Anchorage of High-Strength Reinforcing Bars with Standard Hooks - Initial Tests

The effects of embedment length, side cover, quantity of confining transverse reinforcement, location of hook (inside or outside the column core), concrete compressive strength, hooked bar size, and hook bend angle on anchorage capacity are investigated using the results of 329 tests of standard hooks loaded in tension. No. 5, 8, and 11 hooks were tested in beam-column joints with concrete compressive strengths ranging from 4,300 to 13,700 psi. The results of the tests are compared with the provisions in ACI 318-11, and equations to describe the anchorage strength of 90° hooks for hooks not confined by transverse reinforcement, hooks confined by two No. 3 ties, and hooks confined by No. 3 ties spaced at 3db are developed. Hooks cast inside the column core have greater ultimate anchorage force than those cast outside the column core, hook bend angle has a negligible effect on ultimate anchorage force, and ultimate anchorage force increases as the quantity of confining transverse reinforcement increases. For hooks not confined by transverse reinforcement, the anchorage capacity increases more rapidly than embedment length. For hooks confined by transverse reinforcement, small embedment lengths develop significant anchorage forces; increases in embedment length result in additional capacity, but anchorage capacity is less than proportional to embedment length. Comparisons to the provisions in ACI 318-11 show that the ultimate anchorage force of larger hooked bars and the effect of concrete compressive strength are overpredicted by the current design requirements. Analysis of 90° hooks cast inside the column core show that there is an increase in ultimate anchorage force with an increase in bar diameter; this effect increases as the quantity of confining transverse reinforcement increases within the range of values evaluated in this study. Ultimate anchorage force also increases with an increase in cover to the center of the bar for bars not confined by transverse reinforcement; this effect decreases as the quantity of transverse reinforcement increases and has no effect for bars confined by No. 3 ties spaced at 3db

Conventional and High-Strength Hooked Bars—Part 1: Anchorage Tests

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the anchorage strength of conventional and high-strength steel hooked bars. Three hundred and thirty-seven exterior beam-column joint specimens were tested with compressive strengths ranging from 4300 to 16,500 psi (30 to 114 MPa). Parameters investigated included the number of hooked bars per specimen, bar diameter, side cover, amount of confining reinforcement, hooked bar spacing, hook bend angle, hook placement, and embedment length. Bar stresses at failure ranged from 22,800 to 144,100 psi (157 and 994 MPa). The majority of the hooked bars failed by a combination of front and side failure, with front failure being the dominant failure mode. Test results show that development lengths of hooked bars calculated based on ACI 318-14 are very conservative for No. 5 (No. 16) bars and become progressively less conservative with increasing bar size and concrete compressive strength

Anchorage of High-Strength Reinforcing Bars with Standard Hooks

Hooked bars are used to anchor reinforcing steel where member dimensions prevent straight bars from developing their full yield strength. Prior to the current study, the quantity of data has been limited with regards to the capacity of hooked bars–particularly when high-strength steel or concrete is used. As a result, current design provisions in ACI 318-14 limit yield strength and concrete compressive strength to 80,000 psi and 10,000 psi, respectively, for the purpose of determining the development length of hooked bars. The purpose of this study was to determine the critical factors that affect the anchorage strength of hooked bars in concrete and to develop new design guidelines for development length allowing for the use of high-strength reinforcing steel and concrete. In this study, a total of 337 beam-column joint specimens were tested. Parameters included number of hooks (2, 3, or 4), concrete compressive strength (4,300 to 16,510 psi), bar diameter (No. 5, No. 8, and No. 11), concrete side cover (1.5 to 4 in.), amount of transverse reinforcement in the joint region, hooked bar spacing (3db to 11db center-to-center), hook bend angle (90° or 180°), placement of the hook (inside or outside the column core, and inside or outside of the column compressive region), and embedment length. The results of this study show that current ACI 318-14 code provisions are unconservative for larger hooked bars and higher compressive strength concrete. The effect of concrete compressive strength on the anchorage capacity of hooked bars is less than represented by the 0.5 power currently used in ACI provisions; the 0.25 power provides a more realistic estimate of capacity. The addition of confining transverse reinforcement in the hook region increases the anchorage capacity of hooked bars–the value of the increase depends on the quantity of confining reinforcement per hooked bar. Hooked bars with 90° and 180° bend angles exhibit similar capacities, and no increase in capacity was observed when increasing side cover from 2.5 to 3.5 in. Anchoring a hooked bar outside the column core or outside the compressive region of a column provides less capacity than anchoring the hooks at the far side of a beam-column joint or in a wall with a high side cover. Hooked bars also exhibit a reduction in capacity if the center-to-center spacing is less than seven bar diameters. These observations are used to develop a new design equation that allows for the conservative design of hooked bars

Rapid biolayer interferometry measurements of urinary CXCL9 to detect cellular infiltrates noninvasively after kidney transplantation

Introduction: measuring the chemokine CXCL9 in urine by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) can diagnose acute cellular rejection (ACR) noninvasively after kidney transplantation, but the required 12- to 24-hour turnaround time is not ideal for rapid, clinical decision-making. Methods: we developed a biolayer interferometry (BLI)−based assay to rapidly measure urinary CXCL9 in 200 pg/ml in subjects with ACR and ≤100 pg/ml in subjects with stable kidney function without cellular infiltrates. In samples obtained after treatment for ACR, BLI CXCL9 measurements detected biopsy-proven intragraft infiltrates despite treatment-induced reduction in serum creatinine. Discussion: together, our proof-of-principle results demonstrate that BLI-based urinary CXCL9 detection has potential as a point-of-care noninvasive biomarker to diagnose and guide therapy for ACR in kidney transplantation recipients

A Comprehensive Phenotypic and Functional Immune Analysis Unravels Circulating Anti-Phospholipase A2 Receptor Antibody Secreting Cells in Membranous Nephropathy Patients

Introduction: Primary membranous nephropathy (MN) is characterized by the presence of antipodocyte antibodies, but studies describing phenotypic and functional abnormalities in circulating lymphocytes are limited. Methods: We analyzed 68 different B- and T-cell subsets using flow cytometry in 30 MN patients (before initiating immunosuppression) compared with 31 patients with non-immune-mediated chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 12 healthy individuals. We also measured 19 serum cytokines in MN patients and in healthy controls. Lastly, we quantified the ex vivo production of phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R)-specific IgG by plasmablasts (measuring antibodies in culture supernatants and by the newly developed FluoroSpot assay [AutoImmun Diagnostika, Strasberg, Germany]) and assessed the circulating antibody repertoire by phage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq). Results: After adjusting for multiple testing, plasma cells and regulatory B cells (BREG) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in MN patients compared with both control groups. The percentages of circulating plasma cells correlated with serum anti-PLA2R antibody levels (P = 0.042) and were associated with disease activity. Ex vivo-expanded PLA2R-specific IgG-producing plasmablasts generated from circulating PLA2R-specific memory B cells (mBCs) correlated with serum anti-PLA2R IgG antibodies (P < 0.001) in MN patients. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was the only significantly increased cytokine in MN patients (P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference across study groups in the autoantibody and antiviral antibody repertoire. Conclusion: This extensive phenotypic and functional immune characterization shows that autoreactive plasma cells are present in the circulation of MN patients, providing a new therapeutic target and a candidate biomarker of disease activity

Är det förstått? En studie om hur gymnasieelever med annat modersmål förstår muntliga genomgångar.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka faktorer som hindrar elever med annat modersmål än svenska att förstå läraren vid muntliga genomgångar i klassrummet, och hur väl lärare är medvetna om dessa problem. Detta för att kunna anpassa undervisningen och bättre möta elevernas behov. För att undersöka detta har en cyklisk modell för kollegialt lärande använts. Modellen är utformad av Timperley et al. (2007) och innebär att lärare samarbetar och arbetar systematiskt enligt en cyklisk modell, bestående av olika steg. I den aktuella studien diskuterade kollegorna i gruppen i ett första steg vad som redan var känt om elevernas situation och vad som behövde undersökas. Eftersom en stor del av eleverna som går på skolan där studien utfördes har svårt att nå kunskapsmålen, och majoriteten har bott kort tid i Sverige och har därför begränsade kunskaper i svenska språket, formulerades följande frågeställningar: 1) Vilka faktorer är det som elever med annat modersmål uppfattar som de största svårigheterna för förståelsen av en muntlig genomgång i klassrummet? och 2) Förstår lärare med svenska som andraspråks- (sva) kompetens fler av de svårigheter som elever med annat modersmål upplever jämfört med lärare utan sva-kompetens? Som ett andra (2) steg planerades en muntlig genomgång, som i steg (3) observerades genom att filma en muntlig genomgång under en lektion. Sedan (steg 4) analyserades filminspelningen av elever och lärare. Detta gjordes även med ytterligare två andra muntliga genomgångar. Resultaten av elevernas analyser visade att det som eleverna upplever som mest störande för förståelsen av muntliga genomgångar är bakgrundsbrus som gör att de inte kan höra det som läraren säger, och att det finns svåra ord som gör att de inte förstår. Resultaten av lärarnas analyser kan inte visa att sva-lärare skulle ha en bättre förståelse för de problem som elever med annat modersmål upplever vid muntliga genomgångar. Resultaten tyder även på att de ord som eleverna har svår

Conventional and High-Strength Hooked Bars: Detailing Effects

Findings from a study on the effect of hook bend angle, concrete clear cover, and orientation of confining reinforcement on hook anchorage strength are presented. The range of test parameters was much broader than in previous studies. Bar stress at anchorage failure ranged from 33,000 to 137,400 psi (228 to 947 MPa) and concrete compressive strengths ranged from 4300 to 16,500 psi (30 to 114 MPa). Anchorage strength of hooked bars was insensitive to bend angle (90 or 180 degrees) and side cover (between 2.5 and 3.5 in. [65 and 90 mm]). Confining reinforcement was found to increase anchorage strength for 180-degree hooked bars regardless of orientation (parallel or perpendicular to the embedment length). For 90-degree hooked bars, reinforcement oriented parallel to the embedment length had a greater effect on anchorage strength than reinforcement oriented perpendicular to the embedment length

Stress-Induced Legume Root Nodule Senescence. Physiological, Biochemical, and Structural Alterations

Nitrate-fed and dark-stressed bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and pea (Pisum sativum) plants were used to study nodule senescence. In bean, 1 d of nitrate treatment caused a partially reversible decline in nitrogenase activity and an increase in O(2) diffusion resistance, but minimal changes in carbon metabolites, antioxidants, and other biochemical parameters, indicating that the initial decrease in nitrogenase activity was due to O(2) limitation. In pea, 1 d of dark treatment led to a 96% decline in nitrogenase activity and sucrose, indicating sugar deprivation as the primary cause of activity loss. In later stages of senescence (4 d of nitrate or 2–4 d of dark treatment), nodules showed accumulation of oxidized proteins and general ultrastructural deterioration. The major thiol tripeptides of untreated nodules were homoglutathione (72%) in bean and glutathione (89%) in pea. These predominant thiols declined by approximately 93% after 4 d of nitrate or dark treatment, but the loss of thiol content can be only ascribed in part to limited synthesis by γ-glutamylcysteinyl, homoglutathione, and glutathione synthetases. Ascorbate peroxidase was immunolocalized primarily in the infected and parenchyma (inner cortex) nodule cells, with large decreases in senescent tissue. Ferritin was almost undetectable in untreated bean nodules, but accumulated in the plastids and amyloplasts of uninfected interstitial and parenchyma cells following 2 or 4 d of nitrate treatment, probably as a response to oxidative stress