Introducing the concept of first and last value to aid lean design: learning from social housing projects In Chile

Value for the customer through efficient production processes is a fundamental principle of Lean. In Lean Construction, Value to customers is largely delivered through project planning and control activities only. Thus, it can be argued that Lean Construction overlooks the opportunity to address Value from the early stages of a project. Aimed at improving this, Lean Design arose as a new approach for design management promoting customer and end user involvement from the early stage of projects. However, even here environmental & social issues are postponed over individual requirements. As a result, Lean potential in general skips the opportunity to address Value from a wider perspective in which the return of Value from the construction industry to society is considered. This paper proposes dividing the wider understanding of the performance of the (global) built environment from the particular (local) project requirements calling the former First Value and the latter Last Value. The theory is triangulated through observation of how a developing country (Chile) is resolving social issues through the use of the built environment. The work described develops Lean Design Management by providing a clearer vision of Value to reduce waste and aid sustainability in the built environment

SPARC Controls Melanoma Cell Plasticity through Rac1.

Cell transition to a more aggressive mesenchymal-like phenotype is a hallmark of cancer progression that involves different steps and requires tightly regulated cell plasticity. SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine) is a matricellular protein that promotes this transition in various malignant cell types, including melanoma cells. We found that suppression of SPARC expression in human melanoma cells compromised cell migration, adhesion, cytoskeleton structure, and cell size. These changes involved the Akt/mTOR pathway. Re-expression of SPARC or protein addition restored all the cell features. Suppression of SPARC expression was associated with increased Rac1-GTP levels and its membrane localization. Expression of the dominant negative mutant of Rac1 counteracted almost all the changes observed in SPARC-deficient cells. Overall, these data suggest that most of the SPARC-mediated effects occurred mainly through the blockade of Rac1 activity.Fil: Salvatierra Colussi, Edgardo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Mariano J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Leishman, Claudia C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Rivas Baquero, Elvia Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Lutzky, Viviana P.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; Argentina. The Royal Brisbane Hospital; AustraliaFil: Chuluyan, Hector Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; ArgentinaFil: Podhajcer, Osvaldo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentin

La importancia de Nietzsche para las vanguardias de la arquitectura

Avant-garde artists took the more solid thinking of Nietzsche, which is represented by Zaratustra, and tried to look for new rules of Art. It was a way to overcome what critics and experts in History had wanted to make belief until that moment. For this, the artist had to beat the saturation of forms common in Art in the Nineteenth Century. No Eclecticism; new Art must start from scratch.Las vanguardias artísticas tomaron el pensamiento nietzscheano más sólido, aquel que representaba Zaratustra, y trataron de buscar las nuevas reglas del arte. Se trataba de vencer todo lo que los críticos del arte y los historiadores habían venido inculcando hasta ese momento. Para ello, el artista debía vencer la saturación de formas a la que se venía asistiendo a finales de siglo. Nada de eclecticismo; el nuevo arte debía arrancar desde cero

Raising awareness of the accessibility challenges in mathematics MOOCs

MOOCs provide learning environments that make it easier for learners to study from anywhere, at their own pace and with open access to content. This has revolutionised the field of eLearning, but accessibility continues to be a problem, even more so if we include the complexity of the STEM disciplines which have their own specific characteristics. This work presents an analysis of the accessibility of several MOOC platforms which provide courses in mathematics. We attempt to visualise the main web accessibility problems and challenges that disabled learners could face in taking these types of courses, both in general and specifically in the context of the subject of mathematics

American first-generation college students’ narratives of positive relationships with their school counsellors

Trusting and supportive relationships with school counsellors can help first-generation college students access college despite barriers. In this narrative inquiry, 11 first-generation college students in the United States shared stories of their positive relationships with their former high school counsellors. After an iterative and consensus-based data analysis process, we summarised our participants’ grand narrative with five themes: family context, school counselling delivery, relationships with school counsellors, impact of relationships with school counsellors, and suggested improvements. Participants valued how school counsellors helped them advocate for themselves, build their confidence, and feel encouraged and accountable through individual meetings, career counselling, and college guidance. School counsellors can offer targeted and relational interventions to help first-generation college students access and persist through college

Anticipated Notification of Sexual Partners following STD Diagnosis among Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Lima, Peru: A Mixed Methods Analysis

Background: New strategies to support partner notification (PN) are critical for STD control and require detailed understanding of how specific individual and partnership characteristics guide notification decisions. Methods: From 2011 to 2012, 397 MSM and TW recently diagnosed with HIV, syphilis, or another STD completed a survey on anticipated notification of recent sexual partners and associated factors. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of participants to provide further depth to quantitative findings. Prevalence ratios and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to analyze participant- and partner-level factors associated with anticipated PN. Results: Among all partners reported, 52.5% were described as “Very Likely” or “Somewhat Likely” to be notified. Anticipated notification was more likely for main partners than casual (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [aPR], 95% CI: 0.63, 0.54–0.75) or commercial (aPR, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.31–0.62) partners. Other factors associated with likely notification included perception of the partner as an STD source (aPR, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.10–1.48) and anticipated future sexual contact with the partner (aPR, 95% CI: 1.30, 1.11–1.52). An HIV diagnosis was associated with a lower likelihood of notification than non-HIV STDs (aPR: 0.68, 0.55–0.86). Qualitative discussion of the barriers and incentives to PN reflected a similar differentiation of anticipated notification according to partnership type and type of HIV/STD diagnosis. Discussion: Detailed attention to how partnership characteristics guide notification outcomes is essential to the development of new PN strategies. By accurately and thoroughly assessing the diversity of partnership interactions among individuals with HIV/STD, new notification techniques can be tailored to partner-specific circumstances

Combining Multiple Web Accessibility Evaluation Reports using Semantic Web Technologies

This paper describes a process for automatic combination of testing reports for the accessibility of Web applications, obtained by different testing tools and applying different standards on Web accessibility. Interoperability is guaranteed using semantic Web technologies, which allow describing the reports by RDF (Resource Description Framework) triples. The reports refer to elements of a knowledge base consisting of vocabularies, ontologies and rules of inference, in which the conceptual relations between accessibility standards, as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) or Section 508 among others, are formalized previously. A software prototype that uses the Apache Jena framework for implementing the process is presented

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine produced by human melanoma cells modulates polymorphonuclear leukocyte recruitment and antitumor cytotoxic capacity

The expression of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) has been associated with the malignant progression of different types of human cancer. SPARC was associated with tumor cell capacity to migrate and invade, although its precise role in tumor progression is still elusive. In the present study, we show that SPARC produced by melanoma cells modulates the antitumor activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). Administration to nude mice of human melanoma cells in which SPARC expression was transiently or stably knocked down by antisense RNA (SPARC-sup cells) promoted PMN recruitment and obliterated tumor growth even when SPARC-sup cells accounted for only 10% of injected malignant cells. In addition, SPARC-sup cells stimulated the in vitro migration and triggered the antimelanoma cytotoxic capacity of human PMN, an effect that was reverted in the presence of SPARC purified from melanoma cells or by reexpressing SPARC in SPARC-sup cells. Leukotrienes, interleukin 8, and growth-related oncogene, in combination with Fas ligand and interleukin 1, mediated SPARC effects. These data indicate that SPARC plays an essential role in tumor evasion from immune surveillance through the inhibition of the antitumor PMN activity.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine produced by human melanoma cells modulates polymorphonuclear leukocyte recruitment and antitumor cytotoxic capacity

The expression of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) has been associated with the malignant progression of different types of human cancer. SPARC was associated with tumor cell capacity to migrate and invade, although its precise role in tumor progression is still elusive. In the present study, we show that SPARC produced by melanoma cells modulates the antitumor activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). Administration to nude mice of human melanoma cells in which SPARC expression was transiently or stably knocked down by antisense RNA (SPARC-sup cells) promoted PMN recruitment and obliterated tumor growth even when SPARC-sup cells accounted for only 10% of injected malignant cells. In addition, SPARC-sup cells stimulated the in vitro migration and triggered the antimelanoma cytotoxic capacity of human PMN, an effect that was reverted in the presence of SPARC purified from melanoma cells or by reexpressing SPARC in SPARC-sup cells. Leukotrienes, interleukin 8, and growth-related oncogene, in combination with Fas ligand and interleukin 1, mediated SPARC effects. These data indicate that SPARC plays an essential role in tumor evasion from immune surveillance through the inhibition of the antitumor PMN activity.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria