Hendrick Petrus Berlage's villas

Hendrick Berlage is known to architectural history mainly for his Amsterdam Stock Exchange of 1903. This is often celebrated as a proto-modernist work in a rationalist spirit, an oversimplified view, for the building had a conventionally eclectic start and was the fruit of long struggle and many revisions. The development of Berlage's architectural ideas during the period of its gestation is chronicled in a fascinating way by a series of private villas built for friends who were artists and intellectuals. Completed year by year, they run right through the 1890s, showing Berlage's changing concerns with the articulation of content, the expression of construction, the application of controlling geometry, and the development of architectural space.     

The Case of The Case Study in City Planning and Municipal Management

Abstract

PLAN FOR REZONING THE CITY OF NEW YORK. A Report by Harrison, Ballard &; Allen. City Planning Commission. New York. 1950. 290 pp. maps, illustrations. $2.00.

CONTROLLED ACCESS EXPRESSWAYS IN URBAN AREAS—A symposium. Highway Research Board Bulletin No. 25. Washington, D. C., 1950. 45 pages, illustrated. 60 cents.

SOCIAL PRESSURES IN INFORMAL GROUPS. By Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter and Kurt Back. Harper Bros., New York, 1950. x-930 pp. $3.00.

PRODUCTION OF NEW HOUSING. A Research Monograph on Efficiency in Production. By Leo Grebler. Social Science Research Council. New York 1950. ix+ 186 pp. $1.75.     

Mobility Analysis of 2 nm to 11 nm Aerosol Particles with an Aspirating Drift Tube Ion Mobility Spectrometer

We describe the performance of a drift tube-ion mobility spectrometry (DT-IMS) instrument for the measurement of aerosol particles. In DT-IMS, the electrical mobility of a measured particle is inferred directly from the time required for the particle to traverse a drift region, with motion driven by an electrostatic field. Electrical mobility distributions are hence linked to arrival time distributions (ATDs) for particles reaching a detector downstream of the drift region. The developed instrument addresses two obstacles that have limited DT-IMS use for aerosol measurement previously: (1) conventional drift tubes cannot efficiently sample charged particles at ground potential and (2) the sensitivities of commonly used Faraday plate detectors are too low for most aerosols. Obstacle (1) is circumvented by creating a “sample volume” of aerosol for measurement, defined by the streamlines of fluid flow. Obstacle (2) is bypassed by interfacing the end of the drift region with a condensation particle counter. The DT-IMS prototype shows high linearity for arrival time versus inverse electrical mobility (R ² > 0.99) over the size range tested (2.2–11.1 nm), and measurements compare well with both analytical and numerical models of device performance. A dimensionless calibration curve linking drift time to inverse electrical mobility is developed. In less than 5 s, it is possible to measure 11.1 nm particles, while 2.2 nm particles are analyzable on a subsecond scale. The transmission efficiency is found to be dependent upon electrostatic deposition for short drift times and upon advective losses for long drift times.

Copyright 2014 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Regioselective Synthesis of Naphtho‐fused Heterocycles via Palladium(0)‐Catalyzed Tandem Reaction of N‐Tosylhydrazones

We have developed a palladium(0)‐catalyzed tandem process which involves the cross‐coupling reaction of N‐tosylhydrazones with dibromide compounds followed by a sequence of intramolecular 5‐exo‐trig, 3‐exo‐trig cyclization, ring opening, and β‐hydride elimination to produce 6‐endo‐trig cyclized products. The strategy was successfully applied for the regioselective synthesis of substituted benzo[b]naphtho[2,1‐d]thiophenes, naphtho[1,2‐b]benzofurans, and benzo[a]carbazoles in moderate to excellent yields.

     

How Businesses Use Planned Early Dispute Resolution

This is the first part of a two‐part article summarizing the results of a study about why and how some businesses use “planned early dispute resolution” systems.     

Sonderlösungen bei der brandschutztechnischen Bewertung von Konstruktionsdetails

Special‐purpose solutions in the fire‐protective evaluation of construction details Very often components or construction details in existing buildings but also in new buildings cannot be evaluated with regard to its fire resistance ability considering established technical building regulations. There are no regulations for the evaluation of such components or construction details as these specific construction details have not been evaluated by a certified test authority. However, these components and construction details very often can be classified in fire resistance classes e. g. by evaluating fire tests, with regard to DIN 4102‐4, on the basis of similar proof of usability or only by pragmatic considerations. Since introducing the technical approval of the fire protection Eurocodes more often engineering methods of fire protection are used based on these Eurocodes by using temperature assessment in order to secure the evaluation results. Within this essay we show methods and ways of fire‐protective evaluation for components and construction details. The approach of proof including dimensions of possible upgrade measurements if necessary are being illustrated by examples of use out of practical experience. At the same time different materials such as steel, concrete and wood will be treated with different fire‐proof products. The essay is to explain ways of evaluation of components and construction details involving fire‐proof requirements including upgrade measurements also especially for existing buildings.     

Endogenous Modulation of Extracellular Matrix Collagen during Scar Formation after Myocardial Infarction

Myocardial infarction is remains the leading cause of death in developed countries. Recent data show that the composition of the extracellular matrix might differ despite similar heart function and infarction sizes. Because collagen is the main component of the extracellular matrix, we hypothesized that changes in inflammatory cell recruitment influence the synthesis of different collagen subtypes in myofibroblasts, thus changing the composition of the scar. We found that neutrophils sustain the proliferation of fibroblasts, remodeling, differentiation, migration and inflammation, predominantly by IL-1 and PPARγ pathways (n = 3). They also significantly inhibit the mRNA expression of fibrillar collagen, maintaining a reduced stiffness in isolated myofibroblasts (n = 4–5). Reducing the neutrophil infiltration in CCR1^−/− resulted in increased mRNA expression of collagen 11, moderate expression of collagen 19 and low expression of collagen 13 and 26 in the scar 4 weeks post infarction compared with other groups (n = 3). Mononuclear cells increased the synthesis of all collagen subtypes and upregulated the NF-kB, angiotensin II and PPARδ pathways (n = 3). They increased the synthesis of collagen subtypes 1, 3, 5, 16 and 23 but reduced the expression of collagens 5 and 16 (n = 3). CCR2^−/− scar tissue showed higher levels of collagen 13 (n = 3), in association with a significant reduction in stiffness (n = 4–5). Upregulation of the inflammation-related genes in myofibroblasts mostly modulated the fibrillar collagen subtypes, with less effect on the FACIT, network-forming and globular subtypes (n = 3). The upregulation of proliferation and differentiation genes in myofibroblasts seemed to be associated only with the fibrillar collagen subtype, whereas angiogenesis-related genes are associated with fibrillar, network-forming and multiplexin subtypes. In conclusion, although we intend for our findings to deepen the understanding of the mechanism of healing after myocardial infarction and scar formation, the process of collagen synthesis is highly complex, and further intensive investigation is needed to put together all the missing puzzle pieces in this still incipient knowledge process.