Simulation and evaluation of improvement effects by vertical drains/vacuum consolidation on peat ground under embankment loading based on a macro-element method with water absorption and discharge functions

AbstractThe authors previously extended the macro-element method proposed by Sekiguchi to include water absorption and discharge functions and incorporated this into a soil–water coupled finite deformation analysis code capable of accounting for inertial forces. The primary objective of this study is to validate the ability of the proposed method to simulate actual ground behavior by comparing the simulation results with the actual measurements of the embankment loading of a soft peat ground improved with vertical drains and vacuum consolidation. It was found that the proposed method is capable of comprehensively and closely simulating not only the magnitude of settlement, but also various ground behaviors, including the deformation of the surrounding ground and pore water pressure distributions. Furthermore, additional simulations were performed to elucidate the effect of a continuous middle sand layer found to exist and to span the entire improved area at an actual embankment site.The next objective of this study is to investigate the impact of ground improvement, using vertical drains and vacuum consolidation with embankment loading on a soft ground, placing a particular focus on the effect of drain spacing. In this case, an ultra-soft ground with alternating peat and clay layers was modeled to represent a typical ground to which vacuum consolidation would be applied. Based on a series of simulations, it was found that, although the use of vacuum consolidation in combination with vertical drains is effective in cases where it is necessary to limit the deformation of the surrounding ground, the same reduction in residual settlement can be achieved using vertical drains alone, provided that the drains are deployed at a sufficient frequency

A Spectral Study of the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1752-223 in the High/Soft State with MAXI, Suzaku and Swift

We report on the X-ray spectral analysis of the black hole candidate XTE\ J1752--223 in the 2009--2010 outburst, utilizing data obtained with the MAXI/Gas Slit Camera (GSC), the Swift/XRT, and Suzaku, which work complementarily. As already reported by Nakahira et al. (2010) MAXI monitored the source continuously throughout the entire outburst for about eight months. All the MAXI/GSC energy spectra in the high/soft state lasting for 2 months are well represented by a multi-color disk plus power-law model. The innermost disk temperature changed from $\sim$0.7 keV to $\sim$0.4 keV and the disk flux decreased by an order of magnitude. Nevertheless, the innermost radius is constant at $\sim$41 $D_{3.5}(\cos{\it i})^{-1/2}$ km, where $D_{3.5}$ is the source distance in units of 3.5 kpc and $i$ the inclination. The multi-color disk parameters obtained with the MAXI/GSC are consistent with those with the Swift/XRT and Suzaku. The Suzaku data also suggests a possibility that the disk emission is slightly Comptonized, which could account for broad iron-K features reported previously. Assuming that the obtained innermost radius represents the innermost stable circular orbit for a non-rotating black hole, we estimate the mass of the black hole to be 5.51$\pm$0.28 $M_{\odot}$ $D_{3.5}(\cos{\it i})^{-1/2}$, where the correction for the stress-free inner boundary condition and color hardening factor of 1.7 are taken into account. If the inclination is less than 49$^{\circ}$ as suggested from the radio monitoring of transient jets and the soft-to-hard transition in 2010 April occurred at 1--4% of Eddignton luminosity, the fitting of the Suzaku spectra with a relativistic accretion-disk model derives constraints on the mass and the distance to be 3.1--55 $M_{\odot}$ and 2.3--22 {\rm kpc}, respectively. This confirms that the compact object in XTE J1752--223 is a black hole.Comment: 12 pages including 7 figures and 4 tables, accepted for publication in PAS

Cerebral air embolism as a complication of peptic ulcer in the gastric tube: case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The reported incidence of ulcer formation in the gastric tube in esophageal replacement is rare.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>This is the first report of a case of cerebral air embolism as a result of spontaneous perforation of an ulcer in the constructed gastric tube into the pulmonary vein during post-operative follow-up in a patient with esophageal cancer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cerebral air embolism is a rare complication of penetrating gastric ulcer, but should be considered in patients with a history of esophagectomy with gastric conduit that present with acute neurologic findings.</p

Selection of antigenically advanced variants of seasonal influenza viruses.

Influenza viruses mutate frequently, necessitating constant updates of vaccine viruses. To establish experimental approaches that may complement the current vaccine strain selection process, we selected antigenic variants from human H1N1 and H3N2 influenza virus libraries possessing random mutations in the globular head of the haemagglutinin protein (which includes the antigenic sites) by incubating them with human and/or ferret convalescent sera to human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. We also selected antigenic escape variants from human viruses treated with convalescent sera and from mice that had been previously immunized against human influenza viruses. Our pilot studies with past influenza viruses identified escape mutants that were antigenically similar to variants that emerged in nature, establishing the feasibility of our approach. Our studies with contemporary human influenza viruses identified escape mutants before they caused an epidemic in 2014-2015. This approach may aid in the prediction of potential antigenic escape variants and the selection of future vaccine candidates before they become widespread in nature.This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Grant OPPGH5383; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Public Health Service research grants (USA); ERATO (Japan Science and Technology Agency); the Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis (CRIP) funded by the NIAID Contracts HHSN266200700010C and HHSN27 2201400008C; the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases; Grants-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan; Grants-in-Aid from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan; grants from the Strategic Basic Research Program of the Japan Science and Technology Agency; and by the Advanced Research & Development Programs for Medical Innovation from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). C.A.R. was supported by a University Research Fellowship from the Royal Society. The authors acknowledge a Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI grant, European Union (EU) FP7 programs EMPERIE (223498) and ANTIGONE (278976); Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) program grant P0050/2008; Wellcome 087982AIA; and NIH Director's Pioneer Award DP1-OD000490-01. D.F.B and D.J.S. acknowledge CamGrid, the University of Cambridge distributed computer system. The Melbourne WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.5

Selection of antigenically advanced variants of seasonal influenza viruses

Influenza viruses mutate frequently, necessitating constant updates of vaccine viruses. To establish experimental approaches that may complement the current vaccine strain selection process, we selected antigenic variants from human H1N1 and H3N2 influenza virus libraries possessing random mutations in the globular head of the haemagglutinin protein (which includes the antigenic sites) by incubating them with human and/or ferret convalescent se

Quantitative Evaluation of 3D Lung Motion with Anatomical Feature Tracking Technique for Precise Particle Radiotherapy

ICTR２００６（Third International Conference on Translational Research and Pre-Clinical Strategies in Radiation Oncology

Quantitative evaluation technique for 3D lung motion using anatomical feature tracking

In radiotherapy, conformal irradiation of tumors with respiratory motion is an important issue. Some compensation techniques, such as respiratory-gated irradiation, are widely used to reduce the internal margins. However, the motion even in the gated duration and the reproducibility are concerned with the essential dose distributions, especially in particle therapy because of its unique characteristics of dose deposition. Quantifying the motion is required to assess the target dose conformality and sparing normal tissues.\nWe have been developing a new quantification technique for 3D lung motion by means of tracking the anatomical features inside the lung using a set of sequential 3D-CT images (a 4D-CT image). This technique is based on the conservation of topology, such as connections and junctions of vessels, during the motion. Lung 3D-CT images were used to process lung volume modeling, lung vessel extracting and thinning, and vessel bifurcations were derived as feature points. Such feature points were tracked in a series of 3D-CT images, individually between two successive 3D-CT images. Consequently, 3D displacement vectors were obtained. The feature point tracking was carried out using point pattern matching with a probabilistic relaxation method. More than 1000 displacement vectors were obtained using the simulated lung CT images, and the accuracy of the vectors was estimated to be within 1-voxel. This can be applied to the estimation of CTV deformation by gridding interpolation, where the CTV is defined at an initial 3D-CT image. \nThis 3D motion evaluation technique enables us to track realistic motion of any positions inside the lung without any fiducial markers. It is expected to be useful for optimization of respiratory-gated irradiation by means of motion quantification for actual 4D-CT images and dose estimation in moving targets and normal tissues, and for 4D treatment planning. We present the developed technique and its verification using the simulated lung CT images.PTCOG 4