The architecture of the (post) studio: Jackson Pollock’s barn and Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory

This article will discuss a false dichotomy between two models, the modern art studio and the post-studio, which oppose the private and the public, the individual and the collective, hiding and the revealing. We will begin by analysing Daniel Buren’s position in his canonical text “Fonction de l’Atelier” and his practice, where the artist defines the foundations of post-studio work. As the text also describes a New York studio type that must be left behind, we will analyse Jackson Pollock’s and Andy Warhol’s workspaces through drawing reconstructions to demonstrate that these meet the defining characteristics of both models. It will be shown that the artists have used design strategies to retain certain aspects of studio culture while exploring others of the post-studio. This turning point reveals that the current belief about the obsolescence of the studio in a global era defined by communication, networking and mobility ignores its emerging post-studio qualities. This work aims to acknowledge this shift, obtaining a critical vision that will allow us to design contemporary workspaces avoiding stereotypical and reductionist approaches.     

Photophysics of Conjugated Oligoelectrolytes Relevant to Two-Photon Fluorescence-Lifetime Imaging Microscopy

Conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs) comprise a class of cell-membrane intercalating molecules that serve as effective optical reporters. However, little is known about the photophysical properties of COEs in biological environments such as buffers, cell membranes, and intracellular organelles, which is critical to optimize performance. Herein, how COE self-assembly depends on the dielectric environment (polarity and ion content) is explored based on the representative molecule 6-ring phenylenevinylene (PV) conjugated oligoelectrolyte (COE-S6), and its optical properties within mammalian cells are subsequently studied. Two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), confocal laser scanning microscopy, and optical properties in solutions are brought together to obtain information about the location, accumulation, and characteristics of the local surroundings. FLIM imaging lifetime phasor plots, decays, and fluorescence spectra on stained mammalian cells provide evidence of successful COE-S6 internalization via endocytosis. The fluorescence lifetime of COE-S6 is identical when in A549 mammalian cells and in giant unilamellar vesicle model membranes, thereby providing a correlation between living system and artificial constructs.     

Iterative learning control applied to distributed-order linear time invariant MIMO systems to achieve learnability

Sufficient and necessary conditions for a distributed-order linear time invariant system to be positive real are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities. The positive realness condition is derived for three of the most usual cases presented in literature, in the realm of distributed-order linear time invariant systems. As an additional product of this paper, the strictly positive realness condition can be derived. In addition, the concept of learnability of fractional-order multi-input multi-output systems is extended to the case of distributed-order systems, which is approached from the concept of output-dissipativity by using an iterative learning scheme.     

Novel Insights and Perspectives for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hearing Loss through the Implementation of Magnetic Nanotheranostics

Hearing loss (HL) is a sensory disability that affects 5 % of the world‘s population. HL predominantly involves damage and death to the cochlear cells. Currently, there is no cure or specific medications for HL. Furthermore, the arrival of therapeutic molecules to the inner ear represents a challenge due to the limited blood supply to the sensory cells and the poor penetration of the blood-cochlear barrier. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) perfectly coordinate with the requirements for controlled drug delivery along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostic and monitoring capabilities. Besides, they are suitable tools to be applied to HL, expecting to be more effective and non-invasive. So far, the published literature only refers to some preclinical studies of SPIONs for HL management. This contribution aims to provide an integrated view of the best options and strategies that can be considered for future research punctually in the field of magnetic nanotechnology applied to HL.     

Elastic and Plastic Strains Misfits During the Reverse Martensitic Transformation

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - The properties of technological interest of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) are linked to the occurrence of a thermoelastic martensitic...     

Constant stress intensity factors through closed-loop control

A new way of obtaining a constant stress intensity factor is achieved for any test specimen geometry subjected to closed-loop control loading. In contrast to using only load or displacement control the method draws on combined feedback from both displacement and load sensing, reducing the variation in the stress intensity factor by two decades compared to that if tested under constant load or displacement. A change in the signal mix ratio for a rectangular compact tension specimen is equivalent to changing the angle of a tapered compact tension specimen. This method can eliminate the need for the use of ‘complex’ geometries or for geometries in which measured crack lengths are used in conjunction with a computer or some other means to adjust the loading continuously for achieving a constant stress intensity factor.     

Semiconducting properties of layered cadmium sulphide-based hybrid nanocomposites

A series of hybrid cadmium salt/cationic surfactant layered nanocomposites containing different concentrations of cadmium sulphide was prepared by exchanging chloride by sulphide ions in the layered precursor CdXx(OH)y(CnTA)z in a solid phase/gas reaction, resulting in a series of layered species exhibiting stoichiometries corresponding to CdSvXx(OH)y(CnTA)z, constituted by two-dimensional CdCl2/CdS ultra-thin sheets sandwiched between two self-assembled surfactant layers. The electronic structure of CdS in the nanocomposite is similar to that of bulk, but showing the expected features of two-dimensional confinement of the semiconductor. The nanocomposite band gap is found to depend in a non-linear manner on both the length of the hydrocarbon chain of the surfactant and the concentration of the sulphide in the inorganic sheet. The products show photocatalytic activity at least similar and usually better than that of "bulk" CdS in a factor of two.