Untimely Thinking of Alberto Pérez-Gómez

This is the foreword to the two-volume collection of essays by the eminent architectural historian Dr. Alberto Pérez-Gómez titled, Timely Meditations: Select Essays on Architecture (2016). It examines his work on hermeneutics to reconsider innovation in architecture by privileging architecture’s performance of cultural orientation over innovation for its own sake. This shifts attention from action based on information to a hermeneutic position that draws on a less articulate background

Michael’s Mouth

“Michael’s Mouth” examines the virtuoso performance of small mouth sounds (“um,” “ah,” etc.) in MOS’ 2006 video, Alternate Ending 1: The Glimmering Noise. In this performance, “Michael” deftly uses non-words to advance a non-discursive argument about architecture as a form of attention in the post-critical imaginary

Reconfiguring Architectural Agency

This essay, for the exhibition Steven Holl: Making Architecture,” argues that matter, things, and technologies are increasingly seen as co-constitutive of human agency. Studying this expanded conception of agency in the architecture of Holl reveals three opportunities. It enables us to re-describe the architect’s relation to architectural phenomenology beyond materiality. It reveals architecture’s active comportment in socially embedded settings, and it advances the idea that architecture makes us what we are

Addition polymers from 1,4,5,8-tetrahydro-1,4;5,8-diepoxyanthracene and Bis-dienes. 2: Evidence for thermal dehydration occurring in the cure process

Diels-Alder cycloaddition copolymers from 1,4,5,8-tetrahydro-1,4;5,8-diepoxyanthracene and anthracene end-capped polyimide oligomers appear, by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), to undergo dehydration at elevated temperatures. This would produce thermally stable pentiptycene units along the polymer backbone, and render the polymers incapable of unzipping through a retro-Diels-Alder pathway. High resolution solid 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of one formulation of the polymer system before and after heating at elevated temperatures, shows this to indeed be the case. NMR spectra of solid samples of the polymer before and after heating correlated well with those of the parent pentiptycene model compound before and after acid-catalyzed dehydration. Isothermal gravimetric analyses and viscosities of the polymer before and after heat treatment support dehydration as a mechanism for the cure reaction

A Protocol Analysis of Brand Choice Strategies Involving Recommendations

Subjects completed a purchase decision under a computer-controlled laboratory simulation that enabled acquisition of both attribute-value and recommendation information from five sources. Analysis of subjects' acquisitions and recorded statements during the decision process offered support for the existence of unique decision strategies for situations involving availability of both kinds of information. Based on the manner in which recommendation information was used, these strategies were subdivided into (1) a recommendation-forms-evoked-set (RFES) for consideration, and (2) a recommendation-forms-standard (RFS) for comparison to other brand alternatives. Differences in strategy use between two product categories were explored

The histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid alters growth properties of renal cell carcinoma in vitro and in vivo

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors represent a promising class of antineoplastic agents which affect tumour growth, differentiation and invasion. The effects of the HDAC inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) were tested in vitro and in vivo on pre-clinical renal cell carcinoma (RCC) models. Caki-1, KTC-26 or A498 cells were treated with various concentrations of VPA during in vitro cell proliferation 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays and to evaluate cell cycle manipulation. In vivo tumour growth was conducted in subcutaneous xenograft mouse models. The anti-tumoural potential of VPA combined with low-dosed interferon-α (IFN-α) was also investigated. VPA significantly and dose-dependently up-regulated histones H3 and H4 acetylation and caused growth arrest in RCC cells. VPA altered cell cycle regulating proteins, in particular CDK2, cyclin B, cyclin D3, p21 and Rb. In vivo, VPA significantly inhibited the growth of Caki-1 in subcutaneous xenografts, accompanied by a strong accumulation of p21 and bax in tissue specimens of VPA-treated animals. VPA–IFN-α combination markedly enhanced the effects of VPA monotherapy on RCC proliferation in vitro, but did not further enhance the anti-tumoural potential of VPA in vivo. VPA was found to have profound effects on RCC cell growth, lending support to the initiation of clinical testing of VPA for treating advanced RCC

White-light photoluminescence and photoactivation in cadmium sulfide embedded in mesoporous silicon dioxide templates studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy

This is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of colloid and interface science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of colloid and interface science, [147, 1, (2013)] DOI10.1016/j.jcis.2013.06.022)SBA-15 and SBA-16 silica templates have been infiltrated with CdS by means of nanocasting using a hybrid precursor. The morphology and structure of both the SiO2@CdS nanocomposites and the silica-free CdS replicas have been characterized. The three-dimensional nanocrystalline CdS networks embedded in SBA-15 and SBA-16 silica templates exhibit broad photoluminescence (PL) spectra over the entire visible range, together with enhanced PL intensity compared to silica-free CdS replicas. These effects result from the role silica plays in passivating the surface of the CdS mesostructures. Furthermore, photoactivation is eventually observed during continuous illumination because of both structural and chemical surface odifications. Owing to this combination of properties, these materials could be appealing for solid-state lighting, where ultra-bright near-white PL emission is indispensable

The Potential Implications of Web-Based Marketing Communications for Consumers\u27 Implicit and Explicit Brand Attitudes: A Call for Research

Two developments in the last two decades frame the importance of Web-based marketing communications for firms. First is the phenomenal growth of the Internet as a viable commerce and communication option and second is the clear shift in attitude research toward recognizing the pervasive role of automatic processes in almost all the social psychological processes. Therefore, this article discusses the potential implications of Web-based marketing communications for consumers\u27 implicit and explicit attitudes. In doing so, first, this article reviews the emergence of research on implicit attitudes, distinguishes implicit attitudes from explicit attitudes, and discusses research on explicit and implicit attitudes relative to branding. Second, a brief discussion of marketing research on attitude is provided. Third, five empirically testable research propositions are developed and presented. Finally, given the potential implications for research and practice, the article concludes with a call for research. ©2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Ethnic identity, socialization factors, and culture-specific consumption behavior

This study is designed to discover the degree to which ethnic identity and socialization factors influence the culture-specific consumption behaviors of Asian American young adults, in general as well as in specific situational settings. Findings indicated that perceived parental cultural identification tended to strengthen the ethnic identity, which in turn influenced Asian American young adults' culture-specific consumption behaviors. However, although their perceived parental acculturation level had no effect on their ethnic identity, it directly weakened the subject group's culture-specific consumption behaviors. The ethnic-friendship orientation was found not only to influence ethnic identity but also to influence directly the group's culture-specific consumption behavior. Further analysis revealed that a situational factor (i.e., the presence or absence of ethnic friends) influenced culture-specific consumption behavior, regardless of the strength of ethnic identity. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34945/1/10117_ftp.pd