An approach for determination of lateral limit angle in kinematic planar sliding analysis for rock slopes

Planar sliding is one of the frequently observed types of failure in rock slopes.Kinematic analysis is a classic and widely used method to examine the potential failure modes in rock masses.The accuracy of planar sliding kinematic analysis is significantly influenced by the value assigned to the lateral limit angleγlim.However,the assignment ofγlim is currently used generally based on an empirical criterion.This study aims to propose an approach for determining the value ofγlim in deterministic and probabilistic kinematic planar sliding analysis.A new perspective is presented to reveal thatγlim essentially influences the probability of forming a potential planar sliding block.The procedure to calculate this probability is introduced using the block theory method.It is found that the probability is correlated with the number of discontinuity sets presented in rock masses.Thus,different values ofγlim for rock masses with different sets of discontinuities are recommended in both probabilistic and deterministic planar sliding kinematic analyses;whereas a fixed value ofγlim is commonly assigned to different types of rock masses in traditional method.Finally,an engineering case was used to compare the proposed and traditional kinematic analysis methods.The error rates of the traditional method vary from 45%to 119%,while that of the proposed method ranges between 1%and 17%.Therefore,it is likely that the proposed method is superior to the traditional one.

Reliability analysis of piles constructed on slopes under laterally loading

Response surface method is used to study the reliability analysis of laterally loaded piles in sloping ground. A development load-displacement （p-y） curve for laterally loaded pile response in sloping ground is used to model the pile-soil system, both the pile head displacement and the maximum bending moment of the piles are used as the performance criteria in this study. The reliability analysis method of the laterally loaded pile in sloping ground under the pile head displacement and the maximum bending moment failure modes is proposed, which is in good agreement with the Monte Carlo method. The influences on the probability index of failure by a number of parameters are discussed. It is shown that the variability of pile head displacement increases with the increase in the coefficients of variation of ultimate bearing capacity factor （Npu）, secant elastic modulus at 50%（E50） and level load （H）. A negative correlation between Npu and non-dimensional factor （λ） leads to less spread out probability density function （PDF） of the pile head displacement;in contrast, a positive correlation between Npu andλgives a great variation in the PDF of pile head displacement. As for bearing capacity factor on ground surface （Npo） and λ, both negative and positive correlations between them give a great variation in the PDF of pile head displacement, and a negative correlation will obviously increase the variability of the response.

The burden of upper motor neuron involvement is correlated with the bilateral limb involvement interval in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:a retrospective observational study

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by the involvement of both upper and lower motor neurons.Early bilateral limb involvement significantly affects patients'daily lives and may lead them to be confined to bed.However,the effect of upper and lower motor neuron impairment and other risk factors on bilateral limb involvement is unclear.To address this issue,we retrospectively collected data from 586 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients with limb onset diagnosed at Peking University Third Hospital between January 2020 and May 2022.A univariate analysis revealed no significant differences in the time intervals of spread in different directions between individuals with upper motor neuron-dominant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and those with classic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.We used causal directed acyclic graphs for risk factor determination and Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the association between the duration of bilateral limb involvement and clinical baseline characteristics in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.Multiple factor analyses revealed that higher upper motor neuron scores(hazard ratio[HR]=1.05,95%confidence interval[CI]=1.01–1.09,P=0.018),onset in the left limb(HR=0.72,95%CI=0.58–0.89,P=0.002),and a horizontal pattern of progression(HR=0.46,95%CI=0.37–0.58,P<0.001)were risk factors for a shorter interval until bilateral limb involvement.The results demonstrated that a greater degree of upper motor neuron involvement might cause contralateral limb involvement to progress more quickly in limb-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.These findings may improve the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients with limb onset and the prediction of patient prognosis.

Lateral load pattern in pushover analysis

The seismic capacity curves of three types of buildings including frame,frame-shear wall and shear wall ob- tained by pushover analysis under different lateral load patterns are compared with those from nonlinear time history analy- sis.Based on the numerical results obtained a two-phase load pattern:an inverted triangle(first mode)load pattern until the base shear force reaches β times its maximum value,V_(max)followed by a(x/H)~α form,here β and α being some coeffi- cients depending on the type of the structures considered,is proposed in the paper,which can provide excellent approxima- tion of the seismic capacity curve for low-to-mid-rise shear type buildings.Furthermore,it is shown both the two-phase load pattern proposed and the invariant uniform pattern can be used for low-to-mid-rise shear-bending type and low-rise bending type of buildings.No suitable load patterns have been found for high-rise buildings.

Simplifi ed dynamic analysis to evaluate liquefaction-inducedlateral deformation of earth slopes: a computational fluid dynamics approach

Lateral deformation of liquefiable soil is a cause of much damage during earthquakes, reportedly more than other forms of liquefaction-induced ground failures. Researchers have presented studies in which the liquefied soil is considered as viscous fluid. In this manner, the liquefied soil behaves as non-Newtonian fluid, whose viscosity decreases as the shear strain rate increases. The current study incorporates computational fluid dynamics to propose a simplified dynamic analysis for the liquefaction-induced lateral deformation of earth slopes. The numerical procedure involves a quasi-linear elastic model for small to moderate strains and a Bingham fluid model for large strain states during liquefaction. An iterative procedure is considered to estimate the strain-compatible shear stiffness of soil. The post-liquefaction residual strength of soil is considered as the initial Bingham viscosity. Performance of the numerical procedure is examined by using the results of centrifuge model and shaking table tests together with some field observations of lateral ground deformation. The results demonstrate that the proposed procedure predicts the time history of lateral ground deformation with a reasonable degree of precision.

Global lateral buckling analysis of idealized subsea pipelines

In order to avoid the curing effects of paraffin on the transport process and reduce the transport difficulty,usually high temperature and high pressure are used in the transportation of oil and gas.The differences of temperature and pressure cause additional stress along the pipeline,due to the constraint of the foundation soil,the additional stress can not release freely,when the additional stress is large enough to motivate the submarine pipelines buckle.In this work,the energy method is introduced to deduce the analytical solution which is suitable for the global buckling modes of idealized subsea pipeline and analyze the relationship between the critical buckling temperature,buckling length and amplitude under different high-order global lateral buckling modes.To obtain a consistent formulation of the problem,the principles of virtual displacements and the variation calculus for variable matching points are applied.The finite element method based on elasto-plastic theory is used to simulate the lateral global buckling of the pipelines under high temperature and pressure.The factors influencing the lateral buckling of pipelines are further studied.Based upon some actual engineering projects,the finite element results are compared with the analytical ones,and then the influence of thermal stress,the section rigidity of pipeline,the soil properties and the trigging force to the high order lateral buckling are discussed.The method of applying the small trigging force on pipeline is reliable in global buckling numerical analysis.In practice,increasing the section rigidity of a pipeline is an effective measure to improve the ability to resist the global buckling.

Numerical analysis of pile lateral behavior of pile supported embankment

A finite difference numerical method was adopted to evaluate the pile lateral behavior of pile supported embankment. A published case history was used to verify the proposed methodology. By simulating the case history, the determination of parameters needed were verified. Then three embankments constructed on different ground conditions with different soil-pile relative stiffnesses were analyzed to study pile lateral behaviors including pile deflection and bending moment. The results show that pile deflections and bending moments induced by soil lateral deformation and embankment vertical load are different for piles at different positions under the same embankment. The relative stiffness between pile and soil affected by the properties of different reinforcing piles such as concrete pile and deep mixing method pile exert important effects on the pile lateral behavior and the pile's failure modes. Consequently, it is necessary to consider the different piles lateral behaviors and possible failure modes at different positions and the different piles proprieties with different reinforcing methods in the embankment stability analysis.

Analysis of the Vertical and Lateral Interactions in a Multisheet Array of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots

The vertical and lateral interactions in a multisheet array of InAs/GaAs quantum dots are analyzed by finite element method （FEM）. It is shown that due to the effects of vertical interaction, nucleation prefers to happen above buried quantum dots （QDs）. Meanwhile, the effects of lateral interaction adjust the spacing of lateral neighboring QDs. The vertical coupling becomes strong with deceasing GaAs spacer height and increasing number of buried layers, while the lateral coupling becomes strong with increasing InAs wetting layer thickness. The phenomenon that, after successive layers, the spacing and size of QDs islands become progressively more uniform is explained according to the minimum potential energy theory.

Three-dimensional analysis of pedicle screw channel,screw entry point and lateral surface of cervical vertebral body

Objective To explore three-dimensional relations of pedicle screw channel (PSC) ,screw entry point and lateral surface of cervical vertebral body by digital techniques. Methods CT scan images of cervical

The Effect of Jet Grouting on Enhancing the Lateral Behavior of Piled Raft Foundation in Soft Clay(Numerical Investigation)

Soft clay soils cannot usually support large lateral loads,so clay soils must be improved to increase lateral resistance.The jet grouting method is one of the methods used to improve weak soils.In this paper,a series of 3D finite element studies were conducted using Plaxis 3D software to investigate the lateral behavior of piled rafts in improved soft clay utilizing the jet grouting method.Parametric models were analyzed to explore the influence of the width,depth,and location of the grouted clay on the lateral resistance.Additionally,the effect of vertical loads on the lateral behavior of piled rafts in grouted clay was also investigated.The numerical results indicate that the lateral resistance increases by increasing the dimensions of the jet grouting beneath and around the piled raft.Typical increases in lateral resistance are 11.2%,65%,177%,and 35%for applying jet grouting beside the raft,below the raft,below and around the raft,and grouted strips parallel to lateral loads,respectively.It was also found that increasing the depth of grouted clay enhances lateral resistance up to a certain depth,about 6 to 10 times the pile diameter(6 to 10D).In contrast,the improvement ratio is limited beyond 10D.Furthermore,the results demonstrate that the presence of vertical loads has a significant impact on sideward resistance.

Analysis of Flower Border Design and Maintenance in the Later Period

Since the 21st century,China's economy has enjoyed rapid development and people's living standards have been improved.At the same time,the pursuit of beauty of people is getting increasingly higher and landscaping of and design of gardens has been widely pursued by people.This paper has discussed and analyzed the design of flower border and maintenance of flower border in the later period,hoping to provide some help and support for the relevant technical workers.

Stability analysis method of geogrid reinforced expansive soil slopes and its engineering application

The traditional stability analysis method of geogrid reinforced slopes does not consider the effect of lateral swelling,so it is not applicable to reinforced expansive soil slopes.This paper reports a new stability analysis method for geogrid reinforced expansive soil slopes.The additional pullout force of the free zone due to the lateral swelling and the anti-pullout safety factor of each geogrid layer were obtained by ensuring the overall stability of the reinforced slope.The optimum design was carried out to treat an expansive soil cut slope in Hubei Province,China,by changing the spacing and length of geogrid reinforcement.Calculation results show that the additional pullout force caused by lateral swelling has a great influence on the anti-pullout stability of geogrids,and the local stability of the reinforced slope will be overestimated if the swelling effect of soil in the free zone is not considered.

An improved modal pushover analysis procedure for estimating seismic demands of structures

The pushover analysis （POA） procedure is difficult to apply to high-rise buildings, as it cannot account for the contributions of higher modes. To overcome this limitation, a modal pushover analysis （MPA） procedure was proposed by Chopra et al. （2001）. However, invariable lateral force distributions are still adopted in the MPA. In this paper, an improved MPA procedure is presented to estimate the seismic demands of structures, considering the redistribution of inertia forces after the structure yields. This improved procedure is verified with numerical examples of 5-, 9- and 22-story buildings. It is concluded that the improved MPA procedure is more accurate than either the POA procedure or MPA procedure. In addition, the proposed procedure avoids a large computational effort by adopting a two-phase lateral force distribution..

Exogenous strigolactones promote lateral root growth by reducing the endogenous auxin level in rapeseed

Strigolactones(SLs)are newly discovered plant hormones which regulate the normal development of different plant organs,especially root architecture.Lateral root formation of rapeseed seedlings before winter has great effects on the plant growth and seed yield.Here,we treated the seedlings of Zhongshuang 11(ZS11),an elite conventional rapeseed cultivar,with different concentrations of GR24(a synthetic analogue of strigolactones),and found that a low concentration(0.18μmol L–1)of GR24 could significantly increase the lateral root growth,shoot growth,and root/shoot ratio of seedlings.RNA-Seq analysis of lateral roots at 12 h,1 d,4 d,and 7 d after GR24 treatment showed that 2301,4626,1595,and 783 genes were significantly differentially expressed,respectively.Function enrichment analysis revealed that the plant hormone transduction pathway,tryptophan metabolism,and the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway were over-represented.Moreover,transcription factors,including AP2/ERF,AUX/IAA,NAC,MYB,and WRKY,were up-regulated at 1 d after GR24 treatment.Metabolomics profiling further demonstrated that the amounts of various metabolites,such as indole-3-acetic acid(IAA)and cis-zeatin were drastically altered.In particular,the concentrations of endogenous IAA significantly decreased by 52.4 and 75.8%at 12 h and 1 d after GR24 treatment,respectively.Our study indicated that low concentrations of exogenous SLs could promote the lateral root growth of rapeseed through interaction with other phytohormones,which provides useful clues for the effects of SLs on root architecture and crop productivity.

Lateral Bearing Capacity of Multi-Bucket Foundation in Soft Ground

The bucket foundation is a new type of foundation for offshore application to intermediate-depth waters. It has advantages over conventional ones. However, there is no consensus in the analysis and design of this type of foundation. In this paper, the lateral bearing capacity and the failure mechanism of multi-bucket foundations are studied with different connection stiffness and bucket spacing by use of a three-dimensional finite element method. Based on the numerical analysis results, a limit analysis method of plasticity for evaluating the lateral bearing capacity of large-spacing multi- bucket foundation with rigid connection in soft ground is proposed. This method provides a simple procedure that gives results comparable to those from the finite element analyses.

Sensitivity analysis for axis rotation diagrid structural systems according to brace angle changes

General regular shaped diagrid structures can express diverse shapes because braces are installed along the exterior faces of the structures and the structures have no columns. However, since irregular shaped structures have diverse variables, studies to assess behaviors resulting from various variables are continuously required to supplement the imperfections related to such variables. In the present study, materials elastic modulus and yield strength were selected as variables for strength that would be applied to diagrid structural systems in the form of Twisters among the irregular shaped buildings classified by Vollers and that affect the structural design of these structural systems. The purpose of this study is to conduct sensitivity analysis for axial rotation diagrid structural systems according to changes in brace angles in order to identify the design variables that have relatively larger effects and the tendencies of the sensitivity of the structures according to changes in brace angles and axial rotation angles.

3D finite element analysis on pile-soil interaction of passive pile group

The interaction between pile and soft soil of the passive pile group subjected to soil movement was analyzed with three-dimensional finite element model by using ANSYS software. The soil was assumed to be elastic-plastic complying with the Drucker-Prager yield criterion in the analysis. The large displacement of soil was considered and contact elements were used to evaluate the interaction between pile and soil. The influences of soil depth of layer and number of piles on the lateral pressure of the pile were investigated, and the lateral pressure distributions on the (2×1) pile group and on the (2×2) pile group were compared. The results show that the adjacent surcharge may result in significant lateral movement of the soft soil and considerable pressure on the pile. The pressure acting on the row near the surcharge is higher than that on the other row, due to the "barrier" and arching effects in pile groups. The passive load and its distribution should be taken into account in the design of the passive piles.

Stabilization control of a hovering model insect:lateral motion

Our previous study shows that the lateral disturbance motion of a model drone fly does not have inherent stability （passive stability）,because of the existence of an unstable divergence mode.But drone flies are observed to fly stably.Constantly active control must be applied to stabilize the flight.In this study,we investigate the lateral stabilization control of the model drone fly.The method of computational fluid dynamics is used to compute the lateral control derivatives and the techniques of eigenvalue and eigenvector analysis and modal decomposition are used for solving the equations of motion.Controllability analysis shows that although inherently unstable,the lateral disturbance motion is controllable.By feeding back the state variables （i.e.lateral translation velocity,yaw rate,roll rate and roll angle,which can be measured by the sensory system of the insect） to produce anti-symmetrical changes in stroke amplitude and/or in angle of attack between the left and right wings,the motion can be stabilized,explaining why the drone flies can fly stably even if the flight is passively unstable.

Assessment of pipeline stability in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricanes using dynamic analysis

Pipelines are the critical link between major offshore oil and gas developments and the mainland. Any inadequate on-bottom stability design could result in disruption and failure, having a devastating impact on the economy and environment. Predicting the stability behavior of offshore pipelines in hurricanes is therefore vital to the assessment of both new design and existing assets. The Gulf of Mexico has a very dense network of pipeline systems constructed on the seabed. During the last two decades, the Gulf of Mexico has experienced a series of strong hurricanes, which have destroyed, disrupted and destabilized many pipelines. This paper first reviews some of these engineering cases. Following that, three case studies are retrospectively simulated using an in-house developed program. The study utilizes the offshore pipeline and hurricane details to conduct a Dynamic Lateral Stability analysis, with the results providing evidence as to the accuracy of the modeling techniques developed.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)is considered a robust prognostic biomarker for predicting patient survival outcomes in many diseases.However,it remains unclear whether it can be used as a biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS).To correlate NLR with disease progression and survival in sporadic ALS,1030 patients with ALS between January 2012 and December 2018 were included in this study.These patients were assigned into three groups according to their NLR values:Group 1(NLR<2,n=544[52.8%]),Group 2(NLR=2–3,n=314[30.5%]),and Group 3(NLR>3,n=172[16.7%]).All patients were followed up until April 2020.Patients in Group 3 had a significantly older onset age,a lower score on the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale,and rapidly progressing disease conditions.Furthermore,faster disease progression rates were associated with higher NLR values(odds ratio=1.211,95%confidence interval[CI]:1.090–1.346,P<0.001)after adjusting for other risk factors.Compared with Groups 1 and 2,the survival time in Group 3 was significantly shorter(log-rank P=0.002).The NLR value was considered an independent parameter for the prediction of survival in ALS patients after normalizing for all other potential parameters(hazard ratio[HR]=1.079,95%CI:1.016–1.146,P=0.014).The effects on ALS survival remained significant when adjusted for treatment(HR=1.074,95%CI:1.012–1.141,P_(trend)=0.019)or when considering the stratified NLR value(HR=1.115,95%CI:1.009–1.232,P_(trend)=0.033).Thus,the NLR may help to predict the rate of disease progression and survival in patients with sporadic ALS.The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of West China Hospital of Sichuan University,China(approval No.2015(236))on December 23,2015.