预告片/设置/25帧的建筑

AA第5单元媒介课的任务是设计一个地处伦敦的旅馆,并且用电影预告片作为主要设计的工具.我们相信在通过影像来提炼虚拟场景的过程中.可以产生建筑思维.这些景象并不仅仅关注空间的物质实体,而且包含着与行为有关系的特定空间环境的情节.为了解读所有这些传统建筑讨论中(大多只是平面一立面一模型的联系)常被忽略的空间维度.电影媒介是一个理想的工具.在不同种类的电影表现方式中.我们选择了"预告片".预告片并不讲述电影本身,而是通过激起电影的氛围来诱惑观众.制作一个预告片描述一个还不存在的旅馆,我们打算通过激发氛围、暗示可能的场景等这些超越传统建筑设计过程的做法,得到一个非常复杂的空间.     

Formation of a Quasi‐Free‐Standing Single Layer of Graphene and Hexagonal Boron Nitride on Pt(111) by a Single Molecular Precursor

It is shown that on Pt(111) it is possible to prepare hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) and graphene (G) in‐plane heterojunctions from a single molecular precursor, by thermal decomposition of dimethylamine borane (DMAB). Photoemission, near‐edge X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, low energy electron microscopy, and temperature programmed desorption measurements indicate that the layer fully covers the Pt(111) surface. Evidence of in‐plane layer continuity and weak interaction with Pt substrate has been established. The findings demonstrate that dehydrogenation and pyrolitic decomposition of DMAB is an efficient and easy method for obtaining a continuous almost freestanding layer mostly made of G, h‐BN with only a low percentage (<3%) of impurities (B and N‐doped G domains or C‐doped h‐BN or boron carbonitride, BCN at the boundaries) in the same 2D sheet on a metal substrate, such as Pt(111), paving the way for the advancement of next‐generation G‐like‐based electronics and novel spintronic devices.     

Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the electron transfer reaction of bovine cytochrome c immobilized on 4-mercaptopyridine and 11-mercapto-1-undecanoic acid films

Bovine cytochrome c (cyt c) was adsorbed on a polycrystalline gold electrode coated with 4-mercaptopyridine and 11-mercapto-1-undecanoic acid self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and the thermodynamics and kinetics of the heterogeneous protein-electrode electron transfer (ET) reaction were determined by cyclic voltammetry. The E°′ values for the immobilized protein were found to be lower than those for the corresponding diffusing species. The thermodynamic parameters for protein reduction ( and ) indicate that the stabilization of the ferric state due to protein–SAM interaction is enthalpic in origin. The kinetic data suggest that a tunneling mechanism is involved in the ET reaction: the distance between the redox center of the protein and the electrode surface can be efficiently evaluated using the Marcus equation.     

Design, implementation and clinical tests of a wire-based robot for neurorehabilitation.

This paper presents the development of and clinical tests on NeReBot (NEuroREhabilitation roBOT): a three degrees-of-freedom (DoF), wire-driven robot for poststroke upper-limb rehabilitation. Basically, the robot consists of a set of three wires independently driven by three electric motors. The wires are connected to the patient's upper limb by means of a splint and are supported by a transportable frame, located above the patient. By controlling wire length, rehabilitation treatment (based on the passive or active-assistive spatial motion of the limb) can be delivered over a wide working space. The arm trajectory is set by the therapist through a very simple teaching-by-showing procedure, enabling most common "hands on" therapy exercises to be reproduced by the robot. Compared to other rehabilitation robots, NeReBot offers the advantages of a low-cost mechanical structure, intrinsically safe treatment thanks to the use of wires, high acceptability by the patient, who does not feel constrained by an "industrial-like" robot, transportability (it can be easily placed aside a hospital bed and/or a wheelchair), and a good trade-off between low number of DoF and spatial performance. These features and the very encouraging results of the first clinical trials make the NeReBot a good candidate for adoption in the rehabilitation treatment of subacute stroke survivors. Clinical trials were performed with a 12-patient experimental group and a 12-patient control group. Resulted that the patients who received robotic therapy in addition to conventional therapy showed greater reductions in motor impairment (in terms of Medical Research Council score, the upper limb subsection of the Fugl-Meyer score, and the Motor Status Score) and improvements in functional abilities (as measured by the Functional Independence Measure and its motor component). No adverse effects occurred and the robotic approach was very well accepted. According to these results, the NeReBot therapy may efficaciously complement standard poststroke multidisciplinary rehabilitation and offer novel therapeutic strategies for neurological rehabilitation.     

Tetrabromocinnamic acid (TBCA) and related compounds represent a new class of specific protein kinase CK2 inhibitors

Abnormally high constitutive activity of protein kinase CK2, levels of which are elevated in a variety of tumours, is suspected to underlie its pathogenic potential. The most widely employed CK2 inhibitor is 4,5,6,7-tetrabromobenzotriazole (TBB), which exhibits a comparable efficacy toward another kinase, DYRK1 a. Here we describe the development of a new class of CK2 inhibitors, conceptually derived from TBB, which have lost their potency toward DYRK1 a. In particular, tetrabromocinnamic acid (TBCA) inhibits CK2 five times more efficiently than TBB (IC50 values 0.11 and 0.56 microM, respectively), without having any comparable effect on DYRK1 a (IC50 24.5 microM) or on a panel of 28 protein kinases. The usefulness of TBCA for cellular studies has been validated by showing that it reduces the viability of Jurkat cells more efficiently than TBB through enhancement of apoptosis. Collectively taken, the reported data support the view that suitably derivatized tetrabromobenzene molecules may provide powerful reagents for dissecting the cellular functions of CK2 and counteracting its pathogenic potentials.     

Electron and carbon balances in microbial fuel cells reveal temporary bacterial storage behavior during electricity generation

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are emerging as a novel technology with a great potential to reduce the costs of wastewater treatment. Their most studied application is organic carbon removal. One of the parameters commonly used to quantify the performance of these cells is the Coulombic efficiency, i.e., the electron recovery as electricity from the removed substrate. However, the "inefficiencies" of the process have never been fully identified. This study presents a method that uses the combination of electrochemical monitoring, chemical analysis, and a titration and off-gas analysis (TOGA) sensor to identify and quantify the sources of electron loss. The method was used successfully to close electron, carbon, and proton balances in acetate and glucose fed microbial fuel cells. The method revealed that in the case that a substrate is loaded as pulses carbon is stored inside the cells during initial high substrate conditions and consumed during starvation, with up to 57% of the current being generated after depletion of the external carbon source. Nile blue staining of biomass samples revealed lipophilic inclusions during high substrate conditions, thus confirming the storage of polymeric material in the bacterial cells. The method also allows for indirect measurement of growth yields, which ranged from 0 to 0.54 g biomass-C formed per g substrate-C used, depending on the type of substrate and the external resistance of the circuit.     

The effect of diffusion gradient direction number on corticospinal tractography in the human brain: an along-tract analysis

Objectives

We evaluated diffusion imaging measures of the corticospinal tract obtained with a probabilistic tractography algorithm applied to data of two acquisition protocols based on different numbers of diffusion gradient directions (NDGDs).

Materials and methods

The corticospinal tracts (CST) of 18 healthy subjects were delineated using 22 and 66-NDGD data. An along-tract analysis of diffusion metrics was performed to detect possible local differences due to NDGD.

Results

FA values at 22-NDGD showed an increase along the central portion of the CST. The mean of partial volume fraction of the orientation of the second fiber (f2) was higher at 66-NDGD bilaterally, because for 66-NDGD data the algorithm more readily detects dominant fiber directions beyond the first, thus the increase in FA at 22-NDGD is due to a substantially reduced detection of crossing fiber volume. However, the good spatial correlation between the tracts drawn at 22 and 66 NDGD shows that the extent of the tract can be successfully defined even at lower NDGD.

Conclusions

Given the spatial tract localization obtained even at 22-NDGD, local analysis of CST can be performed using a NDGD compatible with clinical protocols. The probabilistic approach was particularly powerful in evaluating crossing fibers when present.

     

Phase retrieval and saddle-point optimization

Iterative algorithms with feedback are among the most powerful and versatile optimization methods for phase retrieval. Among these, the hybrid input-output algorithm has demonstrated practical solutions to giga-element nonlinear phase retrieval problems, escaping local minima and producing images at resolutions beyond the capabilities of lens-based optical methods. Here the input-output iteration is improved by a lower-dimensional subspace saddle-point optimization.     

Peptides with regular enantiomeric sequences: a wide class of modular self-assembling architectures

Organic trans-annular assemblies constitute an expanding class of structures with promising applications for the design of nanotechnological devices. Among the strategies developed for the engineering of organic nanotubes, those characterized by regular alternating enantiomeric amino acid sequences have been proven particularly useful. In fact, cyclic peptides with an even number of regularly alternating D- and L-amino acids have the tendency to adopt local beta-conformation that are capable of forming trans-annular self-assembling architectures, hydrogen bond directed. The formation of such structures is the result of the conformational equivalence of the monomer units, a general principle that associates stereo-chemical to chemical equivalence in a polymer chain. For configurationally alternating sequences the conformational equivalence produces cyclic structures, where a monomer unit is related to the adjacent along the chain by a roto-reflection axis, Sn. A slight relaxation of the conformational equivalence can formally transform a cyclic structure into a conformationally quasi-equivalent helical structures characterized by the presence of polar inner channels, which allow the transient binding for an activated flow of specific ions. To prove our early predictions, we synthesized different alternating polypeptide and the corresponding linear and cyclic oligopeptides and investigated their conformations by NMR and CD spectroscopy as well as the formation of self-assembling structures by increasing the concentration in solution. Moreover, their predicted ability to behave as an ion-channel across bilayer membranes are investigated and experimental evidence of single molecule conducting events are reported. Finally, the possibility is suggested to obtain self-assembled trans-annular structures by chemically bridging the amino acid side chains stabilized using different strategies. A complex construct with good perspective for nano-technological applications is proposed in which cyclic DL-lysine side chains are bridged by the formation of salycilaldimmine metal chelates.     

Structure and optical properties of silica-supported Ag-Au nanoparticles

Bimetallic Ag-Au nanoparticles are synthesized by sequential deposition of Au and Ag on amorphous silica by Radio Frequency (RF)-sputtering under mild conditions. Specimens are thoroughly characterized by a multi-technique approach, aimed at investigating the system properties as a function of the Ag/Au content, as well as the evolution induced by ex-situ annealing under inert (N2) or reducing (4% H2/N2) atmospheres. The obtained results demonstrate the possibility to obtain Ag-Au alloyed nanoparticles with controllable size, shape, structure, and dispersion under mild conditions, so that the optical properties can be finely tuned as a function of the synthesis and thermal treatment conditions.