Public Space in the New Urban Agenda: Research into Implementation

The New Urban Agenda is a landmark international framework for urbanisation for the next two decades, adopted by acclamation by all 193 countries of the United Nations. Nonetheless, implementation remains an enormous challenge, as does the related need for research evidence to inform practice. This thematic issue brings together research from a number of participants of the Future of Places conference series, contributin new research to inform the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and with a focus on the fundamental topic of public space creation and improvement

Main street plot scale in urban design for inclusive economies : Stockholm case studies

This paper explores evidence that entrepreneurial opportunities for migrants and other lower income populations can be expanded in part through increasing the presence of fine grained scales of plots and plates along main streets, as part of a systematic urban design strategy. It describes that systematic strategy herein. The paper encompasses the study of three main streets with varying plot sizes in the inner city of Stockholm, Sweden, and examines the outcomes for different types and scales of businesses. After presenting the findings, analysis and conclusions, larger questions of urban design for more inclusive economies are discussed

Two conserved modules of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mediator regulate distinct cellular pathways

Mediator is an evolutionary conserved coregulator complex required for transcription of almost all RNA polymerase II-dependent genes. The Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mediator consists of two dissociable components—a core complex organized into a head and middle domain as well as the Cdk8 regulatory subcomplex. In this work we describe a functional characterization of the S. pombe Mediator. We report the identification of the S. pombe Med20 head subunit and the isolation of ts alleles of the core head subunit encoding med17+. Biochemical analysis of med8ts, med17ts, Δmed18, Δmed20 and Δmed27 alleles revealed a stepwise head domain molecular architecture. Phenotypical analysis of Cdk8 and head module alleles including expression profiling classified the Mediator mutant alleles into one of two groups. Cdk8 module mutants flocculate due to overexpression of adhesive cell-surface proteins. Head domain-associated mutants display a hyphal growth phenotype due to defective expression of factors required for cell separation regulated by transcription factor Ace2. Comparison with Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mediator expression data reveals that these functionally distinct modules are conserved between S. pombe and S. cerevisiae

Neighbourhood proximity: A microcosmic resilience perspective on cities

In the ‘urban century’ cities tend to grow in number and size. We observe nowadays a world-wide interest in the socio-economic significance of cities in a global network society. The question whether cities provide an attractive and resilient homebase for people in the ‘New Urban World’ draws increasingly attention and calls for a thorough reflection on the essence of a city. This paper offers food for thought on the question: what makes the city a city? After an overview of arguments from the literature, we posit that cities are complex multi-layered organisms which provide a broad portfolio of services and functions to residents, visitors and the business sector. A city can be decomposed into disjoint, but geographically connected spatial units (e.g., neighbourhoods, streets), which altogether from an interactive dynamic and resilient organism. To better understand the ‘raison d’etre’ of cities in our urban age, we advocate a microcosmic perspective on city life, in which communities, neighbourhoods and related social-cultural proximity patterns among people or agents in a locality play a key role for urban cohesion. Common public spaces in urban districts or neighbourhoods find their origin in shared space proximity and deserve a more prominent place on the city planning agenda

SINGLE: Atomic-resolution structure identification of nanocrystals by graphene liquid cell EM.

Analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) structures of nanocrystals with solution-phase transmission electron microscopy is beginning to reveal their unique physiochemical properties. We developed a "one-particle Brownian 3D reconstruction method" based on imaging of ensembles of colloidal nanocrystals using graphene liquid cell electron microscopy. Projection images of differently rotated nanocrystals are acquired using a direct electron detector with high temporal (<2.5 ms) resolution and analyzed to obtain an ensemble of 3D reconstructions. Here, we introduce computational methods required for successful atomic-resolution 3D reconstruction: (i) tracking of the individual particles throughout the time series, (ii) subtraction of the interfering background of the graphene liquid cell, (iii) identification and rejection of low-quality images, and (iv) tailored strategies for 2D/3D alignment and averaging that differ from those used in biological cryo-electron microscopy. Our developments are made available through the open-source software package SINGLE

SINGLE: Atomic-resolution structure identification of nanocrystals by graphene liquid cell EM.

Analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) structures of nanocrystals with solution-phase transmission electron microscopy is beginning to reveal their unique physiochemical properties. We developed a "one-particle Brownian 3D reconstruction method" based on imaging of ensembles of colloidal nanocrystals using graphene liquid cell electron microscopy. Projection images of differently rotated nanocrystals are acquired using a direct electron detector with high temporal (<2.5 ms) resolution and analyzed to obtain an ensemble of 3D reconstructions. Here, we introduce computational methods required for successful atomic-resolution 3D reconstruction: (i) tracking of the individual particles throughout the time series, (ii) subtraction of the interfering background of the graphene liquid cell, (iii) identification and rejection of low-quality images, and (iv) tailored strategies for 2D/3D alignment and averaging that differ from those used in biological cryo-electron microscopy. Our developments are made available through the open-source software package SINGLE

SINGLE: Atomic-resolution structure identification of nanocrystals by graphene liquid cell EM

Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved;Analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) structures of nanocrystals with solution-phase transmission electron microscopy is beginning to reveal their unique physiochemical properties. We developed a “one-particle Brownian 3D reconstruction method” based on imaging of ensembles of colloidal nanocrystals using graphene liquid cell electron microscopy. Projection images of differently rotated nanocrystals are acquired using a direct electron detector with high temporal (<2.5 ms) resolution and analyzed to obtain an ensemble of 3D reconstructions. Here, we introduce computational methods required for successful atomic-resolution 3D reconstruction: (i) tracking of the individual particles throughout the time series, (ii) subtraction of the interfering background of the graphene liquid cell, (iii) identification and rejection of low-quality images, and (iv) tailored strategies for 2D/3D alignment and averaging that differ from those used in biological cryo–electron microscopy. Our developments are made available through the open-source software package SINGLE.11Nsciescopu

3D structure of individual nanocrystals in solution by electron microscopy

Understanding structural details of colloidal nanoparticles is required to bridge our knowledge about their synthesis, growth mechanisms, and physical properties. We introduce a method for determining 3D structures of individual nanoparticles in solution. We combine a graphene liquid cell, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, a direct electron detector, and an algorithm for single-particle 3D reconstruction originally developed for analysis of biological molecules to produce two near-atomic resolution 3D structures of individual Pt nanocrystals. Since our method derives the 3D structure from images of individual nanoparticles rotating freely in solution, it enables the analysis of heterogeneous populations of potentially unordered nanoparticles that are synthesized in solution, thereby providing a means to understand the structure and stability of defects at the nanoscale