All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

New Architecture Books: “Gaudí – The Complete Works” By Rainer Zerbst

Gaudí. The Complete Works Rainer Zerbst Hardcover Book Taschen January 29 2020Through brand-new photography, plans and drawings by Gaudí himself, historical photos, as well as an appendix detailing all his works—from buildings to furniture, decor to unfinished projects—this book presents Gaudí’s universe like never before. Like a personal tour through Barcelona, we discover how the “Dante of architecture” was a builder in the truest sense of the word, crafting extraordinary constructions out of minute and mesmerizing details, and transforming fantastical visions into realities on the city streets.

The life of Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) was full of complexity and contradictions. As a young man he joined the Catalonian nationalist movement and was critical of the church; toward the end of his life he devoted himself completely to the construction of one single spectacular church, La Sagrada Familia. In his youth, he courted a glamorous social life and the demeanor of a dandy. By the time of his death in a tram accident on the streets of Barcelona his clothes were so shabby passersby assumed he was a beggar.

Gaudi Book Taschen

Taschen Publishing LogoGaudí’s incomparable architecture channels much of this multifaceted intricacy. From the shimmering textures and skeletal forms of Casa Batlló to the Hispano-Arabic matrix of Casa Vicens, his work merged the influences of Orientalism, natural forms, new materials, and religious faith into a unique Modernista aesthetic. Today, his unique aesthetic enjoys global popularity and acclaim. His magnum opus, the Sagrada Familia, is the most-visited monument in Spain, and seven of his works are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The author

Rainer Zerbst studied modern languages at the University of Tübingen and in Wales from 1969 to 1975. From 1976 to 1982 he worked as a research assistant in the Department of English at the University of Tübingen. Since completing his doctorate in 1982, Zerbst has been active as a critic in the fields of art, literature, and theater.

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Studies: New Protein Therapy Improves Cardiac Function, Scar Formation After Heart Attack

From a New Atlas online article (Jan 1, 2020):

Science Translational Medicine January 1 2020 cover“This is an entirely new approach with no current treatments able to change scar in this way,” says Associate Professor James Chong who led the research. “By improving cardiac function and scar formation following heart attack, treatment with rhPDGF-AB led to an overall increase in survival rate in our study.”

The research centers on a protein therapy called recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-AB (rhPDGF-AB), which had previously been shown to improve heart function in mice that had suffered a heart attack. In a new study aimed at bringing the treatment closer to human trials, a team set out to discover if it produced similar results in large animals, namely pigs.

The researchers from the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) and the University of Sydney found that when pigs that had suffered a heart attack received an infusion of rhPDGF, it did indeed prompt the formation of new blood vessels in the heart and led to a reduction of potentially fatal heart arrhythmia.

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Read article in New Atlas

Top Science Podcasts: Soles And Calluses, Far Side Of The Moon & Nobel Prize Winner Q&A (Nature)

Nature PodcastsThe podcast team share some of their highlights from the past 12 months: A sole sensation, The make up of the far side of the Moon, Growth Mindset, ‘Manferences’ and Q&A with Nobel Prize winner John Goodenough.

In this episode:

00:33 A sole sensation

A study of people who do and don’t wear shoes looks into whether calluses make feet less sensitive. Nature Podcast: 26 June 2019; Research article: Holowka et al.; News and Views: Your sensitive sole

08:56 The make up of the far side of the Moon

Initial observations from the first lander to touch down on the far side of the Moon. Nature Podcast: 15 May 2019; Research article: Li et al.

15:43 Growth Mindset

How a one hour course could improve academic achievement. Nature Podcast: 07 August 2019; Research article: Yeager et al.

27:44 ‘Manferences’

Nature investigates the prevalence of conferences where most of the speakers are male. Nature Podcast: 11 September 2019; News Feature: How to banish manels and manferences from scientific meetings

34:02 Q&A with Nobel Prize winner John Goodenough

We talk to John Goodenough, who was jointly awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in the development of the lithium-ion battery. Podcast Extra: 09 October 2019

 

Aging: “Okinawa’s Secrets To Longevity” (Telegraph)

The Telegraph logoHundreds of miles south of Japan’s main islands, in the East China Sea, is a Jurassic Park of longevity, with a higher percentage of centenarians (people who live to 100 years old) than anywhere else on Earth.

Greg Dickinson visits the Japanese archipelago of Okinawa to discover the secret to long life.

Read the full article at: https://telegraph.co.uk/travel/destin…

Classics: VW Bids Farewell To The Beetle (1949-2019) In Animated Music Video

After 70 years, the Volkswagen Beetle is retiring. Say g(o\!/o)dbye with Ren McCormack, Kevin Bacon, Andy Warhol, and Andy Cohen as the little bug drives its last mile. #TheLastMile

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Top New Travel Videos: “Feel The North” In Norway By Gilles Havet

Filmed & Edited by: Gilles Havet

Feel the North, that was the goal of vacation with our children. Discover amazing landscapes like only Norway can offer. In addition to crossing it from the south of the latitude of 58 ° N to 79 ° N of Svalbard, we wanted to live this experience in summer and in winter and discover these 2 very contrasting facets that are the midnight sun and the polar night. . I take you along with us to explore the fjords, the glaciers, the Vega archipelago, the Lofoten, Senja, Lapland and Svalbard islands, hoping to make you feel this exceptional nature.

Feel The North Travel Video in Norway by Gilles Havet January 1 2020

Music by: Luke Atencio (“Long Distance”) and David A. Molina (“Monarch”)

Contact : gilleshavet-visuals.com
facebook.com/gilleshavet.visuals

Medical Technology: New Artificial Intelligence (AI) Model Predicts Breast Cancer More Accurately

A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model predicts breast cancer in mammograms more accurately than radiologists, reducing false positives and false negatives, reports a large international study from Google, Northwestern Medicine and two screening centers in the United Kingdom (U.K.).

 

Northwestern Medicine Logo
https://www.nm.org/

Classical Music: “Overture To William Tell” By Giaochino Rossini (LJS&C)

La Jolla Symphony & Chorus logoRossini’s 1829 opera “William Tell” is rarely performed today, but its Overture lives on as one of the most popular works in the classical repertoire. The Overture is essentially an instrumental suite written in four parts and performed without pause. The best-known section is the last, the allegro vivace, famously used as the rousing theme music for “The Lone Ranger” radio and TV series (and notoriously so in “A Clockwork Orange).

Recorded on 11/03/2019.

More from: La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (https://www.uctv.tv/lj-symphony-chorus)

Heart Studies: Alcohol Abstinence For Atrial Fibrillation Reduces Arrhythmia (NEJM)

Alcohol Abstinence for Atrial Fibrillation New England Journal of Medicine January 1 2020

Abstinence from alcohol reduced arrhythmia recurrences in regular drinkers with atrial fibrillation. 

New England Journal of Medicine

January 2, 2020 Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia,1 and alcohol is consumed by a majority of U.S. adults.2 The current study showed that among regular drinkers, a substantial reduction in alcohol consumption by patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation was associated with a reduction in recurrence of atrial fibrillation and a reduced proportion of time spent in atrial fibrillation. Earlier meta-analyses showed that alcohol was associated with a dose-related increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation, with increased risk observed even among drinkers who consumed as few as 7 drinks per week.8 Current trends show a rise in alcohol consumption among adults older than 60 years of age,2coupled with greater prevalence of atrial fibrillation in this age group. The present study, with participants having an average intake of approximately 17 drinks per week at baseline, suggests that consumption at these levels may contribute to atrial fibrillation.

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Profiles: 79-Year Old NBA Commissioner David Stern Has Died (1942-2020)

From an NBA.com online release:

“It was David Stern being a marketing genius who turned the league around. That’s why our brand is so strong,” said (Magic) Johnson, who announced he was retiring because of HIV in 1991 but returned the following year at the All-Star Game with Stern’s backing.

“It was David Stern who took this league worldwide.”

NEW YORK — David Stern, the basketball-loving lawyer who took the NBA around the world during 30 years as its longest-serving commissioner and oversaw its growth into a global powerhouse, died Wednesday. He was 77.

Stern suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12 and underwent emergency surgery. The league said he died with his wife, Dianne, and their family at his bedside.

Stern had been involved with the NBA for nearly two decades before he became its fourth commissioner on Feb. 1, 1984. By the time he left his position in 2014 — he wouldn’t say or let league staffers say “retire,” because he never stopped working — a league that fought for a foothold before him had grown to a more than $5 billion a year

industry and made NBA basketball perhaps the world’s most popular sport after soccer.

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