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Investigates the structural dynamics of unreinforced masonry. Development of failure envelope; Usage of the Modified Newton-Raphson iteration scheme; Implementation of the analysis in a nonlinear finite element program; Effect of bed joint orientation; Application of masonry as a nonlinear homogeneous orthotopic material.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (MI) leads to an irreversible loss of proper cardiac function. Application of stem cell therapy is an attractive option for MI treatment. Adipose tissue has proven to serve as a rich source of stem cells (ADSCs). Taking into account the different morphogenesis, anatomy, and physiology of adipose tissue, we hypothesized that ADSCs from different adipose tissue depots may exert a diverse multipotency and cardiogenic potential. Methods: The omental, pericardial, and epicardial adipose tissue samples were obtained from organ donors and patients undergoing heart transplantation at our institution. Human foreskin fibroblasts were used as the control group. Isolated ADSCs were analyzed for adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation capacity and proliferation potential. The immunophenotype and constitutive gene expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), GATA4, Nanog, and OCT4 were analyzed. DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine was exposed to the cells to stimulate the cardiogenesis. Finally, reprogramming towards cardiomyocytes was initiated with exogenous overexpression of seven transcription factors (ESRRG, GATA4, MEF2C, MESP1, MYOCD, TBX5, ZFPM2) previously applied successfully for fibroblast transdifferentiation toward cardiomyocytes. Expression of cardiac troponin T (cTNT) and alpha-actinin (Actn2) was analyzed 3 weeks after initiation of the cardiac differentiation. Results: The multipotent properties of isolated plastic adherent cells were confirmed with expression of CD29, CD44, CD90, and CD105, as well as successful differentiation toward adipocytes and osteocytes; with the highest osteogenic and adipogenic potential for the epicardial and omental ADSCs, respectively. Epicardial ADSCs demonstrated a lower doubling time as compared with the pericardium and omentum-derived cells. Furthermore, epicardial ADSCs revealed higher constitutive expression of ALP and GATA4. Increased Actn2 and cTNT expression was observed after the transduction of seven reprogramming factors, with the highest expression in the epicardial ADSCs, as compared with the other ADSC subtypes and fibroblasts. Conclusions: Human epicardial ADSCs revealed a higher cardiomyogenic potential as compared with the pericardial and omental ADSC subtypes as well as the fibroblast counterparts. Epicardial ADSCs may thus serve as the valuable subject for further studies on more effective methods of adult stem cell differentiation toward cardiomyocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of cold-formed steel Boxed stud and C section wall systems under axial compression, bending, and combined axial and bending loads has recently been investigated at the University of South Australia. This Technical Note summarizes the experimental procedures and capacity assessment of single-plasterboard-sheathed panels in comparison with unsheathed steel frames tested under axial compressive load. The paper also presents the structural behaviors of panels with plasterboard sheathing under the influence of bending only and combined axial and bending loads. The analysis of the test results led to numerous interesting conclusions about the behavior of single-plasterboard-sheathed panels within brick veneer wall systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate evaluation of structural damage is essential to performance-based seismic design for the structure across the earth fissure. By comparing the calculation results from three commonly used damage models and the experimental results, a weighted combination method using Chen model was selected in this paper as the seismic damage evaluation. A numerical model considering the soil-structure interaction (SSI) was proposed using ABAQUS software. The model was calibrated by comparing with the experimental results. The results from the analysis indicated that, for the structure across the earth fissure, the existence of earth fissure changed the damage distribution of the structural members. The damage of structural members in the hanging wall was greater than that in the foot wall. Besides, the earth fissure enlarged the damage degree of the structural members at the same location and changed the position of the weak story. Moreover, the damage degree of the structure across the earth fissure was greater than that of the structure without the earth fissure under the same excitation. It is expected that the results from this research would enhance the understanding of the performance-based seismic design for the structure across the earth fissure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Taiwan Human Disease iPSC Service Consortium was established to accelerate Taiwan's growing stem cell research initiatives and provide a platform for researchers interested in utilizing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. The consortium has generated and characterized 83 iPSC lines: 11 normal and 72 disease iPSC lines covering 21 different diseases, several of which are of high incidence in Taiwan. Whether there are any reprogramming-induced recurrent copy number variant (CNV) hotspots in iPSCs is still largely unknown. Methods: We performed genome-wide copy number variant screening of 83 Han Taiwanese iPSC lines and compared them with 1093 control subjects using an Affymetrix genome-wide human SNP array. Results: In the iPSCs, we identified ten specific CNV loci and seven "polymorphic" CNV regions that are associated with the reprogramming process. Additionally, we established several differentiation protocols for our iPSC lines. We demonstrated that our iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes respond to pharmacological agents and were successfully engrafted into the mouse myocardium demonstrating their potential application in cell therapy. Conclusions: The CNV hotspots induced by cell reprogramming have successfully been identified in the current study. This finding may be used as a reference index for evaluating iPSC quality for future clinical applications. Our aim was to establish a national iPSC resource center generating iPSCs, made available to researchers, to benefit the stem cell community in Taiwan and throughout the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]