FRACTAL SPACE BASED DIMENSIONLESS ANALYSIS OF THE SURFACE SETTLEMENT INDUCED BY THE SHIELD TUNNELING

The surface settlement during the tunneling process is becoming increasingly difficult to forecast as its surroundings become more and more erratic, and the maximal surface settlement raises risks posed suddenly by various uncertain factors. This paper proposes a novel approach to prediction of the surface settlement and analyzes the stability of tunnel construction. The dimensionless analysis and Buckingham’s π-theorem are adopted for this purpose, and some useful dimensionless quantities are found, which can be used to determine the surface settlement’s main properties. In this manner, the paper offers new ways of predicting surface settlement in various cases, and it sheds a new light on the tunnel’s design and safety monitoring

Current methods for measuring three-phase relative permeability and its influencing factors

Three-phase fluid flow in reservoirs is present in the entire process of oil field development, and three-phase relative permeability data are crucial for reservoir engineering and numerical simulation. At the same time, carbon dioxide flooding and storage have garnered significant attention recently. The calculation of dynamic storage volumes and an in-depth understanding of three-phase flow within formations are inextricably linked to three-phase relative permeability. This review is centered around the available experimental measurements, theoretical models that predict three-phase relative permeability using two-phase data, and four Lattice Boltzmann method models. By analyzing the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of each method and assessing the impact of factors like saturation history, interfacial tension, rock properties, and fluid characteristics on three-phase relative permeability, this paper seeks to offer a comprehensive understanding of the topic. In summary, we provide a concise overview of the prospects and challenges in advancing three-phase relative permeability, serving as a valuable reference for the field of carbon dioxide flooding and storage.Document Type: Invited reviewCited as: Mei, Y., Lv, W., Zhou, X., Huang, J., Jia, N., Wang, G. Current methods for measuring three-phase relative permeability and its influencing factors. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 10(1): 21-38. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2023.10.0

A comprehensive assessment of accuracy of adaptive integration of cut cells for laminar fluid-structure interaction problems

Finite element methods based on cut-cells are becoming increasingly popular because of their advantages over formulations based on body-fitted meshes for problems with moving interfaces. In such methods, the cells (or elements) which are cut by the interface between two different domains need to be integrated using special techniques in order to obtain optimal convergence rates and accurate fluxes across the interface. The adaptive integration technique in which the cells are recursively subdivided is one of the popular techniques for the numerical integration of cut-cells due to its advantages over tessellation, particularly for problems involving complex geometries in three dimensions. Although adaptive integration does not impose any limitations on the representation of the geometry of immersed solids as it requires only point location algorithms, it becomes computationally expensive for recovering optimal convergence rates. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the adaptive integration of cut-cells for applications in computational fluid dynamics and fluid-structure interaction. We assess the effect of the accuracy of integration of cut cells on convergence rates in velocity and pressure fields, and then on forces and displacements for fluid-structure interaction problems by studying several examples in two and three dimensions. By taking the computational cost and the accuracy of forces and displacements into account, we demonstrate that numerical results of acceptable accuracy for FSI problems involving laminar flows can be obtained with only fewer levels of refinement. In particular, we show that three levels of adaptive refinement are sufficient for obtaining force and displacement values of acceptable accuracy for laminar fluid-structure interaction problems

A comprehensive assessment of accuracy of adaptive integration of cut cells for laminar fluid-structure interaction problems

Finite element methods based on cut-cells are becoming increasingly popular because of their advantages over formulations based on body-fitted meshes for problems with moving interfaces. In such methods, the cells (or elements) which are cut by the interface between two different domains need to be integrated using special techniques in order to obtain optimal convergence rates and accurate fluxes across the interface. The adaptive integration technique in which the cells are recursively subdivided is one of the popular techniques for the numerical integration of cut-cells due to its advantages over tessellation, particularly for problems involving complex geometries in three dimensions. Although adaptive integration does not impose any limitations on the representation of the geometry of immersed solids as it requires only point location algorithms, it becomes computationally expensive for recovering optimal convergence rates. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the adaptive integration of cut-cells for applications in computational fluid dynamics and fluid-structure interaction. We assess the effect of the accuracy of integration of cut cells on convergence rates in velocity and pressure fields, and then on forces and displacements for fluid-structure interaction problems by studying several examples in two and three dimensions. By taking the computational cost and the accuracy of forces and displacements into account, we demonstrate that numerical results of acceptable accuracy for FSI problems involving laminar flows can be obtained with only fewer levels of refinement. In particular, we show that three levels of adaptive refinement are sufficient for obtaining force and displacement values of acceptable accuracy for laminar fluid-structure interaction problems

Investigating the causal relationship between ankylosing spondylitis and osteoporosis in the European population: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

BackgroundAnkylosing Spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory condition affecting the spine, which may lead to complications such as osteoporosis (OP). Many observational studies have demonstrated a close relationship with strong evidence between OP and AS. The combination of AS and OP is already an indisputable fact, but the exact mechanism of AS complicated with OP is unclear. To better prevent and treat OP in patients with AS, it is necessary to understand the specific mechanism of OP in these patients. In addition, there is a study showing that OP is a risk factor for AS, but the causal relationship between them is not yet clear. Therefore, we conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to determine whether there is a direct causal effect between AS and OP and to investigate the co-inherited genetic information between the two.MethodsBone mineral density (BMD) was used as a phenotype for OP. The AS dataset was taken from the IGAS consortium and included people of European ancestry (9,069 cases and 13,578 controls). BMD datasets were obtained from the GEFOS consortium, a large GWAS meta-analysis study, and the UK Biobank and were categorized based on site (total body (TB): 56,284 cases; lumbar spine (LS): 28,498 cases; femoral neck (FN): 32,735 cases; forearm (FA): 8,143 cases; and heel: 265,627 cases) and age (0-15: 11,807 cases; 15-30: 4,180 cases; 30-45: 10,062 cases; 45-60: 18,062 cases; and over 60: 22,504 cases).To obtain the casual estimates, the inverse variant weighted (IVW) method was mainly used due to its good statistical power and robustness. The presence of heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran’s Q test. Pleiotropy was assessed utilizing MR-Egger regression and MR-pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO).ResultsGenerally, there were no significant causal associations between genetically predicted AS and decreased BMD levels. The results of MR-Egger regression, Weighted Median, and Weighted Mode methods were consistent with those of the IVW method. However, there was a sign of a connection between genetically elevated BMD levels and a decreased risk of AS (Heel-BMD: OR = 0.879, 95% CI: 0.795-0.971, P = 0.012; Total-BMD: OR = 0.948, 95% CI: 0.907-0.990, P = 0.017; LS-BMD: OR = 0.919, 95% CI: 0.861-0.980, P = 0.010). The results were confirmed to be reliable by sensitivity analysis.ConclusionThis MR study found that the causal association between genetic liability to AS and the risk of OP or lower BMD in the European population was not evident, which highlights the second effect (e.g., mechanical reasons such as limited movement) of AS on OP. However, genetically predicted decreased BMD/OP is a risk factor for AS with a causal relationship, implying that patients with OP should be aware of the potential risk of developing AS. Moreover, OP and AS share similar pathogenesis and pathways

Cell nucleus elastography with the adjoint-based inverse solver

Background and Objectives: The mechanics of the nucleus depends on cellular structures and architecture, and impact a number of diseases. Nuclear mechanics is yet rather complex due to heterogeneous distribution of dense heterochromatin and loose euchromatin domains, giving rise to spatially variable stiffness properties. Methods: In this study, we propose to use the adjoint-based inverse solver to identify for the first time the nonhomogeneous elastic property distribution of the nucleus. Inputs of the inverse solver are deformation fields measured with microscopic imaging in contracting cardiomyocytes. Results: The feasibility of the proposed method is first demonstrated using simulated data. Results indicate accurate identification of the assumed heterochromatin region, with a maximum relative error of less than 5%. We also investigate the influence of unknown Poisson's ratio on the reconstruction and find that variations of the Poisson's ratio in the range [0.3-0.5] result in uncertainties of less than 15% in the identified stiffness. Finally, we apply the inverse solver on actual deformation fields acquired within the nuclei of two cardiomyocytes. The obtained results are in good agreement with the density maps obtained from microscopy images. Conclusions: Overall, the proposed approach shows great potential for nuclear elastography, with promising value for emerging fields of mechanobiology and mechanogenetics

No genetic causal association between Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study

ObjectiveMany observational studies have found an association between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and osteoporosis. However, it is unclear whether there is causal genetic between osteoporosis and AD.MethodsA two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was used to investigate whether there is a causal relationship between osteoporosis and AD. Genes for osteoporosis and AD were obtained from published the genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with significant genome-wide differences (p < 5 × 10−8) and independent (r2 < 0.001) were selected, and SNPs with F ≥ 10 were further analyzed. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used to assess causality, and the results were reported as odds ratios (ORs). Subsequently, heterogeneity was tested using Cochran’s Q test, pleiotropy was tested using the MR–Egger intercept, and leave-one-out sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the results.ResultsUsing the IVW method, MR Egger method, and median-weighted method, we found that the results showed no significant causal effect of osteoporosis at different sites and at different ages on AD, regardless of the removal of potentially pleiotropic SNPs. The results were similar for the opposite direction of causality. These results were confirmed to be reliable and stable by sensitivity analysis.ConclusionThis study found that there is no bidirectional causal relationship between osteoporosis and AD. However, they share similar pathogenesis and pathways