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The remarkable success of immune checkpoint inhibitors demonstrates the potential of tumour-specific CD8+T cells to prevent and treat cancer. Although the number of lives saved by immunotherapy mounts, only a relatively small fraction of patients are cured. Here, we review two of the factors that limit the application of CD8+T cell immunotherapies: difficulties in identifying tumour-specific peptides presented by MHC class I molecules and the ability of tumour cells to impair antigen presentation as they evolve under T cell selection. We describe recent advances in understanding how peptides are generated from non-canonical translation of defective ribosomal products, relate this to the dysregulated translation that is a feature of carcinogenesis and propose dysregulated translation as an important new source of tumour-specific peptides. We discuss how the synthesis and function of components of the antigen-processing and presentation pathway, including the recently described immunoribosome, are manipulated by tumours for immunoevasion and point to common druggable targets that may enhance immunotherapy.

The reinforcing steel embedded in concrete is generally protected against corrosion by the high alkalinity (pH = 12.5 to 13.5) of the concrete pore solution. The structural degradation of concrete structures due to reinforcement’s corrosion has an impact on the safety, serviceability and durability of the structure. The corrosion of reinforcements in the construction of a transport infrastructure (especially bridges), parking areas, etc., is primarily initiated by chlorides from de-icing salts. Glass fiber reinforcement polymer (GFRP) bars are suitable alternatives to steel bars in reinforced concrete applications. The bond between concrete and reinforcement is one of the basic requirements for the composite action of both materials. The transfer of forces between the steel reinforcement and the concrete is provided by the following mechanisms: adhesion, friction and mechanical interlocking. The bond between GFRP reinforcement and concrete is different and it is ensured by friction and mechanical interlocking of the rebar surface. The chemical bond does not originate between GFRP reinforcement and the surrounding concrete, so adhesion does not contribute to transfer of the bond forces. Some few test methods are used to determine the bond between GFRP reinforcement and concrete. The pull-out tests were used to determine the bond behavior between GFRP rebars and concrete. This paper describes the preparation, process, results and evaluation of the pull-out tests.

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the most often deterioration reasons of RC structures. At present, the corrosion of steel reinforcement can be avoided by using non-metallic reinforcement from composite materials, especially in structures that are exposed to extreme environmental environment. These materials are durable and non-conductive. They are composited from two materials: fibres and matrix. The most commonly used FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers - FRP) reinforcement are glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP). The bar surface can be e.g. sanded, wrapped, with helically wound ribs. The bond between concrete and reinforcement is one of the basic requirements for the composite action of both materials. The transfer of forces between the steel reinforcement and the concrete is provided by the following mechanisms: adhesion, friction and mechanical interlocking. The bond between GFRP reinforcement and concrete is different and it is ensured by friction and mechanical interlocking of the rebar surface. The chemical bond does not originate between GFRP reinforcement and the surrounding concrete, so adhesion does not contribute to transfer of the bond forces. Some few test methods are used to determine the bond between GFRP reinforcement and concrete. The pull-out test were used to determine the bond behaviour between GFRP rebars and concrete. This paper describes the preparation, process, results and evaluation of the pull-out tests.

The reinforcing steel embedded in concrete is generally protected against corrosion by the high alkalinity (pH = 12.5 to 13.5) of the concrete pore solution. The structural degradation of concrete structures due to reinforcement’s corrosion has an impact on the safety, serviceability and durability of the structure. The corrosion of reinforcements in the construction of a transport infrastructure (especially bridges), parking areas, etc., is primarily initiated by chlorides from de-icing salts. When corrosion is initiated, active corrosion results in a volumetric expansion of the corrosion products around the reinforcing bars against the surrounding concrete. Reinforcement corrosion causes a volume increase due to the oxidation of metallic iron, which is mainly responsible for exerting the expansive radial pressure at the steel–concrete interface and development of hoop tensile stresses in the surrounding concrete. When this tensile stress exceeds the tensile strength of the concrete, cracks are generated. Higher corrosion rates can lead to the cracking and spalling of the concrete cover. Continued corrosion of reinforcement causes a reduction of total loss of bond between concrete and reinforcement.

More restrictive requirements of new codes, increasing of imposed loads connected with usage change of the existing structures, errors in design process or during execution can lead to necessity of the strengthening of the existing buildings. In paper, the new and modern strengthening system of flat slabs against punching shear using screw anchors is presented. Screw anchors are installed from lower face of the slab into vertically drilled boreholes. After the installation, the screw anchors operate as punching shear reinforcement. The advantages of the system are significant resistance and deformation capacity increment of the flat slab as well as easy and fast installation with no need to drill through the whole slab thickness and access the upper face of the slab. System is suitable for strengthening of office buildings, since removal of the flooring is not needed or in parking garages, where the water resistance is not disturbed by the system. Moreover, paper deals with special problems that are connected with design of the presented strengthening system e.g. considering of load (deformation) level of the slab at the moment of strengthening, performance of the screw anchors in cracked and non-cracked concrete and anchorage conditions improvement of the screw anchors by application of glue or mortar into the borehole prior the screw installation.

The structural integrity of precast concrete structures depends mainly on the connections between the precast structural elements. The purpose of a connection is to transfer loads, restrain movement, and/or to provide stability to a component or an entire structure. Therefore, the design of connections is one of the most important aspects in the design of precast concrete structures. All connections should design with valid codes. Every precasters have developed connection details over the years that suit their particular production and erection preferences. It is common, that the structural engineer to show loads and connection locations and allow the successful manufacturer’s engineering department to provide the final design and details of the connections.

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is the major cause of deterioration of existing RC structures. Combined effects of moisture, temperature, and chlorides reduce the alkalinity of concrete and exacerbate the corrosion of steel reinforcement, especially for concrete structures subjected to aggressive environments, such as marine structures and bridges and parking garages exposed to de-icing salts. Glass fiber reinforcement polymer (GFRP) bars are suitable alternatives to steel bars in reinforced concrete applications if durability, electromagnetic transparency, or ease of demolition in temporary constructions is sought, that have to be demolished partially by tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The bond of GFRP reinforcement is different from steel reinforcing bars. This paper presents factors affecting the bond strength between GFRP reinforcement and concrete.

Chloride-induced steel corrosion is one of the major deterioration problems for steel reinforced concrete structures. Its effects on RC structures include cracking of the concrete cover, reduction and eventually loss of bond between concrete and corroding reinforcement, and reduction of cross-sectional area of reinforcing steel. The accumulated corrosion products on the bar surface cause longitudinal cracking of the concrete cover. Loss of concrete cover leads to reduction in bond strength at the interfacial zone between the two materials. In addition, the deterioration of the ribs of the deformed bars causes a significant reduction of the interlocking forces between the ribs of the bars and the surrounding concrete keys. This deteriorates the primary mechanism of the bond strength between deformed bars and concrete, and hence, the bond strength decreases significantly. In this paper the effect of reinforcement corrosion on the bond strength between reinforcement and concrete was investigated for different corrosion levels. The effect of corrosion was simulated by the nonlinear numerical analysis with the FEM program using the 3D models.

The immune tolerance induction is the treatment of choice for the eradication of factor VIII inhibitors, a serious complication of inherited haemophilia A. Despite the preferred treatment of patients with good prognosis and testing of different regimens, the immune tolerance is achieved in 70–80%. Several modifications of regimens including the addition of immunomodulatory agents were proposed in order to improve immune tolerance induction (ITI) outcome. Intravenous immunoglobulin has complex immunomodulatory properties and has been used in immune tolerance induction since the introduction of Malmö regimen in the 1980s. The aim of the work is to evaluate the published evidence of its use in ITI in haemophilia A. In addition, the authors’ own experience with a high-dose regimen using human plasma-derived factor VIII containing von Willebrand factor and pulsed IVIg is reported. The course of three patients with severe inherited haemophilia A and inhibitor (all high responders, two with poor prognosis, one with rescue treatment) is described. At least partial success was achieved in all patients and no adverse events attributable to intravenous immunoglobulin were observed. Despite the limited evidence, the addition of intravenous immunoglobulin appears to be a promising treatment modification for patients with poor prognosis or previous failure of immune tolerance induction.

The corrosion of reinforcement is the major cause of damage of reinforced concrete structures. This has an impact on safety, serviceability and durability of the structure. The corrosion of steel in concrete reduces the cross sectional area of the reinforcement and decreases the bond between reinforcement and concrete. Corrosion products have a higher volume than steel, which produces internal stresses that lead to the cracking and spalling of the concrete cover. The paper analyses the effect of the chloride-initiated corrosion of reinforcements on bond behaviour.

Stem cells play pivotal role in the development of tissues and organs, as well as they maintain homeostasis and integrity of multicellular organisms. Human dental pulp-derived stem cells are capable of differentiation into osteoblasts, odontoblasts, adipocytes and neuronal-like cells and can have potential use in tissue regeneration. The aim of this study was a detailed description of human dental pulp-derived stem cells (HDPSCs) cultivated in vitro ultrastructural morphology. HDPSCs were isolated from the dental pulp of impacted third molars from healthy donors. Transmission electron microscopic analysis showed typical ultrastructural morphology similar to mesenchymal stem cells from other organs. The morphology of HDPSCs cells reflects their proteosynthetic and metabolic activity. Each cell contained spherical or irregularly-shaped large pale nucleus with a large amount of euchromatine. Nuclei had noticeable nucleolus (or two nucleoli) located nearby the nuclear envelope. Abundant cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum and numerous coated matrix vesicles as well as granules of glycogen were present in their cytoplasm. Nearby the nucleus small, elongated mitochondria were placed. Most of HDPSCs created and secreted vesicles; in plasmalemma bounded amorphous electron-lucide granules and also few glycogen granules. These secretory vesicles had around 0.5 μm in diameter. We assume that it can be a special type of communication between cells, probably paracrine type of cell signalling, but its real function is still unknown.

Acardiac twin occurs in 1:35,000 pregnancies. Several techniques have been described to treat this condition. Some techniques have been suggested as golden standard; however, new are still being tried.

Combining RNA sequencing, ribosome profiling, and mass spectrometry, we elucidate the contribution of non-canonical translation to the proteome and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I immunopeptidome. Remarkably, of 14,498 proteins identified in three human B cell lymphomas, 2,503 are non-canonical proteins. Of these, 28% are novel isoforms and 72% are cryptic proteins encoded by ostensibly non-coding regions (60%) or frameshifted canonical genes (12%). Cryptic proteins are translated as efficiently as canonical proteins, have more predicted disordered residues and lower stability, and critically generate MHC-I peptides 5-fold more efficiently per translation event. Translating 5′ “untranslated” regions hinders downstream translation of genes involved in transcription, translation, and antiviral responses. Novel protein isoforms show strong enrichment for signaling pathways deregulated in cancer. Only a small fraction of cryptic proteins detected in the proteome contribute to the MHC-I immunopeptidome, demonstrating the high preferential access of cryptic defective ribosomal products to the class I pathway.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.