2011 International Design Exchange Project, Hidden Space Project. Volume 2, Urban rooftops

Urban Rooftops: Our cities are now having to rethink and redevelop the use of space more creatively and ingeniously than ever before. Space is precious in any context but the extra pressure cities’ face with the ever growing need to accommodate increasing populations mean that every open area is now a new possibility for spatial development. One of the most recent and fascinating trends is the use of rooftops. Their appeal lies in their surprise and undiscovered disposition. Their purpose might involve a large community or an individual but because of its elevated position, each journey to that roof space provides a chance for adventure. They are an addition to older established buildings but come with a new brief and therefore a new spirit, encouraging creativity and positive thinking, using a different energy. The master planners and the local communities need to consider a more responsible composition of ideas to our urban and earthly needs. Sustainable energy use and material choice are to be rewarded but what of the function? Is just viewing the simple horizon above the rooftops function enough? relieving us of our daily stresses and seeing the city as sleeping giant or should we be industrious, striking balances of nature, pulling it back from disaster, giving space to synergistic projects. The students were asked to design a Rooftop structure in a densely inhabited urban neighbourhood, namely Burbage House, Curtain Road, Shoreditch London E2. Aim: The aim of this lofty structure or series of structures sets out to encourage, inspire a community or an individual to cultivate positive practices. The rooftop should connect and bond visually or through metaphor within its surrounding neighbourhood. The space should take account of the social and cultural diversity that resides close by. Context: Shoreditch is weave of close knit streets with its former industrial context provide an area for those that want to step out of the norm and the corporate, it’s place to imagine new business. Innovative creative houses have set up home using space imaginatively, sharing with like minded disciplines. The narrowness of the streets encourages networking and enhances collective working practices. Warehouse constructions reveal their previous activity and function, reminding us of the busy people, the noise and the industry. The buildings allow a maximum of light though to the interior, the detail in the window frames and brickwork show a sense of pride. The Interiors are simple and true the outer structure, revealing angles and curves. The space is unattractive to the Multi-national corporations, and as there is little capacity for charging large rents makes this area economically suitable for young and emerging practices to set up. The rawness of the interior spaces, unadulterated by recent 20th century trends provide the perfect utilitarian and vacant habitat for the fresh ideas where pioneering and ground breaking professions materialize. View: In some respects the rawness of such a landscape, its lack of conformity compares well with an open landscape. When standing on the roof looking across London, its openness and horizontal neutrality engenders a sense of calm and invigoration. Suddenly there are possibilities and scope for living positively. Hurried life slows down and London becomes picturesque. Novalis wrote ‘Everything seen from a distance becomes poetry :distant mountains, distant people, distant events. Everything become romantic’

Retrievals of All-Weather Daily Air Temperature Using MODIS and AMSR-E Data

Satellite optical-infrared remote sensing from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provides effective air temperature (Ta) retrieval at a spatial resolution of 5 km. However, frequent cloud cover can result in substantial signal loss and remote sensing retrieval error in MODIS Ta. We presented a simple pixel-wise empirical regression method combining synergistic information from MODIS Ta and 37 GHz frequency brightness temperature (Tb) retrievals from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) for estimating surface level Ta under both clear and cloudy sky conditions in the United States for 2006. The instantaneous Ta retrievals showed favorable agreement with in situ air temperature records from 40 AmeriFlux tower sites; mean R2 correspondence was 86.5 and 82.7 percent, while root mean square errors (RMSE) for the Ta retrievals were 4.58 K and 4.99 K for clear and cloudy sky conditions, respectively. Daily mean Ta was estimated using the instantaneous Ta retrievals from day/night overpasses, and showed favorable agreement with local tower measurements (R2 = 0.88; RMSE = 3.48 K). The results of this study indicate that the combination of MODIS and AMSR-E sensor data can produce Ta retrievals with reasonable accuracy and relatively fine spatial resolution (~5 km) for clear and cloudy sky conditions

Effects of a video education program for patients with benign uterine tumors receiving high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a video education program in women receiving high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment. Methods This was a quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design. The participants were 54 patients who had benign uterine tumors and adenomyosis. The data were collected from June to August 2018. A 10-minute video education program on HIFU and post-procedural care was developed based on the literature. The experimental group was provided the video education program with a question-and-answer session for 10 minutes after viewing the video. The control group received usual care (i.e., verbal instructions on post-procedural self-care). The questionnaire survey was conducted twice: before the educational program and before being discharged from the hospital. Differences in uncertainty, emotions, and self-efficacy among patients were analyzed. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test, Shapiro-Wilk test, paired t-test, and t-test with SPSS version 23.0. Results The participants in the experimental group showed a decrease in uncertainty(t=4.33, p<.001), improvements in anxiety(t=–4.07, p<.001) and depression (t=–3.55,p<.001), and an enhancement ofself-efficacy (t=–4.39,p<.001) compared to the control group. Conclusion This nursing intervention was effective at reducing uncertainty, improving emotions, and enhancing self-efficacy. This intervention is feasible for use in nursing practice as an aid for patients when considering treatment methods

Monitoring daily evapotranspiration in Northeast Asia using MODIS and a regional Land Data Assimilation System

We applied an approach for daily estimation and monitoring of evapotranspiration (ET) over the Northeast Asia monsoon region using satellite remote sensing observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Frequent cloud cover results in a substantial loss of remote sensing information, limiting the capability of continuous ET monitoring for the monsoon region. Accordingly, we applied and evaluated a stand-alone MODIS ET algorithm for representative regional ecosystem types and an alternative algorithm to facilitate continuous regional ET estimates using surface meteorological inputs from the Korea Land Data Assimilation System (KLDAS) in addition to MODIS land products. The resulting ET calculations showed generally favorable agreement (root-mean-square error  \u3c 1.3 mm d−1) with respect to in situ measurements from eight regional flux tower sites. The estimated mean annual ET for 3 years (2006 to 2008) was approximately 362.0 ± 161.5 mm yr−1 over the Northeast Asia domain. In general, the MODIS and KLDAS-based ET (MODIS-KLDAS ET) results showed favorable performance when compared to tower observations, though the results were overestimated for a forest site by approximately 39.5% and underestimated for a cropland site in South Korea by 0.8%. The MODIS-KLDAS ET data were generally underestimated relative to the MODIS (MOD16) operational global terrestrial ET product for various biome types, excluding cropland; however, MODIS-KLDAS ET showed better agreement than MOD16 ET for forest and cropland sites in South Korea. Our results indicate that MODIS ET estimates are feasible but are limited by satellite optical-infrared remote sensing constraints over cloudy regions, whereas alternative ET estimates using continuous meteorological inputs from operational regional climate systems (e.g., KLDAS) provide accurate ET results and continuous monitoring capability under all-sky conditions

Sleeve Lobectomy as an Alternative Procedure to Pneumonectomy for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

IntroductionThe aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of sleeve lobectomy (SL) and pneumonectomy (PN) and to determine which one is more acceptable standard procedure for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.MethodsFrom 1996 to 2005, 424 patients underwent SL (n = 157) and PN (n = 267) in our institution. Propensity score matching analysis was performed to compare these two groups for mortality, morbidity, survival, recurrence, and postoperative pulmonary function.ResultsIn each group, 105 patients were eligible for analysis. The operative mortality was lower in the SL group (1.0%) than the PN group (8.6%), (p < 0.0001). The morbidity was similar (33.4% versus 29.5%, p = 0.376). The 5-year survival was lower in the PN group (PN, 32.14% versus SL, 58.43%, p = 0.0002). The recurrence pattern (locoregional versus distant) did not differ between two groups (p = 0.180). The mean actual postoperative first second forced expiratory volume in the patients underwent SL was 2.05 ± 0.55 liter, which increased by 7.9% compared with the predicted-postoperative first second forced expiratory volume.ConclusionsOur results showed that the SL can be performed with low operative risk and may offer superior survival and better postoperative pulmonary function compared with the PN in selected patients. If anatomically feasible, a SL must be considered as a favorable alternative to PN in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

The anti-angiogenic herbal composition Ob-X inhibits adipose tissue growth in obese mice

Objective: The growth and development of adipose tissue are thought to be associated with angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling. Since the composition of the herbal extract called Ob-X has been shown to have both anti-angiogenic and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-inhibiting activities, we hypothesized that growth of adipose tissue can be regulated by Ob-X. Materials and Methods: The effects of Ob-X on angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling were measured using in vitro and ex vivo assays. The effects of Ob-X on adipose tissue growth were investigated with nutritionally obese mice. Results: Ob-X inhibited angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner in the human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) tube formation assay in vitro and the rat aortic ring assay ex vivo. Ob-X also suppressed MMP activity in vitro. Administration of Ob-X to high fat diet-induced obese mice produced significant reductions in body weight gain and adipose tissue mass, compared to controls. The mass of both subcutaneous (SC) and visceral (VSC) fat was reduced in Ob-X-treated mice. The size of adipocytes in SC and VSC adipose tissues was also significantly reduced in Ob-X-treated mice. Ob-X treatment decreased the blood vessel density and MMP activity in VSC adipose tissues of nutritionally obese mice. Ob-X reduced mRNA levels of angiogenic factors (VEGF-A and FGF-2) and MMPs (MMP-2 and MMP-9), whereas it increased mRNA levels of angiogenesis inhibitors (TSP-1 and TIMP-2) in SC and VSC adipose tissues of nutritionally obese mice. Conclusion: Ob-X, which has anti-angiogenic and MMP-inhibitory activities, reduces adipose tissue mass in nutritionally induced obese mice, providing evidence that adipose tissue growth and development may be prevented by inhibiting angiogenesis. In addition, these data suggest that regulation of adipose tissue growth by inhibiting angiogenesis may alter the expression of genes involved in angiogenesis and the MMP system

Calcium-binding Protein Calretinin Immunoreactivity in the Dog Superior Colliculus

We studied calretinin-immunoreactive (IR) fibers and cells in the canine superior colliculus (SC) and studied the distribution and effect of enucleation on the distribution of this protein. Localization of calretinin was immunocytochemically observed. A dense plexus of anti-­calretinin-IR fibers was found within the upper part of the superficial gray layer (SGL). Almost all of the labeled fibers were small in diameter with few varicosities. The intermediate and deep layers contained many calretinin-IR neurons. Labeled neurons within the intermediate gray layer (IGL) formed clusters in many sections. By contrast, labeled neurons in the deep gray layer (DGL) did not form clusters. Calretinin-IR neurons in the IGL and DGL varied in morphology and included round/oval, vertical fusiform, stellate, and horizontal neurons. Neurons with varicose dendrites were also labeled in the IGL. Most of the labeled neurons were small to medium in size. Monocular enucleation produced an almost complete reduction of calretinin-IR fibers in the SC contralateral to the enucleation. However, many calretinin-IR cells appeared in the contralateral superficial SC. Enucleation appeared to have no effect on the distribution of calretinin-IR neurons in the contralateral intermediate and deep layers of the SC. The calretinin-IR neurons in the superficial dog SC were heterogeneous small- to medium-sized neurons including round/oval, vertical fusiform, stellate, pyriform, and ­horizontal in shape. Two-color immunofluorescence revealed that no cells in the dog SC ­expressed both calretinin and GABA. Many horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled retinal ganglion cells were seen after injections into the superficial layers. The vast majority of the double-labeled cells (HRP and calretinin) were small cells. The present results indicate that antibody to calretinin labels subpopulations of neurons in the dog SC, which do not express GABA. The results also suggest that the calretinin-IR afferents in the superficial layers of the dog SC originate from small class retinal ganglion cells. The expression of calretinin might be changed by the cellular activity of selective superficial collicular neurons. These results are valuable in delineating the basic neurochemical architecture of the dog visual system

Earlier Application of Percutaneous Cardiopulmonary Support Rescues Patients from Severe Cardiopulmonary Failure Using the APACHE III Scoring System

Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) is a widely accepted treatment for severe cardiopulmonary failure. This system, which uses a percutaneous approach and autopriming devices, can be rapidly applied in emergency situations. We sought to identify the risk factors that could help predict in-hospital mortality, and to assess its outcomes in survivors. During a 2-yr period, 50 patients underwent PCPS for the treatment of severe cardiopulmonary failure, and of those, 22 (44%) were classified as survivors and 28 (56%) as non-survivors. We compared the 2 groups for risk factors of in-hospital mortality and to establish proper PCPS timing. Twenty patients underwent PCPS for acute myocardial infarction, 20 for severe cardiopulmonary failure after cardiac surgery, 7 for acute respiratory distress syndrome, and 3 for acute myocarditis. Multivariate analysis showed that an acute physiology, age, and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) III score ≥50 prior to PCPS was the only significant predictor of in-hospital mortality (P=0.001). Overall 18-month survival was 42.2%. Cox analysis showed patients with APACHE III scores ≥50 had a poor prognosis (P=0.001). Earlier application of PCPS, and other preemptive strategies designed to optimize high-risk patients, may improve patient outcomes. Identifying patients with high APACHE scores at the beginning of PCPS may predict in-hospital mortality. Survivors, particularly those with higher APACHE scores, may require more frequent follow-up to improve overall survival