Clean Venice: Infrastructure & Place-Making in Venice, Italy

Venice is deteriorating. The fragile city is crumbling, and eventually will be swallowed into the water which surrounds it. Besides the prospect of sinking, the infrastructure is damaged weekly by the cruise ships which visit the city and account for about 2 million tourists every year. Typically, these ships produce 50 tons of garbage, 210,000 gallons of sewage, and 35,000 gallons of oil-contaminated water. That being said, these floating cities contribute to about 20% of harmful emissions in coastal and port cities. In an already damaged state, Venice is negatively affected by traffic and pollution from these vessels. Recently, the Venetian Prime Minister announced that Venice plans to limit, and eventually ban these ships from entering the lagoon. By hindering the access of these ships, Venice will suffer economically, while the city will delay its inevitable fate. This project explores the treatment and recycling of waste produced by these cruise ships as a way to better the ecosystem in Venice, while also creating a valuable green space within the congested city. Sustainability is the future of architecture, however, sustainable options frequently act as appendages in the design process. Architectural design and sustainability should work in tandem, and thus communicate their purpose in real time. This project explores a creative outlook on sustainable architecture while also extending the education and understanding of sustainable elements in motion

Landfill elevated internal temperature detection and landfill fire index assessment for fire monitoring

Landfill fires are becoming a real threat to both people and environment due to lack of predictions and control methods. Processing of the infrared band from level-1 satellite images was employed and decades worth of archived data from USGS Earth Explorer databases were analyzed to obtain surface temperature values of Atlantic Waste Landfill, Virginia and Bridgeton Landfill, Missouri. Multitemporal thermal maps and frequency of maxima analysis maps of these two landfills showed the hotspots spreading through the waste site. A Landfill Fire Index (LFI) was created by investigating eight factors that give information about the hazardousness of the landfill conditions relative to the presence of a fire occurrence. The application of Analytical Hierarchy Method (AHP) resulted in the determination of the degree of importance of each Landfill Fire Index factor. Several monitoring well data sets were used to calculate the LFI for Bridgeton Landfill, Missouri, and Burlington County Landfill, New Jersey

The color television controversy

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

The IkB kinase inhibitor nuclear factor-kB essential modulator–binding domain peptide for inhibition of balloon injury-induced neointimal formation

Objective—The activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) is a crucial step in the arterial wall’s response to injury. The identification and characterization of the NF-kB essential modulator– binding domain (NBD) peptide, which can block the activation of the IkB kinase complex, have provided an opportunity to selectively abrogate the inflammation-induced activation of NF-kB. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the NBD peptide on neointimal formation.<br></br> Methods and Results—In the rat carotid artery balloon angioplasty model, local treatment with the NBD peptide (300 microg/site) significantly reduced the number of proliferating cells at day 7 (by 40%; P<0.01) and reduced injury-induced neointimal formation (by 50%; P<0.001) at day 14. These effects were associated with a significant reduction of NF-kB activation and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 expression in the carotid arteries of rats treated with the peptide. In addition, the NBD peptide (0.01 to 1 micromol/L) reduced rat smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Similar results were observed in apolipoprotein E-/-, mice in which the NBD peptide (150 microg/site) reduced wire-induced neointimal formation at day 28 (by 47%; P<0.01).<br></br> Conclusion—The NBD peptide reduces neointimal formation and smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration, both effects associated with the inhibition of NF-kB activation

Rho GTPase-dependent plasticity of dendritic spines in the adult brain.

Brain activity is associated with structural changes in the neural connections. However, in vivo imaging of the outer cortical layers has shown that dendritic spines, on which most excitatory synapses insist, are predominantly stable in adulthood. Changes in dendritic spines are governed by small GTPases of the Rho family through modulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Yet, while there are abundant data about this functional effect of Rho GTPases in vitro, there is little evidence that Rho GTPase signaling in the brain is associated with changes in neuronal morphology. In the present work, both chronic in vivo two-photon imaging and Golgi staining reveal that the activation of Rho GTPases in the adult mouse brain is associated with little change of dendritic spines in the apical dendrites of primary visual cortex pyramidal neurons. On the contrary, considerable increase in spine density is observed i) in the basal dendrites of the same neurons ii) in both basal and apical dendrites of the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. Moreover, functional analysis shows increase in basal glutamatergic neurotrasmission and activity-dependent plasticity only in CA1 neurons. While confirming that Rho-GTPase dependent increase in spine density can be substantial, the study indicates region and dendrite selectivity with relative stability of superficial cortical circuits

Meeting Street Needs Assessment and Space Planning

A community space is a multigenerational gathering place in which a variety of activities, programs and services are offered for the benefit of the public. This space should be a pillar of the community. Just like in a family unit, a community that overcomes hard times, controversial issues and challenging obstacles together will grow closer. In areas that are facing poor education, low income and a general decomposition of core values, a community center that encompasses resources for family, education, guidance, arts and entertainment, and technology can act as the catalyst for overall community improvement and a new cycle of living. The community center acts as a welcoming and equalizing place that operates without stigma, judgment or prejudice. It should encourage both personal and communal growth