A “rock bridge”, defined as the closest distance between two joints in a rock mass, is an important feature affecting the jointed rock mass strength. Artificial jointed rock specimens with two parallel joint fractures were tested under uniaxial compression and numerical simulations were carried out to study the effects of the inclination of the rock bridge, the dip angle of the joint, rock bridge length, and the length of joints on the strength of the jointed rock mass. Research results show: (1) When the length of the joint fracture, the length of the rock bridge, and the inclination of the rock bridge stay unchanged, the uniaxial compressive strength of the specimen gradually increases as the inclination of the joint fracture increases from 0° to 90°. (2) When the length of the joint fracture, the length of the rock bridge, and the inclination of the joint fracture stay unchanged, the uniaxial compressive strength of the specimen shows variations in trends with the inclination of the rock bridge increasing from 30° to 150° (3). In the case when the joint is angled from the vertical loading direction, when the dip angle of the joint fracture, the inclination of the rock bridge, and the length of the rock bridge stay unchanged, the uniaxial compressive strength of the specimen gradually decreases with an increasing length of joint fracture. When the dip angle of the joint fracture, the inclination of the rock bridge, and the length of the joint fracture stay unchanged, the uniaxial compressive strength of the specimen does not show a clear trend with an increase of the length of the rock bridge.
Emerging researches in humans, pigs and mice, highlighted that estrogen plays a pivotal role in self-renewal and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The present study aimed at evaluating effects of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) on proliferation and apoptosis of canine-derived bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (cBMSCs) in vitro. The results showed that E2 supplementation at the concentration of 10-11 M promoted the proliferation of cBMSCs by CCK-8 assay and RT-qPCR analysis for the proliferation-related genes, with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cyclin-D1 (CCND1) being up-regulated and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) being down-regulated. Contrarily, analysis of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and RT-qPCR demonstrated that E2 supplementation above 10-11 M had inhibitory effects on the proliferation of cBMSCs and induced apoptosis. Intriguingly, cBMSCs still possessed the capability to differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes with 10-11 M E2 addition. Taken together, this study determined the optimal culture condition of cBMSCs in vitro, and has important implications for further understanding the regulatory effect of E2 on the self-renewal of cBMSCs, which are helpful for the clinical application of BMSCs.