Albert Kahn

Though he has been marginalized in most mainstream accounts of modern architecture, Albert Kahn (b. 1869–d. 1942) is increasingly considered one of the most important and consequential US architects of the 20th century. Kahn is known primarily for the technically innovative and rigorously functional factory buildings that his still-extant firm Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (founded 1903) designed for automotive manufacturers, including the Ford Motor Company, but his firm was also responsible for hundreds of eclectically styled buildings for other purposes in Detroit, Michigan. Research and writing regarding Albert Kahn often requires considerable effort to disambiguation. Most importantly, Albert Kahn the man is far from a synecdoche for the firm he founded, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which employed upward of several hundred people at its height and is still in operation under the simplified Kahn moniker today. Some mid-20th century historians and critics substituted the inaccurate and often derogatory moniker “Albert Kahn Inc.” as name for the firm to suggest its alienated and impersonal nature. Albert Kahn’s siblings are also worthy of attention in their own right. Frequently mentioned in the extant literature are brothers Julius (b. 1874–d. 1942) who was a trained engineer, inventor and co-founder of the highly successful Trussed Concrete Steel Company; Moritz (b. 1880–d. 1939), who was also an executive of the Kahn firm pivotal in its operations in the USSR between 1929 and 1932, and occasionally Louis (b. 1885–d. 1945), who was a manager and executive in the Kahn firm. Views of Albert Kahn have served as a barometer for the intellectual climate in architecture culture since the early 20th century, indexing the relative importance of aesthetics, ethics, and technics. Studies of Kahn and his firm have, until recently, primarily focused on their contributions to industrial architecture and the influence of their early factory buildings on architecture culture at large. These studies often describe the give-and-take between assembly lines and the streamlined, pragmatic design of the buildings that encompassed them. An upsurge of recent attention to Kahn’s work has been oriented away from issues of design toward larger histories. Some scholars have addressed the shift toward large, integrated offices within the profession, for which Albert Kahn Associates was a groundbreaking exemplar. Others have addressed the ways Kahn served the growth of global enterprise, revealing that his marginalization from architectural history has effaced the willful complicity of US architects in compounding capitalist power and solidifying its ideology. These topics remain rich veins for future researchers.

Representation of Patients With Rare Diseases in Spanish Media

There are more than 360 associations of patients with rare diseases in Spain that strive for visibility to obtain funding and encourage clinical pathologies. The Spanish Year of Rare Diseases has been a considerable effort to be part of media agenda since 2013 and a “collective voice” throughout the media has been encouraged with the international initiatives devoted to the cause. Over the past years, representation of patients with rare diseases in Spanish media has been very superficial, despite the renewed interest during the Spanish Year of Rare Diseases. Certain cases as “Paco Sanz” or “Los Padres de la Pequeña Nadia” have negatively affected this representation by using the disease to pursue economic benefit. This chapter reports on the representation of rare diseases through Spanish media and the way it evolved in the last 6 years. The findings highlight the effort that has been made by patient advocacy groups with rare diseases and their relatives and caregivers, who have been recognized and proactive to get the treatment and medication needed.

Edaphic invertebrate diversity around the reservoir of a small hydroelectric power station in southern Brazil

To meet the growing demand for electricity, considerable effort has been invested in the construction of hydroelectric stations in Brazil. The environmental impacts caused by these projects have been significant, especially on fauna. To evaluate the biodiversity of edaphic invertebrates, a study was performed in an area surrounding a small hydroelectric station of Flor do Sertão, in the Santa Catarina state, Brazil, covering three distances (5, 15 and 30 meters) from the flooded region of the reservoir. From December 2010 to June 2011, surveys of edaphic invertebrates were performed by pitfall traps. The invertebrates collected at each distance were compared and their diversity was calculated through Hill numbers. The dynamics were analyzed through the Shannon index exponential and the inverse Simpson index, and correlated climatic variables to invertebrate diversity. A total of 14,074 specimens were collected from 24 taxonomic groups (Order). The analyses according to size and sample coverage showed few differences in invertebrate diversity between the distances. Values of richness and diversity of common groups are similar for all distances. There is a trend decrease in diversity dynamics for common individuals, with a strong decline in June. The diversity of edaphic invertebrates exhibited high correlation with temperature and no correlation with pluviosity.

The European Approach to Building AI Policy and Governance: A Haven for Bureaucrats or Innovators?

Disruptive technologies and the domination of digital platforms have challenged the global economy players twice — first, to get a hand on them, then to mitigate the possible risks. It is beyond doubt that reliable artificial intelligence (AI) can bring many benefits at the European level, such as better health care, safer and cleaner transport, more efficient manufacturing, and sustainable energy. But regulating the unknown requires considerable effort on how to attract investors using clear rules while keeping human control over the algorithms as a priority. In April 2021, the EU Commission published a holistic proposal to regulate the use of AI, which promises to put trust first and ensure that facial recognition and big data operators will never abuse fundamental human rights. Although the proposal is likely to be amended during EU-wide discussions, the new approach to AI will clearly give citizens the reassurance to adopt these technologies while encouraging companies to develop them. Hence, this article aims to map the core challenges for the EU policy on the use of AI, as well as the milestones of developing the holistic legislative proposal, and clarify if the afore-mentioned proposal indeed solves all the AI-related risks for future generations.

A versatile new ubiquitin detection and purification tool derived from a bacterial deubiquitylase

Protein ubiquitylation is an important post-translational modification affecting an wide range of cellular processes. Due to the low abundance of ubiquitylated species in biological samples, considerable effort has been spent on developing methods to purify and detect ubiquitylated proteins. We have developed and characterized a novel tool for ubiquitin detection and purification based on OtUBD, a high-affinity ubiquitin-binding domain derived from an Orientia tsutsugamushi deubiquitylase. We demonstrate that OtUBD can be used to purify both monoubiquitylated and polyubiquitylated substrates from yeast and human tissue culture samples and compare their performance with existing methods. Importantly, we found conditions for either selective purification of covalently ubiquitylated proteins or co-isolation of both ubiquitylated proteins and their interacting proteins. As a proof-of-principle for these newly developed methods, we profiled the ubiquitylome and ubiquitin-associated proteome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Combining OtUBD affinity purification with quantitative proteomics, we identified potential substrates for E3 ligases Bre1 and Pib1. OtUBD provides a versatile, efficient, and economical tool for ubiquitin researchers with specific advantages over other methods, such as in detecting monoubiquitylation or ubiquitin linkages to noncanonical sites.

Molecular interactions between parasite and mosquito during midgut invasion as targets to block malaria transmission

Despite considerable effort, malaria remains a major public health burden. Malaria is caused by five Plasmodium species and is transmitted to humans via the female Anopheles mosquito. The development of malaria vaccines against the liver and blood stages has been challenging. Therefore, malaria elimination strategies advocate integrated measures, including transmission-blocking approaches. Designing an effective transmission-blocking strategy relies on a sophisticated understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing the interactions between the mosquito midgut molecules and the malaria parasite. Here we review recent advances in the biology of malaria transmission, focusing on molecular interactions between Plasmodium and Anopheles mosquito midgut proteins. We provide an overview of parasite and mosquito proteins that are either targets for drugs currently in clinical trials or candidates of promising transmission-blocking vaccines.

Hybrid Thin-Film Materials Combinations for Complementary Integration Circuit Implementation

Beyond conventional silicon, emerging semiconductor materials have been actively investigated for the development of integrated circuits (ICs). Considerable effort has been put into implementing complementary circuits using non-silicon emerging materials, such as organic semiconductors, carbon nanotubes, metal oxides, transition metal dichalcogenides, and perovskites. Whereas shortcomings of each candidate semiconductor limit the development of complementary ICs, an approach of hybrid materials is considered as a new solution to the complementary integration process. This article revisits recent advances in hybrid-material combination-based complementary circuits. This review summarizes the strong and weak points of the respective candidates, focusing on their complementary circuit integrations. We also discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by the prospect of hybrid integration.

Do foetal transplant studies continue to be justified in Huntington’s disease?

Early CNS transplantation studies used foetal derived cell products to provide a foundation of evidence for functional recovery in preclinical studies and early clinical trials. However, it was soon recognised that the practical limitations of foetal tissue make it unsuitable for widespread clinical use. Considerable effort has since been directed towards producing target cell phenotypes from pluripotent stem cells (PSC) instead, and there now exist several publications detailing the differentiation and characterisation of PSC derived products relevant for transplantation in Huntington’s disease (HD). In light of this progress, we ask if foetal tissue transplantation continues to be justified in HD research. We argue that (i) the extent to which accurately differentiated target cells can presently be produced from PSCs is still unclear, currently making them undesirable for studying wider CNS transplantation issues; (ii) foetal derived cells remain a valuable tool in pre-clinical research for advancing our understanding of which products produce functional striatal grafts and as a reference to further improve PSC derived products; and (iii) until PSC derived products are ready for human trials, it is important to continue using foetal cells to gather clinical evidence that transplantation is a viable option in HD and to use this opportunity to optimise practical parameters (such as trial design, clinical practices, and delivery strategies) to pave the way for future PSC derived products.

Use of added damping devices with special emphasis on Multiple Tuned mass dampers: Review

Shock absorbers are an important part of the design under high seismic conditions. As the life of the structure increases, so does the strength and flexibility. In different performance modes, the control of the shock absorber requires considerable effort, which indicates the need for shock absorbers. Concentrate on making the most of it.

De novo QTL-seq Identifies Loci Linked to Blanchability in Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and Refines Previously Identified QTL with Low Coverage Sequence

Blanchability is an often overlooked, but important trait for peanut breeding. The process of blanching, removing the skin, is an important step in the processing of raw nuts for manufacturing. Under strong genetic control and requiring considerable effort to phenotype, blanchability is conducive for marker-assisted selection. We used QTL sequencing (QTL-seq) to identify two QTLs related to blanchability using previously phenotyped breeding populations. To validate the QTLs, we show that two markers can select for significantly increased blanchability in an independent recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. Two wild introgressions from Arachis cardenasii conferring strong disease resistance were segregated in the population and were found to negatively impact blanchability. Finally, we show that by utilizing highly accurate sequence analysis pipelines, low coverage sequencing can be used to genotype whole populations with increased power and precision. This study highlights the potential to mine breeding data to identify and develop useful markers for genetic improvement programs, and provide powerful tools for breeding for processing and quality traits.