Impact of full-scale models on students’ creativity in basic design course

Designing and implementing full-scale models by architecture students is one of the most difficult and uncommon experiences in design education. The study evaluates the impact of this experience on the development of creative design skills among first-year students. This is achieved by applying a methodology that combines quantitative analysis of learning outcomes, especially those associated with the skills of Basic Design courses, with qualitative analysis of sketches, scaled and full models, and video recordings of students during design and implementation stages. This study provides experimental support for the use of full-scale models in design education to develop students’ creative skills, in addition to discussing opportunities and challenges to help faculty and researchers in the field of design education

On the numerical solution of space fractional order diffusion equation via shifted Chebyshev polynomials of the third kind

In this paper, we propose a numerical scheme to solve space fractional order diffusion equation. Our scheme uses shifted Chebyshev polynomials of the third kind. The fractional differential derivatives are expressed in terms of the Caputo sense. Moreover, Chebyshev collocation method together with the finite difference method are used to reduce these types of differential equations to a system of algebraic equations which can be solved numerically. Numerical approximations performed by the proposed method are presented and compared with the results obtained by other numerical methods. The results reveal that our method is a simple and effective numerical method

Production, Bioprocessing and Anti-Proliferative Activity of Camptothecin from Penicillium chrysogenum, “An Endozoic of Marine Sponge, Cliona sp.”, as a Metabolically Stable Camptothecin Producing Isolate

Exploring the metabolic potency of fungi as camptothecin producers raises the hope of their usage as an industrial source of camptothecin, due to their short-life span and the feasibility of metabolic engineering. However, the tiny yield and loss of camptothecin productivity of fungi during storage and sub-culturing are challenges that counteract this approach. Marine fungi could be a novel source for camptothecin production, with higher yield and reliable metabolic sustainability. The marine fungal isolate Penicillium chrysogenum EFBL # OL597937.1 derived from the sponge “Cliona sp.” has been morphologically identified and molecularly confirmed, based on the Internal Transcribed Spacer sequence, exhibiting the highest yield of camptothecin (110 μg/L). The molecular structure and chemical identity of P. chrysogenum derived camptothecin has been resolved by HPLC, FTIR and LC-MS/MS analyses, giving the same spectroscopic profiles and mass fragmentation patterns as authentic camptothecin. The extracted camptothecin displayed a strong anti-proliferative activity towards HEP-2 and HCT-116 (IC50 values 0.33–0.35 µM). The yield of camptothecin was maximized by nutritional optimization of P. chrysogenum with a Plackett-Burman design, and the productivity of camptothecin increased by 1.8 fold (200 µg/L), compared to control fungal cultures. Upon storage at 4 °C as slope culture for 8 months, the productivity of camptothecin for P. chrysogenum was reduced by 40% compared to the initial culture. Visual fading of the mycelial pigmentation of P. chrysogenum was observed during fungal storage, matched with loss of camptothecin productivity. Methylene chloride extracts of Cliona sp. had the potency to completely restore the camptothecin productivity of P. chrysogenum, ensuring the partial dependence of the expression of the camptothecin biosynthetic machinery of P. chrysogenum on the chemical signals derived from the sponge, or the associated microbial flora. This is the first report describing the feasibility of P. chrysogenum, endozoic of Cliona sp., for camptothecin production, along with reliable metabolic biosynthetic stability, which could be a new platform for scaling-up camptothecin production