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AbstractThe kinematic discretisation technique of upper bound limit analysis is adopted in this study to evaluate the limit load of a strip footing located on the soils reinforced with different geosynthetic layers. The reinforcement is assumed to withstand the tension but not bending moment. The failure model of the reinforced foundation soil is generated using the discretisation method, a ‘point by point’ technique. Two failure modes of the reinforcement, the tensile rupture and sliding, are considered in the analysis. This article proposed the formulas for the first time to evaluate the effect of soil friction angle φon the ultimate bearing capacity and on the failure mechanism of foundation. The calculation results are given considering different reinforcement layers, which describe the impact of different reinforcement depth and length on the ultimate bearing capacity. The optimum positions of different reinforcement layers and the optimum reinforcement length are obtained. The bearing capacity ratios are also presented in figures combing impact of reinforcement depths, soil cohesion and friction angle. The present method was verified by the results reported in literature. The present method can provide a reference for the footing design on the reinforced soils.

Numerous analytical models have been developed to predict ground deformations induced by tunneling, which is a critical issue in tunnel engineering. However, the accuracy of these predictions is often limited by errors and uncertainties resulting from model selection and parameter fittings, given the paucity of monitoring data in field settings. This paper proposes a novel approach to estimate tunnelling-induced ground deformations by applying Bayesian model averaging to several representative prediction models. By accounting for both model and parameter uncertainties, this approach enables more realistic predictions of ground deformations than individual models. Specifically, our results indicate that the Gonzalez-Sagaseta model outperforms other models in predicting ground surface settlements, while the Loganathan-Poulos model is most suitable for predicting subsurface vertical and horizontal deformations. Importantly, our analysis reveals that when monitoring data are sparse, model uncertainties may contribute up to 78.7% of the total uncertainties. Thus, obtaining sufficient data for parameter fitting is crucial for accurate predictions. The proposed method in this study offers a more realistic and efficient prediction of tunnelling-induced ground deformations.

Flexible damping technology considering aseismic materials and aseismic structures seems be a good solution for engineering structures. In this study, a constrained damping structure for underground tunnel lining, using a rubber-sand-concrete (RSC) as the aseismic material, is proposed. The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure were investigated by a series of hammer impact tests. The damping layer thickness and shape effects on the aseismic performance such as effective duration and acceleration amplitude of time-domain analysis, composite loss factor and damping ratio of the transfer function analysis, and total vibration level of octave spectrum analysis were discussed. The hammer impact tests revealed that the relationship between the aseismic performance and damping layer thickness was not linear, and that the hollow damping layer had a better aseismic performance than the flat damping layer one. The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure under different seismicity magnitudes and geological conditions were investigated. The effects of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and tunnel overburden depth on the aseismic performances such as the maximum principal stress and equivalent plastic strain (PEEQ) were discussed. The numerical results show the constrained damping structure proposed in this paper has a good aseismic performance, with PGA in the range (0.2–1.2)gand tunnel overburden depth in the range of 0–300 m.

Diabetes mellitus, linked with insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia, is a leading cause of mortality. Glucose uptake through glucose transporter type 4, especially in skeletal muscle, is crucial for maintaining euglycaemia and is a key pathway targeted by antidiabetic medication. Abrus precatorius is a medicinal plant with demonstrated antihyperglycaemic activity in animal models, but its mechanisms are unclear. This study evaluated the effect of a 50% ethanolic (v/v) A. precatorius leaf extract on (1) insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and (2) related gene expression in differentiated C2C12 myotubes using rosiglitazone as a positive control, and (3) generated a comprehensive phytochemical profile of A. precatorius leaf extract using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry to elucidate its antidiabetic compounds. A. precatorius leaf extract significantly increased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, and insulin receptor substrate 1 and Akt substrate of 160 kDa gene expression; however, it had no effect on glucose transporter type 4 gene expression. At 250 µg/mL A. precatorius leaf extract, the increase in glucose uptake was significantly higher than 1 µM rosiglitazone. Fifty-five phytochemicals (primarily polyphenols, triterpenoids, saponins, and alkaloids) were putatively identified, including 24 that have not previously been reported from A. precatorius leaves. Abrusin, precatorin I, glycyrrhizin, hemiphloin, isohemiphloin, hispidulin 4′- O - β -D-glucopyranoside, homoplantaginin, and cirsimaritin were putatively identified as known major compounds previously reported from A. precatorius leaf extract. A. precatorius leaves contain antidiabetic phytochemicals and enhance insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in myotubes via the protein kinase B/phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway by regulating insulin receptor substrate 1 and Akt substrate of 160 kDa gene expression. Therefore, A. precatorius leaves may improve skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and hyperglycaemia. Additionally, it is a valuable source of bioactive phytochemicals with potential therapeutic use for diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic risk is one of the biggest challenges for tunnel safety, and several mitigation techniques have been proposed to enhance the seismic performance of existing tunnels. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of an innovative approach for reducing the seismic risk of existing tunnels by using soft material walls (SMW) symmetrically installed in the surrounding soils. The investigation is performed with a two-dimensional numerical model and the effectiveness of SMW in mitigating the seismic-induced lining forces is quantitatively evaluated by reduction ratio. The influences of nonlinear properties of soil, SMW and tunnel lining on the isolation effectiveness are also discussed. The parametric studies show that the computed reduction ratio is strongly affected by the modulus ratio between the SMW and the soil, the wall geometric parameter, and the flexibility ratio. It is more effective for the thick and soft isolation walls that are inserted near a stiff tunnel in the soft soil. The tunnel seismic response can be reduced by up to 50% for the scenarios investigated. Notably, the parametric study identifies an optimum normalized depth of SMW and recommends a relation between the maximum isolation effect and the flexibility ratio. Finally, simple charts are suggested in this work for estimating the isolation effect in specific conditions of the soil and the tunnel. Along these lines, the results of this work may be used in the seismic retrofitting of an existing tunnel, aiding the preliminary design of the isolation walls.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic disease, with dogs being the main reservoir of the Leishmania infantum parasite.Objective: To develop a new flow cytometry test to diagnosis canine VL (CVL) diagnosis.Methods: The current study addresses a new flow cytometry test using beads coupled to the multiepitope antigen rMELEISH.Results: In the study set of samples a sensitivity (87.1%) and specificity (89.9%) was observed. Considering the dogs' clinical status, 20/20 (100.0%) of the symptomatic sera tested positive, while 19/22 (86.4%) of the oligosymptomatic and 16/20 (80.0%) of asymptomatic were positive. In the non-infected control, all samples (0/30) tested as negative. In the cross-reaction control, the test was more efficient in dogs infected with L. braziliensis (2/10) and Trypanosoma cruzi (0/10), than those with Babesia canis (4/10) and Ehrlichia canis (4/10). Dogs immunized with different vaccines (Leishmune, Leish-Tec®, or LBSap) did not present serological reactivity.Conclusion: The flow cytometry serology through coupling the antigen rMELEISH in functional beads showed high accuracy in diagnosing CVL.

ABSTRACTIn recent years, many different methods for calculating the structural forces caused by earthquakes to be created in circular and rectangular tunnels have been devised. However, it is still unclear how sub-rectangular tunnels would behave when subjected to seismic loadings. A new pseudo-static loading scheme for sub-rectangular tunnels using the Hyperstatic Reaction Method (HRM) is the main topic of the current paper. In order to depict the interaction between the soil and the tunnel lining, new equations that allow for the computation of applied active loading as well as a variable spring stiffness coefficient are developed. Through a numerical study that takes into account a variety of seismic magnitudes, soil parameters, lining thickness, tunnel dimension, tunnel geometries, and tunnel depth, the proposed loading scheme is calibrated and validated. The comparisons demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed HRM method for the preliminary seismic design of sub-rectangular tunnels.

AbstractIn geotechnical projects involving soft soils, cement-mixed soils are an excellent way to improve the mechanical behaviour and engineering performance of soils. The water-to-cement ratio, cement content, and porosity are the most critical parameters impacting the strength of cement-mixed soils, but their effects are less well understood. The proportional influence of cement amount, porosity, and moisture content on cement-mixed soil strength is investigated in this research. The results showed that as the water-to-cement ratio increases, the influence of cementation and porosity on unconfined compressive strength decreases. The blended volume ratio is proposed as a new and adequate index for evaluating cement-mixed soil strength based on the experimental results. The blended volume ratio is the product of the void/cement volume ratio and the water/cement volume ratio. While the current index has not fully addressed the important effects of the water-to-cement ratio and porosity, the blended volume ratio allows describing the concurrent influences of porosity, cement amount, and water amount on the strength development. The experimental results showed that the cement-mixed soil strength is a function of the blended volume ratio. An empirical equation based on the blended volume ratio was then proposed for predicting the strength of cement-mixed soils. The validation of the proposed equation is verified by strength analysis for several different test data sets. A good agreement between measured and predicted results indicated that the proposed model is applicable to predict well the strength of cement-mixed soils.

In this article, the dynamic response of suction caisson foundations is studied using a three-dimensional finite element model with an absorbing boundary. The adopted formulation is based on the substructuring method. This formulation has been applied to analyze the effect of soil–structure interaction on the dynamic response of the suction foundation as a function of the kind of load. The suction caisson foundations are embedded in viscoelastic homogenous soils and subjected to external harmonic forces. For each frequency, the dynamic impedance connects the applied forces to the resulting displacement. The constitutive elements of the system are modeled using the finite element volumes and shell elements. The numerical results for the dynamic response of the suction foundations are presented in terms of vertical and horizontal displacements as well as vertical and horizontal dynamic impedances. The results indicated that the overall dynamic response is highly affected by the suction caisson diameter, the soil stiffness variation, and the suction caisson length.

The random field (RF) theory is widely used for describing the soil spatial variability in geotechnical engineering. This article presents soil variability modellings by using different types of RF-based on the available measurements of an earth dam. The effects of these RFs on dam reliability are investigated as well. The studied dam is well-documented, and there are many geo-localized measurements for the dry density. These measurements are firstly used to estimate the basic parameters of unconditional-stationary RFs and are then explored to define two more complex RFs (one is conditional RF and the other considers the mean variation with depth). The three mentioned types of RFs are all implemented in the same reliability analysis procedure for comparison. The results demonstrate that using different RFs for soil spatial modelling would induce insignificant differences in terms of reliability results if the dam construction was well controlled (careful selection for the construction material and controlled compaction). Therefore, a simple RF (unconditional-stationary) is enough to obtain satisfactory results in the case of carefully controlled dams during their construction. Otherwise, conditional RFs are recommended if more accurate results are needed, given that this type of RF is conditioned on the available data and can consider the non-stationarity of a soil property.

Non-circular tunnels such as horseshoe tunnel, constructed by tunnel boring machines (TBMs), are increasingly used due to their large utilization area in cross section, high mechanization degree of TBMs and high-level developed material technology which allows the lining structures with the high-stress capacity could be manufactured. However, there is still a limited number of studies carried out explicitly on the tunnel lining behavior excavated by the horseshoe-shaped shield. The current study is therefore aimed at presenting procedural steps for the determination of appropriate cross sections in horseshoe tunnel structures. The construction clearance of a double-track railway tunnel was taken into account as an example. A set of horseshoe cross sections were investigated using hyperstatic reaction method to estimate the tunnel lining behavior and to determine the optimal cross section in terms of structural forces. After that, a parametric investigation was conducted to highlight the effect of Young’s modulus of soil (Es), the coefficient of lateral earth pressure (K0), the thickness of lining (t) and the tunnel depth (H) on the horseshoe tunnel linings. The results showed that the higher the tunnel depth and the soil Young's modulus, the greater the effect of the tunnel geometry on the structural forces in the tunnel lining. The horseshoe tunnel lining behavior, especially in terms of the maximum bending moment, is significantly affected by the radii of lining sections along the tunnel boundary.

Evaluation of seismic bearing capacity is to be vital for design of strip foundations in earthquake areas. Combining the upper bound theorem of limit analysis, the discrete technique is successfully extended in this study to investigate the seismic ultimate bearing capacity of shallow strip foundations on rock masses considering the Rayleigh waves, in which the nonlinear HB failure criterion is used to describe the constitutive relation of rock masses. The failure model of foundation soil is generated using the discretization method, a “point by point” technique. The variations of shear modulus Gof rock masses and seismic acceleration varying with the depth are taken into consideration. The generalized tangential technique is employed to avoid the difficulty resulting from the nonlinear HB failure criterion. A linear corresponding to the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, tangent to the nonlinear Hoek–Brown failure criterion, is used to derive the objective function that is to be minimized. By comparing with the existing results, the present approach is verified. The widely parametric studies are made to investigate the effect of different parameters, e.g. shear modulus G, mi, GSI, σci, γ, D, VR, on the seismic bearing capacity of strip foundations. The present method provides a reference for strip foundations designed in earthquake areas.

This paper presents a reliability-based settlement analysis of T-shaped deep cement mixing (TDM) pile-supported embankments over soft soils. The uncertainties of the mechanical properties of the in-situsoil, pile, and embankment, and the effect of the pile shape are considered simultaneously. The analyses are performed using Monte Carlo Simulations in combination with an adaptive Kriging (using adaptive sampling algorithm). Individual and system failure probabilities, in terms of the differential and maximum settlements (serviceability limit state (SLS) requirements), are considered. The reliability results for the embankments supported by TDM piles, with various shapes, are compared and discussed together with the results for conventional deep cement mixing pile-supported embankments with equivalent pile volumes. The influences of the inherent variabilities in the material properties (mean and coefficient of variation values) on the reliability of the piled embankments, are also investigated. This study shows that large TDM piles, particularly those with a shape factor of greater than 3, can enhance the reliability of the embankment in terms of SLS requirements, and even avoid unacceptable reliability levels caused by variability in the material properties.

Background: Rubella is an infection caused by rubella virus (RV) and is generally regardedas a mild childhood disease. The disease continues to be of public health importance mainly becausewhen the infection is acquired during early pregnancy, it often results in fetal abnormalities, which areclassified as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). An accurate diagnosis of rubella is thus of pivotalimportance for proper treatment. Objectives: The aim of the study was to produce a recombinant multiepitope protein (rMERUB) forthe diagnosis of rubella, based on conserved immunodominant epitopes of glycoprotein E1 and E2. Methods: A synthetic gene was designed and cloned into vector pET21a with a 6xHis tag at the Cterminalfor affinity purification and overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. Biophysical analysis ofrMERUB was performed by circular dichroism. Biological activity was assessed using an in-houseELISA assay. Results: Expression in Escherichia coli showed a 22 kDa protein that was purified and used to performstructural assays and an IgG ELISA. Structural analyses reveal that rMERUB has a β leaf patternthat promotes the exposure of epitopes, thus allowing antibody recognition. Evaluation of 33 samples(22=positive; 11=negative) was performed using in-house ELISA and this was compared with a commercialkit. The sensitivity was 100% (95% CI: 85-100) and specificity 90.91% (95% CI: 62-99).Excellent agreement (Kappa index = 0.9) was obtained between ELISA assays. Conclusion: The careful choice of epitopes and the high epitope density, coupled with simple-steppurification, pinpoints rMERUB as a promising alternative for rubella diagnosis, with potential for thedevelopment of a diagnostic kit.

Circular- and rectangular-shaped tunnels are usually utilized when excavating at shallow depths in urban areas. Nevertheless, special-shaped tunnels such as sub-rectangular tunnels were recently considered to be used for overcoming some drawbacks of circular and rectangular tunnels in terms of low utilization space ratio and stress concentration at the corners, respectively. Using numerical analyses, this paper focuses on indicating the different behaviour of sub-rectangular tunnels under static loading in comparison with circular and rectangular ones having the same utilization space. It allows designers to decide the appropriate tunnel shape solution that should be used. The influence of parameters, including soil deformability, lateral earth pressure coefficient, and lining thickness, on the behaviour of different tunnel shapes under static loadings is also investigated. The results indicated a significant difference in the behaviour of sub-rectangular tunnels in comparison with the circular and rectangular ones when considering no-slip and full-slip conditions for the soil–lining interaction.

Geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported (GRPS) systems provide an economic and effective solution for embankments. The load transfer mechanisms are tridimensional ones and depend on the interaction between linked elements, such as piles, soil, and geosynthetics. This paper presents an extensive parametric study using three-dimensional numerical calculations for geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported embankments. The numerical analysis is conducted for both cohesive and non-cohesive embankment soils to emphasize the fill soil cohesion effect on the load and settlement efficacy of GRPS embankments. The influence of the embankment height, soft ground elastic modulus, improvement area ratio, geosynthetic tensile stiffness and fill soil properties are also investigated on the arching efficacy, GR membrane efficacy, differential settlement, geosynthetic tension, and settlement reduction performance. The numerical results indicated that the GRPS system shows a good performance for reducing the embankment settlements. The ratio of the embankment height to the pile spacing, subsoil stiffness, and fill soil properties are the most important design parameters to be considered in a GRPS design. The results also suggested that the fill soil cohesion strengthens the soil arching effect, and increases the loading efficacy. However, the soil arching mobilization is not necessarily at the peak state but could be reached at the critical state. Finally, the geosynthetic strains are not uniform along the geosynthetic, and the maximum geosynthetic strain occurs at the pile edge. The geosynthetic deformed shape is a curve that is closer to a circular shape than a parabolic one.

Background: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxins are activators of innate immunity inducing infection and inflammatory responses. Anti-inflammatory drugs can have undesirable side effects. Acupuncture may be an alternative for the treatment of inflammatory processes.Objective: We investigated the potential anti-inflammatory effect of manual acupuncture (MA) at SP6 upon LPS-induced peritonitis in rats.Methods: Peritonitis was induced in rats with an intraperitoneal injection of LPS (0.002, 0.02, 0.2 or 2 µg/kg) in four experimental groups (n = 6 each). A fifth group was injected with sterile saline solution (saline group, n = 6). Four hours after the procedure, peritoneal fluid was collected to determine total cell counts for inflammatory cells, differential leukocyte counts and peritoneal capillary permeability. The LPS dose of 0.02 µg/kg was used in the subsequent experiments as it most successfully induced peritoneal inflammation. Subsequently, five experimental groups (n = 12 rats each) were used: (1) saline, (2) control (untreated LPS group), (3) indomethacin (LPS group treated with indomethacin), (4) NA (LPS group treated with MA at a location not corresponding to any traditional acupuncture point), and (5) SP6 (LPS group treated with verum MA at SP6). Ten minutes after MA or 30 min after indomethacin treatment, the rats received an intraperitoneal injection of LPS. After 4 h, total leukocyte and differential cell counts, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, vascular permeability and cytokine levels were evaluated in the peritoneal fluid. Cytokine levels were additionally evaluated in the brainstem.Results: SP6 MA and indomethacin treatments reduced inflammatory cell infiltration, vascular permeability and MPO activity in the LPS-exposed rats. Pre-treatment with indomethacin and SP6 MA decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels and preserved interleukin (IL)-10 in the peritoneal fluid. Indomethacin also reduced IL-6 in the peritoneal fluid. In the brainstem, indomethacin reduced IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα and IL-10, whereas SP6 MA reduced only TNFα and IL-6 levels.Conclusions: This study clearly demonstrates the anti-inflammatory effect of acupuncture, which we believe may involve the activation of anti-inflammatory neural reflexes in the regulation of peritonitis.

AbstractTunnels are usually constructed in stratified geotechnical environments. However, most tunnel designers prefer to use a simplified model with the assumption of homogeneous soil conditions. This paper presents a numerical method, the hyperstatic reaction method (HRM), to investigate the effect of multi-layered soils on the design U-shaped tunnel linings. The performance of the presented method was investigated by comparing its results with the ones of a finite difference program. Different stratified soil conditions are considered to investigate the U-shaped tunnel lining behaviour: one homogeneous layer, one layer with a linear cohesion with depth, two layers, and three layers considering a variation of the position and of the thickness of the intermediate layer. The results of two different U-shaped tunnels were compared and analysed for these different stratified soils. In the case of a U-shaped tunnel without invert, the effect of the lining constraint conditions is also investigated.

Underground facilities are usually constructed under existing buildings, or buildings are constructed over existing underground structures. It is then imperative to account for the current overburden loads and future surface loadings in the design of tunnels. In addition, tunnels are often constructed beneath the groundwater level, such as cross-river tunnels. Therefore, it is also important to consider the water pressure impact on the tunnel lining behaviour. Tunnels excavated by a conventional tunnelling method are considered in this paper. The hyperstatic reaction method (HRM) is adopted in this study to investigate the effect of surcharge loading on a horseshoe-shaped tunnel behaviour excavated in saturated soft rocks. The results obtained from the HRM and numerical modelling are in good agreement. Parametric studies were then performed to show the effects of the water pressure, surcharge loading value and its width, and groundwater level on the behaviour of the horseshoe-shaped tunnel lining, in terms of internal forces and displacements. It displays that the bending moment, normal forces and radial displacements are more sensitive to the water pressure, surcharge loading and groundwater level.

AbstractDue to the widespread need for the urban transportation network, construction of underground railway lines by mechanised shield-tunnelling increases in metropolises. The case of the Shiraz (Iran) subway twin tunnel construction is an example of transport network extension. In the present paper, a three-dimensionalnumerical model was developed to investigate the tunnel’s lining behaviour and the ground displacement surrounding the second line of the Shiraz subway tunnels. All the excavation phases of EPB-TBM (Earth pressure balance, Tunnel boring machine) were simulated using the finite difference method. In most numerical simulations, the segmental joints were assumed parallel to the tunnel axis, despite the fact that the longitudinal joints make an oblique angle with the tunnel. Three kinds of lining pattern were then considered: continuous, straight and oblique joints. The numerical results indicated the necessity of using segmental lining with oblique joints pattern to obtain an accurate evaluation of the structural forces applied in segmental lining. The excavation of a new tunnel near to an existing tunnel with high lagging distance between twin tunnels leads to increase in the normal and the longitudinal displacements, in the internal lining forces and to a decrease in the ground surface settlement above the tunnels.

Urban tunnels crossing faults are always at the risk of severe damages. In this paper, the effects of a reverse and a normal fault movement on a transversely crossing shallow shotcreted tunnel are investigated by 3D finite difference analysis. After verifying the accuracy of the numerical simulation predictions with the centrifuge physical model results, a parametric study is then conducted. That is, the effects of various parameters such as the sprayed concrete thickness, the geo-mechanical properties of soil, the tunnel depth, and the fault plane dip angle are studied on the displacements of the ground surface and the tunnel structure, and on the plastic strains of the soil mass around tunnel. The results of each case of reverse and normal faulting are independently discussed and then compared with each other. It is obtained that deeper tunnels show greater displacements for both types of faulting.

A numerical approach, the Hyperstatic Reaction Method (HRM), is presented in this paper to study the behavior of two kinds of U-shaped tunnel linings (with and without an inverted arch). The developed numerical HRM model is validated by a comparison with the results obtained from finite difference numerical models using FLAC3D. The results of this paper show that the behavior of U-shaped tunnel supports could be effectively estimated by the proposed HRM model. Using the HRM model, the effect of the shear springs and the toe constraint on the behavior of U-shaped tunnel linings without an invert are studied. In addition, the results of two kinds of U-shaped tunnels obtained by the HRM are compared with those of a circular-shaped kind. A parametric investigation is conducted considering the changes in the stiffness of the springs, the loads on the supports, the geometries, and the bending stiffness of the support structures.

This article presents the soil spatial variability effect on the performance of a reinforced earth wall. The serviceability limit state is considered in the analysis. Both cases of isotropic and anisotropic non-normal random fields are implemented for the soil properties. The Karhunen-Loève expansion method is used for the discretization of the random field. Numerical finite difference models are considered as deterministic models. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to obtain the deformation response variability of the reinforced soil retaining wall. The influences of the spatial variability response of the geotechnical system in terms of horizontal facing displacement is presented and discussed. The results obtained show that the spatial variability has an important influence on the facing horizontal displacement as well as on the failure probability.

Background:The impact of health politicians’ qualifications on healthcare quality has not been widely studied. Objectives:To assess whether academic qualifications and scientific output of European health decision makers correlate with healthcare quality, as well as with other developmental and scientific indices. Methods:We assessed the academic qualifications and scientific output of health ministers and state secretaries of EU member states. Based on the highest academic degree held, we created an academic score for each politician, and calculated the average academic score of each country’s health politicians. Associations between the average academic score and public perception of healthcare quality and other developmental and scientific variables were tested by means of simple and multiple linear regression models. Results:Half of the politicians held qualifications in the field of health, followed by economics and management (37%) and social sciences (35%). Over the last 10 years, 28% politicians had authored publications indexed in Web of ScienceTM, mostly in the field of health. The average academic score of health European politicians was negatively correlated with both public perception of healthcare quality (ρ = –0.473; p= 0.011) and with countries’ gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (ρ = –0.664; p< 0.001). In a multiple linear regression model, the GDP per capita was independently and negatively associated with the average academic score (p= 0.038), but the same was not observed for the public perception of healthcare quality (p= 0.722). Conclusions:While correlation does not imply causation, in European countries with higher GDP per capita, health politicians tend to be less qualified.

Background: The Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has infected more than 90% of the world population and its prevalence can be related to the individuals geographical and socialeconomic status. Serological tests based on ELISA are pivotal for HCMV diagnosis. Due to the lack of standardization in the production/purification of antigens from viral preparations, ELISA tests are based on several recombinant proteins or peptides. As an alternative, multiepitope proteins may be employed. Objective: In this work, we developed a recombinant multiepitope protein (rMEHCMV) for HCMV diagnosis based on conserved and immunodominant epitopes derived from tegument (pp150, pp65 and pp28), glycoprotein gB (pp38) and DNA polymerase subunit (pp52) of HCMV. Methods: The rMEHCMV gene was synthesized de novo and overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity using a Ni-NTA column. Biophysical analysis of recombinant protein was performed by circular dichroism. A preliminary biological activity test was performed using 12 positive human sera samples by using an in-house IgG ELISA. The following patents database were consulted: Espacenet, Google Patents and the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI, Brazil). Results: The recombinant multiepitope protein was successfully expressed in E. coli. The structural data obtained by circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that rMEHCMV is structurally disordered. An in-house IgG ELISA test with rMEHCMV was successfully used to recognized IgG from human serum samples. Conclusion: Together, our results show that rMEHCMV should be considered as a potential antigenic target for HCMV diagnosis.

The anchorage of the piles on a stiffer soil layer plays an important role to transmit the loads of the superstructure to the soil. Depending on the pile toe condition, three configurations of piles are considered: floating piles, rested, and anchored piles. To study the effect of the pile toe condition on the dynamic response of pile and pile groups, a three-dimensional finite element modeling of the soil–pile–slab dynamic interaction is presented. The soil and piles are represented as continuum solids and the slab by structural elements. Quiet boundaries are placed at the boundaries of the model to avoid wave reflection. The formulation is based on the substructuring method. The dynamic response is obtained in terms of the dynamic impedances. In this study the dynamic response of the floating, rested, and anchored piles are analyzed and the group effect is shown. An analysis of the horizontal and vertical pile foundation impedances is presented and the results are compared with different configurations.

Gordon Holmes syndrome (GHS), characterized by cerebellar ataxia and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH), has been related to recessive mutations in PNPLA6gene.

The amount of tunnels excavated along stratified/sedimentary rock masses in Quangninh coal mine area, Vietnam, is gradually increasing. Rock mass in Quangninh is characterized by beddings between rock layers. The behavior of stratified rock masses surrounding the tunnels depends on both the intact rock and the beddings between rock layers. The main characteristics of stratified rock masses that need to be considered are their heterogeneity and anisotropy. Depending on the dip angle of rock layers, movements and failure zones developed surrounding the tunnels can be asymmetrical over the vertical axis of tunnel. This asymmetry causes adverse behaviors of the tunnel structures. The objective of this study is to highlight convergences and yielded zones developed in rock masses surrounding noncircular tunnels in Quangninh coal mine area using a finite element method. The presence of bedding joints is explicitly simulated. The numerical results indicated that with the increase in dip angle of bedding joints, the stress asymmetry over the tunnel vertical axis increases. It gradually leads to an asymmetry of the failure zone surrounding the tunnel. An increase of rock mass quality means a decrease of rock mass sensitivity to the discontinuities. In addition, a dip angle of the bedding joints of approximately 45° could be considered as the critical angle at which the rock mass mechanism changes between sliding and bending.

The Fort d’Issy-Vanves-Clamart (FIVC) braced excavation in France is analyzed to provide insights into the geotechnical serviceability assessment of excavations at great depth within deterministic and probabilistic frameworks. The FIVC excavation is excavated at 32 m below the ground surface in Parisian sedimentary basin and a plane-strain finite element analysis is implemented to examine the wall deflections and ground surface settlements. A stochastic finite element method based on the polynomial chaos Kriging metamodel (MSFEM) is then proposed for the probabilistic analyses. Comparisons with field measurements and former studies are carried out. Several academic cases are then conducted to investigate the great-depth excavation stability regarding the maximum horizontal wall deflection and maximum ground surface settlement. The results indicate that the proposed MSFEM is effective for probabilistic analyses and can provide useful insights for the excavation design and construction. A sensitivity analysis for seven considered random parameters is then implemented. The soil friction angle at the excavation bottom layer is the most significant one for design. The soil-wall interaction effects on the excavation stability are also given.

Face stability is an essential issue in tunnel design and construction. Layered rock masses are typical and ubiquitous; uncertainties in rock properties always exist. In view of this, a comprehensive method, which combines the Upper bound Limit analysis of Tunnel face stability, the Polynomial Chaos Kriging, the Monte-Carlo Simulation and Analysis of Covariance method (ULT-PCK-MA), is proposed to investigate the seismic stability of tunnel faces. A two-dimensional analytical model of ULT is developed to evaluate the virtual support force based on the upper bound limit analysis. An efficient probabilistic analysis method PCK-MA based on the adaptive Polynomial Chaos Kriging metamodel is then implemented to investigate the parameter uncertainty effects. Ten input parameters, including geological strength indices, uniaxial compressive strengths and constants for three rock formations, and the horizontal seismic coefficients, are treated as random variables. The effects of these parameter uncertainties on the failure probability and sensitivity indices are discussed. In addition, the effects of weak layer position, the middle layer thickness and quality, the tunnel diameter, the parameters correlation, and the seismic loadings are investigated, respectively. The results show that the layer distributions significantly influence the tunnel face probabilistic stability, particularly when the weak rock is present in the bottom layer. The efficiency of the proposed ULT-PCK-MA is validated, which is expected to facilitate the engineering design and construction.

A 69-year-old female patient presented with acute lower limb weakness and urinary retention progressing to quadriparesis and dyspnea within days. She reported fever, arthralgia, myalgia, and headache for 6 days before the beginning of neurologic symptoms. Neurologic examination showed severe quadriparesis, extensor plantar responses, and a cervical sensory level. MRI (Figure) revealed longitudinally extensive hypersignal on the peripheral zone of the spinal cord on sagittal T2 images, sparing the central gray matter and resembling a “glass eel.” CSF showed 10 cells/mm3. Serology showed positive results for chikungunya. She was treated with methylprednisolone and plasmapheresis and recovered arm movements after 1 month. A peripheral pattern of longitudinally extensive myelopathy has been reported in chikungunya.1Circumferential myelopathy sparing the central gray matter has not been consistently reported in other infectious myelitis.2Presence of the virus has been demonstrated in perivascular spaces, which might explain the predominance of lesions along perivascular distributions.1

All means will be welcome to help data flow across smart cities. As a matter of fact, smart cities widely rely in sensing the environment, an action that is prone to generating huge amounts of data. A major challenge is how to collect such data in an efficient way without the need to deploy, whenever necessary, extra (costly) cellular infrastructure. In this paper, we examine the possibility of creating a delay-tolerant vehicular network in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using the public transportation system as a data carrier. We evaluate the capacity of such a network by analyzing a large mobility dataset reporting GPS positions of 12,456 buses and 5,833 taxis during a 24-hour period. Our results confirm the viability of the approach and reveal that hundreds of Terabytes can circulate across the city on a daily basis while achieving significant city coverage.

Background: In age-related macular degeneration, oxidative damage and abnormal neovascularization in the retina are caused by the upregulation of vascular endothelium growth factor and reduced expression of Glutathione-S-transferase genes. Current treatments are only palliative. Compounds from cruciferous vegetables (e.g. L-Sulforaphane) have been found to restore normal gene expression levels in diseases including cancer via the activity of histone deacetylases and DNA methyltransferases, thus retarding disease progression. Objective: To examine L-Sulforaphane as a potential treatment to ameliorate aberrant levels of gene expression and metabolites observed in age-related macular degeneration. Method: The in vitro oxidative stress model of AMD was based on the exposure of Adult Retinal Pigment Epithelium-19 cell line to 200μM hydrogen peroxide. The effects of L-Sulforaphane on cell proliferation were determined by MTS assay. The role of GSTM1, VEGFA, DNMT1 and HDAC6 genes in modulating these effects was investigated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The metabolic profiling of L-Sulforaphane-treated cells via gas-chromatography massspectrometry was established. Significant differences between control and treatment groups were validated using one-way ANOVA, student t-test and post-hoc Bonferroni statistical tests (p<0.05). Results: L-Sulforaphane induced a dose-dependent increase in cell proliferation in the presence of hydrogen peroxide by upregulating Glutathione-S-Transferase μ1 gene expression. Metabolic profiling revealed that L-Sulforaphane increased levels of 2-monopalmitoglycerol, 9, 12, 15,-(Z-Z-Z)- Octadecatrienoic acid, 2-[Bis(trimethylsilyl)amino]ethyl bis(trimethylsilyl)-phosphate and nonanoic acid but decreased β-alanine levels in the absence or presence of hydrogen peroxide, respectively. Conclusion: This study supports the use of L-Sulforaphane to promote regeneration of retinal cells under oxidative stress conditions.

This paper presents a reliability analysis of the pseudo-static seismic bearing capacity of a strip foundation using the limit equilibrium theory. The first-order reliability method (FORM) is employed to calculate the reliability index. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to assess the Hasofer–Lind reliability index and then it is optimized using a genetic algorithm (GA). The random variables used are the soil shear strength parameters and the seismic coefficients (khand kv). Two assumptions (normal and non-normal distribution) are used for the random variables. The assumption of uncorrelated variables was found to be conservative in comparison to that of negatively correlated soil shear strength parameters. The assumption of non-normal distribution for the random variables can induce a negative effect on the reliability index of the practical range of the seismic bearing capacity.

In this study, a Leishmania hypothetical protein, LiHyS, was evaluated regarding its antigenicity, immunogenicity and protective efficacy against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Regarding antigenicity, immunoblottings and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using human and canine sera showed high sensitivity and specificity values for the recombinant protein (rLiHyS) in the diagnosis of VL. When evaluating the immunogenicity of LiHyS, which is possibly located in the parasite's flagellar pocket, proliferative assays using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy subjects or VL patients showed a high proliferative index in both individuals, when compared to the results obtained using rA2 or unstimulated cultures. Later, rLiHyS/saponin was inoculated in BALB/c mice, which were then challenged with Leishmania infantum promastigotes. The vaccine induced an interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-12 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor production, which was maintained after infection and which was associated with high nitrite and IgG2a antibody levels, as well as low IL-4 and IL-10 production. Significant reductions in the parasite load in liver, spleen, bone marrow and draining lymph nodes were found in these animals. In this context, the present study shows that the rLiHyS has the capacity to be evaluated as a diagnostic marker or vaccine candidate against VL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A probabilistic study of a circular tunnel excavated in a soil mass using the response surface methodology (RSM) is presented. A deterministic model based on two-dimensional numerical simulations in a transversal section is used, and the serviceability limit state (SLS) is considered in the analysis. The model permits the surface settlement curve and the bending moment on the tunnel lining to be obtained. Only the soil parameters are considered as random variables. The first-order reliability method (FORM) and the response surface methodology (RSM) are utilized for the assessment of the Hasofer-Lind reliability index (βHL) optimized by the use of a genetic algorithm (GA). Two assumptions (normal and non-normal distribution) were used for the random variables. The comparison analysis considering a correlation between the friction angle and the cohesion indicates that the results are conservative if a negative correlation among strength parameters is not taken into account. The assumption of a non-normal distribution for the random variables has an important effect on the reliability index for the practical range of values of surface settlements.

This paper proposes a two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical modelling of an earth platform over a clayey sand improved by stiff vertical piles using a finite-difference continuum approach. The study focuses on the surface settlements and the stress efficacy of the improvement system. Only the soil parameters are considered as random variables and two assumptions (normal distribution or non-normal distribution) are used. The first-order reliability method (FORM) is applied to calculate the reliability index. Response surface methodology (RSM) allows for access to the Hasofer-Lind reliability index and is optimized by the use of a genetic algorithm. The Hasofer-Lind reliability index is calculated for two distinct cases. Firstly, only the geomechanical parameters of the clayey sand are considered as random variables; secondly, the parameters of both the clayey sand and the earth platform are considered. The results show that the reliability of a single soil layer is safer than the reliability of the whole system.

As an ancient underground hydraulic engineering facility, the Qanat system has been used to draw groundwater from arid regions. A qanat is a horizontal tunnel with a slight incline that draws groundwater from a higher location and delivers it to lower agricultural land. During long-term water delivery, the qanat tunnel has experienced different degrees of aging and collapse, which may result in the significant ground settlement and even disasters. This paper developed a two-dimensional laboratory system to investigate the influence of progressive failure on the stability of deeply buried qanat tunnels. The developed system is fully instrumented with a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system and earth pressure and displacement monitoring. A special cylindrical membrane tube is designed and connected to an advanced pressure–volume controller to simulate the step-wise failure process of the tunnel. Three model tests were conducted on a dry sand considering the buried qanat tunnels at three different depths. Experimental results clearly show the progressive evolution of soil arching effect in the dry sand associated with the progressive failure of the tunnels. The failure of the Qanat ground starts from the vault and develops upwards, which is closely related to the evolution of stress contour at three consecutive stages. Ground surface settlement and volume loss corresponding to three burial depths were compared. A deeply buried qanat tunnel has a small effect on surface settlement. Earth pressure evolution on the 2D plane shows the load redistribution when the qanat collapses. The maximum arch and the initial point of the limit state correspond to a volume loss of 12.5 % and 50 %, respectively. For the collapse of the deep buried qanat tunnel, ground earth pressure evolution can be divided into a stress-increasing region, stress-decreasing region, and no redistribution region. Furthermore, a multi trap-door model considering soil expansion is proposed to describe the progressive failure behavior and its effects.

There has been considerable interest in commercializing fruits of Garcinia humilisdue to its pleasant taste and nutritional quality. However, the industrial processing of the fruit generates the peel as waste and this study focussed on upcycling of the peel for its anti-melanoma activity at different extraction conditions (24 °C and 37 °C for 24 h, and 70 °C for 1 h). Although the extraction yield was highest at 70 °C, the phenolics and flavonoids extracted, and anti-cancer activity was highest when extracted at 37 °C. Polyphenolic compounds including epicatechin, procyanidins, mangostanol, and gamma-mangostin were tentatively identified based on LC-Orbitrap MS/MS analysis. These extracts showed dose-dependent anti-melanoma activity on MM418C1 (BRAF mutated oncogene) and D24 (wild type BRAF oncogene) cells with IC50in the range of 130–200 μg/mL and 122–176 μg/mL. Furthermore, the extracts had little effect on control fibroblast cells, indicating selective activity on cancer cells, and displayed morphological changes indicative of apoptosis. Although these extracts were 10 fold less effective compared to anti-cancer drug controls, cisplatin and vemurafenib, the moderate anti-cancer activity of Garciniapeel provides future opportunities for upcycling of this discarded waste as a functional food ingredient.

The early detection of faults in rolling stock wheels and axle bearings is of paramount importance for rail infrastructure managers as it contributes to the safety of rail operations. In this paper we report on the key results that have arisen from the development and implementation of a novel condition monitoring system based on high-frequency acoustic emission and vibration analysis installed on a train. The novel system makes use of inexpensive and robust acoustic emission sensors and accelerometers, which can be easily installed on the axle bearing box with minimal intervention required. Experimental work carried out under actual conditions at the Long Marston rail track and on the Lisbon – Cas-Cais suburban line has proven that the developed system is capable of detecting wheel and axle bearing-related defects with various levels of severity.

The reliability and deterministic analyses of wood-cored stiffened deep cement mixing and deep cement mixing column-supported embankments (referred to as WSCSE and DCSE, respectively) considering serviceability limit state requirements are presented in this paper. Random field theory was used to simulate the spatial variability of soil−cement mixing (SCM) material in which the adaptive Kriging Monte Carlo simulation was adopted to estimate the failure probability of a column−supported embankment (CSE) system. A new method for stochastically generating random values of unconfined compressive strength (qu) and the ratio (Ru) between the undrained elastic modulus and quof SCM material based on statistical correlation data is proposed. Reliability performance of CSEs concerning changes in the mean (μ), coefficient of variation (CoV), and vertical spatial correlation length (θv) of quand Ruare presented and discussed. The obtained results indicate that WSCSE can provide a significantly higher reliability level and can tolerate more SCM material spatial variability than DCSE. Some performance of DCSE and WSCSE, which can be considered satisfactory in a deterministic framework, cannot guarantee an acceptable reliability level from a probabilistic viewpoint. This highlights the importance and necessity of employing reliability analyses for the design of CSEs. Moreover, consideration of only μand CoVof quseems to be sufficient for reliability analysis of WSCSE while for DCSE, uncertainties regarding the Ru(i.e., both μand CoV) and θvof qucannot be ignored.