Connecting Disciplines and Tracing an Educated Imagination: Biennale of Sydney Pavilions Design Summer Studio

In January 2010 the Architecture Program of the Faculty of the Built Environment at the UNSW hosted a design summer studio: 'Biennale of Sydney Pavilions' open to approximately thirty Masters students of architecture and fine arts. The studio took place twice a week for four weeks with a total of 48 hours. The purpose of this studio was to give the students the opportunity of designing a pavilion for the 17th Biennale of Sydney visitors, already affected by the display of many artworks in the Biennale, with specific spaces limited to contemplation, thinking and meditation. The pavilion, intended as the point of interaction between art, architecture and the natural beauty of the Sydney Harbour, would offer to Biennale visitors a moment for pause and reflection. The aim of the studio was to cultivate in the students an 'educated design imagination' through the integration of multiple disciplines in order to approach the design in a holistic way. Accordingly, the disciplinary background of the four lecturers/tutors involved in this studio included Art, Architecture and Philosophical Aesthetics. The paper traces the vital role of these respective disciplines taught in the design studio and attempts to gauge to what extent the students will benefit from this multidisciplinary exposure. The term 'educated imagination' is borrowed from the Canadian scholar Northrop Frye's book The Educated Imagination, (1963)1, where he distinguishes the way the sciences and the arts construct imagination from opposite ends. Frye suggests that science begins with the world as it is and from a rational and intellectual approach science turns to imagination. On the other hand, 'art begins with the world we construct, not with the world we see. It starts with the imagination, and then works towards ordinary experience'

An Inquiry into the Design and Aesthetics of the Venice Biennale Pavilions

Margreiter's film Pavilion and McQueen's film Giardini exhibited respectively inside the Austrian Pavilion and the British Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale of Art, question the architecture of the pavilion in general in the constructed environment of the Giardini. Is the architecture used as a container of art or the architectural form, the container itself, to be interpreted as art? Their films are about the places in which they are shot and displayed: the pavilions themselves, the containers of art, which are transformed through the films into architectural sculpture/art objects. Arguably, Margreiter's and McQueen's film reveal the extent to which the modern language of architecture of the Venice pavilions, frozen in 'space' (within the boundary of the Giardini) and 'time' (still contemporary from the date of their realization), seem to conjure that particular primordial 'timelessness' which can be valued as one of the main attributes of contemporary architecture in general. These 'kaleidoscopic spaces' which are used to haunt our memory are used to stimulate the ontological role of imagination - creating a new experience of the universe via the pavilion

Melhoramento genético de microrganismos para produção de biocombustíveis e químicos renováveis: integração de abordagens de biologia molecular, biologia sistêmica, biologia sintética e engenharia metabólica.

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Fast method for the determination of short-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (scl-PHAs) in bacterial samples by In Vial-Thermolysis (IVT)

none8siA new method based on the GC–MS analysis of thermolysis products obtained by treating bacterial samples at a high temperature (above 270 C) has been developed. This method, here named “In-Vial- Thermolysis” (IVT), allowed for the simultaneous determination of short-chain-length polyhydrox- yalkanoates (scl-PHA) content and composition. The method was applied to both single strains and microbial mixed cultures (MMC) fed with different carbon sources. The IVT procedure provided similar analytical performances compared to previous Py-GC–MS and Py- GC-FID methods, suggesting a similar application for PHA quantitation in bacterial cells. Results from the IVT procedure and the traditional methanolysis method were compared; the correlation between the two datasets was fit for the purpose, giving a R2 of 0.975. In search of further simplification, the rationale of IVT was exploited for the development of a “field method” based on the titration of thermolyzed samples with sodium hydrogen carbonate to quantify PHA inside bacterial cells. The accuracy of the IVT method was fit for the purpose. These results lead to the possibility for the on-line measurement of PHA productivity. Moreover, they allow for the fast and inexpensive quantification/characterization of PHA for biotechnological process control, as well as investigation over various bacterial communities and/or feeding strategies.mixedF. Abbondanzi; G. Biscaro; G. Carvalho; L. Favaro; P. Lemos; M. Paglione; C. Samorì; C. TorriF. Abbondanzi; G. Biscaro; G. Carvalho; L. Favaro; P. Lemos; M. Paglione; C. Samorì; C. Torr

Intracranial pressure monitoring during percutaneous tracheostomy "Percutwist" in critically ill neurosyrgery patients

BACKGROUND: Tracheostomy is commonly required as part of the management of patients with severe brain damage. Percutaneous dilation tracheostomy is increasingly used in intensive care unit as an alternative to standard surgical tracheostomy. However, this procedure carries the risk of neurological complications, particularly in patients with intracranial hypertension. In this study, we sought to quantify the effects of Percutwist(R) tracheostomy (Rusch-Teleflex Medical) on intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), arterial CO(2) tension (Paco(2)), and arterial O(2) tension (Pao(2)), in 65 consecutive critically ill patients admitted to the neurosurgical intensive care unit, undergoing bedside percutaneous tracheostomy. METHODS: Sixty-five patients (29 men, 36 women, mean age 43 yr, 7 +/- 10.6) Glasgow Coma Scale or=8, requiring long-term ventilatory support with a stable ICP or=20 mm Hg were included. Elective percutaneous tracheostomies were performed at the bedside under endoscopic fiberoptic control. Intraoperative monitoring included continuous: electrocardiogram, Spo(2), invasive arterial blood pressure, ICP, CPP = mean arterial blood pressure-ICP). Episodes of ICP increment above 20 mm Hg or CPP decrease below 60 mm Hg (lasting more than 3 min) were recorded; hypoxia was defined as Pao(2) below 90 mm Hg, hypercarbia as Paco(2) more than 40 mm Hg. RESULTS: Eighteen episodes of intracranial hypertension were recorded in 11 patients. No statistically significant modification of monitored variables was recorded, although the transient ICP increase was very close to statistical significance (P = 0.051). No episodes of CPP reduction below 60 mm Hg occurred. Six percent of patients developed hypercarbia. CONCLUSIONS: Percutwist tracheostomy is a single-step method which allows for effective ventilation during the procedure, thus reducing the risk of hypercarbia and development of intracranial hypertension. The technique did not cause secondary pathophysiological insult and could be considered safe in a selected population of brain-injured patients

Nonfatal cerebral air embolism after dental surgery.

After removal of four impacted third molars under general anesthesia, our patient developed subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumopericardium, and pneumomediastinum. Soon thereafter, coma with generalized epileptic status ensued. A cerebral magnetic resonance and single photon emission computed tomography showed hypoperfusion of the right thalamus and parietal, temporal, and frontal cortices. The likely mechanism was injection of air by the high-speed dental drill through the soft tissue adjacent to the roots of the lower molars. We were unable to find any previous report of systemic air embolism after oral surgery