Slope Stability Analysis Considering Sliding Effect of Upper Body

Owing to the human engineering activities, the phenomenon that new landslide happen on the upper part of the old sliding body can be found everywhere. This kind of slope consisting of two sliding bodies, which are upper body and lower body, is named as double-sliding-body slope. Its stability is usually analyzed according to two slopes. However, the effect of new landslide movement on the stability of entire slope system is not taken into account. In this paper, sliding effect of upper body is analyzed, and the formula considering sliding effect of upper body is derived based on Sarma method for analysis of entire slope. Theoretical analysis and a case history indicate that the spasmodic motion of upper body has bad effect on the lower body stability; Sliding along the top face of lower body, the effect on the lower body is disadvantageous during starting instant. Nevertheless, the bad effect will disappear and transform as the advantageous effect as descending of the slope gradient and sliding acceleration. For the slope controlling, the sliding effect of upper body should be considered in the stability analysis of double-sliding-body slope, thus it will help us recognizing and mastering or forecasting the evaluative trend of double-siding-body slope. Further reliable scientific basis can be provided in order to make effective controlling measures.特集 : 「資源、新エネルギー、環境、防災研究国際セミナー

Potential Risk Analysis of Tailings Dam Under Preloading Condition and Its Countermeasures

It is very important for mine production safety to ensure the stability of the tailings dam. Taking a flatland tailings pond as the background, a threedimensional computational model was built based on a tailings dam under mullock heap preloading condition. Considering the current operating water level conditions, a liquid-solid coupling analysis of the model was conducted.The deformation characteristics of the tailings dam were revealed during successive preloading at the front of the dam. The safety factor and the potential slide face of the tailings dam were calculated under different conditions using the strength reduction method. The results show that the tailings dam in its current condition is basically stable, but if the mullock heap continues to be heightened, the tailings dam will become unstable. Therefore, in order to limit the height of the mullock heap, establishing a monitor and early warning mechanism are put forward to ensure mine production safety

IL-33-ST2 Axis in Liver Disease: Progression and Challenge

The new member of the IL-1 family, interleukin-33 (IL-33), participates in the progression of a variety of diseases through binding with its receptor ST2. Recently, much clinical evidence and experimental data have indicated that IL-33 is associated with various liver diseases. This review primarily addresses the relationship between IL-33 and several hepatic diseases. IL-33 can alleviate high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance, and IL-33 acts as an alarmin, which quickly triggers the immune system to respond to virus invasion and toxic damage to the liver. However, when liver injury is chronic, IL-33 promotes Th2 reactions and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activity, facilitating progression to liver fibrosis. The complicated functions of IL-33 should be considered before its clinical application

深部軟岩坑道用ハイコンベックス・ストリップボルトを用いた複合支保技術に関する研究

Based on the systematic analysis of mechanical characteristics for deep roadway excavated in soft strata, the high convex strip-bolting support technology was put forward, and a numerical analysis was carried out by FLAC3D. The process of general bolting support and high convex strip-bolting support of deep soft rock roadway were simulated. The results indicate that the convex bed of strip-band can adapt to large deformation of high pre-stressed bolting, and the high strength and high rigidity of strip can bear large axial force and moment of flexion. In addition, bolting and anchoring combined support can control the deformation of rock masses by transferring the strength of deep strata, and bolt-grouting can form stress-relief region in deep and generates high strength invert arch at shallow which can afford some support resistances. A case study is also presented and the results of field measurement show that the new support system is suitable for roadways excavated in weak rocks.特集 : 「資源、新エネルギー、環境、防災研究国際セミナー

Association between Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Glu504Lys Polymorphism and Alcoholic Liver Disease

Background Only a subset of patients with excessive alcohol use develop alcoholic liver disease (ALD); though the exact mechanism is not completely understood. Once ingested, alcohol is metabolized by 2 key oxidative enzymes, alcohol (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). There are 2 major ALDH isoforms, cytosolic and mitochondrial, encoded by the aldehyde ALDH1 and ALDH2 genes, respectively. The ALDH2 gene was hypothesized to alter genetic susceptibility to alcohol dependence and alcohol-induced liver diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the association between aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (rs671) glu504lys polymorphism and ALD. Methods ALDH2 genotype was performed in 535 healthy controls and 281 patients with ALD. Results The prevalence of the common form of the SNP rs671, 504glu (glu/glu) was significantly higher in patients with ALD (95.4%) compared to that of controls (73.7%, p<0.0001). Among controls, 23.7% had heterozygous (glu/lys) genotype when compared to 4.6% in those with ALD (OR 0.16, 95%CI 0.09–0.28). The allele frequency for 504lys allele in patients with ALD was 2.3%; compared to 14.5% in healthy controls (OR 0.13, 95%CI 0.07–0.24). Conclusions Patients with ALDH2 504lys variant were less associated with ALD compared to those with ALDH2 504glu using both genotypic and allelic analyses

Mild-moderate alcohol consumption and diabetes are associated with liver fibrosis in patients with biopsy-proven MASLD

BackgroundIt is unclear whether patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are allowed variable low levels of alcohol. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of mild-moderate alcohol consumption on the biochemical and histological characteristics of patients with MASLD.MethodsAlcohol consumption was assessed in 713 patients with steatotic liver disease (SLD) who underwent liver biopsy. Non-drinking, mild-moderate drinking, and excessive drinking were defined as 0 g/day, 1-&lt;20 g/day, and &gt;20 g/day for women and 0 g/day, 1-&lt;30 g/day, and &gt;30 g/day for men, respectively. Liver biopsies were scored according to the NASH CRN system.ResultsA total of 713 participants (median age 39.0 years and 77.1% male) with biopsy-proven SLD were enrolled, including 239 nondrinkers, 269 mild-moderate drinkers and 205 excessive drinkers. Excessive drinking was associated with increased risks for lobular inflammation and liver fibrosis compared to nondrinkers and mild-moderate drinkers. Compared with non-drinkers, mild-moderate drinkers had significantly lower odds for steatosis (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.38–0.93, p = 0.025), hepatocellular ballooning (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.29–0.91, p = 0.020) and fibrosis (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.31–0.81, p = 0.005). However, in non-excessive drinkers with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), there was no association between mild-moderate alcohol consumption and liver fibrosis (OR = 0.562, 95% CI = 0.207–1.530, p = 0.257).ConclusionsMild-moderate alcohol consumption might be protective against liver fibrosis in MASLD patients, which is modified by the presence of T2DM. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to determine the effect of ongoing alcohol consumption on disease severity

An optimized short‐term steroid therapy for chronic drug‐induced liver injury: A prospective randomized clinical trial

Background and AimsThe use of corticosteroids in chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an important issue. Our previous randomized controlled trial showed that patients with chronic DILI benefited from a 48-week steroid stepwise reduction (SSR) regimen. However, it remains unclear whether a shorter course of therapy can achieve similar efficacy. In this study, we aimed to assess whether a 36-week SSR can achieve efficacy similar to that of 48-week SSR.MethodsA randomized open-label trial was performed. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the 36- or 48-week (1:1) SSR group. Liver biopsies were performed at baseline and at the end of treatment. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with relapse rate (RR). The secondary outcomes were improvement in liver histology and safety.ResultsOf the 90 participants enrolled, 84 (87.5%) completed the trial, and 62 patients (68.9%) were women. Hepatocellular damage was observed in 53.4% of the cohort. The RR was 7.1% in the 36-week SSR group but 4.8% in the 48-week SSR group, as determined by per-protocol set analysis (p = 1.000). Significant histological improvements in histological activity (93.1% vs. 92.9%, p = 1.000) and fibrosis (41.4% vs. 46.4%, p = .701) were observed in both the groups. Biochemical normalization time did not differ between the two groups. No severe adverse events were observed.ConclusionsBoth the 36- and 48-week SSR regimens demonstrated similar biochemical response and histological improvements with good safety, supporting 36-week SSR as a preferable therapeutic choice (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03266146)

Incidence and Etiology of Drug-Induced Liver Injury in Mainland China

Background & Aims: We performed a nationwide, retrospective study to determine the incidence and causes of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in mainland China.Methods: We collected data on a total of 25,927 confirmed DILI cases, hospitalized from 2012 through 2014 at 308 medical centers in mainland China. We collected demographic, medical history, treatment, laboratory, disease severity, and mortality data from all patients. Investigators at each site were asked to complete causality assessments for each case whose diagnosis at discharge was DILI (n=29,478) according to the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method.Results: Most cases of DILI presented with hepatocellular injury (51.39%; 95% CI, 50.76–52.03), followed by mixed injury (28.30%; 95% CI, 27.73–28.87) and cholestatic injury (20.31%; 95% CI, 19.80–20.82). The leading single classes of implicated drugs were traditional Chinese medicines or herbal and dietary supplements (26.81%) and anti-tuberculosis medications (21.99%). Chronic DILI occurred in 13.00% of the cases and, although 44.40% of the hepatocellular DILI cases fulfilled Hy’s Law criteria, only 280 cases (1.08%) progressed to hepatic failure, 2 cases underwent liver transplantation (0.01%), and 102 patients died (0.39%). Among deaths, DILI was judged to have a primary role in 72 (70.59%), a contributory role in 21 (20.59%), and no role in 9 (8.82%). Assuming the proportion of DILI in the entire hospitalized population of China was represented by that observed in the 66 centers where DILI capture was complete, we estimated the annual incidence in the general population to be 23.80 per 100,000 persons (95% CI, 20.86–26.74). Only hospitalized patients were included in this analysis, so the true incidence is likely to be higher.Conclusions: In a retrospective study to determine the incidence and causes of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in mainland China, the annual incidence in the general population was estimated to be 23.80 per 100,000 persons—higher than that reported from western countries. Traditional Chinese medicines, herbal and dietary supplements, and anti-tuberculosis drugs were the leading causes of DILI in mainland Chin

Size Effect Analysis of Scale Test Model for High-speed Railway Foundation under Dynamic Loading Condition

To determine the energy attenuation and energy reflection coefficients in layered foundation is the key factor to reveal the dynamic response characteristics of the high-speed railway foundation. Based on the foundation test model under the dynamic loading of the high-speed railway, the energy attenuation and energy reflection coefficients were introduced and the attenuation formulas of the vibration acceleration in the layered foundation were deduced. Five scale models of 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:10 and 1:20 are established respectively by using Abaqus technique. The energy attenuation mechanism and interfacial energy reflection characteristics in the layered foundation were analyzed. Results show that it is appropriate to use vibration acceleration to characterize the propagation rule of the energy attenuation in the layered foundation. The size effect equations of the energy attenuation and energy reflection coefficients in the layered foundation are deduced and the size effect of the energy attenuation is revealed. Based on the nonlinear relationships among the energy attenuation coefficient, the model scale, the loading amplitude and the vibration frequency, the energy attenuation equation of the scale test model is constructed. The reliability of the theoretical and simulation results is verified by the scale test model. The conclusions obtained in this study can provide a reference for a similar engineering practice