A Soil-Water Coupled Finite Element Analysis of Open-Cut Excavation for Soft Clay Deposit by an Elasto-Viscoplasctic Model

International Symposium on Backwards Problem in Geotechnical Engineering and Monitoring of Geo-Construction, Green Hall, Kensetsu-Koryu-kan, 2011/07/14-15A case study of open-cut excavation in soft clay deposit has been performed by a soil-water coupled finite element analysis with an elasto-viscoplastic model. As a part of the construction of the new subway line called Nakanoshima line in Osaka, large and deep excavation has been carried out by the open-cut excavation method with earth retaining wall through the thick alluvial Nakanoshima clay deposit Nakanoshima clay is soft and sensitive and the thickness is about 10 meters. Since the construction site is located at the center of Osaka city and is surrounded by many civil structures, it was necessary to minimize the deformation of ground behind the earth retaining walls. One of the earth retaining wall is very close to the big buildings and the other is also very close to the revetment of river. The excavation has been successfully performed. In the present study, a case history of the excavation in the construction of subway station mentioned above is numerically back analyzed. In the analysis, a finite element method based on a Biot's type of two phase mixture theory [1] is adopted and an elasto-viscoplastic model considering structural changes [2] is used. Comparison between numerical analysis results and the measured results shows that the simulations method can well reproduce the deformation of earth retaining wall by incorporating the proposed compensation method of measurement data. In addition, it is confirmed that the construction has been successfully executed without significant damage of earth retaining wall and the alluvial clay deposit. Furthermore, the effect of time-dependent behaviors of clay during the excavation such as creep and consolidation are discussed

Gene Expression Profiling of the Intact Dermal Sheath Cup of Human Hair Follicles

Cells that constitute the dermal papillae of hair follicles might be derived from the dermal sheath, the peribulbar component of which is the dermal sheath cup. The dermal sheath cup is thought to include the progenitor cells of the dermal papillae and possesses hair inductive potential; however, it has not yet been well characterized. This study investigated the gene expression profile of the intact dermal sheath cup, and identified dermal sheath cup signature genes, including extracellular matrix components and bone morphogenetic protein-binding molecules, as well as transforming frowth factor beta 1 as an upstream regulator. Among these, gremilin-2, a member of the bone morphogenetic protein antagonists, was found by in situ hybridization to be highly specific to the dermal sheath cup, implying that gremlin-2 is a key molecule contributing to maintenance of the properties of the dermal sheath cup

Spectroscopic Characterization and Transport Properties of Aromatic Monolayers Covalently Attached to Si(111) Surfaces

We fabricated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) composed of aromatic molecules with different anchor groups on Si(111) surfaces by wet chemical reactions. We investigated the bonding structures and transport properties by spectroscopic and electrical measurements, respectively. By using simple aromatic molecules (phenol, styrene, and phenylacetylene) as initial precursors, we successfully fabricated aromatic SAMs covalently bonded to Si(111) surfaces through different anchor structures (Si–O–, Si–CH₂–CH₂–, and Si–CHCH−). Transmission infrared spectroscopy clarify that the phenyl rings in the SAMs are oriented almost perpendicular to the Si surfaces. High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the aromatic molecules attach to the Si surface with the surface coverage of ∼0.5. The experimental results of these spectroscopies lead to a conclusion that the aromatic SAMs form densely packed monolayers on Si(111). Current density–voltage measurements of Hg/aromatic SAM–Si(111) sandwiched structures revealed that the “Si­(111)–O–Ph” (SAM from phenol) show higher conductivity compared with the long-chain alkyl SAM on Si(111)