Experiences of the Support Designs in the Two Large Underground Openings in India

Support requirements for two caverns arc worked out by empirical and the numerical approaches. The adequacy of the shotcrete-rock bolt support system is monitored by measuring the deformations of caverns walls and roof. The measurements are compared with the results obtained from the numerical approach. Brief geology, the supports, and the results of performance monitoring are presented in the paper

Cavern Wall Support Requirements in a Hydro-Electric Project

Construction of a 23m wide, 57m high, and 210m long underground power house cavern is in progress as a part of the multi-purpose Sardar Sarovar Project in India. The rock mass around the cavern is basalt which is intruded by a number of dolerite dykes. In view of the high side walls of the cavern, and the presence of a 1 to 2m thick shear zone running across the cavern width, a comprehensive approach was worked out for estimation of the wall support requirements. The approach included estimation of the roof support requirements using the four available approaches, and comparison of these requirements with the roof support system actually provided, and established as safe and adequate by the instrumentation data of six years. A favourable comparison established the reliability of the approaches used, and the most reliable of these approaches, i.e., the Barton\u27s approach was then used with confidence for estimation of the wall support requirements

Case History of Maneri-Uttarkashi Power Tunnel

A 8.56 km long circular tunnel of 4.75 m diameter has been constructed under Maneri hydel project on the river Bhagirathi. The tunnel passes alternatively through quartzitic and metabasic rock formations of the young Himalayan terrain. Tunnel excavation was started from four faces, one at the upstream end at maneri, two from an intermediate adit at Heena, and one at the downstream end near Uttarkashi where a 80 MW surface powerhouse is located. In excavating the tunnel from different faces, the problems of tunnel face collapse with heavy ingress of water, cavity formations and large tunnel closures leading to buckling of steel ribs on account of squeezing ground conditions were encountered. In the paper the approach of these problems has been dealt in detail. The predicted values of support pressure obtained from Terzaghi, Barton et al and CMRS approaches have been compared with the observed values of support pressure. The CMRS approach shows promise for better results in both squeezing and the elastic ground conditions

South Asian Indian ageing: A qualitative investigation into expectations of co-residence and care amongst second and third generation adults of South Asian Indian origin in Leicester

Abstract Today in the United Kingdom (UK), ageing is considered to be an important aspect of social life in general and although overall South Asian Indians (SAIs) are relatively young compared to the indigenous white population, the number over the age of 60 is rapidly increasing. Over the last decade or so evidence-based practice within social work has been given a great deal of emphasis in public and professional life. This study is based in this spirit and emanates from personal and professional experience of working with an ageing population from a South Asian Indian background and focuses on the second and third generation of this settled minority. The aspect of co-residence within South Asian Indian cultures has been given little attention both within academic and professional studies. The key aims underpinning this work and of the research reported in this thesis were to illuminate and explicate the problematical and challenging expectations of ageing, co-residence and care within different generations of SAIs in Leicester. Thus this study investigates the expectations of co-residence and care amongst a cohort of second and third generation SAIs who have been settled in the UK for 30 or more years. Using interpretivist theoretical perspectives, 12 participants (8 from the second generation and 4 from the third generation of SAI ‘settlers’) were interviewed using in-depth semi-structured one-to-one interview techniques to collect data regarding their views and understandings of co-residence and care within the context of living in the UK. The data collected was thematically analysed and three themes, co-residence, expectations and acculturation/enculturation were identified for detailed exploration and analysis. Using interpretivist perspectives, these themes were used to identify meaningful patterns of behaviour and sentiment and to analyse the underlying symbolic sociocultural systems within the context of ageing within the SAI community in the United Kingdom. The research highlighted the onset of some enculturation processes and a rapid change in social attitudes, particularly in relation to altruism, concepts of family, a gap in understanding the expectations of co-residence between generations and the impact of these on second generation SAIs. The older participants yearned to be looked after by their adult children, feared being on their own and displayed anxiety at the prospect of not being looked after in their old age. They experienced and expressed concern at a loss of control in the decisions relating to co-residence for their current and future lives. The study points to the lack of wider scale academic and practice-based research studies focused on the impact of changes in culture and family expectations, particularly in relation to co-residence, and recommends that :(a) the academic and professional discourses and theories on ageing incorporate aspects and experiences of migration and diversity of cultures and (b) researchers, practitioners and policy makers examine the needs of the ageing SAI communities in the UK in order to explore policies, procedures and initiatives that could enhance various forms of family living and to develop relevant evidence - based practice. The outcomes of the research have implications for teaching and for practice. This is particularly so in cases where there has been a perceived failure to adopt understandings and practices in response to the identified changes. To this end a flow chart was developed that is recommended to be used as a guide and a tool for initial assessment for practitioners when working with this vulnerable group. It is hoped that this guide will have utility in terms of scope and reach when applied to the analysis and understanding of ageing in SAI communities in the UK.University of Derb

Squeezing Problems in Indian Tunnels

Case histories of three Indian tunnels indicate that squeezing conditions are created due to plastic flow of rock masses under the influence of high cover pressures. These examples emphasize that a tunnel experiencing squeezing conditions must be allowed to deform to optimize support costs and avoid delays. Allowance for desirable tunnel deformations must, therefore, be made while planning the size of excavation. Field data has shown that a flexible support system of compressible backfill and steel ribs may be used as an alternative to shotcrete support which is unpractical in Indian tunnels excavated largely by conventional methods. Instrumentation indicates that large broken zones are associated with late stabilization and that the coefficient of volumetric expansion of failed rock masses is significantly lower than believed so far. Comparison of measured rock pressures with those estimated from available methods shows that the elasto-plastic theory may provide reliable predictions provided that the strength parameters of rock masses are known precisely

Hypothalamic over-expression of VGF in the Siberian hamster increases energy expenditure and reduces body weight gain

VGF (non-acronymic) was first highlighted to have a role in energy homeostasis through experiments involving dietary manipulation in mice. Fasting increased VGF mRNA in the Arc and levels were subsequently reduced upon refeeding. This anabolic role for VGF was supported by observations in a VGF null (VGF-/-) mouse and in the diet-induced and gold-thioglucose obese mice. However, this anabolic role for VGF has not been supported by a number of subsequent studies investigating the physiological effects of VGF-derived peptides. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of TLQP-21 increased resting energy expenditure and rectal temperature in mice and protected against diet-induced obesity. Similarly, ICV infusion of TLQP-21 into Siberian hamsters significantly reduced body weight, but this was due to a decrease in food intake, with no effect on energy expenditure. Subsequently NERP-2 was shown to increase food intake in rats via the orexin system, suggesting opposing roles for these VGF-derived peptides. Thus to further elucidate the role of hypothalamic VGF in the regulation of energy homeostasis we utilised a recombinant adeno-associated viral vector to over-express VGF in adult male Siberian hamsters, thus avoiding any developmental effects or associated functional compensation. Initially, hypothalamic over-expression of VGF in adult Siberian hamsters produced no effect on metabolic parameters, but by 12 weeks post-infusion hamsters had increased oxygen consumption and a tendency to increased carbon dioxide production; this attenuated body weight gain, reduced interscapular white adipose tissue and resulted in a compensatory increase in food intake. These observed changes in energy expenditure and food intake were associated with an increase in the hypothalamic contents of the VGF-derived peptides AQEE, TLQP and NERP-2. The complex phenotype of the VGF-/- mice is a likely consequence of global ablation of the gene and its derived peptides during development, as well as in the adult

Improved limits on the weak, neutral, hadronic axial vector coupling constants from quasielastic scattering of polarized electrons.

In scattering polarized electrons (P1 = 44% by 9Be at an energy of 300 MeV at angles 115°⩽ϑ⩽145° a parity violating asymmetry of Acorr = (−3.5 ± 0.7 ± 0.2) × 10−6 was measured. After correction for finite electron polarization and background we deduce an experimental asymmetry of Acx = (−9.4 ± 1.8 ± 0.5) × 10−6. The quoted errors indicate the statistical and the systematic uncertainties, respectively. The asymmetry, which is dominated by the quasielastic cross section, is interpreted in terms of model-independent electron-nucleon coupling constants of the weak neutral current. The error limits in the sector of axial vector coupling constants have been improved by a factor of 3 over previous results. A model-dependent analysis for the Weinberg angle yields the result sin2θw = 0.221 ± 0.014 ± 0.004