Building form and site design for contextually appropriate multi-family housing in Boston's inner-ring suburbs

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.This research focuses on multi-family residential development in the inner-ring suburbs around Boston in order to understand how dense housing can be designed in ways that are contextually appropriate for these existing urban settings. The particular design elements include: building form and massing, architectural details, open space and landscaping, and parking/transportation/access. The main body of research is drawn from three cases of multi-family development that have been built in the Boston inner-ring, including: the Linden Street Development in Somerville, Commonwealth Residences in Newton, and Station Crossing in Melrose. The research presented includes extensive coverage of the public process that informed the development of each project, and how the building form and site design changed in response to the concerns of local residents and municipal regulators. The final chapters include analysis of the common factors drawn from each case to inform the creation of ideal design elements as well a number of questions for further research.by Jesse Kanson-Benanav.M.C.P

Activin A Plays a Critical Role in Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Adipose Progenitors

International audienceAbstractObjective: Growth of white adipose tissue takes place in normal development and in obesity. A pool of adipose progenitors is responsible for the formation of new adipocytes and for the potential of this tissue to expand in response to chronic energy overload. However, factors controlling self-renewal of human adipose progenitors are largely unknown. We investigated the expression profile and the role of activin A in this process. Research Design and Methods: Expression of INHBA/activin A has been investigated in three types of human adipose progenitors. We then analyzed at the molecular level the function of activin A during human adipogenesis. We finally investigated the status of activin A in adipose tissues of lean and obese subjects and analyzed macrophage-induced regulation of its expression. Results: INHBA/activin A is expressed by adipose progenitors from various fat depots and its expression dramatically decreases as progenitors differentiate into adipocytes. Activin A regulates the number of undifferentiated progenitors. Sustained activation or inhibition of the activin A pathway impairs or promotes respectively adipocyte differentiation via C/EBPbeta-LAP and Smad2 pathway in an autocrine/paracrine manner. Activin A is expressed at higher levels in adipose tissue of obese patients compared to lean subjects. Indeed, activin A levels in adipose progenitors are dramatically increased by factors secreted by macrophages derived from obese adipose tissue. Conclusions: Altogether, our data show that activin A plays a significant role in human adipogenesis. We propose a model in which macrophages which are located in adipose tissue regulate adipose progenitor self-renewal through activin A

Creating knowledge: the power and logic of articulation

The current interest in the tacit aspects of knowledge has diverted attention from the economic significance of its converse, explicit or articulated knowledge, and, by implication, the importance of articulation —the process through which tacit skills and knowledge are made explicit—and codification —the process of rendering articulated knowledge in fixed, standardized and easily replicable form. In partial alignment with the literature on “distributed cognition” the article outlines a general model of articulation as a process involving the interplay of three elements: “ theory,” “ codes,” and “ tools” in communities ranging in size from small groups to entire industries. The costs and benefits of articulation are discussed, drawing attention to how these may be affected by institutional and organizational design. Copyright 2007 , Oxford University Press.

Epistemic Communities and Cluster Dynamics: On the Role of Knowledge in Industrial Districts

This paper questions the prevailing notions that firms within industrial clusters have privileged access to “tacit knowledge” that is unavailable—or available only at high cost—to firms located elsewhere, and that such access provides competitive advantages that cause the growth and development of both firms and regions. It outlines a model of cluster dynamics emphasizing two mutually interdependent processes: the concentration of specialized and complementary epistemic communities, on the one hand, and entrepreneurship and a high rate of new firm formation on the other.Industrial clusters, epistemic communities, knowledge,

Cellules souches induites à la pluripotence (modèle d'étude des étapes précoces du développement adipocytaire humain)

Si, aujourd hui, les étapes les plus tardives de l adipogénèse humaine ont été bien caractérisées, les étapes précoces qui correspondent à la génération des précurseurs adipocytaires blancs et bruns restent encore à définir. Les cellules souches humaines induites à la pluripotence (hiPS) constituent un bon modèle d étude de l adipogénèse précoce. Le but de ce travail était de générer des cellules hiPS à partir des cellules souches multipotentes du tissu adipeux (hMADS), de les caractériser et de les utiliser comme un outil d étude de l apparition des précurseurs adipeux blancs et bruns in vitro. Nous avons également utilisé des cellules hiPS générées à partir des cellules souches neurales humaines (hNSC) en utilisant un vecteur PiggyBac. Nous avons mis au point un protocole de différenciation des cellules iPS-hMADS et iPS-hNSC en adipocytes. C une façon intéressante, notre protocole de différenciation permet l apparition d adipocytes blancs et bruns. Nous avons montré que l activation de la voie de l acide rétinoïque (RA) au cours des étapes précoces de différenciation augmente fortement la génération d adipocytes blancs, et diminue celle des adipocytes bruns. En revanche, l utilisation du SB431542, un inhibiteur sélectif de la voie TGFb/Activine, induit une augmentation de la génération es adipocytes blancs et une inhibition de l apparition des adipocytes bruns. L ensemble de nos résultats soutient un modèle dans lequel les progéniteurs adipeux blancs et bruns apparaissent précocement au cours du développement embryonnaire humain. Dans ce processus, la voie de l acide rétinoïque et la voie du TGFb/Activine régulent la génération des Pas blancs et bruns.The terminal steps of adipocyte differentiation are well established ; however the earliest steps controlling brown and white adipogenic lineage specification remain unknown in humans. We have investigated the human induced Pluripotent Stem cells (hips) as a model to study the early steps of brown and white adipogenesis. We will present the generation of hips cells from human multipotent adipose derived stem cells (hMADS). We have also used iPS cells reprogrammed from human neural stem cells generated using the PiggyBac technology. We provide an efficient protocol to differentiate iPS-hMADS and iPS-hNSC cells into adipocytes. Interestingly, our data show that hips cells are able to differentiate both into white and brown adipocytes. We show that Retinoic Acid (RA) pathway activation at an early phase of hips development dramatically enhanced generation of white adipocytes and inhibited generation of Brown adipocytes. In contrast, the use of SB431542, a selective inhibitor of TGFb/Activin pathway, indicated that this pathway was required for the generation of brown adipocytes. Altogether, these data support a model in which brown and white adipocytes progenitors diverge early during human embryonic development. RA and TGFb/Activin pathways regulate the generation of white APs and brown APs respectively.NICE-BU Sciences (060882101) / SudocSudocFranceF

The underdetermined knowledge-based theory of the MNC

In this note we revisit two core propositions of the knowledge-based view of the firm found in the seminal work of Kogut and Zander: (1) that multinational corporations (MNCs) exist because transfers and re-combinations of knowledge occur more efficiently inside MNCs than between MNCs and third parties; and (2) that the threat of opportunism is not necessary, although it may be sufficient, to explain the existence of the MNC. Their knowledge-based view shifted the conceptualization of the firm from an institution arising from market failure and transaction costs economizing to a progeny of superior knowledge governance. We question these conclusions, arguing that firms are but one of the many types of “epistemic communities” possessing and nurturing procedural norms, identity, and the cognitive, linguistic and reflexive attributes conducive to efficient exchange and re-combination of knowledge among their members. Important insights may be gained by applying the concept of epistemic communities implicit in the knowledge-based perspective beyond firm-level hierarchies.