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Abstract Spatial distribution orientations of blocks can cause significant errors in the discrete element model (DEM) calculation of soil-rock mixture (SRM). To avoid this error, spherical harmonic (SH) series whose harmonization degrees fixed at 15 were proposed for block reconstruction. This research refers to the case-history of a deep excavation rift valley spanning from the Mabian to Zhaojue section of the Leshan-Xichang Expressway, mainly containing moderately-weathered silty mudstone, in the Leshan City, Sichuan Province, China. The appropriate degree of finite-term SH series is selected by the volume, surface area. 100 blocks were scanned on site, and sphericity and angularity of the blocks were calculated. The sphericity and angularity of 50 reconstructed blocks were considered for the error analysis of SH method. Moreover, stochastic polyhedron method was considered for comparing different block reconstructions. The maximum block placement angle was defined to control the spatial distribution orientations of the blocks. Large scale direct tests were carried. Numerical simulations of large-scale direct shear tests were conducted to study the influence of the spatial distribution orientations of the blocks on the mechanical properties of the SRMs. The results revealed that the finite-term SH series fixed at 15 accurately reflected the shape characteristics and mechanical behaviors of actual blocks. The spatial distribution orientations of the blocks had a minimal impact on the friction angle and cohesion of SRM constructed through the SH method. The SRMs developed via the SH method exhibited marginal variations in contact force and anisotropy index of contact across diverse block placement strategies. The evolution of coordination number was closer when employing the SH method under varied block placement methods. Blocks reconstructed by the SH method, could mitigate errors in DEM calculation caused by the spatial distribution orientations of the blocks.

To investigate the sensitivity and significance of different morphological characteristics of plant root systems on vertical pullout resistance, this study considered four main influencing factors: the number of lateral roots, taproot length, the branching angle of the lateral root, and the unit weight of the soil around the root. PC plastic model roots were employed to conduct a vertical pullout orthogonal experiment. A comprehensive μX theoretical analysis method based on the whole root system pullout test was applied for a stress analysis on root segments. Based on the results, the factors affected the vertical pullout resistance of plant root systems in the order of number of lateral roots > taproot length > unit weight of soil around the root > branching angle of the lateral root. When the number of lateral roots increased from 2 to 3, the vertical pullout resistance increased by 64%. Also, when the taproot length increased from 50 to 60 cm, the vertical pullout resistance increased by up to 46%. Furthermore, the unit weight of soil around the roots had a positive linear correlation with vertical pullout resistance. Based on the results, the number of lateral roots and the taproot length were the primary factors affecting the magnitude of the root system’s vertical pullout resistance. When selecting plants for slope protection, plant types with a larger number of lateral roots and longer taproots should be considered as the two most significant factors for achieving a better slope protection methodology.

Background: The lifespan of Marfan Syndrome (MFS) patients is shortened, especially in patients without early diagnostics, preventive treatment, and elective surgery. Clinically, MFS diagnosis is mainly dependent on phenotypes, but for children, sporadic cases, or suspicious MFS patients, molecular genetic testing, and mainly FBN1 mutation screening, plays a significant role in the diagnosis of MFS. PGT-M gives couples that had a family history of monogenic disorders the opportunity to avoid the occurrence of MFS.Methods: In this study, 11 families with MFS were recruited and complete clinical features were collected. Variants were classified and interpreted through pedigree analysis according to guidelines. Two families chose to undergo PGT-M; 16 blastocysts were biopsied and amplified. Haplotype analysis was performed to deduce the embryo’s genotype by using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in each sample.Results: We identified 11 potential disease-causing FBN1 variants, six of which are novel. All variants were assessed with prediction tools to assess mutation pathogenicity, population databases to evaluate population allele frequency, literature databases to identify whether the variant had been reported in MFS patients, and multiple sequence alignment to carry out conservative analysis. Finally, nine variants were classified as likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants. Among 11 variants, eight variants were missense, and seven of them were located in the Ca-binding EGF-like motifs, moreover, half of them substituted conserved Cysteine residues. We also identified a splice site variant, a frameshift variant, and a synonymous variant. There are two variants that are de novo variants. PGT-M helped two MFS families give birth to a healthy baby not carrying the FBN1 mutation.Conclusions: In the present study, the FBN1 mutation spectrum was enriched, and may help further elucidate the pathogenesis, benefiting clinical diagnosis and management of MFS. We make use of a reliable PGT-M method for the successful birth of healthy babies to two MFS families.

Potential earthquake-induced damage to overlapped tunnels probably occurs during the operation and maintenance of mountain tunnel engineering, especially in the seismically active zone. This study investigated the dynamic response and the failure characteristics of the parallel overlapped tunnel under seismic loadings by employing shaking table tests. The failure mode of the parallel overlapped tunnels was analyzed through macroscopic test phenomena. The dynamic responses of the surrounding rock and tunnel lining were evaluated by acceleration and dynamic strain, respectively. In particular, wavelet packets were used to investigate the spectrum characteristics of the tunnel structure in depth. The failure process of the model can be divided into three stages. The upper-span and the under-crossing tunnels showed different failure characteristics. Additionally, the lining damage on the outer surface of the tunnel mainly occurred on the right side arch waist and the left side wall, whereas the lining damage on the inner surface of the tunnel mainly appeared on the crown and invert. Wavelet packet energy results showed that the energy characteristic distributions of the upper-span and the under-crossing tunnels were not consistent. Specifically, the energy eigenvalues of the crown of the upper-span tunnel and the invert of the under-crossing tunnel were the largest, which should be considered to be the weak parts in the seismic design.

The existing conventional methods of subgrade disease assessment are not suitable for the existing lines. There are many research studies on the vibration response and attenuation law of the railway subgrade, but few research studies focus on the vibration response and attenuation law caused by the weak subgrade. In this study, vibration response tests were carried out at different positions and depths of the subgrade before and after reinforcement improvement. The results show that vibration response near the ballast is obvious, and it attenuates with the increase of the horizontal distance from the rail; the vibration acceleration response of the subgrade after reinforcement changes greatly; the vibration response curve of the reinforced section is spindle shaped, and the vertical vibration acceleration response attenuates obviously at the depth of 6.5 m, only about 10% to 30% of the surface; the vibration acceleration of the subgrade with reinforcement at the depth of 4.5 m attenuates to 60% of the surface; the vibration acceleration of the subgrade without reinforcement at the depth of 4.5 m attenuates to 50%–60% of the surface.

Affected by the site construction conditions, the measurement passes of the Taihang Expressway K8 + 105 ∼ K8 + 341 (K8 worksite) in the Taihang Expressway did not meet the requirements of data analysis, and the quantity of the control points was insufficient so that the linear correlation between the dynamic deformation modulus () and the vibratory compaction value (VCV) was not strong. Therefore, the target value of VCV cannot be used to diagnose the Ev d compaction quality of soil-rock filler. This paper analyzes the roller measurement VCV value and in situ measurements Ev d value separately. Results reveal the difference between the VCV mean measured in the last two passes and the standard deviation of the measured VCV mean in the last pass are used as the main basis for the actual compaction quality. In addition, the Ev d mean in the last rolling can be used as an auxiliary judgment basis for the quality control of the compaction.

With deep-buried depth, large span, high geo-stress, complex geological conditions, and its large sections, the deformation behavior of the Gaopo Tunnel is a complex three-dimensional problem. To reveal the deformation behavior of the tunnel and evaluate the current support scheme, this paper establishes a three-dimensional model by benching tunneling method, and compares the monitoring data to analyze the deformation behavior of the surrounding rock and the variation of the stress field in the support structure. The results demonstrate that the rock inclination angle is 4° to 10°, the micro-dip layered structure, which is the main factor for the asymmetric deformation behavior of soft rock tunnel with large section passing through coal seams. The maximum displacement of surrounding rock and the maximum stress of the supporting structure are within the safe range in current scheme. Furthermore, some measures are summarized, which may provide some reference for similar engineering in the future.

With the steady development of the development of the western region in China, the construction of mountain highways has developed rapidly, and the soil-rock mixed filler, as an excellent filler, is widely used in the subgrade filling of mountain highways. Unlike ordinary fine-grained soil, the source of the soil-rock mixtures (S-RMs) is not unique, and the particle size difference is large and the water content is not uniform, resulting in very complicated mechanical properties. But the current highway embankment codes are still mainly established on the fine-grained soil. It is not fully applicable to soil-rock filled embankment. Based on soil-rock filled embankment engineering practice, this research uses a large-scale direct shear test to research the mechanical characteristics of the S-RMs with different maximum particle diameters. According to the large-scale direct shear test of S-RMs with different maximum particle diameters, the shear displacement vs shear stress curve, shear dilation, and strength characteristics with maximum particle diameter were analyzed. Results demonstrate that whether secondary hardening occurs mainly depends on the normal stress and the maximum particle diameter of the filler. At different maximum particle diameters, the horizontal displacement vs vertical displacement curves of the S-RMs can be roughly divided into continuous shearing and beginning of shearing and quick dilation. And the shear strength increases with the increase of the maximum particle diameter. Moreover, the cohesion decreases first and then increases with the increase of the maximum particle diameter, and the internal friction angle increases with the increase of the maximum particle diameter. Therefore, some RBs with large particle diameter added to filler can effectively improve the shear strength of the S-RMs, which may be valuable for realistic engineering.

A three-stage W-band GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifier (MMIC PA) is reported. Electron-beam lithography has been employed to define a 100-nm T-shaped gate on the AlGaN/GaN HEMT structure with ultrahigh aluminum content. The MMIC PA offers a peak small signal gain of 16.7 dB in the 90–97 GHz bandwidth. Moreover, it achieves a peak 1.66-W (32.2 dBm) output power at 93 GHz in a continuous-wave mode, with an associated power added efficiency of 21% and an associated power gain of 13.7 dB. Most notably, the peak power density is 3.46 W/mm with a 480- \mu \textm wide output stage, which exceeds 3 W/mm in AlGaN/GaN HEMT at W-band for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]