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Engineering Geology and geotechnical parameters assessment is of the most important issues in successful tunnel design and construction operation. In urban areas, exact and complete reconnaissance of these parameters and site investigations are more critical as a result of the intensified effect of settlement and failure of the tunnels. Geotechnical parameters and hazards in tunnel route also affect the tunnel boring machine (T.B.M) selection and so they are challenging and very important issues. Shahid Motevasselian tunnel with a length of 10 Km. connects Shahid Sayyad Shirazi highway south wards (from north of Sepah Sq.) to Azadegan highway. There is a high geological diversity in geological units as a result of North- south direction of the tunnel and so it is too complicated to assess the parameters. In this study, as a good experience, the method of dealing with the complexities to achieve a reliable assessment of geological and geotechnical conditions is considered and also the possible hazards in different parts of the tunnel is determined. According to the geological and geotechnical situation, tunnel rout is divided to 3 distinct parts (northern part, middle part and southern part) and introducing the different soil types in terms of Geotechnical parameters, range of different parameters in any soil type is determined by combining the results of field and laboratory investigations, and finally, the material properties of each soil type determined as well as possible hazards likely in different parts of the tunnel route.

The deformation characteristics and constitutive behavior of granular materials under normal forces acting on particles are dependent on the geometry of the grain structure, fabrics and the inter-particle friction. In this study, the influence of particle morphology on the friction and dilatancy of five natural sands was investigated using deep learning (DL) techniques. A Three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique using computed tomography was utilized to compute the morphology (roundness and sphericity) of collected natural sands. Triaxial tests were conducted on the five different natural sands at different densities and confinement stresses (σ3). From the triaxial results, peak friction angle (φp), critical state friction angle (φcs), and dilatancy angle (ψ) were obtained and modeled using conventional multiple linear regression (MLR) models and DL techniques. A total of 100 deep artificial neural networks (DANN) models were trained at different sizes of first and second hidden layers. The use of MLR resulted in R2 of 0.709, 0.565, and 0.795 for φp, φcs and ψ, respectively, while the best performed DANN (30 and 50 neurons for the 1st and 2nd hidden layers, respectively) had R2 of 0.956 for all outputs (φp, φcs and ψ) combined. Using the best-performed DANN model, the weight partitioning technique was used to compute an importance score for each parameter in predicting φp, φcs and ψ. The σ3 had the highest importance followed by relative density, roundness, and sphericity with a relative importance of more than 10%. In addition, sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of each parameter on the shear parameters and ensure the robustness of the developed model.

Geogrids have been increasingly used as soil improvement technique over the past decade. This increasing trend is attributed to its ease of application and low cost compared to other improvement techniques. This paper provides a review of the published results related to the ultimate and allowable bearing capacities of shallow foundations on geo-grid-reinforced homogeneous sand soil. A numerical analysis is also conducted to investigate soil-geogrid interaction considering several critical parameters that affect the overall behavior of geogrid-reinforced soil. The critical parameters such as the width and length of geogrid layers, spacing between the reinforcement layers, and the depth of reinforcement and geosynthetic stiffness have been investigated.

Abstract Background Prefoldin is an evolutionarily conserved co-chaperone of the tailless complex polypeptide 1 ring complex (TRiC)/chaperonin containing tailless complex 1 (CCT). The prefoldin complex consists of six subunits that are known to transfer newly produced cytoskeletal proteins to TRiC/CCT for folding polypeptides. Prefoldin function was recently linked to the maintenance of protein homeostasis, suggesting a more general function of the co-chaperone during cellular stress conditions. Prefoldin acts in an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-independent manner, making it a suitable candidate to operate during stress conditions, such as mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial function depends on the production of mitochondrial proteins in the cytosol. Mechanisms that sustain cytosolic protein homeostasis are vital for the quality control of proteins destined for the organelle and such mechanisms among others include chaperones. Results We analyzed consequences of the loss of prefoldin subunits on the cell proliferation and survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae upon exposure to various cellular stress conditions. We found that prefoldin subunits support cell growth under heat stress. Moreover, prefoldin facilitates the growth of cells under respiratory growth conditions. We showed that mitochondrial morphology and abundance of some respiratory chain complexes was supported by the prefoldin 2 (Pfd2/Gim4) subunit. We also found that Pfd2 interacts with Tom70, a receptor of mitochondrial precursor proteins that are targeted into mitochondria. Conclusions Our findings link the cytosolic prefoldin complex to mitochondrial function. Loss of the prefoldin complex subunit Pfd2 results in adaptive cellular responses on the proteome level under physiological conditions suggesting a continuous need of Pfd2 for maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Within this framework, Pfd2 might support mitochondrial function directly as part of the cytosolic quality control system of mitochondrial proteins or indirectly as a component of the protein homeostasis network.

Background. Resistance-trained males aim to increase their overall health, strength and fitness level. Many resistance-trained males aiming to increase their strength neglect the muscles that stabilize the scapular and glenohumeral joints. The shoulder joint is among the most frequently injured areas in resistance-trained males. In addition, strength training displays different effects in young and old individuals. The study purpose was to investigate the effects of stability and mobility exercises on range of motion, posture and body awareness in resistance-trained males with shoulder immobility. Materials and methods. Thirty-two resistance-trained males diagnosed with shoulder immobility were divided into two groups according to their age ranges (G1: Adult, G2: Young Adult). The program consisting of mobility and stability exercises was applied 3 days a week for 8 weeks. The participants were evaluated with a universal goniometer, the New York Posture Rating, and the Body Awareness Questionnaire before and after the treatment lasting 8 weeks. Results. Following the 8-week treatment, improvements in body awareness and range of motion were observed in all participants (p≤0.05). There were improvements in the scores of the New York Posture Rating and Body Awareness Questionnaire in both groups, but they were not statistically significant (p≥0.05). Conclusions. An exercise program combining stability and mobility exercises was applied to resistance-trained males with shoulder immobility and it was observed to have positive effects on the range of motion of the joint, body awareness and posture. We are of the opinion that various types of exercise should be implemented when planning exercise programs.

Cluster thinning was performed on vines of the Syrah variety eight days before the véraison (CTBV) and after the completion of the véraison (CTAV) in the 2019 and 2021 vegetation periods. The differences in physiological and chemical properties between the grapes were investigated to which cluster thinning was applied at two different times and those without cluster thinning. According to the research results, CTBV was more effective in the berry fresh weight, dry weight, berry volume, skin weight, skin surface, cluster width, cluster length, cluster weight, and cluster volume parameters than CTAV. Likewise, the levels of total phenolic compounds, total anthocyanins, and antioxidant capacity increased by 9%, 27%, and 30%, respectively, compared to the control group without cluster thinning. Among the phenolic compounds, trans-resveratrol showed the highest increase of 38%, and petunidin-3-glucoside increased the most (12%) among anthocyanins.

INTRODUCTION: It has been reported that short-term and low-dose intravenous corticosteroids prevent the progression of the disease and reduce mortality during the hyperinflammation period caused by the virus in COVID-19 disease. The aim of our study is to evaluate the clinical course, hospital readmission and mortality rates of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 pneumonia, who do not need oxygen and for whom we started outpatient corticosteroid treatment. METHODS: Patients over the age of 18 who applied to our hospital with the diagnosis of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 pneumonia and were treated with outpatient oral systemic corticosteroid were included in the study.Inclusion criteria were pneumonia finding consistent with mild to moderate COVID-19 involvement in lung computerized tomography, seven days or more from symptom onset, and oxygen saturation of 93 and above. The patients were given dexamethasone 8 milligrams (mg) methylprednisolone 32 mg, methylprednisolone 40 mg as oral systemic corticosteroid. RESULTS: The median age (min-max) of the patients was 49.24 (22-91), and 60% of them were male. The median steroid duration was 6.6 (1-10) days. Due to ongoing symptoms, 56% of the patients were admitted to the hospital again, 12% were hospitalized due to clinical and laboratory deterioration, the intensive care hospitalization rate was 3% and the mortality rate was 2% (2/100). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: As a result, the effectiveness of oral corticosteroids on mortality and morbidity has not been demonstrated in mild to moderate COVID-19 pneumonia. Well-designed randomized controlled studies are needed on this subject.

Background. Telerehabilitation used as an exercise method has become increasingly common in recent years. Various methods have been used to increase hamstring flexibility, but more research is required on the optimal program. The study purpose was to investigate the effect of hamstring stretching exercises given as telerehabilitation and home exercise program on hamstring flexibility. Materials and methods. Sixty-eight healthy adults were randomly assigned to two groups, namely telerehabilitation and home exercise. Exercises were performed for 8 weeks (4 sessions/week) in both groups. Active and passive range of motion (ROM), sit and reach test (SRT), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) were conducted in the pre- and post-intervention and after a 6-month period. Results. At the end of 8 weeks, a significant improvement was observed in the SRT scores in both the telerehabilitation group (p = 0.001) and the home exercise group (p = 0.001). In addition, significant improvements were observed in the passive ROM measurements of both the telerehabilitation group (p = 0.005) and the home exercise group (p = 0.001). At the end of 8 weeks, the telerehabilitation group was found to be significantly superior to the home exercise group in the SRT results (p = 0.034). As for the long-term results, significant improvement was maintained in both SRT (p = 0.001) and passive ROM (p = 0.014) in the telerehabilitation group. Conclusions. Eight-week telerehabilitation and home exercise program was observed to have positive effects on passive and active ROM. The telerehabilitation method may prove to be more effective than the home exercise method in the long term.