Numerical Analysis to Examine the Effect of Landslides on Tunnels

In the vicinity of known landslide zones, tunnel routes should be designed such that the distance between the landslide and the tunnel is sufficient to avoid adverse impact of the landslide on the tunnel. This requires a good understanding of the effects of the landslide on the tunnel. We modeled the ground surrounding the tunnel and the landslide using numerical analysis to evaluate the quantitative effect of the tunnel offset from the landslide on ground stresses and displacement of the ground surface and tunnel crown. We considered the effects under different ground conditions and examined two different cases, when the landslide occurs before tunnel construction and where the landslide movement occurs after tunnel construction. We found that the required offset distance between the landslide and the tunnel depended on whether the landslide occurred before or after tunnel excavation and the characteristics of the site conditions, and the method of setting the offset distance needs to consider the conditions at each site. As a result, we conclude that under some conditions, the offset required by current technical standards may be inadequate and further investigation would be required

A General Purpose Simulator for Multivariable Control Systems

A high speed and high accuracy simulator whose data-handling is light and whose weak stability is assured even for stiff systems is discussed. This work is a part of CAD package : CADPACS-T which has been under development for the purpose of designing control systems utilizing TSS of a large scale digital computer in our laboratory. This simulator realizes high accuracy, high computational speed and high reliability adopting A-stable extrapolation methods to transform into a difference system, a recursive formula of an output interval to solve the difference equation, automatic choice of an optimal step length such that minimizes an predicted error, and evaluating error bounds closely near the actual errors in the point of numerical calculation. Moreover, in the point of data management, this realizes separation of program modules from data, common utilization of data and separation of investigation from simulation

網羅的遺伝子発現解析から同定したDAB2とIntelectin-1は上皮型悪性中皮腫と肺腺癌の鑑別診断に有用な免疫組織化学的染色の陽性マーカーである

広島大学(Hiroshima University)博士(医学)Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Sciencedoctora

Centrifuge Model Tests of Tieback Anchors and Drainage Pipes for Stabilization of Slopes under Earthquake Loads

Tieback anchors are widely used for the stabilization of natural and manmade slopes in Japan. The interactions between tieback anchors and slopes under seismic loading need to be understood to develop rational design concepts and installation methods in earthquake prone areas. We conducted centrifuge model tests to examine the characteristics of dynamic and residual loads on tieback anchors installed in slopes subjected to seismic loads. If the model slope contained a saturated zone, circular failure occurred even with pre-tensioned tieback anchors, and the amplitude of the oscillating loads on the tieback anchors was very high. This suggested that excess pore water pressure may cause the design capacity of the anchors to be exceeded, depending on the stability of the slope and intensity of the earthquake. Additional tests were therefore conducted with model slopes with drainage pipes installed (perforated plastic tubes). The drainage pipes significantly reduced pore water pressure, which in turn enhanced the stability of the slope and reduced the loads on the tieback anchors. We conclude that installation of drainage pipes in earthfill slopes would enable the selection of smaller ground anchors and potentially reduce overall construction costs

Initial Pulmonary Respiration Causes Massive Diaphragm Damage and Hyper-CKemia in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Dog

The molecular mechanism of muscle degeneration in a lethal muscle disorder Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) has not been fully elucidated. The dystrophic dog, a model of DMD, shows a high mortality rate with a marked increase in serum creatine kinase (CK) levels in the neonatal period. By measuring serum CK levels in cord and venous blood, we found initial pulmonary respiration resulted in massive diaphragm damage in the neonates and thereby lead to the high serum CK levels. Furthermore, molecular biological techniques revealed that osteopontin was prominently upregulated in the dystrophic diaphragm prior to the respiration, and that immediate-early genes (c-fos and egr-1) and inflammation/immune response genes (IL-6, IL-8, COX-2, and selectin E) were distinctly overexpressed after the damage by the respiration. Hence, we segregated dystrophic phases at the molecular level before and after mechanical damage. These molecules could be biomarkers of muscle damage and potential targets in pharmaceutical therapies.ArticleSCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 3:2183 (2013)journal articl

Having a direct look:analysis of DNA damage and repair mechanisms by next generation sequencing

AbstractGenetic information is under constant attack from endogenous and exogenous sources, and the use of model organisms has provided important frameworks to understand how genome stability is maintained and how various DNA lesions are repaired. The advance of high throughput next generation sequencing (NGS) provides new inroads for investigating mechanisms needed for genome maintenance. These emerging studies, which aim to link genetic toxicology and mechanistic analyses of DNA repair processes in vivo, rely on defining mutational signatures caused by faulty replication, endogenous DNA damaging metabolites, or exogenously applied genotoxins; the analysis of their nature, their frequency and distribution. In contrast to classical studies, where DNA repair deficiency is assessed by reduced cellular survival, the localization of DNA repair factors and their interdependence as well as limited analysis of single locus reporter assays, NGS based approaches reveal the direct, quantal imprint of mutagenesis genome-wide, at the DNA sequence level. As we will show, such investigations require the analysis of DNA derived from single genotoxin treated cells, or DNA from cell populations regularly passaged through single cell bottlenecks when naturally occurring mutation accumulation is investigated. We will argue that the life cycle of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, its genetic malleability combined with whole genome sequencing provides an exciting model system to conduct such analysis