In this paper, using the general purpose software ABAQUS, a three dimensional (3-D) finite element model was built to simulate semi-rigid composite connection with precast hollowcore slabs. 3D continuum elements are used for all parts of the composite connections and the contact conditions between all the components are explicitly modelled. The model also incorporates nonlinear material characteristics and non-linear geometric behaviour. A simplified method to simulate the bolted end plate connection is introduced and validated. The proposed simulation method of the longitudinal shear transmission can accurately simulate the plastic state of the longitudinal rebars after cracking. Different materials are chosen by the authors to simulate the concrete slab, and the elastic¿plastic material property is adopted which can accurately simulate the moment¿rotation response of the connections. Numerical results are presented and compared with the experimental data and good agreement is obtained.

Vertebral fractures affect at least 12-20% of men and women over the age of 50, and the risk of fracture increases exponentially with age. Despite their high prevalence, the failure mechanisms leading to these fractures are not well understood. For example, clinical observations of fractured vertebra often note that one or both vertebral endplates have collapsed, but the precise involvement of the endplates in the initiation and progression of failure has not yet been defined. The mechanisms of failure may also relate to spatial variations in the density and microstructure of the porous trabecular bone within the vertebra as well as to the health of the adjacent intervertebral discs (IVDs) which transfer loads directly to the vertebral endplates. Delineating the contributions of these factors would shed light on the etiology of vertebral fractures and would aid in development of clinically feasible, patient-specific finite element (FE) models of the vertebra. These models are built from a patient's quantitative computed tomography (QCT) scan and have shown tremendous promise for accurate, patient-specific estimates of bone strength and fracture risk. Further validation studies are required to assess the impact of the choices of material properties and boundary conditions, as a prerequisite for broad implementation of these FE models in clinical care. The overall goal of this work was to define the failure processes involved in vertebral fractures and to evaluate the accuracy of patient-specific FE models in simulating these processes. Mechanical testing of human spine segments, in conjunction with micro-computed tomography, enabled the assessment of deformation at the vertebral endplate and deformation throughout the entire bone, as the vertebra was loaded to failure under both axial compression and anterior flexion. These data were compared against predictions of vertebral deformation obtained from QCT-based FE models. The impact of the choice of boundary conditions was specifically examined by comparing the accuracy of the FE predictions between models that simulated applied loads based on measured distributions of pressure within IVDs and models that used highly idealized boundary conditions. The results of these studies demonstrated that sudden and non-recoverable endplate deflection is a defining feature of biomechanical failure of the vertebra, for both compression and flexion loading. The locations of endplate collapse as vertebral failure progressed were associated with the porosity of the endplate and the microstructure of the underlying trabecular bone. FE analyses incorporating the experimentally observed endplate deflections as boundary conditions provided more accurate predictions of displacements throughout the rest of the vertebra when compared to FE models with highly idealized boundary conditions. Under anterior flexion, the use of boundary conditions informed by measurements of IVD pressure mitigated, but did not eliminate, the inaccuracy of the idealized boundary conditions. No further improvement in accuracy was found when using boundary conditions based on pressure measurements corresponding only to IVDs whose level of degeneration matched that observed in the IVDs adjacent to the vertebra being modeled. Overall, the accuracy of the FE predictions of vertebral deformation was only moderate, particularly near the locations of endplate collapse. The outcomes of this work indicate that the vertebral endplate is principally involved in vertebral fractures and that current methods for QCT-based FE models do not adequately capture this failure mechanism. These outcomes provide a biomechanical rationale for clinical diagnoses of vertebral fracture based on endplate collapse. These outcomes also emphasize that future studies of patient-specific FE models should incorporate physiologically relevant loading conditions and also material properties that more accurately represent the vertebral endplate in order to obtain higher fidelity predictions of vertebral failure.

No description available.

Yes / Objective: To better understand the pathogenesis of DISH, identifying early or pre-DISH lesions in the spine and investigating the relationship between spinal and extra-spinal manifestations of DISH. Material: 44 skeletonized individuals with DISH from the WM Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. Methods: For each vertebra, location, extension, point of origin and appearance of vertebral outgrowths were recorded. The size of the enthesophytes at the olecranon process, patella and calcaneal tuberosity was measured with digital callipers. Results: At either end of the DISH-ankylosed segment, isolated vertical outgrowths arising from the central third of the anterior aspect of the vertebral body can usually be observed. These bone outgrowths show a well-organized external cortical layer, an internal structure of trabecular bone and usually are unaccompanied by or show minimal associated endplate degeneration. Analysis of the relationship between spinal and extra-spinal manifestations (ESM) suggests great inter-individual variability. No correlation between any ESM and the stage of spinal DISH was found. Conclusions: Small isolated outgrowths represent the earliest stages of the spinal manifestations of DISH. The use of ESM as an indicator of DISH should be undertaken with great caution until the relationship between these two features is understood. Significance: Improved accuracy of paleopathological diagnostic criteria of DISH. Limitations: Small sample comprised of only individuals with DISH. Future research: micro-CT analysis to investigate the internal structure of the spinal lesions. Analysis of extra-spinal enthesophytes in individuals with and without DISH to understand their pathogenesis and association with the spinal lesions in individuals with DISH. / Institute of Life Sciences Research Studentship awarded by the University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.

Objetivamos o estudo quantitativo e temporal do padrão de inervação do músculo extensor longo dos dedos (edl), após transecção do nervo ciático em camundongos e reparo imediato pela técnica de tubulização. Assim, o músculo edl apresentou-se desnervado na segunda semana após a tubulização. Todas as fibras musculares do edl estavam reinervados na sexta semana após o implante da protese tubular. Entre a sexta e a quadragesima semanas pós-implante a proporção de fibras musculares do edl com mono e poli-inervação aumentou de 3:1 para 4:1. Na quadragésima semana após o implante do tubo foi atingida a porcentagem máxima (80%) de inervação troncular das placas motoras do edl mono-inervadas. Mesmo com tempos prolongados de sobrevivencia após implante, não houve estabilização do padrão de origem das fibras nervosas que convergiam para as placas poli-inervadas do edl. A mono-inervação troncular foi readquirida por 65% das fibras musculares do edl dos animais tubulizados, padrão encontrado em 100% das fibras musculares do edl dos animais não operados. Os padrões morfometricos de reinervação do músculo edl foram idênticos, a partir do terceiro mes, entre o grupo de animais com secção e tubulização do nervo ciatico e o grupo com simples esmagamento do nervo, evidenciando padrão similar de reinervação muscular a longo prazo. / We aimed to study the quantitative and temporal pattern of muscle innervation extensor digitorum longus (EDL), following transection of the sciatic nerve in mice and immediate repair technique for tubing. Thus, the EDL muscle denervation presented in the second week after the tubing. All of the EDL muscle fibers were reinnervated in the sixth week after the implantation of prosthetic tube. Between the sixth and FORTY weeks post-implantation, the proportion of muscle fibers of the EDL with mono-and poly-innervation increased from 3:1 to 4:1. The forty weeks after the implantation of the tube was reached maximum percentage (80%) of trunk innervation of motor endplates of the EDL mono-innervated. Even with prolonged survival times after implantation, there was no stabilization of the pattern of origin of nerve fibers that converged on the plates of poly-innervated EDL. The mono-innervation trunk was regained by 65% of EDL muscle fibers of animals tubularized, pattern found in 100% of EDL muscle fibers of animals not operated. The morphometric patterns of reinnervation of the EDL muscle were identical, from the third month, the group of animals with tubing and resources section of the sciatic nerve and the group with simple nerve crush, showing similar pattern of muscle reinnervation in the long term.

Repetitive stimulation of motor nerves causes an increase in the number of packets of transmitter ("quanta") that can be released in the ensuing period. This represents a type of conditioning, in which synaptic transmission may be enhanced by prior activity. Despite many studies of this phenomenon, there have been no investigations of the quantal mechanisms underlying these events, due to the rapid changes in transmitter output and the short time periods involved. To examine this problem, a method was developed in which estimates of the quantal release parameters could be obtained over very brief periods (3 s). Conventional microelectrode techniques were used to record miniature endplate potentials (MEPPs) from isolated frog (Rana pipiens) cutaneous pectoris muscles, before and after repetitive (40 sec at 80 Hz) nerve stimulation. Estimates were obtained of m (number of quanta released), n (number of functional release sites), p (mean probability of release) and var$\rm\sb{s}$p (spatial variance in p) using a method that employs counts of MEPPs per unit time. Fluctuations in the estimates were reduced using a moving bin technique (bin size = 3 s, $\Delta$bin = 1 s). Muscle contraction was prevented using low Ca$\sp{2+},$ high Mg$\sp{2+}$ Ringer or normal Ringer to which $\mu$-conotoxin GIIIA was added. These studies showed that: (1) the post-stimulation increase in transmitter release was dependent on stimulation frequency and not on the total number of stimulus impulses. When the total number of pulses was kept constant, the high frequency pattern produced a higher level of transmitter release than did the lower frequency patterns; (2) augmentation and potentiation were present in both low Ca$\sp{2+},$ high Mg$\sp{2+}$ and normal Ringer solutions, but potentiation, m, n, p and var$\rm\sb{s}$p were greater in normal Ringer solution than in low Ca$\sp{2+},$ high Mg$\sp{2+}$ solution. In low Ca$\sp{2+},$ high Mg$\sp{2+}$ solution, there was a larger decrease in n compared to p; (3) hypertonicity (addition of 100 mM sucrose) produced a marked increase in both basal and stimulation-induced values of m, n, and p. By contrast, there was a marked increase in the stimulation-induced but not the basal values of var$\rm\sb{s}$p; (4) hypertonicity produced a decrease in augmentation but had no effect on potentiation; (5) augmentation and potentiation appeared to involve mitochondrial uptake and efflux of cytoplasmic Ca$\sp{2+}.$ Tetraphenylphosphonium (which blocks mitochondrial Ca$\sp{2+}$ efflux and uptake) decreased augmentation and potentiation in low Ca$\sp{2+},$ high Mg$\sp{2+}$ solutions but increased potentiation in the same solution made hypertonic with 100 mM sucrose; (6) the overall findings suggest that this new method may be useful for investigating the subcellular dynamics of transmitter release following nerve stimulation.

Objetivamos o estudo quantitativo e temporal do padrão de inervação do músculo extensor longo dos dedos (edl), após transecção do nervo ciático em camundongos e reparo imediato pela técnica de tubulização. Assim, o músculo edl apresentou-se desnervado na segunda semana após a tubulização. Todas as fibras musculares do edl estavam reinervados na sexta semana após o implante da protese tubular. Entre a sexta e a quadragesima semanas pós-implante a proporção de fibras musculares do edl com mono e poli-inervação aumentou de 3:1 para 4:1. Na quadragésima semana após o implante do tubo foi atingida a porcentagem máxima (80%) de inervação troncular das placas motoras do edl mono-inervadas. Mesmo com tempos prolongados de sobrevivencia após implante, não houve estabilização do padrão de origem das fibras nervosas que convergiam para as placas poli-inervadas do edl. A mono-inervação troncular foi readquirida por 65% das fibras musculares do edl dos animais tubulizados, padrão encontrado em 100% das fibras musculares do edl dos animais não operados. Os padrões morfometricos de reinervação do músculo edl foram idênticos, a partir do terceiro mes, entre o grupo de animais com secção e tubulização do nervo ciatico e o grupo com simples esmagamento do nervo, evidenciando padrão similar de reinervação muscular a longo prazo. / We aimed to study the quantitative and temporal pattern of muscle innervation extensor digitorum longus (EDL), following transection of the sciatic nerve in mice and immediate repair technique for tubing. Thus, the EDL muscle denervation presented in the second week after the tubing. All of the EDL muscle fibers were reinnervated in the sixth week after the implantation of prosthetic tube. Between the sixth and FORTY weeks post-implantation, the proportion of muscle fibers of the EDL with mono-and poly-innervation increased from 3:1 to 4:1. The forty weeks after the implantation of the tube was reached maximum percentage (80%) of trunk innervation of motor endplates of the EDL mono-innervated. Even with prolonged survival times after implantation, there was no stabilization of the pattern of origin of nerve fibers that converged on the plates of poly-innervated EDL. The mono-innervation trunk was regained by 65% of EDL muscle fibers of animals tubularized, pattern found in 100% of EDL muscle fibers of animals not operated. The morphometric patterns of reinnervation of the EDL muscle were identical, from the third month, the group of animals with tubing and resources section of the sciatic nerve and the group with simple nerve crush, showing similar pattern of muscle reinnervation in the long term.

The effects of Hg2+, methyl mercury, and flufenamic acid, all of which inhibit mitochondria, were examined at frog motor nerve terminals. Unbiased estimates of m (no. of transmitter quanta released), n (no. of functional release sites), p (probability of release), and vars p (spatial variance in p) were obtained using K+-induced asynchronous neurosecretion (m, n and p not having the same definitions as with nerve-evoked release). Transient but significant increases in m, n, p and vars p were found with all three agents. These findings indicate that mitochondrial inhibition and release of sequestered Ca2+ can be detected as a real-time increase in vars p. The results also suggest that changes in vars p might be used to differentiate between cellular (membrane) and subcellular (organellar) actions of drugs at the nerve terminal.

Traditionally, joints are assumed to be either pinned or fully rigid, but in reality, many behave between these two extremes giving them a semi-rigid classification. By acknowledging the semi-rigidity of nominal pin joints, steel frames can be designed as semi-continuous in which the beam bending moments are partially transmitted to the column members and the need for lateral bracing is eliminated, thus reducing material and construction costs. This thesis presents the results of numerical and theoretical studies of the behaviour of bolted endplate connections to Rectangular Hollow Section (RHS) columns using flowdrill bolts and their applications in semi-continuous frame design. Such connections exhibit significant levels of initial stiffness, strength, and deformation capacity while being more cost-effective than fully welded connections. Despite this, there is limited theoretical work carried out that allows such connections to be designed using analytical methods. In addition, there are no standardised connection design tables like that for open section columns (SCI, 1995), thereby inhibiting their adoption in practice. In this thesis, newly derived equations for initial stiffness that have a greatly improved range of validity and accuracy over existing equations are presented. Equations for bending strength of a newly derived elliptical mechanism based on yield line theory and for membrane action based on internal work principles are given. Equations for flowdrill thread stripping due to gross deformation of the RHS face are also presented thus allowing prediction of all common RHS face failure mechanisms. Equations for deformation capacity are derived thus making it possible to predict the full load-deflection behaviour of the RHS face in tension component. When combined with existing equations for bolt and endplate components, it is possible to predict the full moment-rotation behaviour of bolted endplate connections to RHS columns. Extensive parametric studies using finite element analysis (FEA) as well as validation against existing tests show that the newly derived equations can accurately predict the component-level and whole joint behaviour for a wide range of configurations. Taking advantage of the initial stiffness properties that these connections offer, a parametric study is conducted to show that connections with relatively simple detailing can offer sufficient initial stiffness and strength to enable unbraced semi-continuous design of low-rise steel frames. A hand calculation method for SLS sway in semi-continuous frames is also presented thus allowing the designer to readily carry out scheme designs without advanced software knowledge. A systematic method for the detailing of these connections for use in unbraced frame design is presented to facilitate adoption in practice.

1. The effect of urotensin II (U-II) on spontaneous transmitter release was examined in the frog to see if the biological activity of this vasoactive peptide extended to neural tissues. 2. In normal Ringer solution, frog and human U-II (fU-II and hU-II, respectively) caused concentration-dependent, reversible increases in miniature endplate potential (MEPP) frequency, with hU-II about 22 times more potent than fU-II. hU-II caused a dose-dependent increase in MEPP amplitude, whereas fU-II caused an increase, followed by a decrease with higher concentrations. 3. Increasing extracellular Ca 2+ three-fold had no effect on the MEPP frequency increase to 25 μM hU-II. Pretreatment with thapsigargin to deplete endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ caused a 61% reduction in the MEPP frequency increase to 25 μM hU-II. 4. Pretreatment with the phospholipase C inhibitor U-73122 caused a 93% reduction in the MEPP frequency increase to 25 μM hU-II and a 15% reduction in the increase in MEPP amplitude. Pretreating with antibodies against the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3) type 1 receptor using liposomal techniques reduced the MEPP frequency increase by 83% but had no effect on MEPP amplitude. 5. Pretreating with protein kinase C inhibitors (bisindolylmaleimide I and III) had no effect on the response to 25 μM hU-II, but pretreating with protein kinase A inhibitors (H-89 and KT5720) reduced the MEPP frequency increase by 88% and completely abolished the increase in MEPP amplitude. 6. Our results show that hU-II is a potent stimulator of spontaneous transmitter release in the frog and that the effect is mediated by IP 3 and cyclic AMP/protein kinase A.