Slope stability impacts in a pit lake due to changes at the water level

Περίληψη: Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει ως στόχο να διερευνήσει την επίδραση της μεταβολής της στάθμης του νερού τεχνητής λίμνης στην ευστάθεια των πρανών. Ως πεδίο έρευνας χρησιμοποιήθηκε η τεχνητή λίμνη Most στην Τσεχία, η οποία προέκυψε από την πλήρωση εκσκαφών λιγνιτωρυχείων της περιοχής. Η ευστάθεια των πρανών της λίμνης διερευνήθηκε σε θέσεις, ακολουθώντας διάφορα σενάρια μεταβολής της στάθμης του νερού. Στα σενάρια αυτά λήφθηκε υπόψη το μοντέλο Van Genuchten για την εκτίμηση της επίδρασης της μύζησης στην διαπερατότητα των στρωμάτων στην ακόρεστη ζώνη. Επίσης, για την εκτίμηση της γεωτεχνικής συμπεριφοράς τους χρησιμοποιήθηκε το ελαστοπλαστικό μοντέλο Mohr – Coulomb. Χρησιμοποιήθηκαν τα λογισμικά SEEP/W και SLOPE/W της Geoslope international, με τα οποία έγινε η εκτίμηση της πίεσης του νερού των πόρων και η ανάλυση οριακής ισορροπίας αντίστοιχα.Summarization: The lake formation is the most common way of rehabilitating lignite mine excavations after the end of mining. These pit lakes are usually aesthetically attractive and are mainly used for recreational purposes. This thesis aims to investigate the slope stability in a pit lake due to changes of water level. The case of the Most pit lake (in Czech Republic) was used to study the behavior of the slopes in relation to water level alteration. The stability of lake's slope was investigated in three locations, following different water level changes. In these scenarios, the Van Genuchten model was taken into consideration to assess the effect of suction on permeability of the strata in the unsaturated zone. Also, the Mohr - Coulomb elastoplastic model was used to evaluate their geotechnical behavior. Initially, the pore water pressure and the impact of suction in the unsaturated zone were estimated using the finite element software SEEP/W. Then, the limit equilibrium method (Morgenstern-Price method of slices) was used for slope stability analysis using SLOPE/W software. It is concluded that the slopes of the lake are stable. However, the safety factor decreases with lowering water level of the lake. The higher the rate of lowering of the water level, the lower the safety factor of the slopes is estimated. Also, the fluctuation of the lake water level reduces the stability of the slopes; this result is not affected by the number of variations

Erratum to: Chronic Granulomatous Disease: A 25-Year Patient Registry Based on a Multistep Diagnostic Procedure, from the Referral Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies in Greece

Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) is an uncommon primary immunodeficiency caused by the absence or dysfunction of one of NADPH oxidase subunits, with heterogeneous genetic aetiologies. The aim of this study was the CGD patient registry in Greece, the identification of the responsible genotype and the potential correlation with the patient's clinical phenotype. Medical charts of 24 CGD patients, investigated by NBT test or DHR for NADPH oxidase activity, Western blot analysis for NADPH oxidase component expression and DNA sequencing (pyro- and cycle sequencing) for mutation analysis, were reviewed. All patients, but one, were classified into the different types of CGD. Sixteen from 14 unrelated families had X-linked CGD (66.7 %), four patients had mutations in the NCF1 gene (16.7 %), and three, from two unrelated families, had mutations in NCF2 (12.5 %). Fifteen mutations were detected in the CYBB gene, including nonsense (53.8 %), splice site (30.8 %) and missense mutations (7.7 %), and deletions (7.7 %). Two novel mutations were identified; one in CYBB and one in NCF1. Carrier detection for X-CGD revealed that the de novo mutation rate was about 7 %. Prenatal diagnosis identified one affected male in three male fetuses tested. In both the X-linked and the autosomal recessive (AR-CGD) group, the gastrointestinal and respiratory manifestations were more common, followed by lympadenopathy in X-CGD and skin infections in the AR-CGD group. The patients with a mutation in CYBB had a wider variability of clinical manifestations and earlier diagnosis (4.6 years) compared to the AR-CGD group (12.9 years). The incidence of CGD in Greece is estimated at 0.90 (95 % CI 0.89-0.91) per 100,000 live births for the last decad

Initial presenting manifestations in 16,486 patients with inborn errors of immunity include infections and noninfectious manifestations

Background: Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are rare diseases, which makes diagnosis a challenge. A better description of the initial presenting manifestations should improve awareness and avoid diagnostic delay. Although increased infection susceptibility is a well-known initial IEI manifestation, less is known about the frequency of other presenting manifestations. Objective: We sought to analyze age-related initial presenting manifestations of IEI including different IEI disease cohorts. Methods: We analyzed data on 16,486 patients of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies Registry. Patients with autoinflammatory diseases were excluded because of the limited number registered. Results: Overall, 68% of patients initially presented with infections only, 9% with immune dysregulation only, and 9% with a combination of both. Syndromic features were the presenting feature in 12%, 4% had laboratory abnormalities only, 1.5% were diagnosed because of family history only, and 0.8% presented with malignancy. Two-third of patients with IEI presented before the age of 6 years, but a quarter of patients developed initial symptoms only as adults. Immune dysregulation was most frequently recognized as an initial IEI manifestation between age 6 and 25 years, with male predominance until age 10 years, shifting to female predominance after age 40 years. Infections were most prevalent as a first manifestation in patients presenting after age 30 years. Conclusions: An exclusive focus on infection-centered warning signs would have missed around 25% of patients with IEI who initially present with other manifestations. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2021;148:1332-41.