Application of numerical modelling to the comprehensive analysis of slope stability

Paper deals with the comprehensive methodology for the numerical simulation of potentially unstable slopes combining engineering geological, hydrological, hydrogeological and geotechnical computational model for the assessment of slope stability. Engineering geological model based on available survey data characterizes the rock environment using individual quasi-homogenous units. Model is defined on the basis of documented lithostratigraphic units in exploration probes and field relief documented by advanced methods, including satellite radar interferometry and laser surface scanning. On the basis of engineering geological model, the hydrological model using MIKE SHE software (Finite Difference Method) was performed. Hydrological model includes simulation of surface runoff, evapotranspiration and flow in unsaturated near-surface zone. The model was calibrated on the basis of available field data. Outputs from this model were used as input initial conditions of the following hydrogeological model. Software FEFLOW based on the Finite Element Method was subsequently used to the creation of hydrogeological model focused on the water flow and distribution of pore pressures of groundwater in individual quasi-homogeneous units in saturated zone. The infiltration condition determined by the hydrological model is considered and a flow model with variable saturation is applied. Finally, the geotechnical stability model of slope following the engineering geological, hydrological and hydrogeological models was performed. The occurrence of plastic and failure zones (assuming elastic-perfectly plastic Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model) inside the slope was simulated by using software MIDAS GTS NX based on the Finite Element Method. Stability factor SSRF (Shear Strength Reduction Factor) is evaluated based on the Shear Strength Reduction Method) as the ratio of actual shear strength and minimum shear strength required to maintain stability. Paper deals also with the comparison of stability factor of natural slope obtained from 3D and 2D numerical model. Generally, in the case of natural slope the condition of plane strain is not fulfil, 2D model is not realistic and 3D model is needed, especially in case of concave morphology of slope

The construction of the category of unemployed young people with no qualifications in Switzerland

This paper explores the process of the rationalization of activation policies towards unemployed young people in Switzerland. It aims at analysing the mechanism of normalization for the criterion of “unqualified” among unemployed young people with no qualifications. Empirical observations show the growing difficulties for personal counsellors to categorize an increasingly heterogeneous population of young unemployed people. These difficulties crystallize themselves with the definition of the criterion “unqualified”, thereby ushering in a new activation measure that appraises the school- and psychological aptitudes of young people. This measure partially determines the eligibility of the unemployed young people and participates in producing a norm of the “right measure” in relation to the level of “unqualification”. The concept of “looping effect “ developed by Ian Hacking was used to analyse the mechanism of transformation of the category and its effects on the identities of both young people and the front line agents. The paper discusses how to apply a philosophical concept to the sociology of categorization in order to deepen our understanding of activation policies within the changing scene of European social policy

On the ubiquity of molecular anions in the dense interstellar medium

Results are presented from a survey for molecular anions in seven nearby Galactic star-forming cores and molecular clouds. The hydrocarbon anion C6H- is detected in all seven target sources, including four sources where no anions have been previously detected: L1172, L1389, L1495B and TMC-1C. The C6H-/C6H column density ratio is greater than about 1.0% in every source, with a mean value of 3.0% (and standard deviation 0.92%). Combined with previous detections, our results show that anions are ubiquitous in dense clouds wherever C6H is present. The C6H-/C6H ratio is found to show a positive correlation with molecular hydrogen number density, and with the apparent age of the cloud. We also report the first detection of C4H- in TMC-1 (at 4.8-sigma confidence), and derive an anion-to-neutral ratio C4H-/C4H = (1.2 +- 0.4) x 10^-5 (= 0.0012 +- 0.0004%). Such a low value compared with C6H- highlights the need for a revised radiative electron attachment rate for C4H. Chemical model calculations show that the observed C4H- could be produced as a result of reactions of oxygen atoms with C5H- and C6H-

The Effects of Maternal Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Visual, Neurobehavioural, and Developmental Outcomes of the Child: A Systematic Review of the Randomized Trials

Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) use in pregnancy has been promoted as beneficial for visual and neurobehavioural development in the fetus. However, no systematic review of the randomized trials has been conducted. The objective of this review was to evaluate potential advantages of this regiment by reviewing all randomized trials in pregnancy. Methods. Systematic review of randomized controlled studies comparing cognitive and visual achievements among infants whose mothers were treated and untreated with PUFA during gestation. Results. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, three focusing on visual and six on neurobehavioural development. Due to differing outcome measurements in the infants, the studies could not be combined into a formal meta-analysis. Synthesizing the existing data, for both visual and neurobehavioural development, most studies could not show sustained benefits to infant cognition or visual development. Conclusion. At the present time a recommendation to change practice and supplement all expecting mothers with PUFA to improve offspring vision or neurobehavioural function is not supported by existing evidence

Enquêter en « terrain difficile »

Depuis les années 2000, les centres éducatifs fermés (CEF) font l’objet en Suisse, comme dans d’autres pays d’Europe, de dynamiques réformatrices d’apparence contradictoire. D’une part, la diffusion et la légitimité croissantes des droits de l’enfant contraignent ces institutions à « humaniser » le traitement des jeunes détenu•e•s et à les reconnaître comme sujets de droit. D’autre part, la montée des préoccupations sécuritaires en Europe envers la délinquance juvénile entraîne un renforcemen..

Introduction

En 1969, l’Institut d’études sociales a créé son Centre de recherche sociale, le CERES. Au moment de fêter ses 50 ans d’existence, les membres de ce laboratoire proposent une réflexion sur la place et la fonction de la recherche au sein d’une Haute école de travail social en 2018. Au fil du temps, la recherche en travail social a pris différentes formes et visé différents buts, les exigences ont évolué, cette recherche s’est affirmée. Si ce domaine d’enquête est désormais reconnu comme champ ..

Guillain-Barre Syndrome in Patients with Seroconversion of IgG Antibodies to Borrelia Burgdorferi sensu lato

A case of polyneuroradiculitis (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) is presented, which was diagnosed in a 62 year-old man after progressive weakness in the legs and arms and double vision, preceded by severe pain in the back. Diagnosis was made on the basis of electromioneurography, a specific finding of cerebrospinal fluid (albumino-citological dissociation), and the clinical course of the disease. Serological analysis of serum included Borellia Burgdorferi sensu lato (BBSL). Positive findings (slowing of conduction velocity of sensor and motor neurones, and marked albumino-citological dissociation), together with the dynamics of these findings on the 33rd, 67th and 101st days and one year and a half after the first clinical signs of disease, indicated the possibility of BBSL infection. Because of the absence of clear clinical and serological signs of other infections it was assumed that BBSL might be the possible trigger for Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The fact that there were no obvious clinical signs of infection with BBSL, only serological, suggests that in the case of unclear aetiology of Guillain-Barre Syndrome BBSL should not be excluded

Radiotherapy in Combination With Cytokine Treatment

Radiotherapy (RT) plays an important role in the management of cancer patients. RT is used in more than 50% of patients during the course of their disease in a curative or palliative setting. In the past decades it became apparent that the abscopal effect induced by RT might be dependent on the activation of immune system, and that the induction of immunogenic cancer cell death and production of danger-associated molecular patterns from dying cells play a major role in the radiotherapy-mediated anti-tumor efficacy. Therefore, the combination of RT and immunotherapy is of a particular interest that is reflected in designing clinical trials to treat patients with various malignancies. The use of cytokines as immunoadjuvants in combination with RT has been explored over the last decades as one of the immunotherapeutic combinations to enhance the clinical response to anti-cancer treatment. Here we review mainly the data on the efficacy of IFN-α, IL-2, IL-2-based immunocytokines, GM-CSF, and TNF-α used in combinations with various radiotherapeutic techniques in clinical trials. Moreover, we discuss the potential of IL-15 and its analogs and IL-12 cytokines in combination with RT based on the efficacy in preclinical mouse tumor models