A Comparative Study on Skid Resistance of Concrete Pavements Differing in Texturing Technique

The paper presents a comparison of the skid resistance of concrete pavements textured with different techniques in the process of simulating phenomena occurring in actual road conditions. Tests were carried out on five different texturing methods for concrete pavements: burlap drag (BuD), brush drag (BrD), transverse tining (TT), longitudinal tining (LT) and exposed aggregate concrete (EAC). Changes in the skid resistance were recorded by measurements with a British pendulum tester and a circular texture meter before and during the simulation of the abrasion (1st phase of test) and polishing (2nd phase of test) of specimens using a slab polisher. The results of BPN (British pendulum number) and MPD (mean profile depth) allowed us to determine the influence of microtexture and macrotexture on skid resistance. Analysis of variance showed that the method of texturing concrete pavements has a significant influence on the mean BPN values as well as the MPD parameter at each stage of the test. In order to distinguish homogeneous groups in terms of BPN and MPD levels at the particular stages of the process, the Tukey’s HSD (honest significant difference) post-hoc test was performed. It was found that EAC obtained the most favorable results of all the tested pavement types. Due to the high value of the MPD coefficient after the test and the appropriate values of the friction coefficient, it was confirmed that the EAC pavement will be a durable solution due to the guarantee of skid resistance on high-speed roads during its service life.     

Ueber Resection des Blinddarmes bei carcinomatöser und narbiger Stenose

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Efficacy and safety of treatment with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir in patients aged 6–18 years with chronic hepatitis C—Results of the PANDAA-PED study

Background and Aims

The aim of this non-commercial, open-label, real-life, non-randomized clinical trial was to analyse the efficacy and safety of a pangenotypic regimen sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) in patients aged 6–18 years with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods

Fifty patients qualified for the 12-week treatment were divided into two weight groups: 15 children weighting between 17 and <30 kg received a fixed dose of 200/50 mg of SOF/VEL (tablet) once daily, and 35 patients weighting ≥30 kg were treated with 400/100 mg SOF/VEL. The primary endpoint of the study was efficacy defined as sustained viral response (undetectable HCV RNA using an real-time polymerase chain reaction method) at 12 weeks posttreatment (SVR12).

Results

Median age of the participants was 10 (IQR 8–12) years, 47 were infected vertically, and 3 patients were previously ineffectively treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Thirty-seven participants were infected with HCV genotype 1, 10 with HCV genotype 3 and the remaining 3 with genotype 4. There was no case of cirrhosis. SVR12 was 100%. Thirty-three reported adverse events (AEs) were considered related to the administration of SOF/VEL, all of them were mild or moderate. Children presenting with AEs were older compared to these without AEs: 12 (9.5–13) versus 9 (IQR 8–11) years (p = 0.008).

Conclusions

Results of the PANDAA-PED study indicated a 100% effectiveness of a 12-week therapy with SOF/VEL in children aged 6–18 years with chronic HCV infection and its good safety profile, in particular in younger patients.     

The DNA mismatch repair enzyme PMS1 is a myositis‐specific autoantigen

Objective

The specificity of the autoantibody response in different autoimmune diseases makes autoantibodies useful for diagnostic purposes. It also focuses attention on tissue‐ and event‐specific circumstances that may select unique molecules for an autoimmune response in specific diseases. Defining additional phenotype‐specific autoantibodies may identify such circumstances. This study was undertaken to investigate the disease specificity of PMS1, an autoantigen previously identified in some sera from patients with myositis.

Methods

We used immunoprecipitation analysis to determine the frequency of autoantibodies to PMS1 in sera from patients with myositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or scleroderma and from healthy controls. Additional antigens recognized by PMS1‐positive sera were further characterized in terms of their susceptibility to cleavage by apoptotic proteases.

Results

PMS1, a DNA mismatch repair enzyme, was identified as a myositis‐specific autoantigen. Autoantibodies to PMS1 were found in 4 of 53 patients with autoimmune myositis (7.5%), but in no sera from 94 patients with other systemic autoimmune diseases (P = 0.016). Additional mismatch repair enzymes (PMS2, MLH1) were targeted, apparently independently. Sera recognizing PMS1 also recognized several other proteins involved in DNA repair and remodeling, including poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase, DNA‐dependent protein kinase, and Mi‐2. All of these autoantigens were efficiently cleaved by granzyme B, generating unique fragments not observed during other forms of cell death.

Conclusion

PMS1 autoantibodies are myositis specific. The striking correlation between an immune response to a group of granzyme B substrates (functioning in DNA repair and remodeling) and the myositis phenotype strongly implies that tissue‐ and event‐specific biochemical events play a role in selecting these molecules for an autoimmune response. Understanding the role of granzyme B cleavage in this response is an important priority.