Association of Increased Urine Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Urinary brain-derived neurotrophic factor（BDNF）, an ubiquitous neurotrophin, was found to rise in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia（BPH）. We hypothesized that the urinary level of BDNF could be a potential biomarker for lower urinary tract symptoms（LUTS） in patients with BPH. Totally, 76 patients with BPH-caused LUTS and 32 male control subjects without BPH were enrolled. International Prostate Symptom Score（IPSS） was applied to assess the symptom severity of LUTS. Urodynamic tests were performed for the diagnosis of underlying detrusor overactivity（DO） in the patients with BPH. Urine samples were collected from all subjects. Urinary BDNF levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and normalized by urinary creatinine（Cr） levels. Seventy-six BPH patients were divided into moderate LUTS group（n=51, 720） according to the IPSS. Of the 76 BPH patients, DO was present in 34（44.7%） according to the urodynamic test. The urinary BDNF/Cr levels were significantly higher in BPH patients with moderate LUTS（8.29±3.635, P〈0.0001） and severe LUTS（11.8±6.44, P〈0.0001） than normal controls（1.71±0.555）. Patients with severe LUTS tended to have higher urinary BDNF/Cr levels than patients with moderate LUTS（11.8±6.44 vs. 8.29±3.635, P=0.000）. The conditions of BPH with LUTS correlated with elevated urinary BDNF levels, and urinary BDNF levels were even higher in BPH-DO patients. The results of this study have provided evidence to suggest that urinary BDNF level test could evaluate the severity of LUTS in BPH patients, and BDNF level can be used as a biomarker

Numerical study on dynamic properties of rubberised concrete with different rubber contents

As a green environmentally-friendly material,rubberised concrete(Ru C),which has the characteristics of low elastic modulus,large deformation capacity,high damping,good energy dissipation and good crack resistance,has attracted extensive attention and research in the civil engineering discipline.However,most of existing studies are based on experimental tests on Ru C material properties,and there has been no numerical study based on meso-scale modelling of Ru C yet.To more comprehensively investigate the Ru C dynamic material properties without conducting intensive experimental tests,this study developed a high-fidelity meso-scale model considering coarse and fine aggregates and rubber crumbs to numerically investigate the mechanical properties of rubberised concrete under different strain rates.The meso-scale model was verified against both quasi-static compressive testing data and Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar(SHPB)dynamic testing data.Using the verified numerical model,the dynamic properties of rubberised concrete with various rubber content(0%-30%)under different strain rates were studied.The numerical results show that the developed meso-scale model can use to predict the static and dynamic properties of rubberised concrete with high accuracy.The dynamic compressive strength of the rubberised concrete increases with the increment of the strain rate,and the strain rate sensitivity increases with the rubber content ranging from 0 to 30%.Based on intensive numerical simulation data,empirical DIFs is used as a function of strain rate and rubber content to predict the dynamic strength of rubberised concrete.

Experimental investigation of rigid confinement effects of radial strain on dynamic mechanical properties and failure modes of concrete

In this study,to confirm the effect of confining pressure on dynamic mechanical behavior and failure modes of concrete,a split Hopkinson pressure bar dynamic loading device was utilized to perform dynamic compressive experiments under confined and unconfined conditions.The confining pressure was achieved by applying a lateral metal sleeve on the testing specimen which was loaded in the axial direction.The experimental results prove that dynamic peak axial stress,dynamic peak lateral stress,and peak axial strain of concrete are strongly sensitive to the strain rate under confined conditions.Moreover,the failure patterns are significantly affected by the stress-loading rate and confining pressure.Concrete shows stronger strain rate effects under an unconfined condition than that under a confined condition.More cracks are created in concrete subjected to uniaxial dynamic compression at a higher strain rate,which can be explained by a thermal-activated mechanism.By contrast,crack generation is prevented by confinement.Fitting formulas of the dynamic peak stress and dynamic peak axial strain are established by considering strain rate effects(50–250 s-1)as well as the dynamic confining increase factor(DIFc).

Numerical Derivation of Strain Rate Effects on Material Properties of Masonry with Solid Clay Bricks

In this paper, numerical method is used als. A typical unit of masonry is selected to serve merical model of RVE is established with detailed to study the strain rate effect on masonry materias a representative volume element （RVE）. Nudistinctive modeling of brick and mortar with their respective dynamic material properties obtained from laboratory tests. The behavior of brick and mortar are characterized by a dynamic damage model that accounts for rate-sensitive and pressuredependent properties of masonry materials. Dynamic loads of different loading rates are applied to RVE. The equivalent homogenized uniaxial compressive strength, threshold strain and elastic modulus in three directions of the masonry are derived from the simulated responses of the RVE. The strain rate effect on the masonry material with clay brick and mortar, such as the dynamic increase factor （DIF） of the ultimate strength and elastic modulus as a function of strain rate are derived from the numerical results.

Calculation and analysis of stress in strata under gob pillars

Aiming at the difficulty in stress analysis for strata under pillars with actual bearing conditions, an approach was proposed to apply multi-sectional linear approximation to the characteristic curves of pillar loads, and stress of strata was calculated under pillars with linear load by calculation method for uniform load. This approach leads to a rapid analyzing method for strata stress under pillars with any form of loads. Through theoretical analysis, strata stress expressions for pillars under linear bearing conditions are obtained. In addition, two concepts, stress increase factor and stress factor, are proposed for the approximate analysis of strata stress by uniform load approximation method. It is also found that the stress increase factor of strata is related to the strata stress factor and the ratio of the minimum load on the pillar' two ends to the maximum one; and the distribution features of stress factors and the sizes of their influencing areas in strata influenced by overlying pillars are obtained. Combining with the gob pillar conditions of Jurassic coal seam in Tongxin Coal Mine, it is demonstrated that the results obtained by stress distribution analysis of the strata stress in non-influencing areas of pillars with linear bearing through uniform load approximation are in basic accordance with the results obtained for pillars under linear bearing condition. Therefore, it is feasible and accurate to calculate stress in non-influencing area in strata under pillars with linear bearing condition by uniform load calculation method.

Compressive Strength of Hydrostatic-Stress-Sensitive Materials at High Strain-Rates

Many engineering materials demonstrate dynamic enhancement of their compressive strength with the increase of strain-rate, which have been included in material models to improve the reliability of numerical simulations of the material and structural responses under impact and blast loads. The strain-rate effects on the dynamic compressive strength of a range of engineering materials which behave in hydrostatic-stress-sensitive manner were investigated. It is concluded that the dynamic enhancement of the compressive strength of a hydrostatic-stress-sensitive material may include inertia-induced lateral confinement effects, which, as a non-strain-rate factor, may greatly enhance the compressive strength of these materials. Some empirical formulae based on the dynamic stress-strain measurements over-predict the strain-rate effects on the compressive strength of these hydrostatic-stress-sensitive materials, and thus may over-estimate the structural resistance to impact and blast loads, leading to non-conservative design of protective structures.