Ultra-early amplitude decrement after repetitive nerve stimulation supports early neuromuscular junction injury in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:a prospective cross-sectional study

The dying-back hypothesis holds that the damage to neuromuscular junctions and distal axons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis occurs at the earliest stage of the disease.Previous basic studies have confirmed early damage to neuromuscular junctions,but it is difficult to obtain such evidence directly in clinical practice.In this prospective cross-sectional study,we recruited 22 patients with early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with disease duration < 12 months and with clinical symptoms limited to the upper limbs.We also recruited 32 healthy controls.Repetitive nerve stimulation was performed,and patients were followed for 12 months.We found a significant change in the response to repetitive nerve stimulation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients without spontaneous electromyographic activity.Patients that were prone to denervation had an increased decrement response of target muscles after repetitive nerve stimulation.These results suggest that changes in response to repetitive nerve stimulation may occur before denervation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.The damage to lower motor neurons is more obvious in patients with a higher percentage of repetitive never stimulation-related amplitude decrements.This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Peking University Third Hospital(approval No.M2017198) on August 24,2017.

Experimental Study on Influencing Factors of Motion Responses for Air-Floating Tetrapod Bucket Foundation

Air floating transport is one of the key construction technologies of bucket foundation.The influences of draft,water depth and bucket spacing on the motion response characteristics of tetrapod bucket foundation(TBF)during air-floating transportation were studied by models tests.The results showed that with the increase of draft,the natural periods of heave motion increased,while the maximum amplitudes of oscillating motion decreased.The maximum amplitudes of heave motion decreased while pitch motion increased with the increasing of water depth;further,the period range of oscillating amplitude close to the maximum amplitude was expanded due to shallow water effect.With increasing bucket spacing,the maximum amplitudes of heave motion first increase and then decreased,whereas the maximum amplitudes of pitch motion decreased.Therefore,the favorable air-floating transportation performance can be achieved by choosing a larger bucket spacing under the condition of meeting the design requirements and reducing the draft under shallower water.

Experimental Study on the Influencing Factors of Motion Responses on an Air-Floating Caisson with Multiple Compartments

The structure of an air-floating caisson is suitable for the major structure of caisson-type artificial islands.Thus,it has been rapidly developed and widely used in the exploration and development of oil and gas fields in shallow sea and intertidal zones.Air-floating transportation technology is one of the key technologies employed in this structure.In this paper,the factors influencing the dynamic response characteristics of air-floating caisson with multi-compartments(AFCMC)were studied using model tests.The length and the height of each air-floating structure in the model were 1.0 and 0.1 m,respectively.In addition,the 1:100 models with 6,8,and 10 compartments under regular waves were tested in the wave flume,respectively.In the experiments,the respective water depths were set at 0.2,0.3,and 0.4 m,and the corresponding drafts were 0.05,0.06,and 0.07 m.Results show that with the increase of draft,the heave natural period increased and the maximum amplitude of the heave motion decreased.Meanwhile,the pitch motion decreased at 6 and 8 compartments and increased at 10 compartments.As the water depth increased,the maximum amplitude and amplitude change of heave and pitch motions first increased and then decreased.However,several amplitudes close to the maximum amplitude appeared in the measured period at shallower water depth,thereby indicating the vertical movements of the structure enhanced under shallow water.The increase in the number of compartments reduced the vertical movements under 6.0 m draft,but it increased the vertical movements under 5.0 and 7.0 m draft.Thus,increasing the number of compartments has a limited capacity to improve the motion performance of the structure.

Numerical Investigations on Harbor Oscillations Induced by Falling Objects

In this paper,the open-sourced computational fluid dynamics software,OpenFOAM~?,is used to study the fluctuation phenomenon of the water body inside a horizontally one-dimensional enclosed harbor basin with constant water depth triggered by falling wedges with various horizontal falling positions,initial falling velocities and masses.Based on both Fourier transfo rm analysis and wavelet spectrum analysis for the time series of the free surface elevations inside the harbor basin,it is found for the first time that the wedge falling inside the harbor can directly trigger harbor resonance.The influences of the three factors(including the horizontal falling position,the initial falling velocity,and the mass)on the response amplitudes of the lowest three resonant modes are also investigated.The results show that when the wedge falls on one of the nodal points of a resonant mode,the mode would be remarkably suppressed.Conversely,when the wedge falls on one of the anti-nodal points of a resonant mode,the mode would be evidently triggered.The initial falling velocity of the wedge mainly has a remarkable effect on the response amplitude of the most significant mode,and the latter shows a gradual increase trend with the increase of the former.While for the other two less significant modes,their response amplitudes fluctuate around certain constant values as the initial falling velocity rises.In general,the response amplitudes of all the lowest three modes are shown to gradually increase with the mass of the wedge.

Linear,nonlinear dynamics,and sensitivity analysis of a vibratory ring gyroscope

The linear and nonlinear dynamic responses of a vibratory ring gyroscope are investigated in this study focusing on the response mechanism of such a vibratory gyroscope. It is found that the nonlinear equations governing the drive and sense directions are coupled through both inertial linear and geometric nonlinear terms. Nonlinear responses are studied based on the full coupled nonlinear dynamic equations. The varying amplitude on the sense direction is analyzed for different input angular rates. The effect of nonlinearity on the ring gyroscope system is performed by comparing the results of nonlinear responses to those of linear responses. The contributions of some parameters to the amplitude responses and gyroscope sensitivity are analyzed, the conclusions of which provide guidelines to improve the sensitivity of the vibratory ring gyroscopes.

Nonlinear Coupled Analysis of a Single Point Mooring System

Coupled effects on a single point mooring(SPM) system subjected to the combined action of wind,waves and current are studied in this paper. Due to the complicatedness of the sea state and the huge size of the vessel,physical experimental study is both time consuming and uneconomical,whereas the numerical study is cost-effective and DNV software provides powerful SESAM software in solving the issues. This paper focuses on the modeling process of the SPM system,catenary equilibrium calculation,static analysis of the vessel in three different scenarios,and dynamic response simulation of the SPM system under environmental excitations. The three scenarios in study are as follows:the SPM is under the combined function of(a) wind,waves and current,(b) wind and waves,(c) current and waves. They are so set that one can compare the contributions of different types of loads in both static and dynamic studies. Numerical study shows that wind and current are the two major factors contributing to the mooring line tension,and surge and sway are the two dominant motions of the moored vessel subjected to environmental excitations.

Numerical and Experimental Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of A Novel Semi-Submersible Concept

The Multiple Column Platform(MCP) semi-submersible is a newly proposed concept, which differs from the conventional semi-submersibles, featuring centre column and middle pontoon. It is paramount to ensure its structural reliability and safe operation at sea, and a rigorous investigation is conducted to examine the hydrodynamic and structural performance for the novel structure concept. In this paper, the numerical and experimental studies on the hydrodynamic performance of MCP are performed. Numerical simulations are conducted in both the frequency and time domains based on 3D potential theory. The numerical models are validated by experimental measurements obtained from extensive sets of model tests under both regular wave and irregular wave conditions. Moreover, a comparative study on MCP and two conventional semi-submersibles are carried out using numerical simulation.Specifically, the hydrodynamic characteristics, including hydrodynamic coefficients, natural periods and motion response amplitude operators(RAOs), mooring line tension are fully examined. The present study proves the feasibility of the novel MCP and demonstrates the potential possibility of optimization in the future study.

Resistance and Seakeeping Numerical Performance Analyses of a Semi-Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull at Medium to High Speeds

The hydrodynamic analysis of a new semi-small waterplane area twin hull （SWATH） suitable for various applications such as small and medium size passenger ferries is presented. This may be an attractive crossover configuration resulting from the merging of two classical shapes： a conventional SWATH and a fast catamaran. The final hull design exhibits a wedge-like waterline shape with the maximum beam at the stem; the hull ends with a very narrow entrance angle, has a prominent bulbous bow typical of SWATH vessels, and features full stern to arrange waterjet propellers. Our analysis aims to perform a preliminary assessment of the hydrodynamic performance of a hull with such a complex shape both in terms of resistance of the hull in calm water and seakeeping capability in regular head waves and compare the performance with that of a conventional SWATH. The analysis is performed using a boundary element method that was preliminarily validated on a conventional SWATH vessel.

The motion performance and mooring system of deepwater semi-submersible drilling unit

This paper analyzes the motion performance and mooring system of deepwater semi-submersible drilling unit in the district of the South China Sea using the MOSES procedure system. After the 3-D panel model of the unit was built, the 3-D diffraction-radiation theory was used to obtain the hydrodynamic loads on the wet surfaces and the response amplitude operators （RAO） of the unit. According to the environmental data, the short-term motion response to motion performance of the unit is predicted by the spectral method. Then a time-domain calculation was done to analyze the motion of the unit with its mooring system. The research results can be a reference for the model test of unit.

State of the art for dry tree semi technologies

Dry tree semi is a fast developing technology and becomes more and more appealing to the operators as a solution for producing deepwater reserves. Utilizing a dry tree semi means spending less cost on well mainte-nance and interventions,while the production platform can be integrated and commissioned at quayside. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of various technologies for dry tree semi,such as E-semi,T-semi,paired-column semi and long stroke tensioners. Each dry tree semi concept is briefed in terms of global performance,top tension riser (TTR) tensioner system,quayside integration and feasibility to environment.

Rigid‑Body Analysis of a Beveled Shape Structure in Regular Waves Using the Weakly Compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics(WCSPH)Method

In many cases of wave structure interactions,three-dimensional models are used to demonstrate real-life complex environ-ments in large domain scales.In the seakeeping context,predicting the motion responses in the interaction of a long body resembling a ship structure with regular waves is crucial and can be challenging.In this work,regular waves interacting with a rigid foating structure were simulated using the open-source code based on the weakly compressible smoothed par-ticle hydrodynamics(WCSPH)method,and optimal parameters were suggested for diferent wave environments.Vertical displacements were computed,and their response amplitude operators(RAOs)were found to be in good agreement with experimental,numerical,and analytical results.Discrepancies of numerical and experimental RAOs tended to increase at low wave frequencies,particularly at amidships and near the bow.In addition,the instantaneous wave contours of the sur-rounding model were examined to reveal the efects of localized waves along the structure and wave dissipation.The results indicated that the motion response from the WCSPH responds well at the highest frequency range(ω>5.235 rad/s).

Investigation of Pitch Motion Portion in Vertical Response at Sides of a Tension-Leg Platform

Tendons vertically moor Tension-Leg Platforms （TLPs）, thus, a deep understanding of physical tendon stresses requires the determination of the total axial deformation of the tendons, which is a combination of the heave, pitch, and surging responses. The vertical motion of the lateral sides of the TLP is coupled with surge and constitutes a portion of the pitch motion. Tendons are connected to the sides of the TLP; hence, the total displacement of the lateral sides is related to the total deformation of the tendons and the total axial stress. Therefore, investigating the total vertical response at the sides of the TLP is essential. The coupling between various degrees of freedom is not considered in the Response Amplitude Operator （RAO）. Therefore, in frequency domain analysis, the estimated vertical RAO is incomplete. Also, in the time domain, only the heave motion at the center of TLP is typically studied; this problem needs to be addressed. In this paper, we investigate the portion of the pitch motion in the vertical response at the sides of the TLP in both the frequency and time domains. Numerical results demonstrate a significant effect of the pitch motion in the vertical motion of the edges of the TLP in some period ranges.

Effects of Span Length and Additional Structure on Flow-Induced Transverse Vibration Characteristic of a Cantilevered Rectangular Prism

We consider the effects of the aspect ratio L/H (where L is the length of a prism, and H is the height of a prism normal to the flow direction) and the size of additional structures (which are a plate and a fin on the surface of a prism) on a vibration characteristic of a cantilevered rectangular prism. The present research is intended to support the analysis of energy harvesting research on the flow-induced vibration in water flow using a magnetostrictive phenomenon. The prisms are constructed from stainless steel and mounted elastically to a plate spring attached to the ceiling wall of the water tunnel. The prisms with aspect ratios of L/H ≥ 5 have reasonably identical vibration characteristics. However, the difference in the vibration characteristic appears distinctly on a rectangular prism with an aspect ratio of L/H = 2.5. The rectangular prism with an aspect ratio of L/H = 10 and a side ratio of D/H = 0.2 has a stable and large response amplitude and oscillates with a lower velocity. The length of the added plate and the size of the added fin influence the velocity of vibration onset. If the length of the added plate and fin size on the rectangular prism with D/H = 0.2 becomes large, the curve of the response amplitude shifts to that of the rectangular prism with D/H= 0.5. The response amplitude of the rectangular prism with/without plate or fin is found to be related to the second moment of area of the prism.

Dynamic Behaviors of a Moored Floating Structure with Flexible Skirts

A numerical model was developed by using the dual boundary element method to investigate the dynamic behavior of a moored floating structure with a pair of vertical and flexible skirts attached at its bottom in the linear wave field. Theoretical conception is based on potential theory with linear external forces. The motions of the structure were assumed to be small and linear. The flexible skirts mounted beneath the structure were assumed uniform flexural rigidity and the thickness of the skirts was negligible. Comparison between the present model and Gesraha＇s solution was made to verify the results for a moored floating structure with or without rigid skirts. The influence of the skirt rigidity on the moored floating structure, moored lines and waves is investigated in this study. The results show that, the natural frequencies of structure＇s oscillation, moored force, wave reflection and transmission tend to the region of short-period waves when the flexible rigidity gradually decreases. Positive correlation exists between the aft mooring force and the pitch motion of the floating structure.

Energy transfer between components of a cable stayed beam model under the concentrated excitation:1:2 modal resonance

The present study aims to investigate the dynamic behaviors and energy transfer between components of a cable stayed beam structure subjected to a concentrated load,in which the primary resonance of the beam and one-to-two internal resonance between modes of the beam and the cable occur.Galerkin discretization and multiple time scales method are applied to derive the modulation equations of the system governing the amplitude and phase.Two sags of span ratios are defined to modulate the internal resonance.Frequency response,amplitude response,phase diagram,Poincare map,and time history curves are calculated and used to investigate the modal resonance dynamics.The results demonstrate that the beam and the cable have two resonant peaks in frequency responses,where the beam always shows hardening spring property and the cable may present hardening and softening spring properties affected by sag to span ratio.The system is prone to complex dynamic behavior with the small amplitude excitation in the primary resonance region.