Piles subjected to torsional cyclic load: Numerical analysis

© 2019 Nimbalkar, Punetha, Basack and Mirzababaei. Pile foundations supporting large structures (such as high-rise buildings, oil drilling platforms, bridges etc). are often subjected to eccentric lateral load (in addition to the vertical loads) due to the action of wind, waves, high speed traffic, and ship impacts etc. The eccentric lateral load, which is usually cyclic (repetitive) in nature, induces torsion in the pile foundation. This paper presents a numerical model based on boundary element approach to study the performance of a single pile subjected to the torsional cyclic load. The model is initially validated by comparing it with the experimental data available from the literature. Thereafter, the model has been utilized to conduct a parametric study to understand the influence of the torsional cyclic loading parameters on the axial pile capacity. The results indicated that the model is able to capture the degradation in the axial pile capacity due to the torsional cyclic loading with a reasonable accuracy. Moreover, the parametric study showed that the frequency, amplitude and number of cycles play a significant role in the torsional cyclic response of the pile. The present study is essential for the development of design guidelines for pile foundations subjected to torsional cyclic load

Improved shear strength performance of compacted rubberized clays treated with sodium alginate biopolymer

This study examines the potential use of sodium alginate (SA) biopolymer as an environmentally sustainable agent for the stabilization of rubberized soil blends prepared using a high plasticity clay soil and tire-derived ground rubber (GR). The experimental program consisted of uniaxial compression and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests; the former was performed on three soil–GR blends (with GR-to-soil mass ratios of 0%, 5% and 10%) compacted (and cured for 1, 4, 7 and 14 d) employing distilled water and three SA solutions—prepared at SA-to-water (mass-tovolume) dosage ratios of 5, 10 and 15 g/L—as the compaction liquid. For any given GR content, the greater the SA dosage and/or the longer the curing duration, the higher the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), with only minor added benefits beyond seven days of curing. This behaviour was attributed to the formation and propagation of so-called “cationic bridges” (developed as a result of a “Ca2+/Mg2

Practical approach to predict the shear strength of fibre-reinforced clay

yesCarpet waste fibres have a higher volume to weight ratios and once discarded into landfills, these fibres occupy a larger volume than other materials of similar weight. This research evaluates the efficiency of two types of carpet waste fibre as sustainable soil reinforcing materials to improve the shear strength of clay. A series of consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial compression tests were carried out to study the shear strength of reinforced clays with 1%, to 5% carpet waste fibres. The results indicated that carpet waste fibres improve the effective shear stress ratio and deviator stress of the host soil significantly. Addition of 1%, 3% and 5% carpet fibres could improve the effective stress ratio of the unreinforced soil by 17.6%, 53.5% and 70.6%, respectively at an initial effective consolidation stress of 200 kPa. In this study, a nonlinear regression model was developed based on a modified form of the hyperbolic model to predict the relationship between effective shear stress ratio, deviator stress and axial strain of fibre-reinforced soil samples with various fibre contents when subjected to various initial effective consolidation stresses. The proposed model was validated using the published experimental data, with predictions using this model found to be in excellent agreement

Analysis of strip footings on fibre reinforced slopes with the aid of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)

YesThis paper provides results of a comprehensive investigation into the use of waste carpet fibres for reinforcement of clay soil slopes. The interaction between laboratory scale model slopes made of fibre reinforced clay soil and surface strip footing load was examined. Results for the influence of two variables namely fibre content and distance between the footing edge and the crest of the slope are presented and discussed. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was employed to study the deformation of the slope under the surface loading. The front side of the tank was made of a thick Perspex glass to facilitate taking accurate images during the loading stage. To study the stress induced in the slope under footing pressure, excess pore-water pressure and total stress increase were measured at predetermined locations within the slope. The results showed that fibre reinforcement increased the bearing resistance of the model slope significantly. For instance, inclusion of 5% waste carpet fibre increased the bearing pressure by 145% at 10% settlement ratio.The post-print of this article will be released for public view when the version of record has been published by ASCE

Sexual Dysfunction in Iranian Men with Diabetes; a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: The typical sexual function involves the integrity and harmonious interaction of psychological, endocrine, vascular, and nervous systems. We aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD), more specifically erectile dysfunction in Iranian men with diabetes. Method: Using keywords including: “sexual function,” “erectile dysfunction,” “diabetes,” and “Iran”, an electronic search was done on national and international databases. All cross-sectional or baseline data in cohort studies were included. The prevalence of SD and its related risk factors were extracted and summarized. The random effect model was used for estimating the pooled prevalence.   Results: Ultimately, 16 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, amongst which 6 were included for quantitative synthesis. The pooled prevalence of SD across included studies was 50.7%. with a total sample size of 1513. Two main correlated factors with SD were advanced age and depression. Conclusion: Our analysis showed that more than half of the Iranian men with diabetes suffer from SD. Apart from advanced age, the most important attributes for comorbidity of diabetes and SD in these patients were found to be chronic uncontrolled high blood sugar and depression.  More advanced epidemiological studies are needed to assess the temporality of the relationship between SD and its related comorbidities and to develop proper preventive programs

Are there any interactions between modified Nordic-style diet score and MC4R polymorphism on cardiovascular risk factors among overweight and obese women? A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women globally. Recent studies have reported that the minor allele (C allele) for melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) rs17782313 may be related to the incidence of obesity and the risk of CVD. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the interactions between the modified Nordic-style diet score (MND) and MC4R gene variant on markers of CVD. METHODS: The current cross-sectional study was conducted on 282 Iranian women, aged 18–48 years, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25. MND score was assessed using a 147 items food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Genotyping of the MC4R (rs17782313) was conducted by the PCR method. The anthropometric measurements and serum profiles were assessed by standard protocols. RESULTS: The means and standard deviation (SD) of age, weight, and BMI of individuals were 36.67 ± 9.10 years, 81.29 ± 12.43 kg, and 31.26 ± 4.29 kg/m(2), respectively. The overall prevalence of rs17782313 genotypes was 30.1%, 24.8%, and 45.1% for TT, TC, and CC, respectively. Our results showed significant negative interactions between high MND score and rs17782313 SNP in terms of visceral fat level (VFL) (β: -10.84, 95% CI: -20.64 to -1.04, P = 0.03) and total cholesterol (β: -24.24, 95% CI: -49.87 to 1.38, P = 0.06) in the crude model. After adjusting confounders, the interaction between high MND scores and VFL remained significant. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that diet, gene variants, and their interaction should be considered in metabolic disease risk assessment. Further studies are needed to confirm these data and better elucidate the interaction. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12902-022-01132-1

Interaction between caveolin-1 polymorphism and dietary fat quality indexes on visceral adiposity index (VAI) and body adiposity index (BAI) among overweight and obese women: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Caveolin-1 (CAV-1) in adipocyte tissue and other body parts possesses numerous biological functions. In the present study, we sought to investigate the interaction between CAV-1 polymorphism and dietary fat quality indexes on visceral adiposity index (VAI) and body adiposity index (BAI) among overweight and obese women. METHODS: This study was conducted on 386 women aged 18–48 years old. Biochemical measurements were assessed by standard protocols. We used a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to calculate the dietary intake and the indexes of dietary fat quality intake. Anthropometric values and body composition were measured by standard methods. Finally, the CAV-1 genotype was measured using the PCR–RFLP method. RESULTS: We found marginally significant differences between AA and GG genotypes of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (P = 0.06) and BAI (P = 0.06) of participants after adjusting for potential confounders. For dietary intakes, after adjusting with the energy intake, mean differences in biotin (P = 0.04) and total fiber (P = 0.06) were significant and marginally significant, respectively. The interaction between two risk alleles (AA) with omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (W6/W3) on BAI, after adjustment for potential confounders (age, physical activity, energy intake, education), was marginally positive (β = 14.08, 95% CI = − 18.65, 46.81, P = 0.07). In comparison to the reference group (GG), there was a positive interaction between the two risk alleles (AA) with W6/W3 ratio on VAI (β = 2.81, 95% CI = 1.20, 8.84, P = 0.06) in the adjusted model. CONCLUSIONS: We found that there might be an interaction between CAV-1 genotypes with dietary quality fat indexes on VAI and BAI among overweight and obese women