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Study Objective To determine rates and risk factors for urinary tract infection (UTI) following minimally-invasive hysterectomy (MIH). Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Academic health system. Patients or Participants Women undergoing MIH between March 2017 and December 2019. Interventions Vaginal hysterectomy (VH), laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH), robotic hysterectomy (RH) Measurements and Main Results Of 1,526 women included in the study, 13% underwent VH, 30% LH, and 57% RH. Concomitant procedures included gynecologic oncological (20%) and pelvic reconstruction (16%). Post-operative UTI, defined as UTI symptoms treated within 30 days, developed in 9.6% of women. Women with pelvic reconstructive procedures had a UTI rate of 23.3% vs 7.03% without (p Women who developed UTIs were older (56.3±12.9 vs 53.6±12.7, p=0.0153), more likely to have chronic UTI (14% vs 3%, p After logistic regression and excluding pelvic reconstructive cases, variables remaining independently associated with increased post-operative UTI risk included: chronic UTI (aOR 5.18; 95% CI, 2.14-12.57), neurologic disease (aOR 1.75; 95% CI, 1.05-2.92), VH (aOR 2.69; 95% CI, 1.31-5.53), adhesiolysis (aOR 3.18; 95% CI, 1.45-7.01), narcotics within 8-hours of catheter removal (aOR 1.69; 95% CI, 1.00-2.83), and ileus (aOR 15.61; 95% CI, 1.36-179.47). Conclusion Risk factors for UTI after MIH include pelvic reconstructive procedures and VH.

Equilibrium methods of slope stability analysis all involve assumptions because the number of equilibrium equations available is smaller than the number of unknowns involved. Furthermore, a number of widely used methods do not satisfy all conditions of equilibrium, and thus do not employ all of the available equations of equilibrium. This paper discusses the inaccuracies which arise from these inevitable assumptions and these neglected conditions of equilibrium. Comparative analyses have shown that all of the methods which satisfy all conditions of equilibrium result in the same value of safety factor with an accuracy no worse than ± 5% , which is perfectly acceptable for practical purposes. Furthermore, within this range of accuracy, this may be considered to be the ‘correct’ answer. Bishop's modified method, which does not satisfy all conditions of equilibrium, has been found to be as accurate as the methods which do so, and thus to be an effective and simple means of analyzing circular slip surfaces. The ordinary method of slices, which satisfies only one condition of equilibrium, gives factors of safety which may be as much as 50% smaller than the correct value for flat slopes with high pore pressures. Force equilibrium procedures with ill-chosen side force assumptions may give factors of safety which are 30% larger than the correct value for slopes in cohesive soils. The results of the study show how equilibrium methods may be selected which avoid significant errors arising from the mechanics of the analysis, and thus allow the engineer performing the analysis to devote his attention and effort to correct evaluation of shear strength.

The construction of earth embankments may lead to the development of excess pore pressures in foundation and embankment soils. The ability to predict the development and dissipation of these pore pressures is important in assessing the performance of such structures. This paper describes a finite element analysis method that allows the prediction of the behaviour of embankments including stress-deformation and consolidation behaviour. The application of the method is demonstrated through application to a reinforced embankment on peat and clay and to a high rockfill dam.

In June 1973 an oil storage tank was installed successfully in the Ekofisk field in the North Sea. In Nov 1973 the structure was subjected to several storms that resulted in loads close to the 100-year design values. Observations of settlements and pore-water pressures show that the tank has behaved satisfactorily. Introduction The Ekofisk oil field was the first North Sea oil discovery to be produced commercially. The discovery, made by the Phillips Norway Group in 1969, proved to be a major oil reservoir. This success initiated efforts by others in the North Sea, and the search has successfully resulted in several major discoveries. In the hostile North Sea environment, the exploration and production of oil have offered great engineering challenges. One challenge has been the design and construction of the Ekofisk storage tank, 93 m (305 ft) in diameter and 90 m (295 ft) high, which rests on the sea floor in 70 m (230 ft) of water in mid-North Sea. The Ekofisk tank is the first of a number of concrete gravity structures to be placed in the North Sea. Since its placement, 12 other such structures have been ordered. These platforms will be used for drilling, production, and oil storage. Placed in water depths up production, and oil storage. Placed in water depths up to 150 m (492 ft), some of them are likely to experience sea conditions worse than those experienced by the Ekofick tank. Artificial Island When production began at the Ekofisk field, oil was loaded onto tankers from buoys. With rough sea states, such loading is not possible; therefore, the Phillips Norway Group decided to construct a 160,000-cu m (5.7-MMcf) storage tank to maintain production in bad weather. The tank probably will not be required for oil storage after pipelines from the Ekofisk field are completed to Teeside in the United Kingdom and to Emden, West Germany, in 1975. However, the tank carries two decks with a total area of 11,000 sq m (118,000 sq ft), thus making an artificial island in the middle of the North Sea with valuable space for processing and pumping equipment. processing and pumping equipment. Design and Construction Designed by the French company C. G. Doris, the Ekofisk tank is shaped like a square with rounded corners and covers an area of 7,360 sq m (79,200 sq ft) (Fig. 1). The crude oil is stored in nine interconnected compartments in the center of the tank; these compartments are surrounded by a perforated breakwater wall that reduces the wave forces on the structure. Beneath the tank, 40-cm-high (16 in.) concrete skirts or ribs extend around the periphery and across the base, as indicated in Fig. 1. The base is covered by corrugated plates. The Ekofisk tank was built near Stavanger, Norway, by contractors F. Selmer and Hoyer-Ellefsen. The tank base, 6 m (20 ft) high, was constructed in a dewatered area. After completion of the base, the dry dock was flooded and the base was floated to the nearby deep-water construction site. After completion, the tank was towed to the Ekofisk field with a draught of 62 m (203 ft). On June 30, 1973, it was placed on bottom by flooding the inner compartments. A photograph of the tank after installation is shown in Fig. 2. photograph of the tank after installation is shown in Fig. 2. JPT P. 329

In summing up, the first thing I want to remark on is the importance of failures. We have many theories to explain how and why things happen but a theory is just a theory and a fact is a fact. When we have a failure we're faced with a very powerful fact that we have to deal with. Pierre Londe said yesterday that nature always gives us a warning of failures but we may have to listen very closely to hear the warning. When a failure occurs we'd have to be deaf not to hear the lesson. And that's the value of failures -- that each contains some lesson, possibly not a new lesson, but if it's an old lesson it is one that we haven't learned well enough.

The results of a feasibility study undertaken in support of the overall Department of Energy (DOE) goal to develop fuel cell power plants for industrial cogeneration are described. Use of a single 4.5 MW fuel cell power plant like that manufactured by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and currently being constructed on the Consolidated Edison of New York System was examined. The technical feasibility of using such a plant in a cogeneration mode at the Anheuser-Busch, Los Angeles brewery was affirmed by the study. Break-even capital costs for UTC supplied equipment were calculated for various conditions. Based upon the assumption that UTC supplied equipment could be provided for the $350 to $400/kW projected for first generation fuel cells, the economic feasibility of fuel cell cogeneration was demonstrated for nearly all assumed conditions. The most economical case was found to be a municipal utility owned, base loaded power plant where economic credit is taken for reduced environmental emissions. Acceptable fuels were evaluated for their availability, and the fuels identified for use were natural gas with propane as a backup. Phosphoric acid is the selected electrolyte. The Demonstration Program Plan is described. (WHK)