Experimental Study on the Behavior of X-Section Pile Subjected to Cyclic Axial Load in Sand

X-section cast-in-place concrete pile is a new type of foundation reinforcement technique featured by the X-shaped cross-section. Compared with a traditional circular pile, an X-section pile with the same cross-sectional area has larger side resistance due to its larger cross-sectional perimeter. The behavior of static loaded X-section pile has been extensively reported, while little attention has been paid to the dynamic characteristics of X-section pile. This paper introduced a large-scale model test for an X-section pile and a circular pile with the same cross-sectional area subjected to cyclic axial load in sand. The experimental results demonstrated that cyclic axial load contributed to the degradation of shaft friction and pile head stiffness. The dynamic responses of X-section pile were determined by loading frequency and loading amplitude. Furthermore, comparative analysis between the X-section pile and the circular pile revealed that the X-section pile can improve the shaft friction and reduce the cumulative settlement under cyclic loading. Static load test was carried out prior to the vibration tests to investigate the ultimate bearing capacity of test piles. This study was expected to provide a reasonable reference for further studies on the dynamic responses of X-section piles in practical engineering

Multispectral Remote Sensing Data Are Effective and Robust in Mapping Regional Forest Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in a Northeast Forest Region in China

Accurately mapping the spatial distribution information of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is a key premise for soil resource management and environment protection. Rapid development of satellite remote sensing provides a great opportunity for monitoring SOC stocks at a large scale. In this study, based on 12 environmental variables of multispectral remote sensing, topography and climate and 236 soil sampling data, three different boosted regression tree (BRT) models were compared to obtain the most accurate map of SOC stocks covering the forest area of Lvshun District in the Northeast China. Four validation indexes, including mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2), and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (LCCC) were calculated to evaluate the performance of the three models. The results showed that the full variable model performed the best, except the model using multispectral remote sensing variables. In the full variable model, the regional SOC stocks are primarily determined by multispectral remote sensing variables, followed by topographic and climatic variables, with the relative importance of variables in the model being 63%, 28%, and 9%, respectively. The average prediction results of full variables model and only multispectral remote sensing variables model were 8.99 and 9.32 kg m−2, respectively. Our results indicated that there is a strong dependence of SOC stocks on multispectral remote sensing data when forest ecosystems have dense natural vegetation. Our study suggests that the multispectral remote sensing variables should be used to map SOC stocks of forest ecosystems in our study region

Mechanical Properties and Engineering Applications of Special Soils—Dynamic Shear Modulus and Damping of MICP-Treated Calcareous Sand at Low Strains

Calcareous sand deposits are widespread along the shoreline in tropical and subtropical regions. Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) treatment is a new method for improving the soil’s stiffness and strength. The small-strain shear modulus and damping ratio of MICP-treated calcareous sand, two critical parameters for predicting the dynamic behavior of soil, are little known. This study conducts a series of resonant column tests to investigate the dynamic characteristics of MICP-treated calcareous sand, emphasizing the influence of treatment duration and confining stress on the stiffness and damping characteristics. It analyzes the relationship between the initial dynamic shear modulus and unconfined compressive strength. In addition, empirical relationships between the reference shear strain and treatment duration or confining stress are provided. The results show that the normalized shear modulus G/G0 of MICP-cemented calcareous sand has a higher strain sensitivity than that of untreated sand, and the Hardin–Drnevich model can describe its attenuation pattern. The effective confining stress σc affects the degradation characteristics of the dynamic shear modulus of MICP-treated calcareous sand with a low cementation level; however, its impact decreases as the treatment duration increases. There is a linear relationship between the reference shear strain and confining stress. While the relationship between the reference shear stain and treatment duration is a power law

Mechanical Properties and Engineering Applications of Special Soils—Dynamic Shear Modulus and Damping of MICP-Treated Calcareous Sand at Low Strains

Calcareous sand deposits are widespread along the shoreline in tropical and subtropical regions. Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) treatment is a new method for improving the soil’s stiffness and strength. The small-strain shear modulus and damping ratio of MICP-treated calcareous sand, two critical parameters for predicting the dynamic behavior of soil, are little known. This study conducts a series of resonant column tests to investigate the dynamic characteristics of MICP-treated calcareous sand, emphasizing the influence of treatment duration and confining stress on the stiffness and damping characteristics. It analyzes the relationship between the initial dynamic shear modulus and unconfined compressive strength. In addition, empirical relationships between the reference shear strain and treatment duration or confining stress are provided. The results show that the normalized shear modulus G/G0 of MICP-cemented calcareous sand has a higher strain sensitivity than that of untreated sand, and the Hardin–Drnevich model can describe its attenuation pattern. The effective confining stress σc affects the degradation characteristics of the dynamic shear modulus of MICP-treated calcareous sand with a low cementation level; however, its impact decreases as the treatment duration increases. There is a linear relationship between the reference shear strain and confining stress. While the relationship between the reference shear stain and treatment duration is a power law

Ground Liquefaction and Deformation Analysis of Breakwater Structures Under Earthquakes

Ground liquefaction and deformation is one of the important causes that damage engineering structures. Chinese current code for seismic design of breakwater is based on the single-level seismic design method as well as code for port and water-way engineering. However, this code can not exactly reflect the seismic performance of breakwater structures which experience different seismic intensities. In this paper, the author used a finite difference software, namely, FLAC3D, to analyze the state and compute seismic responses of breakwater structure. The breakwater foundation’s pore pressure ratio and displacement due to different earthquake have been studied. And the result show that: Smaller earthquakes have little influence on serviceability of the foundation, and severe earthquakes can liquefy some parts of the foundation; In the latter case , obvious changes of pores and foundation displaces can be found. Particularly, when seismic peak acceleration reachs 0.2g, Liquefaction appears in the foundation and mainly concentrated in the upper right side of the structure. In addition, the survey of ultra-hole pressure and displacement values of sand layers of the breakwater, manifests when the ultra pore pressure near 1.0, displacement and overturning structure is relatively large, resulting in varying degrees of damage to the structure. This paper’s research can provide theoretical and designable reference for similar engineering structures

Comparison of metastasis and prognosis between early-onset and late-onset hepatocellular carcinoma: A population-based study

Background: While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a highly heterogeneous disease with variable oncogenesis mechanisms and biological features, little is understood about differences in distant metastasis (DM) and prognosis between early-onset and late-onset HCC. This study defined early-onset disease as cancer diagnosed at age younger than 50 years and aimed to present a comprehensive analysis to characterize these disparities based on age. Methods: Information of HCC patients was retrospectively collected from the SEER database and our hospital. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and survival were compared between the two groups. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was adopted to adjust confounding factors. Logistic and cox analysis were utilized to explore risk factors of DM and prognosis, respectively. Besides, the survival differences were assessed by the Kaplan–Meier curve and log-rank test. Results: In total, 19187 HCC patients obtained from the SEER database and 129 HCC patients obtained from our own center were enrolled. Among 19187 patients with HCC, 3376 were identified in the matched cohort, including 1688 early-onset patients and 1688 late-onset patients. Compared with late-onset HCC, early-onset HCC was more likely to occur in female (25.2% vs. 22.9%, P = 0.030), have large tumors (>10.0 cm, 24.1% vs. 14.6%, P = 0.000), harbor poorly differentiated/undifferentiated cancers (17.0% vs. 14.0%, P = 0.003), present advanced clinical stage (T3+T4, 33.7% vs. 28.5%; N1, 9.2% vs. 6.7%; P = 0.000), and develop DM (13.0% vs. 9.5%, P = 0.000). After adjustment for confounders by PSM, we discovered that early-onset HCC remained an independent risk factor for DM. However, combined with Kaplan–Meier curve and cox analysis, early-onset HCC was an independent favorable predictor of survival. We validated these data on an independent cohort from our hospital. Conclusion: In this population-based study, despite developing DM more frequently, early-onset HCC exhibited a superior prognosis than late-onset HCC. Nevertheless, further research is warranted to understand the underlying aetiologic basis for the disparities