Probable Causes of Cracking in a Series of Reinforced Concrete Box Girder Bridges

This thesis is the result of a study undertaken at the request of the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) to determine the probable cause of a specific type of cracking that was observed in a series of reinforced concrete box girder bridges. The cracking consists of horizontal cracks through the end diaphragms of the girder and horizontal cracking over the interior bents. Typical crack patterns obtained from information supplied by the SDDOT are shown in Figure 1

Quadruple gene-engineered natural killer cells enable multi-antigen targeting for durable antitumor activity against multiple myeloma

Allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell adoptive transfer is a promising treatment for several cancers but is less effective for the treatment of multiple myeloma. In this study, we report on quadruple gene-engineered induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived NK cells designed for mass production from a renewable source and for dual targeting against multiple myeloma through the introduction of an NK cell-optimized chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) specific for B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and a high affinity, non-cleavable CD16 to augment antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity when combined with therapeutic anti-CD38 antibodies. Additionally, these cells express a membrane-bound interleukin-15 fusion molecule to enhance function and persistence along with knock out of CD38 to prevent antibody-mediated fratricide and enhance NK cell metabolic fitness. In various preclinical models, including xenogeneic adoptive transfer models, quadruple gene-engineered NK cells consistently demonstrate durable antitumor activity independent of exogenous cytokine support. Results presented here support clinical translation of this off-the-shelf strategy for effective treatment of multiple myeloma

Apoptosis in Mammalian Spermatogenesis : Can Mature Sperm be Apoptotic?

Apoptosis is a mode of regulated cell death characterized by specific morphological changes and a cascade of biochemical events. Recent studies of spermatogenic cell populations have uncovered an essential role of apoptosis for the regulation of numbers of germ cells in testes. During normal spermatogenesis, more than half of the germ cells undergo apoptosis, but the physiological significance and molecular mechanisms of this programmed cell death are largely unknown. Preliminary investigations have uncovered strong correlations between the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), a flow cytometric assay which measures abnormal denaturation of sperm nuclear DNA in situ; and DNA strand breaks, one of the classic hallmarks of apoptotic cells. By applying test methods which detect biochemical changes in apoptotic somatic cells, we have investigated the possibility of an apoptotic process in testicular and sperm cell populations that demonstrate increased susceptibility to acid-induced DNA denaturation as measured by SCSA parameters

Den finansiella marknadens reaktion på företagsavknoppningar

Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är att undersöka hur den finansiella marknaden reagerar på företagsavknoppningar enligt Lex Asea. För att kunna göra denna studie använde vi metoden för eventstudie. Denna eventstudie utgjorde alla de företag som har genomfört avknoppningar mellan åren 2000-2005. Sammanlagt var det 43 avknoppningar under denna period. Under studiens gång blev det ett bortfall och därmed uppgick undersökningspopulationen till 25 företag varav vissa av företagen knoppat av flera gånger. Därmed blev totalpopulationen 30 avknoppningar enligt Lex Asea. För våra beräkningar av den onormala över-/underavkastningar användes marknadsmodellen. Data för insamling av kurshistorik för aktier togs främst från Affärsvärldens hemsida och indexhistoriken hämtades också från Affärsvärldens generalindex AFGX. Detta är ett brett Index som mäter den genomsnittliga kursutvecklingen på Stockholmsbörsen. Komplettering av kurshistorik hämtades från SixTrusts databas. Resultatet från studien visade på en positiv onormal över-/underavkastning inom det studerade eventfönstret. Denna utveckling inträdde redan fem dagar före dagen då företagen meddelar marknaden om en avknoppning. I utredningen om huruvida motiven som angetts av företagen har något samband med den onormala över-/underavkastningen kunde inte bestämmas. Det gick heller inte att tyda ifall ett företags branschtillhörighet skulle medföra en bättre onormal över-/underavkastning

Tongue necrosis as an unusual presentation of carotid artery stenosis

A 57-year-old man with premature coronary artery disease presented to the emergency department with left facial pain, numbness, and tongue swelling. The patient was found to have significant tongue necrosis, and subsequent arteriography demonstrated carotid bifurcation stenosis with embolization to the left lingual artery. The patient was successfully treated with debridement of his tongue and left carotid endarterectomy