Strength and deformation of arbitrary beam sections using adaptive FEM

[EN] Still today, structural design is often based on simplified hand-calculation formulas for special cases, which is tedious to apply and do not cover more general situations. To improve the situation, the paper presents a FE-program for analysis of strength and deformation of arbitrary beam cross sections of steel and concrete loaded by all six force and moment components. The program is based on (1) an enhanced beam theory with three-dimensional state of stress, (2) multi-surface elasto-plasticity for modeling of the materials and (3) efficient numerical algorithms (mesh adaptive FEM, arc-length method, etc.). The paper presents the theory behind the program and some initial numerical testing to show how the program works. The initial numerical testing on steel and reinforced concrete beam sections loaded in bending, shear and torsion show promising results. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Kettil, P.; J.J. Ródenas; Torres, CA.; Wiberg, N-. (2007). Strength and deformation of arbitrary beam sections using adaptive FEM. Computers & Structures. 85(1):15-29. doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2006.08.058S152985

ANTIGEN SPECIFICITY ENHANCES DISEASE CONTROL BY TREGS IN VITILIGO

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease characterized by melanocyte destruction. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are greatly reduced in vitiligo skin, and replenishing peripheral skin Tregs can provide protection against depigmentation. Ganglioside D3 (GD3) is overexpressed by perilesional epidermal cells, including melanocytes, which prompted us to generate GD3-reactive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) Tregs to treat vitiligo. Mice received either untransduced Tregs or GD3-specific Tregs to test the hypothesis that antigen specificity contributes to reduced autoimmune reactivity in vitro and in vivo. CAR Tregs displayed increased IL-10 secretion in response to antigen, provided superior control of cytotoxicity towards melanocytes, and supported a significant delay in depigmentation compared to untransduced Tregs and vehicle control recipients in a TCR transgenic mouse model of spontaneous vitiligo. The latter findings were associated with a greater abundance of Tregs and melanocytes in treated mice versus both control groups. Our data support the concept that antigen-specific Tregs can be prepared, used, and stored for long-term control of progressive depigmentation