cross section is measured to be 242 − 55 + 65 fb with a significance of 6.4 standard deviations from the background-only hypothesis. These measurements are used to set bounds on five anomalous dimension-six operators that would affect the t t ¯ W tt¯W and t t ¯ Z tt¯Z cross sections

Search for Resonant Production of High-Mass Photon Pairs in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=8 and 13 TeV

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Angular analysis of the decay B-0 -> K*(0)mu(+)mu(-) from pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

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