Ground Improvement of Dhu Al-Kifil Minaret Using Micropile and Cement Grouting

The Minaret of Dhu Al-Kifil Nabi (PBUH), located in the city of Kifil with a height of about 25 meters, is one of the historical monuments of Iraq. The 4.5 degree deviation of this Minaret has become a challenge for authorities in recent years. Various reasons, such as the old age of the building and manipulation of the soil of the minaret bed, damage the structure and have caused it to deviate from the vertical direction and form cracks at its height. A temporary metal retaining structure is currently constructed on the site to maintain the building in its current state. Still, in order to remove it and repair the body and foundation of the Minaret, the designs have been carried out by Iranian engineering groups. After that, its strengthening operations have also finished. In this article, after the introduction of the project, the analytical and numerical results of the bed improvement plan using the combination of inclined and vertical micropiles are presented. Finally, the reliability of the plan in controlling the heterogeneous settlement of the Minaret is assessed

Excavation Support and Foundation Ground Improvement Using Jet Grouting Method – A Case Study

One of the soil improvement methods is using soil-cement columns, and one of the most common methods of implementing these columns is the Jet grouting method. In this article, the performance of Jet grouting columns in soil improvement and excavation wall stabilization is investigated in a project located in Chalous, north of Iran, by implementing several experimental soil-cement columns in real scale at depths of 4, 8, and 15 meters and diameter of 80 cm. By comparing the soil settlement before and after the improvement, it was found that the average settlement, which was in the range of 186 mm before the improvement, reached about 68 mm after the improvement using the jet grouting method. It has been observed that the settlement of the foundation has been significantly reduced after improving the ground with soil-cement columns. On the other hand, the results of this study showed that this method has also been very effective in stabilizing the excavation walls. The maximum displacement of the crest of the wall is about 3.4 cm, and the maximum settlement behind the wall is limited to 12 mm

Prophylactic DNA vaccine targeting Foxp3+regulatory T cells depletes myeloid-derived suppressor cells and improves anti-melanoma immune responses in a murine model

Abstract Regulatory T cells (Treg) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are the two important and interactive immunosuppressive components of the tumor microenvironment that hamper anti-tumor immune responses. Therefore, targeting these two populations together might be beneficial for overcoming immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment. We have recently shown that prophylactic Foxp3 DNA/recombinant protein vaccine (Foxp3 vaccine) promotes immunity against Treg in tumor-free conditions. In the present study, we investigated the immune modulatory effects of a prophylactic regimen of the redesigned Foxp3 vaccine in the B16F10 melanoma model. Our results indicate that Foxp3 vaccination continuously reduces Treg population in both the tumor site and the spleen. Surprisingly, Treg reduction was associated with a significant decrease in the frequency of MDSC, both in the spleen and in the tumor environment. Furthermore, Foxp3 vaccination resulted in a significant reduction of arginase-1(Arg-1)-induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and suppressed MDSC activity. Moreover, this concurrent depletion restored production of inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ and enhanced tumor-specific CTL response, which subsequently resulted in the reduction of tumor growth and the improved survival rate of vaccinated mice. In conclusion, our results revealed that Foxp3 vaccine promotes an immune response against tumor by targeting both Treg and MDSC, which could be exploited as a potential immunotherapy approach. Keywords Regulatory T cells Myeloid-derived suppressor cells Foxp3 Melanom

Prophylactic DNA vaccine targeting Foxp3 + regulatory T cells depletes myeloid-derived suppressor cells and improves anti-melanoma immune responses in a murine model

Regulatory T cells (Treg) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are the two important and interactive immunosuppressive components of the tumor microenvironment that hamper anti-tumor immune responses. Therefore, targeting these two populations together might be beneficial for overcoming immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment. We have recently shown that prophylactic Foxp3 DNA/recombinant protein vaccine (Foxp3 vaccine) promotes immunity against Treg in tumor-free conditions. In the present study, we investigated the immune modulatory effects of a prophylactic regimen of the redesigned Foxp3 vaccine in the B16F10 melanoma model. Our results indicate that Foxp3 vaccination continuously reduces Treg population in both the tumor site and the spleen. Surprisingly, Treg reduction was associated with a significant decrease in the frequency of MDSC, both in the spleen and in the tumor environment. Furthermore, Foxp3 vaccination resulted in a significant reduction of arginase-1(Arg-1)-induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and suppressed MDSC activity. Moreover, this concurrent depletion restored production of inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ and enhanced tumor-specific CTL response, which subsequently resulted in the reduction of tumor growth and the improved survival rate of vaccinated mice. In conclusion, our results revealed that Foxp3 vaccine promotes an immune response against tumor by targeting both Treg and MDSC, which could be exploited as a potential immunotherapy approach.. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Ground Improvement of Dhu Al-Kifil Minaret Using Micropile and Cement Grouting

The Minaret of Dhu Al-Kifil Nabi (PBUH), located in the city of Kifil with a height of about 25 meters, is one of the historical monuments of Iraq. The 4.5 degree deviation of this Minaret has become a challenge for authorities in recent years. Various reasons, such as the old age of the building and manipulation of the soil of the minaret bed, damage the structure and have caused it to deviate from the vertical direction and form cracks at its height. A temporary metal retaining structure is currently constructed on the site to maintain the building in its current state. Still, in order to remove it and repair the body and foundation of the Minaret, the designs have been carried out by Iranian engineering groups. After that, its strengthening operations have also finished. In this article, after the introduction of the project, the analytical and numerical results of the bed improvement plan using the combination of inclined and vertical micropiles are presented. Finally, the reliability of the plan in controlling the heterogeneous settlement of the Minaret is assessed

Excavation Support and Foundation Ground Improvement Using Jet Grouting Method – A Case Study

One of the soil improvement methods is using soil-cement columns, and one of the most common methods of implementing these columns is the Jet grouting method. In this article, the performance of Jet grouting columns in soil improvement and excavation wall stabilization is investigated in a project located in Chalous, north of Iran, by implementing several experimental soil-cement columns in real scale at depths of 4, 8, and 15 meters and diameter of 80 cm. By comparing the soil settlement before and after the improvement, it was found that the average settlement, which was in the range of 186 mm before the improvement, reached about 68 mm after the improvement using the jet grouting method. It has been observed that the settlement of the foundation has been significantly reduced after improving the ground with soil-cement columns. On the other hand, the results of this study showed that this method has also been very effective in stabilizing the excavation walls. The maximum displacement of the crest of the wall is about 3.4 cm, and the maximum settlement behind the wall is limited to 12 mm

Study on SARS-CoV-2 strains in Iran reveals potential contribution of co-infection with and recombination between different strains to the emergence of new strains

We aimed to describe SARS-CoV-2 strains in Iranians from nine distributed cities infected during two months expanding late 2020 and early 2021 by genotyping known informative single nucleotide in five PCR amplicons. Two variants associated with haplotype H1 (clade G) and nine additional variants associated with other haplotypes were genotyped, respectively, in RNA isolates of 244 and 85 individuals. The variants associated with the H1a (GR) and H1b (GH) haplotypes were most prevalent, indicating a significant change in infection pattern with passage of time. The most important findings were that recombinant genomes and co-infection, respectively, were surmised in 44.7 and 12.9 of the samples extensively genotyped. Partners of many of the recombinations were relatively common strains. Co-existing viruses were among those currently circulating in Iran. In addition to random mutations, co-infection with different existing strains and recombination between their genomes may significantly contribute to the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains. © 2021 Elsevier Inc