Audio‐visual interactions and soundscape preferences

The analysis of preferences for combinations of four sounds and eight visual landscapes revealed that the sound and not the visual component dominated the patterns of preference. This is attributed to the more varied nature of the sounds in comparison with the relatively homogenous quality of the visual scenes shown. The affective role of sound in combination with the visual setting deserves more attention and this traditional ingredient of landscaping deserves to be revived.     

Magneto‐Plasmonic Au‐Fe Alloy Nanoparticles Designed for Multimodal SERS‐MRI‐CT Imaging

Diagnostic approaches based on multimodal imaging are needed for accurate selection of the therapeutic regimens in several diseases, although the dose of administered contrast drugs must be reduced to minimize side effects. Therefore, large efforts are deployed in the development of multimodal contrast agents (MCAs) that permit the complementary visualization of the same diseased area with different sensitivity and different spatial resolution by applying multiple diagnostic techniques. Ideally, MCAs should also allow imaging of diseased tissues with high spatial resolution during surgical interventions. Here a new system based on multifunctional Au‐Fe alloy nanoparticles designed to satisfy the main requirements of an ideal MCA is reported and their biocompatibility and imaging capability are described. The MCAs show easy and versatile surface conjugation with thiolated molecules, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed X‐ray tomography (CT) signals for anatomical and physiological information (i.e., diagnostic and prognostic imaging), large Raman signals amplified by surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for high sensitivity and high resolution intrasurgical imaging, biocompatibility, exploitability for in vivo use and capability of selective accumulation in tumors by enhanced permeability and retention effect. Taken together, these results show that Au‐Fe nanoalloys are excellent candidates as multimodal MRI‐CT‐SERS imaging agents.     

Metabolites produced during fermentation of wine by mixed cultures of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria

Certain aspects of the interrelationship between associations of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria during the fermentation of grape must were studied. Action bySaccharomyces pastorianus gave rise to increased formation of keto acids and residual metabolites. Addition ofLactobacillus plantarum to the fermentation process may inhibit alcoholic fermentation and considerably increased the production of acetaldehyde andl(+) andd(–)lactic acids.

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Entstehung von Metaboliten bei der Fermentation von Wein durch Mischkulturen von Hefen und Milchsäurebakterien

Zusammenfassung Es wurden Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Hefen und Milchsäurebakterien während der Fermentation von Traubensaft untersucht.Saccharomyces pastorianus bewirkte ein Ansteigen der Ketosäurenproduktion und der Bildung von Rest-Metaboliten. Das Hinzufügen vonLactobacillus plantarum beim Gärungsprozess kann die alkoholische Gärung unterdrücken und hat die Produktion von Acetaldehyd sowie vonl(+)- undd(–)-Milchsäuren beträchtlich gesteigert.

     

Inhibition of antigen-induced airway and cutaneous responses by heparin: a pharmacodynamic study

We have previously shown that heparin attenuates the acute bronchoconstrictor response and immediate cutaneous reaction (ICR) to antigen in allergic sheep. In the present investigation, we studied the pharmacodynamics of the antiallergic action of heparin. Specific lung resistance (sRL) was measured in eight sheep, allergic to Ascaris suum antigen, before and 5 min after inhalation challenge with the antigen. On different experiment days, antigen challenge was repeated after pretreatment with 1) aerosol heparin (1,000 U/kg) administered < or = 20 min, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h and 2) intravenous heparin (1,000 U/kg) administered < or = 20 min, 1 h, 6 h, and 12 h before antigen challenge. sRL increased by 374 +/- 116% (SE) above baseline with antigen alone. Both aerosol and intravenous heparin attenuated the antigen effects on sRL in a time-dependent fashion. Prolonging the lag time between pretreatment and antigen challenge decreased the inhibitory effect of aerosol heparin; delta sRL was 31 +/- 29, 99 +/- 38, 142 +/- 40, and 306 +/- 60% for < or = 20-min, 6-h, 12-h, and 24-h pretreatment protocols, respectively. In contrast, prolonging the lag time increased the inhibitory effect of intravenous heparin: delta sRL was 246 +/- 64, 66 +/- 26, and 76 +/- 32% for < or = 20 min, 1 h, and 6 h, respectively. In seven additional sheep pretreatment with intravenous heparin (1,000 U/kg) attenuated the ICR also in a time-dependent manner; the inhibitory effect of heparin on ICR to antigen was enhanced 60% by increasing the heparin pretreatment interval from 20 to 60 min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Design Review Checking System with Corporate Lessons Learned

Design reviews are critical to the success of a construction project. They eliminate costly rework and conflicts, and promote creative and innovative design and construction. This paper discusses a unique way to improve design reviews by gathering and including direct corporate experience that can be used company- and industry-wide. The Design Review Checking System (DrChecks) and the system called Corporate Lessons Learned (CLL) were developed by the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory to collect personal experiences and lessons learned on projects and incorporate these data into corporate knowledge, expressly for the design review process. DrChecks provides a framework for a standardized review process. Typically, exchanges of personal experience and knowledge have occurred informally by word of mouth. With DrChecks and CLL, direct personal experience can be collected into a database while the design review process is on-going. Lessons learned, success stories, and good work practices, which can be identified easily by experienced staff members, can then be shared throughout the organization. DrChecks and CLL both take advantage of the Internet and facilitate the management of design review process and the collection and reuse of corporate lessons learned asynchronously and remotely.     

Material Waste in Building Industry: Main Causes and Prevention

Material waste has been recognized as a major problem in the construction industry that has important implications both for the efficiency industry and for the environmental impact of construction projects. Moreover, waste measurement plays an important role in the management of production systems since it is an effective way to assess their performance, allowing areas of potential improvement to be pointed out. This paper describes the main results of two research studies carried out in Brazil that investigated the occurrence of material waste at 74 building sites located in different regions of that country. Some typical figures for the waste of some key construction materials are provided, and the main causes of waste in the sector are discussed. The results indicate that the waste of materials in the Brazilian building industry is fairly high and that a large variability in waste incidence is found across different projects. Most of this waste can be avoided by implementing inexpensive preventive measures, mostly related to managerial improvements.     

Multimodal Image Retrieval from Construction Databases and Model-Based Systems

In the modern and dynamic construction environment it is important to access information in a fast and efficient manner in order to improve the decision making processes for construction managers. This capability is, in most cases, straightforward with today’s technologies for data types with an inherent structure that resides primarily on established database structures like estimating and scheduling software. However, previous research has demonstrated that a significant percentage of construction data is stored in semi-structured or unstructured data formats (text, images, etc.) and that manually locating and identifying such data is a very hard and time-consuming task. This paper focuses on construction site image data and presents a novel image retrieval model that interfaces with established construction data management structures. This model is designed to retrieve images from related objects in project models or construction databases using location, date, and material information (extracted from the image content with pattern recognition techniques).     

Phase-transfer catalytic activity of polymer-supported macrocyclic polyethers

Polymer-supported crown-ethers 9 and 11 (4.5-62% ring substitution) have been obtained by the reaction of 1% crosslinked chloromethylated polystyrenes with (hydroxymethyl) and (ω-hydroxynonyl)-18-crown-6, respectively. (Hydroxymethyl) and (ω-hydroxynonyl) [2.2.2] cryptands have also been prepared and linked in a similar way to afford catalysts 10 and 12 (3-6% ring substitution). Condensation of (aminomethyl) and (ω-aminodecyl [2.2.2] crypands with carboxylated 1% crosslinked polystyrene gave catalysts 13 and 14 (5-20% ring substitution). Phase-transfer catalytic activity of polymer-supported crown-ethers and cryptands has been tested in anion promoted nucleophilic aliphatic substitutions, and compared with that of polymer-supported phosphonium salts. The results indicate that catalytic activity of crown-ethers strongly depends on the combination of three parameters: the nature of the nucleophile, the percent ring substitution, and the presence of a spacer chain. Catalytic activity of cryptands is higher than that of crown-ethers and quaternary salts with similar percent ring substitution. It is much less dependent on the nature of the anions and on the presence of a spacer chain. As for the related quaternary salts, phase-transfer reactions promoted by polymer-supported crown-ethers and cryptands follow a mechanism identical with that observed for soluble catalysts: the reactions occur in the organic shell surrounding a complexed ligand; anions are exchanged at the water-organic solvent interface, the exchange not requiring the concomitant transfer of cationic counterparts.