Dearborn Center: A Unique Soil Structure Interaction Design

The paper describes a case history that illustrates a mixed foundation system in which existing caissons which previously supported an 11-story building that had been demolished down to street level, share the load with a mat constructed in the lowest basement level on top of the existing caissons to support a new 38-story office building. The geotechnical investigation to determine the properties of the supporting soil strata is described as well as the material investigation to confirm the integrity of the existing foundations. The soil structure interaction concept developed and the analysis performed is presented. The observed settlement is compared with the predicted settlements with reasonable agreement reached

The NOX toolbox: validating the role of NADPH oxidases in physiology and disease

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are cellular signals but also disease triggers; their relative excess (oxidative stress) or shortage (reductive stress) compared to reducing equivalents are potentially deleterious. This may explain why antioxidants fail to combat diseases that correlate with oxidative stress. Instead, targeting of disease-relevant enzymatic ROS sources that leaves physiological ROS signaling unaffected may be more beneficial. NADPH oxidases are the only known enzyme family with the sole function to produce ROS. Of the catalytic NADPH oxidase subunits (NOX), NOX4 is the most widely distributed isoform. We provide here a critical review of the currently available experimental tools to assess the role of NOX and especially NOX4, i.e. knock-out mice, siRNAs, antibodies, and pharmacological inhibitors. We then focus on the characterization of the small molecule NADPH oxidase inhibitor, VAS2870, in vitro and in vivo, its specificity, selectivity, and possible mechanism of action. Finally, we discuss the validation of NOX4 as a potential therapeutic target for indications including stroke, heart failure, and fibrosis

Core Inflation: Measurement and Statistical Issues in Choosing Among Alternative Measures

This paper provides an overview of statistical measurement issues relating to alternative measures of core inflation and the criteria for choosing among them. The approaches to measurement considered include exclusion-based methods, limited influence estimators, reweighting, and economic modeling. Criteria for judging which approach to use include credibility, control, deviations from a smoothed reference series, volatility, predictive ability, causality and co-integration tests, and correlation with money supply. The extensive number of measures, criteria by which their appropriateness is assessed, and lack of consistency in the results of country studies argue for a data-driven approach. IMF Staff Papers (2007) 54, 163–190. doi:10.1057/palgrave.imfsp.9450006