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Background: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a pathology characterized by enthesis ossification, but there have been few reports on epidemiological surveys. This report presents a cross-sectional survey of DISH from thoracic to sacral spine in patients at the tertiary emergency medical center. Methods: The patients were divided into DISH (+) group and DISH (−) group for a retrospective comparative study. The primary outcome measures were the frequency of DISH and the patient demographic data, the secondary outcome measures were the previous medical history (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease), the extent of aortic calcification, the frequency of hyperostosis around the costovertebral joint and the mortality rate within 3 months of the initial examination. Results: This survey examined a total of 1519 patients. There were 265 cases (17.4%) in the DISH (+) group and 1254 cases in DISH (−) group. The prevalence of DISH was concentrated at the thoracolumbar junction, particularly at T9. The mean age, ratio of male and hyperostosis around the costovertebral joint were significantly higher in the DISH (+) group (p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in other variables. Conclusions: The pathology of DISH might involve the effects of age-related changes or biomechanical effects.

This study investigates the reinforcement effects of the roots of three herbaceous plants--Kentucky bluegrass, Red fescue, and Hard fescue--on the shear strength of fine-grained soil. A series of direct shear tests were conducted to evaluate how root penetration influences the shear behavior and structural stability of root-soil composites. Results indicated that root-reinforced specimens demonstrated greater ductility, with shear stress increasing in later stages of shearing, thereby contributing to soil stability. Quantitative analysis revealed that Kentucky bluegrass roots increased cohesion by 2.29 kPa and the internal friction angle by 2.6°, while Red fescue roots increased cohesion by 2.84 kPa with a slight reduction in the internal friction angle by 0.35°. For Hard fescue, cohesion increased by 3.03 kPa, with the internal friction angle decreasing by 1.54°. These findings showed that root reinforcement varied significantly under different vertical stress conditions, emphasizing the importance of environmental factors in soil behavior assessment. Comparative analysis demonstrated that each plant species exhibited unique reinforcement effects under both low and high vertical stress, providing valuable insights for designing ecological slope stabilization solutions aimed at enhancing soil stability and promoting environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, earthquakes have caused several types of damage to residential embankments. To assess the integrity of residential embankments and ascertain necessary countermeasures following ground disasters, it is crucial to accurately define the boundary of cutting and filling. Although surface wave methods nondestructively unveil the S-wave velocity VS across a broad spectrum, there are currently no methods available to predict the boundary of cutting and filling based on VS. In this investigation, surface wave measurements were conducted in an area thought to be an embankment, according to aerial topographic interpretation. The acquired VS data were used to ascertain the soil characteristics of the unaffected residential embankment. Furthermore, the applicability of a method for predicting the boundary of cutting and fillings was examined. When the mode value of VS within the embankment was selected as the threshold for the boundary of cutting and filling, some agreement was confirmed with the outcomes calculated through aerial topographic interpretation. In addition, a straightforward technique for calculating ground subsidence based on VS was considered. It was found that it may be feasible to determine the estimated seismic settlement of residential levees swiftly and nondestructively throughout a sizable region. These results indicate that the use of the surface wave method has the potential to advance residential embankment health assessment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In snowy cold regions such as Hokkaido, slopes can collapse owing to the frost heave phenomenon, freeze-thaw actions in winter, or snowmelt in spring. Kitami City in Hokkaido recently suffered from such slope failures when the extremely shallow layer eroded and slid after snowmelt in the early spring of 2020. The depth of this slope failure was about 0.20 to 0.25 m, which was very shallow compared with general surface failures. In this research, we conducted a site investigation of the road slope and collected undisturbed soil samples from a non-collapsed area near the slope failure to conduct a constant pressure direct shear test. For the direct shear tests, specimens with natural water content at the time of sampling and forcibly saturated specimens were used. The results of the slope stability analysis with the strength parameters obtained from the direct shear test showed that the slope failure was caused by snowmelt penetration, mainly due to a decrease in cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]