A Finite Element Method Integrated with Terzaghi's Principle to Estimate Settlement of a Building due to Tunnel Construction

This study presents the application of the finite element method integrated with Terzaghi’s principle. The definition of a model in oedometric or confinement conditions for settlement estimation of a building after the construction of a tunnel, including the effect of Terzaghi’s principle, is an unresolved problem. The objectives of this work include the demonstration of the need for a minimum of three methodological states to estimate said settlement. For this, a specific methodology is applied to a case study, with eight load steps and four types of coarse-grained soils. In the studied case, two layers of 50 m and 5 m with different degrees of saturation are overlaying an assumed impermeable rock layer. The excavation of a tunnel of 15 m in diameter at a depth of 30 m with drainage lining inside the tunnel is assumed. The minimum distance from the tunnel’s outline to the mat foundation is 15.8 m. It is determined that the settlement, according to Terzaghi’s principle, is around 11% of the total settlement for the most compacted soil types, reaching 35% for the loose soil type, from the tunnel’s outline. In the mat foundation, it implies an increase in the differential settlement of up to 12%. It shows a nonlinear relationship between some of the variables in the analysis. To detect the collapse due to uplifting the tunnel invert, it was determined that it was not appropriate to model in oedometric conditions. The novelty of the investigation relies on identifying and determining the need for a minimum of three states for methodological purposes for a proper quantification of the total settlement: (i) before the construction of the tunnel, (ii) immediately after the excavation of the tunnel, but without groundwater inflow into the tunnel, and (iii) after the tunnelling, with stabilised groundwater inflow into the tunnel.The authors would like to thank Deryck J. Barker Fraser for the translation of the manuscript. Comments by two anonymous reviewers were extremely helpful in improving the manuscript. The third author acknowledges the support of the Catalan Government through the Fluvial Dynamics Research Group (2021 SGR 01114)

Gestión de la calidad en la Panadería Isabel ubicada en el municipio de la Trinidad, departamento de Estelí, en el primer semestre del año 2019

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo evaluar la gestión de la calidad en la panadería Isabel ubicada en el municipio de La Trinidad, del juzgado 150 metros al sur, 100 metros al este y 50 metros al sur, del departamento de Estelí. Para la realización del presente documento fue necesario realizar varias visitas a la empresa, para conocer cada uno de los procesos de producción en las diferentes áreas que la conforman, además de conocer si la Panadería cuenta con un sistema de gestión de la calidad técnico; de no existir dichos recursos de manera técnica si no empírica, se propuso aspectos de mejora continua de la calidad para mejorar y lograr estandarizar el proceso productivo. Durante las visitas a la empresa se realizaron diferentes actividades para la recolección de datos, tales como la observación directa, se aplicaron instrumentos de investigación para recolectar la información (encuestas, entrevistas). Con los datos recopilados y procesados se determinó que hay pocas capacitaciones a los colaboradores, además de contar con un nivel de escolaridad muy básico, debido a esto existe una amplia deserción del personal y variación de calidad en los product

Applied methodology based on HEC-HMS for reservoir filling estimation due to soil erosion

Authors propose a beneficial methodology for hydrological planning in their study. Prospective evaluations of the basins' net capacity can be done using the technique presented. The HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modelling System) software can be used to estimate in a basin, the sediment emitted. For a certain precipitation, this methodology allows estimating, within a certain range, the gradual blockage of a reservoir, and even a projected date for total blockage. This has some applications to adopt corrective measures that prevent or delay the planned blockage deadlines. The model is of the semi-distributed type, estimating the generation and emission of sediments by sub-basins. The integration of different return periods in HEC-HMS with a semi-distributed model by sub-basins and the application of a mathematical model are the differentiating element of this research. The novelty of this work is to allow prognosing the reservoir sedimentation rate of basins in a local and regional scale with a medium and large temporary framework. The developed methodology allows public institutions to take decisions concerning hydrological planning. It has been applied to the case of "Charco Redondo"reservoir, in Cádiz, Andalusia, in southern Spain. Applying the methodology to this case, an average soil degradation of the reservoir basin has been estimated. Therefore, it is verified that in 50 years the reservoir is expected to lose 8.4% of its capacity

Comparative Analysis of Water Extraction Mechanism in Roman Mines

The removal of water from mines was one of the key issues that former miners had to deal with. Roman colonists brought new technology to the Iberian Peninsula that addressed this problem. However, they did not invent this technology because it had already been applied to the growth of other endeavours in the Hellenistic society throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. In the mine, the Archimedes screw, waterwheels, bucket pulleys, and Ctesibius pumps were the primary drainage systems. In this essay, the primary characteristics, and modes of operation of machines are examined. Without leaving out the most significant finds made in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, one of the regions with the longest history of mining exploitation. To serve as a foundation for future research in this field, this work compares the primary mining mechanisms in ancient Huelva on a qualitative and quantitative level by the implementation of a TOPSIS methodology, a multi-criteria decision analysis method.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva / CBUA Funding of the work: Master en Ingeniería del Mantenimiento Industrial (ETSI-UHU

Mountain waves analysis in the vicinity of the Madrid-Barajas Airport using the WRF model

Turbulence and aircraft icing associated with mountain waves are weather phenomena potentially affecting aviation safety. In this paper, these weather phenomena are analysed in the vicinity of the Adolfo Su´arez Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain). Mountain waves are formed in this area due to the proximity of the Guadarrama mountain range. Twenty different weather research and forecasting (WRF) model configurations are evaluated in an initial analysis. .is shows the incompetence of some experiments to capture the phenomenon. .e two experiments showing the best results are used to simulate thirteen episodes with observed mountain waves. Simulated pseudosatellite images are validated using satellite observations, and an analysis is performed through several skill scores applied to brightness temperature. Few differences are found among the different skill scores. Nevertheless, the .ompson microphysics scheme combined with the Yonsei university PBL scheme shows the best results. .e simulations produced by this scheme are used to evaluate the characteristic variables of the mountain wave episodes at windward and leeward and over the mountain. .e results show that north-northwest wind directions, moderate wind velocities, and neutral or slightly stable conditions are the main features for the episodes evaluated. In addition, a case study is analysed to evidence the WRF ability to properly detect turbulence and icing associated with mountain waves, even when there is no visual evidence available..is work was partially supported by the following research projects: PID2019-105306RB-I00, PCIN-2014-013-C07-04, and PCIN2016-080 (UE ERA-NET Plus NEWA Project), CGL2016-78702-C2-1-R and CGL2016-78702-C2-2-R (SAFEFLIGHT Project), FEI-EU-17-16 and SPESMARTand SPESVALE (ECMWF Special Projects)

Suppression of Coulomb-nuclear interference in the near-barrier elastic scattering of 17 Ne from 208 Pb

The proton drip-line nucleus 17Ne is considered a good candidate for a Borromean two-proton halo with a 15O + p+ pstructure. Angular distributions of the elastic scattering and inclusive 15O production for a 136 MeV 17Ne beam incident on a 208Pb target were measured for the first time at the SPIRAL1 facility, GANIL. Use of the GLORIA detector array allowed high-resolution data over a wide angular range from 20◦up to 95◦in the laboratory frame to be obtained. The elastic scattering angular distribution shows similarities with those for both 6He and 20Ne at equivalent collision energies with respect to the corresponding Coulomb barriers, exhibiting the suppression of the Coulomb rainbow peak characteristic of strong coupling. Optical model and coupled channel fits suggest that this is due to a combination of coupling to low-lying quadrupole resonances and Coulomb dipole coupling to the low-lying continuum, although their relative importance depends on the relevant B(E2)values which remain to be firmly determined

Prospective Exploratory Analysis of Angiogenic Biomarkers in Peripheral Blood in Advanced NSCLC Patients Treated With Bevacizumab Plus Chemotherapy: The ANGIOMET Study

Finding angiogenic prognostic markers in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer is still an unmet medical need. We explored a set of genetic variants in the VEGF-pathway as potential biomarkers to predict clinical outcomes of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy plus bevacizumab. We prospectively analyzed the relationship between VEGF-pathway components with both pathological and prognostic variables in response to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab in 168 patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer. Circulating levels of VEGF and VEGFR2 and expression of specific endothelial surface markers and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in VEGF-pathway genes were analyzed. The primary clinical endpoint was progression-free survival. Secondary endpoints included overall survival and objective tumor response. VEGFR-1 rs9582036 variants AA/AC were associated with increased progression-free survival (p = 0.012 and p = 0.035, respectively), and with improved overall survival (p = 0.019) with respect to CC allele. Patients with VEGF-A rs3025039 harboring allele TT had also reduced mortality risk (p = 0.049) compared with the CC allele. The VEGF-A rs833061 variant was found to be related with response to treatment, with 61.1% of patients harboring the CC allele achieving partial treatment response. High pre-treatment circulating levels of VEGF-A were associated with shorter progression-free survival (p = 0.036). In conclusion, in this prospective study, genetic variants in VEGFR-1 and VEGF-A and plasma levels of VEGF-A were associated with clinical benefit, progression-free survival, or overall survival in a cohort of advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy plus antiangiogenic therapy

Comprehensive cross-platform comparison of methods for non-invasive EGFR mutation testing : results of the RING observational trial.

Abstract Several platforms for noninvasive EGFR testing are currently used in the clinical setting with sensitivities ranging from 30% to 100%. Prospective studies evaluating agreement and sources for discordant results remain lacking. Herein, seven methodologies including two next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based methods, three high-sensitivity PCR-based platforms, and two FDA-approved methods were compared using 72 plasma samples, from EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients progressing on a first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). NGS platforms as well as high-sensitivity PCR-based methodologies showed excellent agreement for EGFR-sensitizing mutations (K = 0.80-0.89) and substantial agreement for T790M testing (K = 0.77 and 0.68, respectively). Mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) obtained by different quantitative methods showed an excellent reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.86-0.98). Among other technical factors, discordant calls mostly occurred at mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) ≤ 0.5%. Agreement significantly improved when discarding samples with MAF ≤ 0.5%. EGFR mutations were detected at significantly lower MAFs in patients with brain metastases, suggesting that these patients risk for a false-positive result. Our results support the use of liquid biopsies for noninvasive EGFR testing and highlight the need to systematically report MAFs. Keywords: NGS; circulating free DNA; epidermal growth factor receptor; non-small-cell lung cancer; osimertinib; tyrosine kinase inhibitor

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery. Methods An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”. Conclusions The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies