Tension Cranes, A Close Collaboration of Architects and Engineers

This set of images and studies proves to show that architects and engineers can indeed work closely to produce amazing and beautiful results. This result came in the form of a project proposal for a high – rise residential tower located in the heart of San Francisco. The team elected to utilize a highly efficient system of cables in order to cantilever over the edges of the site and optimize the air space, make powerful vistas to increase residential value, and to form an elegant structural system holding everything together. In this paper, the design process is explained into engineering, architecture and then how the two have come together to make a compelling project

Preserving Randomness for Adaptive Algorithms

Suppose Est is a randomized estimation algorithm that uses n random bits and outputs values in R^d. We show how to execute Est on k adaptively chosen inputs using only n + O(k log(d + 1)) random bits instead of the trivial nk (at the cost of mild increases in the error and failure probability). Our algorithm combines a variant of the INW pseudorandom generator [Impagliazzo et al., 1994] with a new scheme for shifting and rounding the outputs of Est. We prove that modifying the outputs of Est is necessary in this setting, and furthermore, our algorithm\u27s randomness complexity is near-optimal in the case d {-1, 1} using O(n log n) * poly(1/theta) queries to F and O(n) random bits (independent of theta), improving previous work by Bshouty et al. [Bshouty et al., 2004]

Renal mitochondrial glutamine metabolism and dietary potassium and protein content

Renal mitochondrial glutamine metabolism and dietary potassium and protein content. Glutamine distribution, glutamate accumulation, phosphate-dependent glutaminase (PDG) concentrations and intact mitochondrial ammonia production were studied in renal mitochondria from rats fed low, normal and high potassium diets and in mitochondria from rats fed high or low protein diets. The rats given a low potassium diet were potassium-depleted by 10 to 20% but in none of the groups were there any abnormalities of extracellular acid-base status. Glutamine was present in the outer space of mitochondria but could not be detected in the matrix space in any group. In both the potassium-depleted and the high protein animals, we found increased matrix14C-uptake of glutamine (as14C-glutamate), increased intact mitochondrial ammonia production and increased concentrations of PDG. In the K+-depleted group there was a decreased matrix14C-uptake when14C-α-ketoglutarate or14C-glutamate was present in the medium. Potassium loading produced no change in mitochondrial glutamine metabolism. Protein loading (compared with protein depletion) and potassium depletion induce an increased uptake of glutamine into the renal mitochondrial matrix space which leads to its increased deamidation. This adaptation may explain the increased renal ammonia production seen in these situations when compared to their respective controls.Métabolisme de la glutamine dans les mitochondries du rein et contenu de l'alimentation en protéines et en potassium. La distribution de la glutamine, l'accumulation de glutamate, les niveaux de glutaminase phosphate dépendante (PDG) et la production d'ammoniaque par les mitochondries intactes ont été étudiées dans les mitochondries rénales de rats nourris avec des régimes pauvres normaux ou riches en potassium et dans des mitochondries de rats nourris avec des régimes riches ou pauvres en protéines. Les rats qui reçoivent un régime pauvre en potassium sont déplétés de 10 à 20% mais n'ont pas d'anomalies de l'équilibre acido-basique extracellulaire. La glutamine est présente dans l'espace externe des mitochondries mais ne peut être détectée dans l'espace matriciel. Nous trouvons, à la fois chez les rats déplétés en potassium et chez ceux soumis à un régime riche en protéines, une augmentation de la captation par la matrice de la glutamine (sous forme de14C-glutamate), une augmentation de la production mitochondriale d'ammoniaque et des niveaux augmentés de PDG. Dans le groupe déplété en potassium on observe une diminution de la capitation de14C par la matrice quand du14C-α-cetoglutarate ou du14C-glutamate sont introduits dans le milieu. La charge en potassium ne produit pas de modification du métabolisme mitochondrial de la glutamine. La charge en protéines (comparée avec la déplétion) et la déplétion en potassium déterminent une augmentaion de la captation de glutamine dans l'espace matriciel des mitochondries rénales, ce qui conduit à une déamidation augmentée. Cette adaptation peut expliquer l'augmentation de la production rénale d'ammoniaque observée dans ces situations par comparaison avec leurs contrôles respectifs

Cost Estimating and Forecasting for Highway Work in Kentucky [1997]

There is a need for better cost estimating and forecasting for highway work in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. KRS45.245 grants the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation oversight of the biennial highway plan, including a review of all authorized highway project phases that exceed their estimates by 15%. Estimates developed using current methods are not sufficiently accurate to preclude cost overruns in excess of 15%. Estimates are prepared before design is begun so that a project may be included in the six year plan. The estimates are not revised after a more detailed scope of the project is developed during design and after design is completed. Consequently, there have been 455 overruns since 1992. All have been approved for the necessary additional funding. Causes of cost overruns for the 455 overruns during the past five years were studies. The development of a conceptual estimating model, KYEstimate, was continued and reported on. Recommendations and conclusions are presented

Retrotransposons Are the Major Contributors to the Expansion of the Drosophila ananassae Muller F Element

The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to differences in repeat density. The Muller F element (~5.2 Mb) is the smallest chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is substantially larger (\u3e18.7 Mb) in Drosophila ananassae. To identify the major contributors to the expansion of the F element and to assess their impact, we improved the genome sequence and annotated the genes in a 1.4 Mb region of the D. ananassae F element, and a 1.7 Mb region from the D element for comparison. We find that transposons (particularly LTR and LINE retrotransposons) are major contributors to this expansion (78.6%), while Wolbachia sequences integrated into the D. ananassae genome are minor contributors (0.02%). Both D. melanogaster and D. ananassae F element genes exhibit distinct characteristics compared to D element genes (e.g., larger coding spans, larger introns, more coding exons, lower codon bias), but these differences are exaggerated in D. ananassae. Compared to D. melanogaster, the codon bias observed in D. ananassae F element genes can primarily be attributed to mutational biases instead of selection. The 5’ ends of F element genes in both species are enriched in H3K4me2 while the coding spans are enriched in H3K9me2. Despite differences in repeat density and gene characteristics, D. ananassae F element genes show a similar range of expression levels compared to genes in euchromatic domains. This study improves our understanding of how transposons can affect genome size and how genes can function within highly repetitive domains

Di- and Trinuclear Mixed-Valence Copper Amidinate Complexes from Reduction of Iodine

Molecular examples of mixed-valence copper complexes through chemical oxidation are rare but invoked in the mechanism of substrate activation, especially oxygen, in copper-containing enzymes. To examine the cooperative chemistry between two metals in close proximity to each other we began studying the reactivity of a dinuclear Cu(I) amidinate complex. The reaction of [(2,6-Me2C6H3N)2C(H)]2Cu2, 1, with I2 in tetrahydrofuran (THF), CH3CN, and toluene affords three new mixed-valence copper complexes [(2,6-Me2C6H3N)2C(H)]2Cu2(μ2-I3)(THF)2, 2, [(2,6-Me2C6H3N)2C(H)]2Cu2(μ2-I) (NCMe)2, 3, and [(2,6-Me2C6H3N)2C(H)]3Cu3(μ3-I)2, 4, respectively. The first two compounds were characterized by UV-vis and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies, and their molecular structure was determined by X-ray crystallography. Both di- and trinuclear mixed-valence intermediates were characterized for the reaction of compound 1 to compound 4, and the molecular structure of 4 was determined by X-ray crystallography. The electronic structure of each of these complexes was also investigated using density functional theory

Gravitational signature of Jupiter’s internal dynamics

Telescopic observations and space missions to Jupiter have provided vast information about Jupiter's cloud level winds, but the depth to which these winds penetrate has remained an ongoing mystery. Scheduled to be launched in 2011, the Jupiter orbiter Juno will make high-resolution observations of Jupiter's gravity field. In this paper we show that these measurements are sensitive to the depth of the internal winds. We use dynamical models ranging from an idealized thermal wind balance analysis, using the observed cloud-top winds, to a full general circulation model (GCM). We relate the depth of the dynamics to the external gravity spectrum for different internal wind structure scenarios. In particular, we predict that substantial Jovian winds below a depth of 500 km would lead to detectable (milligal-level) gravity anomalies with respect to the expected gravity for a planet in solid body rotation

Are Bank Holding Companies a Source of Strength to Their Banking Subsidiaries?

I present evidence that the cross-guarantee authority granted to the FDIC by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 has unexpectedly strengthened the Federal Reserve's source-of-strength doctrine. In particular, I find that a bank affiliated with a multi-bank holding company is significantly safer than either a stand-alone bank or a bank affiliated with a one-bank holding company. Not only does affiliation reduce the probability of future financial distress, but distressed affiliated banks are more likely to receive capital injections and recover more quickly than other banks. Moreover, the effects of affiliation are strengthened for an expanding bank holding company. However, the effects of affiliation are weakened when the parent has less than full ownership of the subsidiary. Most interestingly, my results show that these differences in behavior across affiliation did not exist before 1989, when the cross-guarantee authority was introduced

Interleukin-33 contributes to both M1 and M2 chemokine marker expression in human macrophages

Abstract Background Interleukin-33 is a member of the IL-1 cytokine family whose functions are mediated and modulated by the ST2 receptor. IL-33-ST2 expression and interactions have been explored in mouse macrophages but little is known about the effect of IL-33 on human macrophages. The expression of ST2 transcript and protein levels, and IL-33-mediated effects on M1 (i.e. classical activation) and M2 (i.e. alternative activation) chemokine marker expression in human bone marrow-derived macrophages were examined. Results Human macrophages constitutively expressed the membrane-associated (i.e. ST2L) and the soluble (i.e. sST2) ST2 receptors. M2 (IL-4 + IL-13) skewing stimuli markedly increased the expression of ST2L, but neither polarizing cytokine treatment promoted the release of sST2 from these cells. When added to naïve macrophages alone, IL-33 directly enhanced the expression of CCL3. In combination with LPS, IL-33 blocked the expression of the M2 chemokine marker CCL18, but did not alter CCL3 expression in these naive cells. The addition of IL-33 to M1 macrophages markedly increased the expression of CCL18 above that detected in untreated M1 macrophages. Similarly, alternatively activated human macrophages treated with IL-33 exhibited enhanced expression of CCL18 and the M2 marker mannose receptor above that detected in M2 macrophages alone. Conclusions Together, these data suggest that primary responses to IL-33 in bone marrow derived human macrophages favors M1 chemokine generation while its addition to polarized human macrophages promotes or amplifies M2 chemokine expression.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78250/1/1471-2172-11-52.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78250/2/1471-2172-11-52.pdfPeer Reviewe