Concurrent nephrotic syndrome and acute renal failure caused by chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): a case report and literature review

Kidney injury associated with lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is typically caused by direct tumor infiltration which occasionally results in acute renal failure. Glomerular involvement presenting as proteinuria or even nephrotic syndrome is exceptionally rare. Here we report a case of 54-year-old male CLL patient with nephrotic syndrome and renal failure. The lymph node biopsy confirmed that the patients had CLL with remarkable immunoglobulin light chain amyloid deposition. The renal biopsy demonstrated the concurrence of AL amyloidosis and neoplastic infiltration. Combined treatment of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab resulted in remission of CLL, as well as the renal disfunction and nephrotic syndrome, without recurrence during a 12-month follow-up. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CLL patient showing the nephrotic syndrome and acute renal failure caused by AL amyloidosis and neoplastic infiltration. Though AL amyloidosis caused by plasma cell dyscrasia usually responses poorly to chemotherapy, this patient exhibited a satisfactory clinical outcome due to successful inhibition of the production of amylodogenic light chains by combined chemotherapy

Stochastic Buffeting Analysis of Uncertain Long-Span Bridge Deck with an Optimized Method

The buffeting analysis of an uncertain long-span bridge deck was carried out in this paper. Due to the effect of strong spatial correlation of wind excitation, it should be assumed as partially coherent multiple excitations. The following includes a theoretical formula for the buffeting analysis of a long-span bridge deck with uncertain parameters, which was achieved mainly by a combination of the stochastic pseudo excitation method (SPEM) and response surface method (RSM). The SPEM-RSM was firstly applied to deal with the complicated spectral density function matrix of wind excitation. The buffeting response of the bridge deck was then calculated and verified by the results from the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The efficiency and applicability of the hybrid method for strong spatial correlation was proved. After the comparison, the effect of uncertain structural parameters and wind speed on the buffeting performance of the bridge deck were computed. The results showed that the whole uncertainties essentially affected the buffeting response of the deck. The uncertain wind speed played the most significant role in the vertical and lateral motion of the deck. The joint influences between structural uncertainties and uncertain wind speed further affect the random characteristics of the responses. Finally, the effects of different wind speed and wind angle of attack on the aerodynamic performance of the bridge are examined. The variance of the responses increased with the development of wind speed. The effect of different attack angles on the buffeting responses was significant

Stochastic Buffeting Analysis of Uncertain Long-Span Bridge Deck with an Optimized Method

The buffeting analysis of an uncertain long-span bridge deck was carried out in this paper. Due to the effect of strong spatial correlation of wind excitation, it should be assumed as partially coherent multiple excitations. The following includes a theoretical formula for the buffeting analysis of a long-span bridge deck with uncertain parameters, which was achieved mainly by a combination of the stochastic pseudo excitation method (SPEM) and response surface method (RSM). The SPEM-RSM was firstly applied to deal with the complicated spectral density function matrix of wind excitation. The buffeting response of the bridge deck was then calculated and verified by the results from the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The efficiency and applicability of the hybrid method for strong spatial correlation was proved. After the comparison, the effect of uncertain structural parameters and wind speed on the buffeting performance of the bridge deck were computed. The results showed that the whole uncertainties essentially affected the buffeting response of the deck. The uncertain wind speed played the most significant role in the vertical and lateral motion of the deck. The joint influences between structural uncertainties and uncertain wind speed further affect the random characteristics of the responses. Finally, the effects of different wind speed and wind angle of attack on the aerodynamic performance of the bridge are examined. The variance of the responses increased with the development of wind speed. The effect of different attack angles on the buffeting responses was significant

Investigation on the static and dynamic behaviors of non-pneumatic tires with honeycomb spokes

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Non-pneumatic tires (NPTs) have wide application prospects due to their advantages of no run-flat, no need of air pressure maintenance, and low rolling resistance. In this paper, the static and dynamic behaviors of NPTs with different honeycomb spokes were investigated. Based on the static behavior of three types of NPTs with the same cell wall thickness of honeycomb or the same reference load carrying capacity, it is shown that the maximum stresses in spokes and tread of a NPT are much lower than that of traditional pneumatic tires, but its load carrying capacity is higher than the latter. In comparison with the dynamic behavior of three types of NPTs designed with the same load carrying capacity, it is found that the stress level in spokes and tread under dynamic loading are higher than that under static loading. The rolling resistance of NPTs with the smallest cell expanding angle is lowest, which is due to the lowest mass and smallest deformation of honeycomb spokes. Taking all these factors into account, it is suggested that an optimal NPT in applications is one with a small cell expanding angle and wall thickness