Dealing with the promise of metabarcoding in mega-event biomonitoring: EXPO2015 unedited data

As human activities on our planet persist, causing widespread and irreversible environmental degradation, the need to biomonitor ecosystems has never been more pressing. These circumstances have required a renewal in monitoring techniques, encouraged by necessity to develop more rapid and accurate tools which will support timely observations of ecosystem structure and function. The World Exposition (from now 'EXPO2015') hosted in Milan from May to October 2015 was a global event that could be categorized as a mega-event, which can be defined as an acute environmental stressor, possibly generating biodiversity alteration and disturbance. During the six months of EXPO2015, exhibitors from more than 135 countries and 22 million visitors insisted on a 1.1 million square meters area. Faced with such a massive event, we explore the potential of DNA metabarcoding using three molecular markers to improve the understanding of anthropogenic impacts in the area, both considering air and water monitoring. Furthermore, we explore the effectiveness of the taxonomy assignment phase considering different taxonomic levels of analysis and the use of data mining approaches to predict sample origin. Unless the degree of taxa identification still remains open, our results showed that DNA metabarcoding is a powerful genomic-based tool to monitor biodiversity at the microscale, allowing us to capture exact fingerprints of specific event sites and to explore in a comprehensive manner the eukaryotic community alteration. With this work, we aim to disentangle and overcome the crucial issues related to the generalization of DNA metabarcoding in order to support future applications.

Exposition, Societal Responsitivity and the Aesthetics of Impermanence: Temporal Findings from the 1970 World Exhibition

<p>The architecture of the world expositions maintains an historically unique position within the built environment. Raised specifically for the hosting of these temporary events, the architecture and design of the exposition grounds have been viewed in this thesis as a means to present the aspirations of a country. Expositions were also physical manifestations of the development of new tools, materials, techniques, or aesthetics, ushering in notions of change and progress. However, exhibition architecture can similarly be interpreted as a vehicle responding to the changing pressures within a society. Both historical and contemporary reports locate the world expositions as highly anticipated for education, communication, enjoyment and even competition. Parallel to this, the international expositions have existed as an area of well resourced critical research. With over 150 years of exposition, the historical, political, social, urban and architectural aspects of these events have been increasingly explored as locations to identify and define avantgarde and progressive explorations in the moderation of space. In contrast to this, the world exposition of 1970 exists as a comparatively unexplored area of`study in the West. Expo’70, located in Osaka, Japan, was poorly received and heavily criticised in Western media sources. Academics, architects and critics slated the event as bizarre, ridiculous, and excessive, and one source even noted that Expo’70 had “brought about the end of the world fairs”. While perhaps some of these comments can be attributed to remoteness, and vastly unknown sensory experiences that many non-Japanese visitors would be exposed too, a difficulty in accessing first hand accounts from the Japanese themselves may also account for a lack of understanding within Western architectural discourse. However, Expo’70 was, and still is, an important phenomenon in its native land. A search using Japanese language through any Japanese university library will return a vast collection of titles covering areas such as social science, politics, technology, and architecture. In response to these findings, this thesis locates the importance of the event to the Japanese as a whole. I propose that Expo’70 manifested a number of qualities or conditions that the Japanese society could locate within their existing aesthetic vocabularies, which are discussed and displayed in this thesis through both drawing and text. Within this context the drawn material operates an important strategy as both a mechanism of display and a means to explore the shifting and transitory spatial qualities that are discussed within the text. Rather than a turning point, the thesis argues that, Expo’70 existed as a form of vantage for Japanese society to observe the unfolding changes within their society, both material and immaterial.</p>

Exposition, Societal Responsitivity and the Aesthetics of Impermanence: Temporal Findings from the 1970 World Exhibition

<p>The architecture of the world expositions maintains an historically unique position within the built environment. Raised specifically for the hosting of these temporary events, the architecture and design of the exposition grounds have been viewed in this thesis as a means to present the aspirations of a country. Expositions were also physical manifestations of the development of new tools, materials, techniques, or aesthetics, ushering in notions of change and progress. However, exhibition architecture can similarly be interpreted as a vehicle responding to the changing pressures within a society. Both historical and contemporary reports locate the world expositions as highly anticipated for education, communication, enjoyment and even competition. Parallel to this, the international expositions have existed as an area of well resourced critical research. With over 150 years of exposition, the historical, political, social, urban and architectural aspects of these events have been increasingly explored as locations to identify and define avantgarde and progressive explorations in the moderation of space. In contrast to this, the world exposition of 1970 exists as a comparatively unexplored area of`study in the West. Expo’70, located in Osaka, Japan, was poorly received and heavily criticised in Western media sources. Academics, architects and critics slated the event as bizarre, ridiculous, and excessive, and one source even noted that Expo’70 had “brought about the end of the world fairs”. While perhaps some of these comments can be attributed to remoteness, and vastly unknown sensory experiences that many non-Japanese visitors would be exposed too, a difficulty in accessing first hand accounts from the Japanese themselves may also account for a lack of understanding within Western architectural discourse. However, Expo’70 was, and still is, an important phenomenon in its native land. A search using Japanese language through any Japanese university library will return a vast collection of titles covering areas such as social science, politics, technology, and architecture. In response to these findings, this thesis locates the importance of the event to the Japanese as a whole. I propose that Expo’70 manifested a number of qualities or conditions that the Japanese society could locate within their existing aesthetic vocabularies, which are discussed and displayed in this thesis through both drawing and text. Within this context the drawn material operates an important strategy as both a mechanism of display and a means to explore the shifting and transitory spatial qualities that are discussed within the text. Rather than a turning point, the thesis argues that, Expo’70 existed as a form of vantage for Japanese society to observe the unfolding changes within their society, both material and immaterial.</p>

Study on the C-E Translation of Publicity Materials from the Perspective of Venuti’s Foreignization—A Case Study of “An Overview of the World Exposition Shanghai China 2010”

Since the implementation of China’s reform and opening-up policy, the rapid development of economy and the international exchanges require a growing need for the publicity materials and translation, C-E translation in particular, in which, faithful reproduction of China’s culture and image should be regarded as the priority. Many translators have been aware of the great importance of the cultural communication in translation of publicity materials, and various theories had been applied to study this issue both at home and abroad. In terms of preserving the source-language culture, Venuti advocates the dissimilarities between two languages. And that is why he puts forward foreignization. However, due to the dominating position of domesticating translation theory in China, Lawrence Venuti’s theory of foreignization failed to receive enough attention in the field from translators and translation researchers in China. This paper, by using the theory of Venuti’s foreignization to analyze the C-E translation of the publicity materials, especially a case study of An Overview of the World Exposition Shanghai China 2010, aims to demonstrate the application of Venuti’s foreignization to analyzing the translation of the publicity materials, and therefore provides a brand-new approach for English learners to analyze the C-E publicity materials.

Sverre Fehn’s Brussels and Venice pavilions: the process of becoming different

The early career of Sverre Fehn, the influential Norwegian architect, is marked by the designs of pavilions which were constructed shortly after each other for two major competitions: The Norwegian Pavilion for the World Exposition in Brussels (1956–1958) and The Nordic Pavilion at the Giardini site of the Venice Biennale (1958–1962). This paper studies the process which led from design to construction for both pavilions, identifies structural changes during that process, and investigates the causes and effects of such changes. A study of Fehn’s hand-drawn sketches and photos of models, made throughout the design and construction stages, reveals that despite functional and formal similarities the two pavilions’ development process and the changes which they underwent are noticeably different. The pursuit of ‘abstract space’ during the competition stage for the Brussels Pavilion was tested by considerations of construction only later on, creating a critical tension in the project. Not only did the organisation of structural components change significantly during the design process but the logic of construction underwent a complete transformation. Nevertheless, this transition between different iterations of the Brussels Pavilion suggested an alternative approach for the Venice Pavilion in which the initial thought of construction became a projection, rather than an abstract imitation of built reality. The spatial intention and construction-related considerations of the Venice Pavilion were addressed by a ‘synergetic’ structural principle, implicit in the competition scheme. This unprecedented feature significantly enlarged the ‘space of possibility’ of the roof structure, which provided for adaptation to indeterminacies without compromising the initial design intentions. Changes in the design of the Brussels and Venice Pavilions, therefore, differ in the ways in which they evolved from design to completion: sequential and abrupt, vs. gradual and continuous. This sheds light on a critical shift in the work of an influential architect and the way he approached design indeterminacies, rather than forcing them into submission.

Unusual Composition and Load-Carrying Capacity of a 100-Year Old Early Age Steel Exposition Hall

<p>The Floraliahall in Ghent was built during 1912-1913 as part of a series of large infrastructure works for the world exposition of 1913. The main structure of the hall consists of 18 portal frames having 3 spans of 10.16, 40.18 and 10.16 m. The upper part of the structure is highly slender. Adversely to the customary concepts of 100 years ago, the lighter frames at 7.45 m distance, are hinged twice at the springs, whereas the more heavy frames, at 15 m distance, are completely clamped at their base. In addition, measurements show that crosssections of compressed parts have larger area than the tensile parts. From the structural point of view, these frames sometimes have an unexpected composition. The aim was to determine whether this structure can comply with contemporary requirements and codes. From measurements and simulations follows that in limited areas high stresses appear, unacceptable even in serviceability state. This may be partly due to modifications of the roof that were made inappropriately, from the uncertainty to assess certain details with the model and from ineffective analysis at the time of construction.</p>

Load-Carrying Capacity of the early age Steel Ghent Floralia Exposition Hall/Tragverhalten der Floralia-Ausstellungs- halle des frühen Stahlzeitalters

ABSTRACT The Floraliahall in Ghent was built during 1912 and 1913 as part of a series of large infrastructure works for the world exposition of 1913. The main structure of the hall consists of 18 portal frames having three spans of 10.16 m, 40.18 m and 10.16 m. The upper part of the structure is highly slender. Adversely to the customary concepts of 100 years ago, the lighter frames at 7.45 m distance, are hinged twice at the springs, whereas the more heavy frames, at 15 m distance, are completely clamped at their base. In addition, measurements show that cross-sections of compressed parts have larger area than the tensile parts. From the structural point of view, these frames sometimes have an unexpected composition. The aim was to determine whether this structure can comply with contemporary requirements and codes. From measurements and simulations follows that in limited areas high stresses appear, unacceptable even in serviceability state. This may be partly due to modifications of the roof that were made inappropriately, from the uncertainty to assess certain details with the model and from ineffective analysis at the time of construction. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die Floraliahalle in Gent wurde zwischen 1912 und 1913 als Teil einer Reihe großer Infrastrukturarbeiten für die Weltausstellung von 1913 errichtet. Die Hauptstruktur der Halle besteht aus 18 Portalrahmen mit drei Feldern von 10,16 m, 40,18 m und 10,16 m. Der obere Teil der Struktur ist sehr schlank. Im Gegensatz zu den vor 100 Jahren üblichen Konzepten sind die leichteren Rahmen in einem Abstand von 7,45 m gelenkig aufgelagert, während die schwereren Rahmen in einem Abstand von 15 m vollständig an ihrer Basis eingespannt sind. Außerdem zeigen Messungen, dass Querschnitte von druckbeanpruchten Teilen eine größere Fläche aufweisen als die Zugteile. Vom strukturellen Standpunkt aus haben diese Rahmen manchmal eine unerwartete Zusammensetzung. Ziel war es festzustellen, ob diese Struktur den heutigen Anforderungen und Normen entspricht. Aus Messungen und Simulationen geht hervor, dass in begrenzten Bereichen hohe Beanspruchungen auftreten, die auch im Gebrauchstauglichkeitszustand nicht akzeptabel sind. Dies kann zum Teil auf unsachgemäß vorgenommene Änderungen des Daches, auf die Unsicherheit, bestimmte Details mit dem Modell zu bewerten, und auf eine ineffektive Analyse zum Zeitpunkt des Baus zurückzuführen sein.