Local Architecture Research Articles

Opportunities for Renovation of Mid-20th Century Buildings in a Protected Environment: the Example of the Writers' Creative House in Nida

Much of the Curonian Spit’s architecture dates back to Soviet times, and many buildings are now in need of renovation. During the renovation process, quite flexible design guidelines apply, focusing on combining aesthetics with traditional local architecture. This raises questions as to what design aspects should be preserved after renovation. Should the distinctive stylistic elements of the original architect be saved (and if so, how?), or should the focus be on integrating cotemporary regional architecture trends? This study focuses on the Writer’s Creative House in Nida, built during the Soviet occupation, and its architect, Liucija Gedgaudiene. It explores the relationship of the building to its surroundings, its significance for the community, and seeks to identify both- the local architectural elements and the personal design traits of Liucija Gedaudiene.

Opportunities for Renovation of Mid-20th Century Buildings in a Protected Environment: the Example of the Writers' Creative House in Nida

Much of the Curonian Spit’s architecture dates back to Soviet times, and many buildings are now in need of renovation. During the renovation process, quite flexible design guidelines apply, focusing on combining aesthetics with traditional local architecture. This raises questions as to what design aspects should be preserved after renovation. Should the distinctive stylistic elements of the original architect be saved (and if so, how?), or should the focus be on integrating cotemporary regional architecture trends? This study focuses on the Writer’s Creative House in Nida, built during the Soviet occupation, and its architect, Liucija Gedgaudiene. It explores the relationship of the building to its surroundings, its significance for the community, and seeks to identify both- the local architectural elements and the personal design traits of Liucija Gedaudiene.

Inflammation of the temporalis muscle and adjacent nerve tissue in giant cell arteritis: expanding the spectrum of inflammatory lesions.

To investigate the histopathological features of the temporalis muscle (TM) and adjacent nerve tissue in active cranial giant cell arteritis (C-GCA). Temporal artery biopsy (TAB) specimens containing fragments of the TM from patients with active C-GCA fulfilling the 2022 ACR/EULAR classification criteria (n = 11) were assessed by conventional histology and immunohistochemistry in comparison with non-GCA controls (n = 3). Clinical, laboratory and imaging features based on patient charts at time of biopsy were retrospectively recorded. The majority of the studied TAB specimens showed inflammation of the TM (10/11) and adjacent nerve fascicles (7/11) that was characterized by prominent endomysial lymphomonocytic infiltrates, whereas controls showed no inflammatory lesions and no disruption of the local architecture. Association of active C-GCA with sarcolemmal MHC class I (8/8) and MHC class II (6/11) upregulation suggests primary inflammation of the TM in a subset of patients. αB-Crystallin positivity (10/11) highlights areas of pre-necrotic myofibres within the TM. The presence of endomysial fibrosis, signs of atrophy and variations of muscle fibre size suggest a rather longstanding and potentially subclinical process of myoinflammation. Our results expand the spectrum of inflammatory lesions known to be associated with active C-GCA. Specifically, inflammatory infiltration of the TM and adjacent nerve structures could contribute to localized symptoms of the temporomandibular region and may be included in future concepts of pathophysiology.

Western architectural ornamental art in traditional Chinese architecture: a case study of Tengchong City based on interdisciplinary approach

ABSTRACT This paper explores a previously unrecorded style of East-West architectural ornamentation in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, China, overlooked in historical architectural studies. The aim of this research is to both document and analyze this unique blend of Eastern and Western architectural elements, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Initially, literary research identifies relevant sites, which are subsequently examined through field research to collect firsthand data on the local architectural decorations that exhibit this East-West synthesis. Employing an interdisciplinary approach that integrates concepts from biology and statistics, the study views these architectural decorations as a living organism. This perspective allows for a detailed examination of how different cultural elements are incorporated into local architecture, analyzed quantitatively and statistically. Through this research, a qualitative description of these hybrid architectural elements is developed, further enriched by a quantitative analysis based on statistical methods. The qualitative aspect of the study traces the historical evolution of this East-West architectural form, observing changes in themes and structures. In terms of quantitative findings, a detailed statistical profile of these local architectural features is established, which supports the qualitative insights. Overall, this research sheds light on a neglected aspect of architectural ornamentation, presenting a thorough analysis of its development and current state through an innovative mix of qualitative and quantitative research techniques. This study not only provides new data but also opens up fresh avenues for future research on similar topics.

Kiln–House Isomorphism and Cultural Isomerism in the Pavilions of the Yuci Area: The Xiang-Ming Pavilion as an Example

The pavilion is a time-honored architectural form in the Chinese silhouette with strong regional characteristics. Its appearance and technical means are often adaptively combined according to the characteristics of local architecture. The “kiln–house isomorphism” is a unique construction technology of the Shanxi construction type in China. Therefore, the “kiln–house isomorphism” is generally adopted for the construction of pavilions in Shanxi. This study focuses on Xiaonanzhuang Village, Yuci District, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province. Taking the Xiang-ming Pavilion, the core building of the village, as an example, we analyze the architectural characteristics of the “kiln–house isomorphism” in the pavilion in this area, describe the general construction rules of the region, and conduct a deep investigation of the five “cultural isomerism” factors of the pavilions in the region, namely, geomancy, etiquette and music, beliefs, clans, and cultivation and study. The results of this research will enrich the regional knowledge of such pavilions and add new objects for the protection of local architectural heritage, providing a theoretical basis for the contemporary adaptive reuse of pavilions in the Yuci area from a cultural perspective.

ARQUIN: Architectures for Multinode Superconducting Quantum Computers

Many proposals to scale quantum technology rely on modular or distributed designs wherein individual quantum processors, called nodes, are linked together to form one large multinode quantum computer (MNQC). One scalable method to construct an MNQC is using superconducting quantum systems with optical interconnects. However, internode gates in these systems may be two to three orders of magnitude noisier and slower than local operations. Surmounting the limitations of internode gates will require improvements in entanglement generation, use of entanglement distillation, and optimized software and compilers. Still, it remains unclear what performance is possible with current hardware and what performance algorithms require. In this article, we employ a systems analysis approach to quantify overall MNQC performance in terms of hardware models of internode links, entanglement distillation, and local architecture. We show how to navigate tradeoffs in entanglement generation and distillation in the context of algorithm performance, lay out how compilers and software should balance between local and internode gates, and discuss when noisy quantum internode links have an advantage over purely classical links. We find that a factor of 10–100× better link performance is required and introduce a research roadmap for the co-design of hardware and software towards the realization of early MNQCs. While we focus on superconducting devices with optical interconnects, our approach is general across MNQC implementations.

High-resolution MHC sequencing reveals local genetic architecture of multiple sclerosis in a trans-ethnic cohort

High-resolution MHC sequencing reveals local genetic architecture of multiple sclerosis in a trans-ethnic cohort

Sub-sampling graph neural networks for genomic prediction of quantitative phenotypes.

In genomics, use of deep learning (DL) is rapidly growing and DL has successfully demonstrated its ability to uncover complex relationships in large biological and biomedical data sets. With the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques, genomic markers can now be allocated to large sections of a genome. By analysing allele sharing between individuals, one may calculate realized genomic relationships from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) data rather than relying on known pedigree relationships under polygenic model. The traditional approaches in genome-wide prediction (GWP) of quantitative phenotypes utilise genomic relationships in fixed global covariance modelling, possibly with some non-linear kernel mapping (for example Gaussian processes). On the other hand, the DL approaches proposed so far for GWP fail to take into account the non-Euclidean graph structure of relationships between individuals over several generations. In this paper, we propose one global convolutional neural network (GCN) and one local sub-sampling architecture (GCN-RS) that are specifically designed to perform regression analysis based on genomic relationship information. A GCN is tailored to non-Euclidean spaces and consists of several layers of graph convolutions. The GCN-RS architecture is designed to further improve the GCN's performance by sub-sampling the graph to reduce the dimensionality of the input data. Through these graph convolutional layers, the GCN maps input genomic markers to their quantitative phenotype values. The graphs are constructed using an iterative nearest neighbour approach. Comparisons show that the GCN-RS outperforms the popular Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (GBLUP) method on one simulated and three real data sets from wheat, mice and pig with a predictive improvement of 4.4% to 49.4% in terms of test mean squared error (MSE). This indicates that GCN-RS is a promising tool for genomic predictions in plants and animals. Furthermore, GCN-RS is computationally efficient, making it a viable option for large-scale applications.

Age-related differences in human cortical microstructure depend on the distance to the nearest vein

Abstract Age-related differences in cortical microstructure are used to understand the neuronal mechanisms that underlie human brain ageing. The cerebral vasculature contributes to cortical ageing, but its precise interaction with cortical microstructure is poorly understood. In a cross-sectional study, we combine venous imaging with vessel distance mapping to investigate the interaction between venous distances and age-related differences in the microstructural architecture of the primary somatosensory cortex, the primary motor cortex and additional areas in the frontal cortex as non-sensorimotor control regions. We scanned 18 younger adults and 17 older adults using 7 Tesla MRI to measure age-related changes in longitudinal relaxation time (T1) and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) values at 0.5 mm isotropic resolution. We modelled different cortical depths using an equi-volume approach and assessed the distance of each voxel to its nearest vein using vessel distance mapping. Our data reveal a dependence of cortical quantitative T1 values and positive QSM values on venous distance. In addition, there is an interaction between venous distance and age on quantitative T1 values, driven by lower quantitative T1 values in older compared to younger adults in voxels that are closer to a vein. Together, our data show that the local venous architecture explains a significant amount of variance in standard measures of cortical microstructure and should be considered in neurobiological models of human brain organisation and cortical ageing.

Study on the Cultural Impact of Local Materials in Regional Architectural Design

As a result of globalization, architectural design has also integrated into the trend of becoming unified. However, regional architecture has become something that opposes unification, allowing each region to maintain its unique characteristics while also protecting the environment. This research focuses on the cultural meaning of natural materials utilization in regional architectural design, allocating the specifics for how the local materials influence both ecological and cultural importance. Positive results arrived at by case studies of architects who used local materials in architecture confirm the role of local architecture as a mediator between cultural heritage and sustainable development. Utilizing literature analysis as a mode of study to critically examine the historical background, technological advancement, and socio-economic condition helps the stimulation of regional architecture. The research elaborates on the importance of using regional materials as a way to develop architectural practices that reflect cultural identity as well as to ensure the ecology of the area. Finally, the paper gives a brief discussion on the future development direction and trends in the regional cultural aspects of architecture design.

Altered local intrinsic neural activity and molecular architecture in internet use disorders

BackgroundInternet gaming disorder (IGD) is mainly characterized by its core dysfunction in higher-order brain cortices involved in inhibitory control, whose neurobiological basis remains unclear. Then, we will investigate local intrinsic neural activity (INA) alterations in IGD, ascertain whether these potential alterations are related to clinical characteristics, and further explore the underlying molecular architecture. MethodIn this study, we performed the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to explore the impact of IGD on local INA. Correlation analysis revealed the relationship between ReHo and fALFF in terms of group differences and clinical characteristics. Moreover, correlations between fALFF, ReHo, and PET- and SPECT-driven maps were investigated to elucidate the specific molecular architecture alternations in IGD. Finally, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to show the potential abilities of fALFF and ReHo in distinguishing individuals with IGD (IGDs) from healthy controls (HCs). ResultCompared with HCs, IGDs revealed increased ReHo and fALFF in the prefrontal cortex. Significantly decreased ReHo was observed in the temporal lobe, occipital lobe, and cerebellum. In addition, the ReHo values in the cerebellum_7b_R were positively correlated with internet addiction severity. ROC curve analysis showed that ReHo and fALFF-altered brain regions could effectively distinguish IGDs from HCs. More importantly, cross-modal correlations revealed local INA changes in brain regions associated with the monoamine neurotransmitter system and the less studied cholinergic/GABAergic system. ConclusionThese results suggest that local functional impairments are shown in the audiovisual and inhibitory control circuits in IGDs. This may be associated with underlying neurotransmitter system alterations. Therefore, this study provides the possibility of GABAergic receptor agonists and cholinergic receptor inhibitors for the treatment of IGD.

A novel local feature fusion architecture for wind turbine pitch fault diagnosis with redundant feature screening

The safe and reliable operation of the pitch system is essential for the stable and efficient operation of a wind turbine (WT). The pitch fault data collected by supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA) often contain a wide variety of variables, leading to redundant features that interfere with the accuracy of final diagnosis results, making it difficult to meet requirements. Also, the problem of extracting only local features while ignoring global information is present in the feature extraction process using the deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model. To address these issues, the global average correlation coefficient is proposed in this article to measure the correlation between multiple variables in SCADA data. By considering the correlation among multiple variables comprehensively, redundant features are effectively eliminated, enhancing the accuracy of fault diagnosis. Furthermore, a new local amplification fusion architecture network (LAFA-Net) based on multi-head attention (MHA) is introduced. An efficient local feature extraction module, designed to enhance the model’s perception of detailed features while maintaining global context information, is first introduced. LAFA-Net integrates the advantages of CNN and MHA, efficiently extracting and fusing valuable features from filtered data for both local and global aspects. Experiments on real pitch fault data demonstrate that the global average correlation coefficient effectively screens out redundant features in the dataset that negatively impact fault diagnosis results, thereby improving diagnosis efficiency and accuracy. The LAFA-Net model, capable of accurately diagnosing multiple types of pitch faults, shows a superior classification effect and accuracy compared to several advanced models, along with a faster convergence speed.

Real-time simulation for multi-component biomechanical analysis using localized tissue constraint progressive transfer learning

In virtual surgical training, it is crucial to achieve real-time, high-fidelity simulation of the tissue deformation. The anisotropic and nonlinear characteristics of the organ with multi-component make accurate real-time deformation simulation difficult. A localized tissue constraint progressive transfer learning method is proposed in this paper, where the base-compensated dual-output transfer learning strategy and the localized tissue constraint progressive learning architecture are developed. The proposed strategy enriches the multi-component biomechanical dataset to fully represent complex force-displacement with minimal high-quality data. Meanwhile, the proposed architecture adopts focused and progressive model to accurately describe tissues with varied biomechanical properties rather than singular homogeneous model. We made comparison with 4 state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods in simulating multi-component biomechanical deformations of organs with 100 pairs of testing data. Results show that the accuracy of our method is 50% higher than other methods in different validation matrix. And our method can stably simulate the deformations in 0.005 s per frame, which largely improves the computing efficiency.

Volcano-tectonic controls on the morphology and volcanic rift zone configuration on Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea) derived from TanDEM-X data

The morphology of the shield volcanoes on Bioko, a volcanic island in central Africa, is controlled both by tectonic and volcanic processes, but the complex interplay of these regional and local mechanisms is poorly understood. Using a TanDEM-X digital elevation model, we are able to create an inventory of 436 vents and monogenetic cones, and over 1330 structural elements and lineaments, and perform a comprehensive morphological and geospatial analysis. We provide detail on the general geomorphology of Bioko Island, and describe its flat top, apical graben-like structures, and the setting of the structural inventory created. Based on vent density and lineament mapping, we are able to identify volcanic rift zones that are governed by vent clustering and the asymmetry of associated monogenetic cones. Specifically, we find that eruption vents are not only clustered but aligned and follow the principal NE-SW axis, although we also highlight evidence for complex structures such as side-stepping alignments and en échelon patterns indicative of strike-slip contributions to the volcano-tectonic fabrics. We discuss possible volcano-tectonic and regional tectonic contributors, such as the Cameroon Volcanic Line and intersecting fracture zones, as well as gravity-tectonic processes dominant at Bioko Island. In this view, our results are relevant for understanding the past and recent volcanic activity and discuss the influence of regional and local volcano-tectonic architectures.

RNA polymerases reshape chromatin architecture and couple transcription on individual fibers

RNA polymerases must initiate and pause within a complex chromatin environment, surrounded by nucleosomes and other transcriptional machinery. This environment creates a spatial arrangement along individual chromatin fibers ripe for both competition and coordination, yet these relationships remain largely unknown owing to the inherent limitations of traditional structural and sequencing methodologies. To address this, we employed long-read chromatin fiber sequencing (Fiber-seq) in Drosophila to visualize RNA polymerase (Pol) within its native chromatin context with single-molecule precision along up to 30 kb fibers. We demonstrate that Fiber-seq enables the identification of individual Pol II, nucleosome, and transcription factor footprints, revealing Pol II pausing-driven destabilization of downstream nucleosomes. Furthermore, we demonstrate pervasive direct distance-dependent transcriptional coupling between nearby Pol II genes, Pol III genes, and transcribed enhancers, modulated by local chromatin architecture. Overall, transcription initiation reshapes surrounding nucleosome architecture and couples nearby transcriptional machinery along individual chromatin fibers.

Features of the Architecture of Modern Residential Buildings in the City of Vladimir

For the first time, an analytical review of examples of the inclusion of new residential buildings in different time periods from the 1930s to the first quarter of the XXI century in the development of the city of Vladimir is given. One of the most important tasks of modern architecture is to find a practical solution to the theoretical problem of the interaction of tradition and innovation. The study of this problem on the example of historical cities in Russia occupies a special place in the theory of architecture, since a valuable historical and architectural environment needs a delicate approach when integrating new objects into it. The valuable historical buildings of the city of Vladimir mostly consist of stone houses built in the classicism style of the XVIII–XIX centuries, which formed the image of the historical center. However, not only the conscious appeal of architects to historical examples of local architecture served to reflect classicism in the appearance of buildings of subsequent eras, but also political and socio-economic aspects. The peculiarities of environmental adaptation techniques used in the construction of residential buildings by Soviet and Russian architects are noted.

Stabilization of flake Zn powder anodes via designing functional additives in electrolytes for aqueous Zn ion batteries

Zn powder anodes have attracted much attention in aqueous Zn ion battery applications due to advantages such as low cost and processability. However, the high-activity Zn powder anode faces problems such as side reactions, hydrogen evolution, and dendrites, which limit the cycling stability of the cell. In this work, the high activity of Zn powder is weakened by introducing low-cost erythritol as a functional additive in the ZnSO4 electrolyte to improve the cycle life of the cell. Both theoretical calculations and empirical evidence demonstrate that the incorporation of erythritol alters the coordination sphere of Zn2+ and modifies the local molecular architecture of the electrolyte. This modification serves to diminish the reactivity of water molecules, thereby efficaciously suppressing dendrite formation and deleterious ancillary reactions on the zinc powder anode surfaces. Concurrently, erythritol functions as an interfacial cationic captor, enhancing reaction dynamics and facilitating the development of a favorable protective layer throughout the zinc plating/stripping process. Consequently, the symmetric cell paired with an erythritol-containing electrolyte manifests stable cycling performance for an extended duration of 850 h at a current density of 0.288 mA cm−2 and areal capacity of 0.144 mAh cm−2. Notably, it maintains a cycling life of 400 h even under intensified conditions (2.88 mA cm−2/1.44 mA h cm−2). Furthermore, the constructed Na2V6O16·3H2O full cell illustrated remarkable capacity retention of 155.8 mA h g−1 following 800 cycles at a high rate of 5 A g−1.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THROUGH IDENTIFICATION OF TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BARAN BURING TOURISM KAMPUNG

Suburban areas often experience development pressures, with implications for changing green space into built areas, rural cultures into urban ones, and poverty into prosperity. The development of Buring Kampong (suburban settlement) in Malang City into a tourism kampong, in addition to improving the local economy, must also be able to support environmental quality and community independence. This research used the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach in identifying tangible and intangible assets. The data were collected through field observation, focused group discussion, interviews, and secondary data. Tangible aspects include land use, natural and artificial resources, infrastructure, accessibility, machinery and equipment, and local architecture. Meanwhile, intangible assets include intellectual property, potential branding development, goodwill, software/web, formal and informal organization, social and cultural values, and potential customers. The data obtained were presented descriptively and discussed together, as a triangulation process. The results showed the diversity and breadth of tangible and intangible assets of Baran village, and both of these assets can be directly found in the field and during FGDs and interviews. This research is also an effort to strengthen community engagement and public awareness about their assets, and this activity needs to be continuously improved, to have a better level of community engagement, confidence, social participation, branding, and networking.

Identification and Localization of Wind Turbine Blade Faults Using Deep Learning

This study addresses the challenges inherent in the maintenance and inspection of wind turbines through the application of deep learning methodologies for fault detection on Wind Turbine Blades (WTBs). Specifically, this research focuses on defect detection on the blades of small-scale WTBs due to the unavailability of commercial wind turbines. This research compared popular object localization architectures, YOLO and Mask R-CNN, to identify the most effective model to detect common WTB defects, including cracks, holes, and erosion. YOLOv9 C emerged as the most effective model, with the highest scores of mAP50 and mAP50-95 of 0.849 and 0.539, respectively. Modifications to Mask R-CNN, specifically integrating a ResNet18-FPN network, reduced computational complexity by 32 layers and achieved a mAP50 of 0.8415. The findings highlight the potential of deep learning and computer vision in improving WTB fault analysis and inspection.

RHAML: Rendezvous-Based Hierarchical Architecture for Mutual Localization

RHAML: Rendezvous-Based Hierarchical Architecture for Mutual Localization