Nano-textured polymers for future architectural needs

Corresponding author: Prof. Dr. Dirk J. Broer, Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Department of Functional Organic Materials & Devices (SFD), Helix building STO 0.34, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 40 247 5875, Mob: +31 6 51662354; E-mail: [email protected] The rapid developments in molecular sciences like nanotechnology and self-organizing molecular systems generate a wealth of new materials and functions. In comparison to electronics the application in architecture remains somewhat underexposed. New functionalities in optics, responsive mechanics, sensing and adjustable permeation for gases and water might add to new opportunities in providing for personal comfort and energy management in houses and professional buildings. With a number of examples we demonstrate how complex but well-controlled molecular architectures provide functionalities worthwhile of being integrated in architectural designs. Optical coatings are capable of switching colors or reflectivity, creating possibilities for design but also for the control of thermal transmission through windows. They respond to temperature, light intensity, or both. Selectively-reflective thin polymer layers or paint pigments can be designed to switch between infrared and visible regions of the solar spectrum. Coatings can be designed to change their topology and thereby their appearance, of interest for in-house light management, or just for aesthetic appeal. Plastic materials can be imbued with the property of autonomous sun tracking and provided morphing behavior upon contact with moisture or exposure to light. Many of these materials need further developments to meet the requirements for building integration with respect to robustness, lifetime, and the like, which will only be accomplished after demonstration of interest from the architectural world

Assessorestelsel as 'n prosedurele beskermingsmaatreel te midde van ongunstige voorverhoorpublisiteit

Voorverhoorpublisiteit rakende 'n hangende strafsaak, welke publisiteit in die vorm van of mediadekking van die saak of 'n voorafgaande beslissing in parallelle geregtelike verrigtinge (wat uit wesenlik dieselfde feite as die strafsaak voortspruit) kan voorkom, mag tot die beskuldigde se nadeel wees. Sodanige mediadekking of bevindings in 'n parallelle geregtelike uitspraak mag die beskuldigde in die pleging van 'n misdryf, waarop hy of sy teregstaan, impliseer. Die publisiteit mag suggereer dat die beskuldigde "skuldig" is aan die misdaad waarop hy of sy teregstaan of van swak inbors is en 'n geneigdheid het om misdaad te pleeg. Daarteenoor mag voorverhoorpublisiteit die beskuldigde as onskuldig aan enige strafregtelike oortreding voorstel. In sodanige gevalle ontstaan die vraag of daar 'n daadwerklike of wesenlike risiko is dat sodanige publisiteit die onpartydige beregting van die strafsaak wesenlik sal beinvloed of skaad; anders gestel: of die publisiteit waarskynlik 'n klimaat van vooroordeel in die beregtingsproses of uitslag van die saak by die verhoorhof mag teweegbring en daardeur die grondwetlike reg op 'n billike verhoor sal skaad. In die Suid-Afrikaanse reg kan voorsittende regters en landdroste strafverhore met of sonder assessore bereg. Die gebruik van assessore het ten doel om gemeenskapsdeelname aan die beregtingsproses te bevorder. Daar is derhalwe al geargumenteer dat assessore, in besonder leke-assessore in die landdroshowe, meer geneig sal wees om onbehoorlik deur ongunstige voorverhoorpublisiteit beinvloed te word as wat die geval sou wees met opgeleide regsprekende beamptes. In hierdie artikel word daar egter aangevoer dat, aangesien die assessore tydens die beregtingsproses met die voorsittende beampte oorleg pleeg, dit tot verbeterde beregting kan lei deur 'n breer uitkyk op die feite ('n sogenaamde "enlargement of mind"). Sodanige interaksie en beredenering wat plaasvind tussen die voorsittende beampte en die assessore kan ook groter deursigtigheid in die beregtingsproses teweegbring of bevorder deur die ontbloting en uitskakeling van ontoelaatbare faktore in die regsbeslissing, soos byvoorbeeld voorverhoorpublisiteit of ander vooroordele. In hierdie verband ontleed die artikel die werking van die assessorestelsel in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg en verduidelik waarom besonder-ernstige strafsake wat uitgebreide voorverhoorpublisiteit voortbring, in die Hooggeregshof met assessore bereg behoort te word.This article stems from the first author's doctoral thesis An analysis of pre-trial publicity and the accused's right to a fair trial: A deconstruction of the Krion case (UP 2019). The thesis was completed under supervision of the second author. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/69977)http://www.lexisnexis.co.zaam2021Public La

Transplacental induction of membranous nephropathy in a neonate

We report a case of renal failure in a newborn infant due to membranous glomerulonephritis. The patient was anuric in the first 3 weeks of life, after which renal function recovered. The serum of the mother contained IgG antibodies which reacted with tubular brush borders and glomeruli of adult and fetal human kidneys. Reactivity with renal epithelium from human kidneys was detected. We suggest that a transplacental, passive Heymann nephritis-like mechanism was the pathogenesis of the neonate's symptoms, although the antigen(s) involved was shown not to be gp 330 or any of the renal antigens known to be involved in experimental nephropathies

Development of a building sustainability assessment method (BSAM) for developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa

The consideration of the regional context in the development of green building rating systems is well established in the extant literature, and this informs the development of a sustainability assessment method for sub-Saharan Africa. Hence, a multi-expert consultation method was carried out in Nigeria which is the largest economy in the region. This was performed via a structured questionnaire survey and interview approaches to identify the key sustainability assessment criteria, assign score-weights to the various criteria, and establish the certification grading system of buildings. The developed Building Sustainability Assessment Method (BSAM) scheme and its weighted criteria were validated using two existing building case studies. The established BSAM scheme was compared to six widely used green building rating systems. The comparative analysis reveals that the score-weights and priorities of the BSAM scheme were remarkably different from the existing rating systems. The study findings also show the increasing focus on the indoor environmental quality and energy criteria by all the rating systems. The developed BSAM scheme, meanwhile, has adequately considered the three main pillars of sustainable development unlike the existing green rating tools. Hence, it is expected for the proposed BSAM scheme to promote greener buildings and enhance sustainable urban development in the region

Barriers to the Integration of BIM and Sustainability Practices in Construction Projects: A Delphi Survey of International Experts

The built environment faces numerous challenges in its quest to be more productive and sustainable, and to the adoption of a smart and creative process of carrying out the various operations. This study aims to investigate the profound barriers faced by construction stakeholders in their attempts to integrate BIM and sustainability practices in the construction processes. A two-round Delphi survey formed the basis of aggregating consensus among the expert panel based on a set of 38 factors derived via content analysis of previous research studies. Descriptive and inferential tests were employed for data analysis, and the results validated using the interrater agreement analysis. The three key barriers by descending order of significance are industry's resistance to change from traditional working practices, an extended period of adapting to innovative technologies and the lack of understanding of the processes and workflows required for BIM and sustainability. Deductions were also made based on the comparative analysis of the expert groups. The findings will advance the implementation of BIM and sustainability practices in construction projects and enable project stakeholders to focus on addressing the critical challenges discussed in this study

The rat androgen receptor gene promoter

The androgen receptor (AR) is activated upon binding of testosterone or dihydrotestosterone and exerts regulatory effects on gene expression in androgen target cells. To study transcriptional regulation of the rat AR gene itself, the 5' genomic region of this gene was cloned from a genomic library and the promoter was identified. S1-nuclease protection analysis showed two major transcription start sites, located between 1010 and 1023 bp upstream from the translation initiation codon. The area surrounding these start sites was cloned in both orientations in a CAT reporter plasmid. Upon transfection of the constructs into COS cells, part of the promoter stimulated transcription in an orientation-independent manner, but the full promoter showed a higher and unidirectional activity. In the promoter/reporter gene constructs, transcription initiated from the same positions as in the native gene. Sequence analysis showed that the promoter of the rat AR gene lacks typical TATA and CCAAT box elements, but one SP1 site is located at about 60 bp upstream from the major start site of transcription. Other possible promoter elements are TGTYCT sequences at positions -174 to -179, -434 to -439., -466 to -471, and -500 to -505, resembling half-sites of the glucocorticoid-responsive element (GRE). Furthermore, a homopurine stretch containing a total of 8 GGGGA elements and similar to sequences that are present in several other GC-rich promoters, is located between -89 and -146 bp upstream from the major start site of transcriptio

Combined quantification of the global proteome, phosphoproteome, and proteolytic cleavage to characterize altered platelet functions in the human Scott syndrome

The Scott syndrome is a very rare and likely underdiagnosed bleeding disorder associated with mutations in the gene encoding anoctamin-6. Platelets from Scott patients are impaired in various Ca(2+)-dependent responses, including phosphatidylserine exposure, integrin closure, intracellular protein cleavage, and cytoskeleton-dependent morphological changes. Given the central role of anoctamin-6 in the platelet procoagulant response, we used quantitative proteomics to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms and the complex phenotypic changes in Scott platelets compared with control platelets. Therefore, we applied an iTRAQ-based multi-pronged strategy to quantify changes in (1) the global proteome, (2) the phosphoproteome, and (3) proteolytic events between resting and stimulated Scott and control platelets. Our data indicate a limited number of proteins with decreased (70) or increased (64) expression in Scott platelets, among those we confirmed the absence of anoctamin-6 and the strong up-regulation of aquaporin-1 by parallel reaction monitoring. The quantification of 1566 phosphopeptides revealed major differences between Scott and control platelets after stimulation with thrombin/convulxin or ionomycin. In Scott platelets, phosphorylation levels of proteins regulating cytoskeletal or signaling events were increased. Finally, we quantified 1596 N-terminal peptides in activated Scott and control platelets, 180 of which we identified as calpain-regulated, whereas a distinct set of 23 neo-N termini was caspase-regulated. In Scott platelets, calpain-induced cleavage of cytoskeleton-linked and signaling proteins was downregulated, in accordance with an increased phosphorylation state. Thus, multipronged proteomic profiling of Scott platelets provides detailed insight into their protection against detrimental Ca(2+)-dependent changes that are normally associated with phosphatidylserine exposure

Quantum Locality

It is argued that while quantum mechanics contains nonlocal or entangled states, the instantaneous or nonlocal influences sometimes thought to be present due to violations of Bell inequalities in fact arise from mistaken attempts to apply classical concepts and introduce probabilities in a manner inconsistent with the Hilbert space structure of standard quantum mechanics. Instead, Einstein locality is a valid quantum principle: objective properties of individual quantum systems do not change when something is done to another noninteracting system. There is no reason to suspect any conflict between quantum theory and special relativity.Comment: Introduction has been revised, references added, minor corrections elsewhere. To appear in Foundations of Physic

Characterization of a zinc-finger protein and its association with apoptosis in prostate cancer cells

BACKGROUND: The transition from androgen-dependent to androgen-independent prostate cancer is not fully understood but appears to involve multiple genetic changes. We have identified a gene, GC79, that is more highly expressed in androgen-dependent LNCaP-FGC human prostate cancer cells than in androgen-independent LNCaP-LNO human prostate cancer cells. Physiologic levels (0.1 nM:) of androgens repress expression of GC79 messenger RNA (mRNA) in LNCaP-FGC cells. To determine the role of GC79, we cloned its complementary DNA (cDNA) and functionally characterized its product. METHODS: The differentially expressed GC79 gene was cloned from human prostate cDNA libraries, sequenced, and transfected into mammalian cells to study its function. Expression of GC79 was analyzed in various adult and fetal human tissues and in prostate glands of castrated rats. The association of GC79 expression and apoptosis was investigated in COS-1 and LNCaP cells transfected with GC79 cDNA. All statistical tests are two-sided. RESULTS: Sequence analysis indicates that GC79 encodes a large, complex, multitype zinc-finger protein, containing nine C(2)H(2)-type zinc-finger domains, a cysteine-rich region, and a GATA C(4)-type zinc-finger domain. Castration-induced androgen withdrawal increased the expression of GC79 mRNA in the regressing rat ventral prostate, suggesting that the expression of GC79 mRNA is associated with the process of apoptotic cell death in the rat ventral prostate. Transfection and induction of GC79 cDNA in both COS-1 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells led to an apoptotic index that was eightfold higher (P:<.001, two-sided Student's t test) than that observed in uninduced transfected cells. CONCLUSIONS: We have cloned an androgen-repressible gene, GC79, that is potentially involved in apoptosis. This finding may have implications for the development of androgen-independent prostate cancer and, ultimately, for the treatment of prostate cancer

Paternal heterochromatin formation in human embryos is H3K9/HP1 directed and primed by sperm-derived histone modifications

The different configurations of maternal and paternal chromatin, acquired during oogenesis and spermatogenesis, have to be rearranged after fertilization to form a functional embryonic genome. In the paternal genome, nucleosomal chromatin domains are re-established after the protamine-to-histone exchange. We investigated the formation of constitutive heterochromatin (cHC) in human preimplantation embryos. Our results show that histones carrying canonical cHC modifications are retained in cHC regions of sperm chromatin. These modified histones are transmitted to the oocyte and contribute to the formation of paternal embryonic cHC. Subsequently, the modifications are recognized by the H3K9/HP1 pathway maternal chromatin modifiers and propagated over the embryonic cleavage divisions. These results are in contrast to what has been described for mouse embryos, in which paternal cHC lacks canonical modifications and is initially established by Polycomb group proteins. Our results show intergenerational epigenetic inheritance of the cHC structure in human embryos