Upotreba game enginea umjetne inteligencije u svrhu predstavljanja protoka ljudi u arhitektonskim prostorima pomoću geometrije i grafike

The digital and the related technological evolution in recent years have shifted to words such as Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence. The wider use of these and other technologies in architecture has been far limited by a lack of IT tools with which architects could interface since they have been made available in the last few years only. The evolution of the tools used by the architect can be condensed and simplied into a sequence of three stages: Drawing Board, CAD systems, Game Engines. The frames of this sequence, in addition to indicating instruments, are representative of the historical context in which they have been or are still being used. This study, based on a Master thesis recently discussed at the Politecnico di Milano [14], examines the role that Game Engines can play in the graphic representation and design processes. More specifically, it takes a closer look at the Unreal Engine as a tool for creating a real-time design environment and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to represent user flows in the space as valuable support and a relevant part of the design strategies aiming at implementing and evaluating design options. For this purpose, various simulations have been carried out both considering users\u27 flows based on assigned spaces, and generating spaces based on the users\u27 flows.Digitalna i njoj pripadajuća tehnološka evolucija posljednjih godina pretvorila se u riječi kao Virtualna stvarnost i umjetna inteligencija. Šira upotreba ovih, ali i drugih tehnologija u arhitekturi dosta je ograničena zbog nedostatka IT alata s kojima su se arhitekti susretali s obzirom na to da su bili dostupni jedino u posljednjih nekoliko godina. Evolucija alata koju koriste arhitekti može biti komprimirana i pojednostavljena promatrajući je u tri faze: crtaća ploča, CAD sustavi, game enginei. Okviri ovih faza predstavnici su povijesnog konteksta u kojem su se koristili ili se još uvijek koriste. Ovo proučavanje koje se temelji na diplomskom radu nedavno obrađenom na Politecnico di Milano [14], ispituje ulogu koju game enginei mogu igrati u grafičkoj prezentaciji i procesu projektiranja. Konkretnije, bliže sagledava Unreal Engine kao alat za stvaranje okoline projektiranja u stvarnom vremenu i koristeći tehnologije Umjetne inteligencije predstavlja korisničko razmišljanje u prostoru kao korisnu podršku i važan dio strategija projektiranja s ciljem implementacije i evaluacije projektantskih opcija. Za ovu svrhu, brojne simulacije su izvedene uzimajući u obzir i protoke korisnika temeljene na konkretnom prostoru, ali i generiranje prostora temeljeno na protocima korisnika

Cloning of the Zygosaccharomyces bailii GAS1 homologue and effect of cell wall engineering on protein secretory phenotype

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Zygosaccharomyces bailii </it>is a diploid budding yeast still poorly characterized, but widely recognised as tolerant to several stresses, most of which related to industrial processes of production. Because of that, it would be very interesting to develop its ability as a cell factory. Gas1p is a β-1,3-glucanosyltransglycosylase which plays an important role in cell wall construction and in determining its permeability. Cell wall defective mutants of <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>and <it>Pichia pastoris</it>, deleted in the <it>GAS</it>1 gene, were reported as super-secretive. The aim of this study was the cloning and deletion of the <it>GAS</it>1 homologue of <it>Z. bailii </it>and the evaluation of its deletion on recombinant protein secretion.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>GAS</it>1 homologue of <it>Z. bailii </it>was cloned by PCR, and when expressed in a <it>S. cerevisiae GAS</it>1 null mutant was able to restore the parental phenotype. The respective <it>Z. bailii</it> Δ<it>gas</it>1 deleted strain was obtained by targeted deletion of both alleles of the <it>ZbGAS</it>1 gene with deletion cassettes having flanking regions of ~400 bp. The morphological and physiological characterization of the <it>Z. bailii </it>null mutant resulted very similar to that of the corresponding <it>S. cerevisiae </it>mutant. As for <it>S. cerevisiae</it>, in the <it>Z. bailii </it>Δ<it>gas</it>1 the total amount of protein released in the medium was significantly higher. Moreover, three different heterologous proteins were expressed and secreted in said mutant. The amount of enzymatic activity found in the medium was almost doubled in the case of the <it>Candida rugosa </it>lipase CRL1 and of the <it>Yarrowia lipolytica </it>protease XPR2, while for human IL-1β secretion disruption had no relevant effect.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data presented confirm that the engineering of the cell wall is an effective way to improve protein secretion in yeast. They also confirmed that <it>Z. bailii </it>is an interesting candidate, despite the knowledge of its genome and the tools for its manipulation still need to be improved. However, as already widely reported in literature, our data confirmed that an "always working" solution to the problems related to recombinant protein production can be hardly, if never, found; instead, manipulations have to be finely tuned for each specific product and/or combination of host cell and product.</p

Winegrape berry skin thickness determination: comparison between histological observation and texture analysis determination.

We analyzed the relation between the assessment of grape berry skin thickness by means of histology sections and instrumental mechanical properties measurements. Berry skin of Vitis vinifera L. cultivar Corvina vineyards from Valpolicella Valpantena zone (Verona, Italy) were tested, evidencing a strong correlation between the two thickness determination methods. The middle or equatorial berry skin portion was found to be the less variable in instrumental skin thickness determination. In addition, unlike other studies, no correlation between the skin thickness and cell layers number was found

Multi-point monitoring of nitrous oxide emissions in three full-scale conventional activated sludge tanks in Europe

The large global warming potential of nitrous oxide (N2O) is currently of general concern for the water industry, especially in view of a new regulatory framework concerning the carbon footprint of water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). N2O can be generated through different biological pathways and from different treatment steps of a WRRF. The use of generic emission factors (EF) for quantifying the emissions of WRRFs is discouraged. This is due to the number of different factors that can affect how much, when and where N2O is emitted from WRRFs. The spatial and temporal variability of three WRRFs in Europe using comparable technologies is presented. An economically feasible and user-friendly method for accounting for the contribution of anoxic zones via direct gas emission measurements was proven. The investigation provided new insights into the contribution from the anoxic zones versus the aerobic zones of biological WRRF tanks and proved the unsuitability of the use of a single EF for the three WRRFs. Dedicated campaigns for N2O emissions assessment are to be advised. However, similarities in the EF magnitude can be found considering treatment strategy and influent water composition

Experimentation of a Web Database for Augmented Reality Apps. The case study of ruled geometries

The growing field of Augmented Reality Apps is an indication of greater interest, by private markets and public institutions, towards immersive visualization and those tools that can enhance cultural content through user involvement. An often underrated feature of this digitalization lies in the smart language with which the notions are shown, in quick synthesis based on schemes, slides, lists, images, and comparisons. But the continuous input of data in an app can cause various problems, both on the hardware and software front: from the obvious weight gain, not negligible for pocket devices, to the continuous updating of scientific knowledge, that risks leaving behind all those theoretical contents that are not controlled or renewed. To this is added the problem of the constant maintenance of mobile devices for what concerns software, operating systems, security protocols, and systems for decoding existing data, especially for AR Apps that use audio and video devices. With this in mind, and in order to optimize the performance of mobile tools, a digital archive in the form of an open-source site is useful, providing centralized and pre-cataloged data specifically for use in the AR App. In this way, qualified users can contribute to the knowledge presented through a client-server upload system on the site, properly filtered by semi-automatic security checks. The experimentation of the contribution investigates the advantages and possibilities of such a structured system, setting the case study on the theory of ruled geometries, and the architectures corresponding to them

Il Motel Agip di Mario Ridolfi. Dall’analisi grafica alla rappresentazione parametrica e immersiva

The research aims to describe the process of generation and growth of the architectural form of an unrealized project by Mario Ridolfi, the Agip Motel in Settebagni, through the aid of graphic analysis, geometric and parametric modeling and virtual reality . Versatile architect, with a vast production, well documented by the sources, of completed and unrealized projects, the latter little studied, especially from the point of view of geometry. The abundant presence of design documentation has made it possible to identify and reconstruct the geometric layout on which the motel tower is based: a decagonal matrix plan with star-shaped vertices, in a progression of floors defined by a cylindrical helix. This polycentric trend of the elevation is manifested in a torsion of the building, and in a continuous irregularity of the internal plans, which therefore requires the project a considerable commitment to adapt. Starting from the graphic reconstruction, a 3D model of the plan and a parametric script of the envelope were created, which controls the various functions of the torsion and the different perimeters. Finally, at the end of the restitution, it was decided to reproduce the discrete parametric model in an augmented reality system, with an interactive mechanism for scrolling through the planes of the model and effectively visualizing the evolution of the heights

Chapter Digi Skills Bsc – Revising Graphic Literacy in Bsc Architectural Design Education through a Software-Based Pedagogic Approach. A Shared Pilot Experience at the Politecnico di Milano

The 43rd UID conference, held in Genova, takes up the theme of ‘Dialogues’ as practice and debate on many fundamental topics in our social life, especially in these complex and not yet resolved times. The city of Genova offers the opportunity to ponder on the value of comparison and on the possibilities for the community, naturally focused on the aspects that concern us, as professors, researchers, disseminators of knowledge, or on all the possibile meanings of the discipline of representation and its dialogue with ‘others’, which we have broadly catalogued in three macro areas: History, Semiotics, Science / Technology. Therefore, “dialogue” as a profitable exchange based on a common language, without which it is impossible to comprehend and understand one another; and the graphic sign that connotes the conference is the precise transcription of this concept: the title ‘translated’ into signs, derived from the visual alphabet designed for the visual identity of the UID since 2017. There are many topics which refer to three macro sessions: - Witnessing (signs and history) - Communicating (signs and semiotics) - Experimenting (signs and sciences) Thanks to the different points of view, an exceptional resource of our disciplinary area, we want to try to outline the prevailing theoretical-operational synergies, the collaborative lines of an instrumental nature, the recent updates of the repertoires of images that attest and nourish the relations among representation, history, semiotics, sciences

Untargeted metabolomics to go beyond the canonical effect of acetylsalicylic acid

15openInternationalItalian coauthor/editorGiven to its ability to irreversibly acetylate the platelet cyclooxygenase-1 enzyme, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is successfully employed for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Recently, an antitumoral effect of ASA in colorectal cancer has been increasingly documented. However, the molecular and metabolic mechanisms by which ASA exerts such effect is largely unknown. Using a new, untargeted liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry approach, we have analyzed urine samples from seven healthy participants that each ingested 100 mg of ASA once daily for 1 week. Of the 2007 features detected, 25 metabolites differing after ASA ingestion (nominal p 1) were identified, and pathway analysis revealed low levels of glutamine and of metabolites involved in histidine and purine metabolisms. Likewise, consistent with an altered fatty acid β-oxidation process, a decrease in several short- and medium-chain acyl-carnitines was observed. An abnormal β-oxidation and a lower than normal glutamine availability suggests reduced synthesis of acetyl-Co-A, as they are events linked to one another and experimentally related to ASA antiproliferative effects. While giving an example of how untargeted metabolomics allows us to explore new clinical applications of drugs, the present data provide a direction to be pursued to test the therapeutic effects of ASA—e.g., the antitumoral effect—beyond cardiovascular protectionopenDi Minno, Alessandro; Porro, Benedetta; Turnu, Linda; Manega, Chiara Maria; Eligini, Sonia; Barbieri, Simone; Chiesa, Mattia; Poggio, Paolo; Squellerio, Isabella; Anesi, Andrea; Fiorelli, Susanna; Caruso, Donatella; Veglia, Fabrizio; Cavalca, Viviana; Tremoli, ElenaDi Minno, A.; Porro, B.; Turnu, L.; Manega, C.M.; Eligini, S.; Barbieri, S.; Chiesa, M.; Poggio, P.; Squellerio, I.; Anesi, A.; Fiorelli, S.; Caruso, D.; Veglia, F.; Cavalca, V.; Tremoli, E

Testing seed germination from herbaria: Application of seed quality enhancement techniques and implication for plant resurrection and conservation

Herbaria are an important source of data and material useful in many fields, including plant conservation. Seeds preserved in herbarium specimens may have the potential to germinate, although few studies focused on this topic. Here, the first systematic assessment of six techniques, including priming techniques and melatonin application, aimed at improving the germination of seeds from herbarium specimens is presented. Seed germination of 26 species common in Europe, some of which congeneric to extinct species, collected in herbaria and in the wild (20,549 seeds in total, including 19,509 from 297 herbarium specimens from 8 different herbaria) was tested with the following treatments: exogenous melatonin addition to the germination medium, priming with melatonin, osmopriming, hydropriming for 24 and 48 hours, standard soil, heat sterilization and gibberellins addition. More than 85% of the fresh seeds and 1% of the seeds collected in herbaria germinated, including seeds older than 50 years. Data show that treatment with exogenous melatonin had a positive effect on the germination of fresh seeds, but a negative effect on the germination of herbarium-derived seeds. Furthermore, osmopriming treatment had a slightly positive effect on the germination of herbarium-derived seeds. Osmopriming and exogenous melatonin addition seem to be promising techniques that need further investigation and improvement and might be useful for the development of an optimal germination protocol for old and herbarium-derived seeds. The germination of seeds from herbaria could be an important tool in plant conservation, with the aim of reversing the extinction trend of many species through de-extinction, safeguarding biodiversity, and genetic variability. This study provides preliminary data for the development of germination protocols, especially for old seeds of species of conservation interest, to maximise the chance of recovering lost genetic diversity and leading to the first de-extinction ever