The Mountain and the Book. Three Written Libraries in Meran

Literature has the ability to grasp atmospheres, to look at things from many points of view, to deal with the pragmatic as well as the poetic, with creativity and subjectivity; these and other qualities offer a wealth of possibilities to design. This graduation project tried to define both the possibilities offered and the ways in which to employ them in the traditional design process. In doing so, literature was both a tool to understand and to create, a method to engage the mind and fuel creativity. Throughout the different phases, it is a tool to read, to write and to continuously challenge all the elements of a design, from analysis to scenario, from site to detail. In this way, the two key elements of the project, the mountain and the book, were defined and declined in the design of three libraries in the area of Meran in the Italian Alps. The literary tool, in all its declinations, is also employed as a different way to engage one’s own creativity; it provides both a rational way to explore and deal with space and a poetic view that ‘illuminates’ the design task and allows to deal with inspiration and concepts in a varied and versatile way. Literature being an added tool to the design process, the literary material is constantly confronted with design through graphical means in a loop process. In this approach, the designer acts as an authoring medium between the site and the design that has to take place in it

Clonagem e expressão de proteína heteróloga com potencial imunogênico contra corynebacterium diphtheriae Kruse, 1886

Orientadora : Profa. Dra. Vanete Thomaz SoccolCo-orientador : Prof. Dr. Carlos Ricardo SoccolDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Bioprocessos e Biotecnologia. Defesa: Curitiba, 13/02/2015Inclui referências : f.93-104Área de concentração: Saúde humana e animalResumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma proteína recombinante com potencial imunogênico contra Corynebacterium diphtheriae, que possa ser utilizada como vacina de subunidade. A cepa de C. diphtheriae foi utilizada para clonagem do gene da subunidade B da toxina por ser a porção imunogênica da molécula. O produto da clonagem foi inserido no vetor de expressão pAE, e amplificado em Escherichia coli DH5 alfa. Para a expressão da proteína, o plasmídeo contendo o inserto foi transfectado em E. coli BL21 pLysS. As melhores condições de expressão da proteína recombinante foram 31ºC, 0,3 mM de indutor (IPTG) e 3 horas de indução, sendo significativo somente para a fração solúvel da proteína. A proteína foi purificada em coluna de afinidade de níquel. As endotoxinas foram removidas com triton X114, sem perda significativa da proteína durante o processo (380 ?g/mL). A taxa de recuperação foi de 33% e o rendimento final foi de 348 ?g/mL. A proteína foi sequenciada com 99% de similaridade com a subunidade B da toxina diftérica, apresentando-se como antígeno promissor para o desenvolvimento de uma vacina contra a difteria. Palavras-chaves: Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Difteria, Toxina Diftérica Subunidade B, Vacina de Subunidade.Abstract: The aims of this work was to produce a recombinant protein with immunogenic potencial against Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which can be used as a subunit vaccine. The C. diphtheriae was used for cloning the B subunit of the diphtheria toxin gene, as it is the immunogenic portion of the molecule. The PCR product was inserted into the cloning vector pAE and amplified in Escherichia coli DH5alfa. To the protein expression, the plasmid containing the insert was trasnfected into E. coli BL21 pLysS. The best culture conditions were 31ºC, IPTG 0.3 mM e 3 hours of induction, being significant only to the soluble fraction. The protein was purified by nickel affinity column and endotoxins were removed with Triton X-114, with no significant protein loss (380 ?g/mL). The recovery rate was 33% with the final yield of 348 ?g/mL. The protein was sequenced and showed 99% of similarity to the diphtheria toxin B subunit. The heterologous protein, here produced, is a promising antigen for a vaccine production against the diphtheria disease. Keywords: Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Diphtheria, Diphtheria Toxin, Diphtheria Toxin Subunit B, Subunit Vaccine

Python GUI for impedance spectroscopy analysis

A graphical user interface (GUI) for a widely used instrument, namely the Keysight 4294A impedance analyzer, was developed in Python language. This GUI allows control of instrument, acquisition and processing of impedance spectra from dielectric materials and electric circuits. Examples of analysis of electric circuits and porous alumina are provided to illustrate some of the GUI possible applications

In-situ high-pressure powder X-ray diffraction study of α -zirconium phosphate

The high-pressure structural chemistry of -zirconium phosphate, -Zr(HPO4) 2H2O, was studied using in-situ high-pressure diffraction and synchrotron radiation. The layered phosphate was studied under both hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic conditions and Rietveld refinement carried out on the resulting diffraction patterns. It was found that under hydrostatic conditions no uptake of additional water molecules from the pressure-transmitting medium occurred, contrary to what had previously been observed with some zeolite materials and a layered titanium phosphate. Under hydrostatic conditions the sample remained crystalline up to 10 GPa, but under non-hydrostatic conditions the sample amorphized between 7.3 and 9.5 GPa. The calculated bulk modulus, K 0 = 15.2 GPa, showed the material to be very compressible with the weak linkages in the structure of the type Zr—O—P

Transições de Fase em Compostos com Estrutura de Pirocloro de Defeito em Altas Pressões

In this paper the influence of pressure and temperature on four compounds with defect pyrochlore structure (NH4NbWO6, RbNbWO6, CsNbWO6, and p-WO3) is explored by means of X-ray diffraction, vibrational (Raman and infrared absorption) spectroscopy and computer simulations. Several structural transitions were observed, including an unusual insertion reaction with volume increase at high pressures. This latter transition is further explored to reveal the influence on the transition pressure of the nature and ionic radius of the cation residing inside the cages formed by the pyrochlore framework. http://dx.doi.org/10.18226/23185279.v1iss1p24Neste artigo, a influência da pressão e da temperatura sobre quatro compostos com estrutura de pirocloro de defeito (NH4NbWO6, RbNbWO6, CsNbWO6 e p-WO3) e explorada por meio de difração de raios X, espectroscopia vibracional (Raman e de absorção no infravermelho) e simulação computacional. Foram observadas varias transições estruturais e uma inusitada reação de inserção com aumento de volume em altas pressões. Este comportamento e racionalizado em termos da natureza e do raio iônico do cation presente no interior das cavidades da estrutura destes pirocloros. http://dx.doi.org/10.18226/23185279.v1iss1p2