Determination of Crossarm Installation in Fill Dams by Back Analysis

This paper discusses a numerical model that can be used to optimize the installation in a zoned type and a homogeneous type fill dam. Before installation in a real dam to evaluate dam behavior, numerical model described in this paper is carried out on a prototype dam to check the optimum installation, using cross arm measurements. Three cross arm installations at the upstream, the core and downstream to measure displacements are considered. The installation options considered are three cross arm combinations for best installation to verify the safety of dams and to reduce cost. Finite element method is used for generating the displecement field in a linear elastic numerical model. The generated data is used as an input data in the back analysis to check the adequacy of each installation option

Multiple roles of hypoxia in ovarian function: roles of hypoxia-inducible factor-related and -unrelated signals during the luteal phase

There is increasing interest in the role of oxygen conditions in the microenvironment of organs because of the discovery of a hypoxia-specific transcription factor, namely hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1. Ovarian function has several phases that change day by day, including ovulation, follicular growth and corpus luteum formation and regression. These phases are regulated by many factors, including pituitary hormones and local hormones, such as steroids, peptides and cytokines, as well as oxygen conditions. Hypoxia strongly induces angiogenesis because transcription of the potent angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is regulated by HIF1. Follicular development and luteal formation are accompanied by a marked increase in angiogenesis assisted by HIF1-VEGF signalling. Hypoxia is also one of the factors that induces luteolysis by suppressing progesterone synthesis and by promoting apoptosis of luteal cells. The present review focuses on recent studies of hypoxic conditions, as well as HIF1-regulated genes and proteins, in the regulation of ovarian function

Performance of a Steel Sheet-Pile Barrier against Ground Vibration Originating in Railway Traffics

In order to develop an effective and practical isolation method against ground vibrations caused by running trains, the authors tried to apply sheet pile walls beside of real railway tracks. Field tests were carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of this countermeasure for reducing the ground vibrations. An estimation method for vibration reduction by sheet pile walls is presented, being based on FEM simulation analysi

Settlement Prediction Method Using Observed Settlement Velocity

This paper presents a new method for prediction of consolidation settlements of soft grounds. The method is based on the theoretical result which shows that the settlement velocity of soft grounds non-improved or improved with sand drains decreases exponentially with time. Final settlements can be easily derived from the regression analysis for the relationship between the elapsed time and the observed settlement velocity. The method has advantages of its simplicity and capability to give the satisfactorily good estimate of the consolidation settlements, and also the support of the theoretical background

Evaluation of Liquefaction Resistance by In-situ Testing and Its Application to Reliability Design

A calculation method of probability of liquefaction is proposed in this paper. The spatial variability of soil parameters for the dynamic shear strength, i.e., N-values, median grain size, fines contents, and the statistical characteristics of the earthquake frequency are considered in the analysis. The standard penetration test (SPT) is convenient to estimate the spatial variability of the dynamic shear strength and mainly used in this study. Furthermore the determination of dynamic shear strength based on Swedish weight Sounding test also introduced here, because it is the simpler test than SPT. While the statistical model of the earthquake frequency is determined based on the record of historical earthquakes. Using this method the probability of liquefaction is calculated. The sand compaction pile method is considered for the ground improvement against the liquefaction. Finally, the relationship between the sand replacement rate and the probability of liquefaction is clarified

Site-specific mutagenesis of human interleukin-6 and its biological activity

AbstractAmino acid substitutions of human interleukin-6 (IL-6) were performed. Single substitution Met162 → Ala and double substitutions Leu159, 166 → Val resulted in a significant decrease of IL-6 activity in the production of immunoglobulin (lg) from B-cells. Single substitution Leu166→Val or Leu159→Val gave a slight or no significant decrease in the Ig-induction activity, respectively. The receptor-binding activity of each IL-6 mutant was also examined. It was observed that the decrease of the receptor-binding activity was generally in parallel with that of the Ig-induction activity. We therefore suggest that hydrophobic side-chains existing in Met162, Leu159, and Leu164 are significantly involved in the receptor-binding of IL-6