283 research outputs found
Exploring early time points of vimentin assembly in flow by fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy
No full textDespite the importance for cellular processes, the dynamics of molecular assembly, especially on fast time scales, is not yet fully understood. To this end, we present a multi-layer microfluidic device and combine it with fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy. We apply this innovative combination of methods to investigate the early steps in assembly of vimentin intermediate filaments (IFs). These filaments, together with actin filaments and microtubules, constitute the cytoskeleton of cells of mesenchymal origin and greatly influence their mechanical properties. We are able to directly follow the two-step assembly process of vimentin IFs and quantify the time scale of the first lateral step to tens of ms with a lag time of below 3 ms. Although demonstrated for a specific biomolecular system here, our method may potentially be employed for a wide range of fast molecular reactions in biological or, more generally, soft matter systems, as it allows for a precise quantification of the kinetics underlying the aggregation and assembly
Muons in the aftermath of neutron star mergers and their impact on trapped neutrinos
Get PDFIn the upcoming years, present and next-generation gravitational wave
observatories will detect a larger number of binary neutron star (BNS) mergers
with increasing accuracy. In this context, improving BNS merger numerical
simulations is crucial to correctly interpret the data and constrain the
equation of state (EOS) of neutron stars (NSs). State-of-the-art simulations of
BNS mergers do not include muons. However, muons are known to be relevant in
the microphysics of cold NSs and are expected to have a significant role in
mergers, where the typical thermodynamic conditions favour their production.
Our work is aimed at investigating the impact of muons on the merger remnant.
We post-process the outcome of four numerical relativity simulations of BNS
mergers performed with three different baryonic EOSs and two mass ratios
considering the first milliseconds after merger. We compute the abundance
of muons in the remnant and analyse how muons affect the trapped neutrino
component and the fluid pressure. We find that depending on the baryonic EOS,
the net fraction of muons is between and the net fraction of
electrons. Muons change the flavour hierarchy of trapped (anti-)neutrinos such
that deep inside the remnant, muon anti-neutrinos are the most abundant,
followed by electron anti-neutrinos. Finally, muons and trapped neutrinos
modify the neutron-to-proton ratio, affecting the remnant pressure by up to
when compared with calculations neglecting them. This work demonstrates
that muons have a non-negligible effect on the outcome of BNS merger
simulations, and they should be included to improve the accuracy of a
simulation.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
Human blood platelets contract in perpendicular direction to shear flow
No full textIn their physiological environment, blood platelets are permanently exposed to shear forces caused by blood flow. Within this surrounding, they generate contractile forces that eventually lead to a compaction of the blood clot. Here, we present a microfluidic chamber that combines hydrogel-based traction force microscopy with a controlled shear environment, and investigate the force fields platelets generate when exposed to shear flow in a spatio-temporally resolved manner. We find that for shear rates between 14 s-1 to 33 s-1, the general contraction behavior in terms of force distribution and magnitude does not differ from no-flow conditions. The main direction of contraction, however, does respond to the externally applied stress. At high shear stress, we observe an angle of about 90° between flow direction and main contraction axis. We explain this observation by the distribution of the stress acting on the adherent cell: the observed angle provides the most stable situation for the cell experiencing the shear flow, as supported by a finite element method simulation of the stresses along the platelet boundary
Convenience in Funding Upgrading Works
No full textWith reference to upgrading actions on existing building stock, Construction Procurement Guidance, No.7 Whole Life Costs (Office of Government Commerce) states: ‘All procurement must be made solely on the basis of value for money in terms of the optimum combination of global costs and quality to meet the user’s requirements’. Cash-flow analyses allow showing the economic value of investments for alternative technological upgrading works extended all along their service lives. Optimisation of choices is not only a matter of cash-flow analyses—choices should not be made only according to the lowest costs but also considering several aspects that can be brought back to the concept of ‘technical-sustainable value’, which mainly derives from competent functional and environmental assessments of the reference analysis system. The mentioned interrelation should theoretically be adequately considered but this is seldom the case in the common building practice. Cost estimate for an engineered system has to entail much more detailed analyses on costs, energy, sustainability and technologies. Possible technological solutions would be convenient in terms of technological/technical utility, but less convenient in monetary terms for the funding subject. Under the economic point of view, cash outflow means less economic convenience in funding a given technology. All that stated above, nowadays effective data-display global cost-quality indicators are rarely available in literature. The present manuscript introduces to the reader fundamentals of an economic tool proposal designed by the author with the use of synthetically displaying interrelations between cash-flow scenarios and quality-sustainability in upgrading processes on existing buildings. Fundamentals have been tested on a reference case study. Then, fundamentals have been contextualized to the Italian Legislative framework: in Italy, in multi-owner existing residential buildings, expenditure allocation is carried out based on thousandths. The thousandth type to be considered is due to the configuration of the case under review and to balance-sheet expenditure to be allocated to owners. Property thousandths allocated to housing units have been used to allocate expenses for technological/energy upgrading works. The author has tried to find out the amount of a possible bank investment that a user might start at building Time ‘0’ to theoretically clear possible economic losses, trying to highlight technical utility of the technological solution that would be disadvantaged in economic terms. ‘Neutral’ mathematical finance formulas have been used to calculate the theoretical capital to be invested by an owner based on the reference cash-flow scenario. Conclusion will be drawn at the end of the manuscript
Recupero edilizio e nuova costruzione. Non solo risparmio energetico. Importanza della valutazione della fattibilità applicativa a monte della modellazione energetica
No full textThe expressions ‘low environmental impact’ and ‘energy efficiency’ mean much more than ‘compliance to regulation and technical specifications’ (89/106/ EEC, article 4).
Nowadays, solutions implemented in actions on buildings at least have to comply with regulatory values or parameters with reference to a specific time outlook. This is due to policies and guidelines issued at several levels, starting from the European one to get to the local one, promoting: for new buildings, reviews of design processes so as to create sustainable buildings providing for high-quality housing, for existing buildings, reviews on as-built assets so as to limit energy consumption.
Designers selecting potentially applicable ‘sustainable’ technologies should not only assess their profiles in terms of energy and performance which, of course, are essential.
Together with the abovementioned issues, in addition to convenience, critical points and viability constraints should be reasonably taken into account during the selection process.
For this purpose, some ideas are introduced in form of a journalistic discourse, which, according to the author, can be useful to those designers who have to select from different ranges of viable technological solutions, both based on traditional building practices and on new or emerging practices
Analysis of the multilayered RGTO technique for high sensitivity gas sensor development.
No full text“JUST A SMART LITTLE MOUSE”. THE TELEVISION REBOOT OF TOPO GIGIO FOR A CONTEMPORARY AUDIENCE. A Writers’ Round Table
Get PDFTopo Gigio – The Series is the outcome of a creative overhaul that has updated and adapted the beloved puppet character created by Maria Perego in 1959 for a new generation of viewers in animated form, by placing the little mouse in a new, modern context that provides him with a (human) family and a faithful team of (animal) ‘partners in crime’. The TV series is a paradigmatic case study of a flexible, novel approach to developing and writing content for children and young audiences; one that looks at established creative practices from the US (e.g. writers’ room, comedic register, short format) without sacrificing the essence of its iconic protagonist while, at the same time, retaining its international appeal. This round table gathers the experiences of three members of the show’s writing team (Fornasari, Morosinotto, and Russo) as well as of the Project Manager (Di Domenico). After framing the key stages of the genesis of the project and exploring the challenges in the process of adaptation, they focus
on key notions, approaches, pedagogic values and decisions that have informed the creation of the series content and unpack the creative process(es) with specific examples from the development documents and select scripts from individual episodes. The discussion draws from defining elements of the series world, multi-ethnic characters and thematic range to illustrate the various stages of development (e.g. pitching story ideas, outlining, treatments, teleplays), also in connection with less explored (but not least vital) territory such as team coordination and story editing
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