Urban volumetrics: From vertical to volumetric urbanisation and its extensions to empirical morphological analysis

While cities have become gradually more vertical and complex over the past century, our methods for conceptualising their characteristics and measuring their forms and functions are still largely based in a horizontal mindset. Recent work has sought to shift urban discourse towards understanding cities according to their volumetric properties. Moving the debate further, this paper approaches volumetric urbanism from a morphological perspective, setting out a research agenda that operationalises the concept as a means of better capturing the morphological characteristics of cities as volumetric entities. First, we deconstruct volumetric urbanism into the five basic building blocks that define volumetric morphologies: density, functional mix, compaction and compression, complex networks and interaction intensity. Next, we propose two methods for capturing the urban volumetrics of cities based on spatial and network interaction and apply them to a hypothetical case and a preliminary study of Hong Kong. We conclude by arguing that a volumetric approach is required to capture the complex form of compressed, multi-layered and highly connected cities. In response, urban morphological and planning discourses must move away from the horizontal analytical mindset, embrace a multi-layered three-dimensional view of cities and place greater emphasis on spatial configurations and network relations by measuring interaction.

Proposal of a questionnaire to measure the level of interaction in the university classrooms: version for teachers, students and observers

<p class="Abstract">Throughout the literature, there are several studies that highlight the importance of interaction in the classroom as a means to promote student learning. Based on this idea, and due to the absence of previous studies that do it, the objective of this work is to propose a questionnaire that allows to measure the level of interaction in university classrooms, as well as to identify the best interactive practices, from a triple perspective: observed teacher, external observer and student. This work is part of a teaching innovation project carried out by a multidisciplinary group of lecturers from the University of Cantabria. In this study, in addition to presenting the aforementioned questionnaire proposal, the research process for the collection of data and the analysis of results will be described. It is considered that the main contribution of this work is the proposal of an instrument for measuring interaction.<strong> </strong></p>

Iteratively improving Hi-C experiments one step at a time

The 3D organization of eukaryotic chromosomes affects key processes such as gene expression, DNA replication, cell division, and response to DNA damage. The genome-wide chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) approach can characterize the landscape of 3D genome organization by measuring interaction frequencies between all genomic regions. Hi-C protocol improvements and rapid advances in DNA sequencing power have made Hi-C useful to diverse biological systems, not only to elucidate the role of 3D genome structure in proper cellular function, but also to characterize genomic rearrangements, assemble new genomes, and consider chromatin interactions as potential biomarkers for diseases. Yet, the Hi-C protocol is still complex and subject to variations at numerous steps that can affect the resulting data. Thus, there is still a need for better understanding and control of factors that contribute to Hi-C experiment success and data quality. Here, we evaluate recently proposed Hi-C protocol modifications as well as often overlooked variables in sample preparation and examine their effects on Hi-C data quality. We examine artifacts that can occur during Hi-C library preparation, including microhomology-based artificial template copying and chimera formation that can add noise to the downstream data. Exploring the mechanisms underlying Hi-C artifacts pinpoints steps that should be further optimized in the future. To improve the utility of Hi-C in characterizing the 3D genome of specialized populations of cells or small samples of primary tissue, we identify steps prone to DNA loss which should be optimized to adapt Hi-C to lower cell numbers.Highlights3 to 5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters, including spaces, per bullet point)Variability in Hi-C libraries can arise from early steps of cell preparationHi-C 2.0 changes to interaction capture steps also benefit 6-cutter librariesArtificial molecule fusions can arise during end repair and PCR, increasing noiseCommon causes of Hi-C DNA loss identified for future optimization

Input-output pairing criterion applied in the genetic algorithm for unstable linear systems

In this paper, a new approach towards input-output pairing for an unstable system has been proposed. First, it is demonstrated that the previous method of input-output pairing for unstable plants cannot find appropriate pairs as it only checks necessary conditions for stability and integrity. Then, a new approach using relative error matrix and genetic algorithm for finding appropriate pairs in unstable systems is proposed. As it is shown, this approach takes into consideration both static and dynamic information of plant in measuring interaction. Finally, the accuracy of proposed method is demonstrated by an example and closed loop simulation.