Behavior of Granular Pile and Granular Piled Raft

Granular pile, also popularly known as stone column, is an economical and efficient ground improvement technique to treat variety of soils. Depending on loading, geometry and spacing pattern, granular pile may fail individually or as a group. Bulging failure of granular pile is the most common failure criterion among the possible failure mechanisms – punching failure, shear failure and bulging failure. In this study, Finite Element analyses have been performed using commercially available software PLAXIS 2D to understand the bulging and the load-settlement behavior of both single floating granular pile and granular piled raft embedded in a soft clay deposit. Elastic-perfectly plastic response (Mohr-Coulomb criterion) is used to model both the granular pile and the soft clay. Parametric study is carried out by varying the properties of clay and granular pile to understand and quantify (a) the bulging along the depth of the pile with and without raft, and (b) the load-carrying capacity of granular pile and piled raft. Critical length of granular pile is also proposed for the cases considered in the study

Finite Element Modeling of Ground - Structure Interaction Considering Non-Linear Response of the Ground

Response of the ground on which the structure rests will have a bearing on the distribution of forces in the structural members. Conventional method s of structural analysis and design a ssume often fixed bases for various loading conditions. A realistic analysis and design procedure should includ e actual support flexibility, no nlinear and heterogeneous nature of the soil together with nonlinear soil-structure in teraction effects. Such an analysis would resu lt in overall stiffne ss of the soil-foundation-structure system , realistic to the existing conditions. This work focuses on the computational modeling of ground-structure interaction usi ng finite element package ANSYS. To demonstrate the behavior of structure while considering actual nature of ground response , a simple portal frame is analyzed. Portal frame is modeled as linear elastic, whereas the ground is modeled as both linear elastic and non-linear elastic-plastic behavior. The study gives insight into variation of displacement of portal frame while considering linear and non-linear behavior of ground

Towards precision medicine: defining and characterizing adipose tissue dysfunction to identify early immunometabolic risk in symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study

Interactions between macrophages and adipocytes are early molecular factors influencing adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction, resulting in high leptin, low adiponectin circulating levels and low-grade metaflammation, leading to insulin resistance (IR) with increased cardiovascular risk. We report the characterization of AT dysfunction through measurements of the adiponectin/leptin ratio (ALR), the adipo-insulin resistance index (Adipo-IRi), fasting/postprandial (F/P) immunometabolic phenotyping and direct F/P differential gene expression in AT biopsies obtained from symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study. AT dysfunction was evaluated through associations of the ALR with F/P insulin-glucose axis, lipid-lipoprotein metabolism, and inflammatory markers. A relevant pattern of negative associations between decreased ALR and markers of systemic low-grade metaflammation, HOMA, and postprandial cardiovascular risk hyperinsulinemic, triglyceride and GLP-1 curves was found. We also analysed their plasma non-coding microRNAs and shotgun lipidomics profiles finding trends that may reflect a pattern of adipose tissue dysfunction in the fed and fasted state. Direct gene differential expression data showed initial patterns of AT molecular signatures of key immunometabolic genes involved in AT expansion, angiogenic remodelling and immune cell migration. These data reinforce the central, early role of AT dysfunction at the molecular and systemic level in the pathogenesis of IR and immunometabolic disorders

Journal of Insect Conservation 6: 247--259, 2002.

this paper we address the following questions: What is the scope of the problem of conserving insects in the Bay Area? What efforts have and are being made to assess the impact of urbanization on insects, to develop conservation plans for endangered insects, to restore or protect habitat, and to re-establish locally extirpated species? What then are the prospects for insect conservation in the Bay Area? The Bay Area is a nine county region of approximately 18,000 km that includes San Francisco Bay and surrounding lands (Figure 1). We define our region as the Bay Area standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) because information on human demography, economic conditions, and land use and land cover changes are reported for this area. We conceive of an 248 Figure 1. The Bay Area -- a nine-county region surrounding San Francisco Ba

First‐in‐human clinical trial of allogeneic, platelet‐derived extracellular vesicles as a potential therapeutic for delayed wound healing

Abstract The release of growth factors, cytokines and extracellular matrix modifiers by activated platelets is an important step in the process of healthy wound healing. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by activated platelets carry this bioactive cargo in an enriched form, and may therefore represent a potential therapeutic for the treatment of delayed wound healing, such as chronic wounds. While EVs show great promise in regenerative medicine, their production at clinical scale remains a critical challenge and their tolerability in humans is still to be fully established. In this work, we demonstrate that Ligand‐based Exosome Affinity Purification (LEAP) chromatography can successfully isolate platelet EVs (pEVs) of clinical grade from activated platelets, which retain the regenerative properties of the parent cell. LEAP‐isolated pEVs display the expected biophysical features of EV populations and transport essential proteins in wound healing processes, including insulin growth factor (IGF) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐ß). In vitro studies show that pEVs induce proliferation and migration of dermal fibroblasts and increase dermal endothelial cells' angiogenic potential, demonstrating their wound healing potential. pEV treatment activates the ERK and Akt signalling pathways within recipient cells. In a first‐in‐human, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, phase I clinical trial of healthy volunteer adults, designed primarily to assess safety in the context of wound healing, we demonstrate that injections of LEAP‐purified pEVs in formulation buffer are safe and well tolerated (Plexoval II study, ACTRN12620000944932). As a secondary objective, biological activity in the context of wound healing rate was assessed. In this cohort of healthy participants, in which the wound bed would not be expected to be deficient in the bioactive cargo that pEVs carry, all wounds healed rapidly and completely and no difference in time to wound closure of the treated and untreated wounds was observed at the single dose tested. The outcomes of this study evidence that pEVs manufactured through the LEAP process can be injected safely in humans as a potential wound healing treatment, and warrant further study in clinical trials designed expressly to assess therapeutic efficacy in patients with delayed or disrupted wound healing