Some existing analytical methods which have been used in geotechnical engineering are modified to handle the shear strength reduction with time due to softening in fissured, over-consolidated clays and mudstones. These are limit equilibrium analysis of slope stability, calculation of earth pressure and calculation of stress and displacement around a tunnel. The softening effect is incorporated in these analyses using the failure criterion and the time-dependent strength parameters proposed previously by the authors. Examples are presented which emphasize the importance of appreciating the softening effect in analyses and further illustrate that the effect of shear strength reduction with time due to softening could easily be captured with existing analytical methods.

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Static characteristics of two different structured InAlGaAs/InAlAs superlattice avalanche photodiodes (SLAPDs) cooled by liquid nitrogen were evaluated at a wavelength of 1. μm. The dark current of the SLAPD having a thick superlattice layer of 0.504 μm was ×10^-13 A. This was successively reduced by four orders of magnitude compared to that of the thin layer SLAPD of 0.231 μm at a breakdown voltage of around 20 V. The thickened layer was effective in suppressing tunneling dark current. An output current of 1.7×10^-12 A at a bias voltage of 15 V was measured for an optical input with a wavelength of 1. μm and a signal power of 1×10^-12 W. This showed a sharp distinction from the dark current.

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An empirical equation in use for estimating the pseudo-elastic shear modulus, G_f, of subsoil, associated with shear strains less than 0.001% is proposed in this paper. In a series of in-situ seismic cone tests performed nationwide, the profiles of both G_f and the in-situ void ratio, , with depth were successfully characterised at five sites, each comprising a soft clay layer deposited in the Holocene era. The database which comprised the original data from the field and laboratory tests, coupled with similar information on well-documented Holocene clay deposits in Europe, was statistically analyzed in attempts to determine a generalised relationship with which G_f of soft clay may be reasonably estimated only from routinely available borehole data; that is and the current geostatic effective overburden pressure, σ'_v. An empirical relationship, G_f=, 000 -√(σ'_v) (kPa), was derived from the statistical analysis applied to data from seven different clays worldwide, for which extended over a range between 1 and , and the overconsolidation ratio ranged roughly between 1 and 2. The applicability of the proposed relationship was evaluated for two case records, each in which the clay exhibited unusual behavior; i.., the undrained shear strength remained more or less constant with depth due to the existence of artesian pressure at one site, and, at the other, G_f decreased, whereas increased, with depth. It was demonstrated that even in these clay deposits exhibiting exceptional profiles, the proposed relationship was capable of predicting G_f with a reasonable accuracy by determining the profiles of and σ'_v with depth. In addition, the prediction when compared to G_max from carefully performed laboratory cyclic tests, yielded a better estimate of G_f from the in-situ seismic survey. Despite the fact that the empirical relationship was initially designated to estimate G_f of soft clays, it may be equally applicable to sandy deposits. This was verified by comparing it to similar, and well-established, relationships developed for sands. A case record as such is also described for a loose sand deposit at Higashi-Ohgishima in Tokyo Bay which was placed in 1960's by land reclamation.

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The design implication of stress-confinement effect of nonwoven geotextile is addressed. The unconfined and confined strengths of a selected needle-punched nonwoven geotextile are used to conduct a comparative design of a granular soil retaining wall based on a limit equilibrium approach. A higher wall may be allowed when considering the confined strength as compared to the unconfined strength. For a selected wall height, confined strength allows for fewer geotextile layers when compared to that designed using unconfined strength. It is recommended that stress-confinement test procedure should be standardized so that confinement effect of some nonwoven geotextiles may be incorporated into an individual wall design procedure.

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In this paper, consideration is given as to how to characterize depth-variation for the small-strain shear modulus of natural clay sedimentation, in a state of normal consolidation. A case study was carried out for a relatively uniform clay layer deposited in the Holocene era. Initially, the effects of both strain and in-situ stress levels on secant shear modulus were carefully examined in cyclic torsion shear tests using undisturbed samples, which were recovered at different depths in a test borehole. The range of shear strain examined was between 0.001% and 1%. Similar examination was made for a silty clay using reconstituted samples that were isotropically consolidated at different stress levels. On the basis of the results of these laboratory tests, together with the shear modulus from an in-situ seismic survey, the small-strain shear modulus was formulated in terms of the stress and strain levels, and linked also to undrained shear strength. Interactions of the small strain stiffness between in-situ and laboratory are discussed in depth with an attention paid to the existing aging effect in the original subsurface condition.

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This paper reports deformation and strength characteristics for a geogrid-reinforced granular soil on a large-scale plane strain compression apparatus. The influence of intensity and types of geogrid reinforcement is specifically discussed. It was found that as more reinforcement layers are used, the strength of the reinforced soil increased. In cases where reinforcement is most intensely used, the reinforcement layers in the samples were eventually subject to breakage due to plane strain compression and the reinforced soil failed. In cases where reinforcement is less intensely used, the reinforced soil reached failure without any sign of reinforcement breakage. It was also found that types of reinforcement have a significant influence on the lateral deformation of the reinforced soil, where stiffer reinforcement provides more constraints on lateral deformation of the reinforced soil. It can be superceded, however, by the influence of reinforcement intensity. The small stain measurement by means of LDT observed that the stiffness of non-reinforced soil begins to decrease more rapidly at a strain level of 0.05∼0.15%, compared to the reinforced soil. The experimental results also indicate that the relationship between the apparent angle of internal friction and the geometry of the structure of the reinforced granular soil seems to exist for the geogrid reinforcement used in the tests reported in this paper.

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It has been shown after mathematical and mechanical investigation that Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) can be considered as a method to obtain the necessary condition of Slip Line Method (SLM), and that the solution can be obtained under the condition that F_s=1 and ∂F_s/∂θ=O, where F_s is the safety factor and θ is the inclination of the plane on which the safety factor is defined. Next, the generalized LEM (GLEM) is proposed, dealing with the following points : (1) Triangular or quadrangular blocks can be treated; (2) Safety factors are defined also on interblock planes; and (3) All types of plastic problems, slope stability, bearing capacity, and earth pressure are identically formulated. Two situations regarding treatment of the moment equilibrium condition are discussed. GLEM is applied to well-known problems. The results agree well with those obtained by theoretical methods. GLEM can be used to obtain the distribution of earth pressure or bearing capacity. GLEM, Iike ordinary LEM, is very effective for the practical problems, but GLEM is more theoretical and it can result in more accurate solutions.

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背景と目的：ステロイド性骨粗鬆症は，積極的な治療介入が必要とされる．その第一選択薬はビスホスホネート製剤（以下ビス）であるが，近年，デノスマブ（以下デノス）も注目を浴びている．ステロイド性骨粗鬆症の骨密度に対する両者の効果を比較検討した．

方法：ステロイド性骨粗鬆症の管理と治療ガイドライン：2014年改訂版の薬物療法開始の基準を満たした患者を対象とした．無治療群（N群）と，治療介入群として当初よりビスで治療したBB群，ビス後デノスに変更したBD群，デノスで治療したDD群，デノス後ビスに変更したDB群を抽出し，ステロイド投与を開始した時，ステロイド性骨粗鬆症に対する治療を開始した時または薬剤変更から

カ月後の腰椎，大腿骨頚部と大転子部の骨密度を測定し，それらの変化を統計学的に比較検討した．

結果：149例が抽出され，その内訳は，N群48例，BB群24例，BD群

例，DD群21例，DB群34例であった．治療開始時または薬剤変更からカ月後にBD群を除くすべての治療介入群で腰椎の骨密度が上昇した．大腿骨の骨密度は，BD群において薬剤変更後に上昇に転じた．

考察：デノスにはビスと同様の骨密度上昇効果があると考えられた．

結論：デノスは，ステロイド性骨粗鬆症治療の第一選択薬となり得る．

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The ability of Climacodon septentrionalis to immobilize and kill a mycophagous nematode (Aphelenchoides sp.) in vitro is described for the first time. Two isolates produced droplets (20–45 μm in diameter) that formed at the apices of tall, stalked, and branching secretory cells (700–1,500 μm tall). On 2% modified malt extract agar, nematodes became enveloped in the droplets, which restricted their ability to move and resulted in complete immobilization and death within several hours of contact. The rate of decomposition of the nematodes varied considerably, with most individuals persisting for weeks whereas others were degraded within several days and appeared to be colonized by dense hyphal growth. This study provides the first documentation of a non-agaricoid fungus producing secretory cells that are able to immobilize nematodes.

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We screened the differentiation-inducing activities of 39 mushroom extracts from Akita prefecture, Japan, on the mouse osteoblastic cell line, MC3T3-1. Sixteen phosphate buffered saline (PBS), boiled PBS, 14 ethanol and 12 methanol extracts induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, an indicator of MC3T3-1 cell differentiation. The enzyme activities were markedly induced by extracts of Tricholoma auratum, and we isolated the active compound from methanol extracts of this mushroom. Physical data for the isolated active compound were identical to those for (,24R)-ergosta-7,-diene-3β,,-triol (1). 1 induced ALP activities of MC3T3-1 cells and promoted cell proliferation. To investigate the relationships between the chemical structure and differentiation-inducing activity of the compound, ALP-inducing activities of MC3T3-1 cells by 1, ergosterol (2), ergocalciferol (3), cholesta-3β,,-triol (4), 7-dehydrocholesterol () and cholecalciferol () were tested. The enzyme activities of MC3T3-1 cells were increased 3.0-fold by 10 μM 1 and 2.4-fold by 10 μM 4. However, 2, 3, and did not induce MC3T3-1 cell ALP activity at 0.1—10 μM. These results suggested that the OH groups at C- and/or C- of 1 and 4 played an important role in their differentiation-inducing activities on MC3T3-1 cells. Furthermore, 1 suppressed induction of MC3T3-1 cell apoptosis by serum starvation.

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By employing an undrained cyclic loading ring-shear apparatus, a series of tests to reproduce the dynamic behavior of the Nikawa landslide induced by the January 17, 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake, is conducted. The test sample is Osaka-group coarse sandy soil taken from the landslide. The initial stress condition acting on a soil element in the sliding surface is applied to the sample. Based on the seismic records monitored at the JR Takarazuka Station, the input seismic wave is synthesized to reproduce the seismic stress acting on the sliding surface. The test results show that the soil failed due to the dynamic loading of the earthquake. The most important results are the excess pore water pressure generation and the acceleration of shear displacement continuing after the main shock. Combined with the grain crushing at the shear zone and the volume reduction in the drained constant-speed ring-shear test, the mechanism of this landslide is interpreted as, shear displacement causing grain crushing in the shear zone and volume reduction, and then resulting in a localized liquefaction phenomenon, "sliding-surface liquefaction". This geotechnical simulation test provides a reasonable interpretation of this highly mobile landslide.

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A simple method based on theoretical and experimental considerations is presented to predict the pile end bearing capacity and load-settlement curve in sands in relation to soil compressibility. The key to the method is in the assumption of a failure mode with a spherical cavity expansion pressure given as a function of the soil compressibility, shear stiffness and friction angle. The practical prediction of pile end-bearing capacity in sandy ground is discussed in terms of a compressibility factor, friction angle and shear stiffness. Further, the pile tip settlement behaviour is also discussed based on an empirical model incorporating the pile end bearing capacity from a cavity expansion analysis with a Kondner type hyperbolic function. The applicability of the proposed method is verified by comparing the predicted results with the results from a series of model pile load tests and a database for in-situ pile load tests in sands.

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We compared three groups of pregnant women: placebo with normotensive women, group A which included preeclamptics, and group which comprised preeclamptics who were supplemented their diets with vitamins C and . MDA increased from . ± 2. (placebo) to .48 ± 1.2 (A) and .02 ± 1. nmol/gHb (). NO concentrations were enhanced from 19.3 ± 4.2 (P) to 23. ± .4 (A) and 24.1 ± .4 μmol/L (). GSH contents were decreased from 10.42 ± 2. (P) to .02 ± 2.92 (A) and 9.39 ± 1.02 μmol/g Hb (), whereas GSSG concentrations increased from 0. ± 0.28 (P) to 1.24 ± 0.29 (A) and 1.08 ± 0.12 μmol/g Hb (). SOD activity decreased 23% in A and 14% in ; GRx decreased 27% in A and .% in ; GPx decreased 12% in A and 9.% in . Catalase activity, however, increased 27% in A and 29% in as compared to control. Thus, we conclude that the use of vitamins C and should be considered for the control of certain important biochemical indices during the development of preeclampsia; however, further studies are needed to develop methods for the prevention of preeclampsia in women at high risk.

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