21 research outputs found
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In Spite of Pragmatics: The Pursuit of Both/And for Integrated Architectural Solutions
Architectural design studios that are tasked with the responsibility of addressing and demonstrating NAAB criteria for Integrated Architectural Solutions (IAS, formerly Comprehensive Design) can, by their very nature, become venues for promoting strict pragmatism. By its very definition pragmatism is primarily concerned with relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic endeavors - thus setting up a preferential condition by which project proposals may be evaluated. Pursuits to such an end, although perhaps expressing a certain level of competency and technocratic ability, more often than not fall short of higher architectural aims. The challenge being that good/great design is difficult to define through a set of predetermined instructions, formalized processes, or applied systems. For example, utilizing a highly-sophisticated filtration and distribution system for capturing rainwater to be used in gray-water systems throughout a project does not automatically define the project as exceptional. On the contrary, the pursuit of the exceptional is one that is extremely difficult to define because it is often unspoken. For the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi the architectural endeavor is:
a search for the unknown which (is) not known, neither do I know how it will manifest. It begins somewhere, it ends somewhere, and in that process, I grow and the work grows. And we both grow together.1
Because of its elusiveness, the true value of a proposal is often only revealed at a much later time and in unexpected ways
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Concrete Environments
Concrete Environments was a two-week design charette in the Fall 2019 3a Housing Studio at the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University. Students explored how architecture created with 3d Printed Concrete can relate to the concepts of dwelling, interaction, and meaning typically explored in the Housing Studio - in addition to examining the materials and geometry of Advanced Fabrication.
Working toward Project Goals, the students were challenged to not just meet Physical and Functional Constraints, but to use these to equally examine the project’s epistemology, phenomenology, and technology.
Seeking to understand the human body and its interaction with the built environment, students interrogated the meaning of “dwelling” through focusing awareness of light, space, and the senses utilizing industry standards of 3D printing.
The designs were subject to Physical and Functional Constraints: constructed only from interlocked or nested assemblies of 3d printed parts, and were to embrace a part of the human body and providing three openings and two vessels.
The project began with an introduction to 3d Printing in Concrete from sponsor Pikus Concrete, who also provided feedback throughout. The student pairs then created clay models and charcoal drawings to freely conceptualize possible forms and atmospheres. Each group moved their most successful idea(s) into Rhino3d and iterated them to better realize the Project Goals. Desktop 3d Printing was essential in testing, prototyping, and documentation.
The students developed experience designing for this novel production process and using an analogous process to prototype their ideas. They learned how Advanced Fabrication can help balance functional and expressive aspects of a project. Further lessons learned by professors, students, and the industry partner are discussed in detail in the full paper.
Concrete Environments interrogated questions around the Conference themes of Practice, Measurement, High Tech, and Carbon. These are expanded in the paper
Obeticholic acid for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: interim analysis from a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial
Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common type of chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis. Obeticholic acid, a farnesoid X receptor agonist, has been shown to improve the histological features of NASH. Here we report results from a planned interim analysis of an ongoing, phase 3 study of obeticholic acid for NASH. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adult patients with definite NASH,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score of at least 4, and fibrosis stages F2–F3, or F1 with at least oneaccompanying comorbidity, were randomly assigned using an interactive web response system in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive oral placebo, obeticholic acid 10 mg, or obeticholic acid 25 mg daily. Patients were excluded if cirrhosis, other chronic liver disease, elevated alcohol consumption, or confounding conditions were present. The primary endpointsfor the month-18 interim analysis were fibrosis improvement (≥1 stage) with no worsening of NASH, or NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis, with the study considered successful if either primary endpoint was met. Primary analyses were done by intention to treat, in patients with fibrosis stage F2–F3 who received at least one dose of treatment and reached, or would have reached, the month 18 visit by the prespecified interim analysis cutoff date. The study also evaluated other histological and biochemical markers of NASH and fibrosis, and safety. This study is ongoing, and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02548351, and EudraCT, 20150-025601-6. Findings Between Dec 9, 2015, and Oct 26, 2018, 1968 patients with stage F1–F3 fibrosis were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment; 931 patients with stage F2–F3 fibrosis were included in the primary analysis (311 in the placebo group, 312 in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 308 in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). The fibrosis improvement endpoint was achieved by 37 (12%) patients in the placebo group, 55 (18%) in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group (p=0·045), and 71 (23%) in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group (p=0·0002). The NASH resolution endpoint was not met (25 [8%] patients in the placebo group, 35 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group [p=0·18], and 36 [12%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group [p=0·13]). In the safety population (1968 patients with fibrosis stages F1–F3), the most common adverse event was pruritus (123 [19%] in the placebo group, 183 [28%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 336 [51%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group); incidence was generally mild to moderate in severity. The overall safety profile was similar to that in previous studies, and incidence of serious adverse events was similar across treatment groups (75 [11%] patients in the placebo group, 72 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 93 [14%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). Interpretation Obeticholic acid 25 mg significantly improved fibrosis and key components of NASH disease activity among patients with NASH. The results from this planned interim analysis show clinically significant histological improvement that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. This study is ongoing to assess clinical outcomes
M.Arch
thesisBeing able to be true to yourself and speak what is on your mind was and is the very foundation on which hip hop is structured. It has become a platform by which one's character and identity is allowed to be made visible; not only to others but to the individual themselves. In recent years main stream media has portrayed rap and hip hop music as thuggish, misogynistic, and violent.... The airwaves are filled with songs which portray misogynistic images of women. This is what we are exposed to on a daily basis as to what hip hop is. Where has the message gone? There is currently a movement to get back to the roots of hip hop. Activists in the industry such as Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Kanye West, and others are at the forefront of this t. In response to thsi current state of hip hop and the ever present socioeconomic conditions of many of our inner cities I am proposing a Youth Center for Hip Hop Production and Performance
The impact of serum sodium concentration on mortality after liver transplantation: A cohort Multicenter study
Modification of the current allocation system for donor livers in the United States to incorporate recipient serum sodium concentration ([Na]) has recently been proposed. However, the impact of this parameter on posttransplantation mortality has not been previously examined in a large risk-adjusted analysis. We assessed the effect of recipient [Na] on the survival of all adults with chronic liver disease who received a first single organ liver transplant in the UK and Ireland during the period March 1, 1994 to March 31, 2005 (n=5,152) at 3 years, during the first 90 days, and beyond the first 90 days, adjusting for a wide range of recipient, donor, and graft characteristics. Compared to those with normal [Na] (135-145 meq/L; n=3,066), severely hyponatremic recipients ([Na]45 meq/L, n=81), who had an even greater risk-adjusted mortality compared to normonatremic recipients (overall: HR 1.85; 95% CI, 1.25-2.73; P90 days: HR 1.12; 95% CI, 0.55-2.29; P=0.8), whereas mildly hyponatremic recipients ([Na] 130-134 meq/L, n=1,127) had similar risk-adjusted mortality to those with normal [Na] at the same time points. In conclusion, recipient [Na] is an independent predictor of death following liver transplantation. Attempts to correct the [Na] toward the normal reference range are an important aspect of pretransplantation management