This study develops a low-cost three-dimensional nanoscale touch trigger probe based on two commercially available DVD optical pick-up heads. The probe is attached to a cross-form structure suspended from a symmetrical arrangement of thin steel strips. The displacements of the probe tip in response to a contact force are initially investigated using a theoretical approach and are then confirmed using ANSYS finite element software. A touch trigger probe system is then constructed in accordance with the finite element simulation results, and a series of experimental investigations is performed to evaluate its performance characteristics. In general, the results show that the symmetrical suspension mechanism restricts the probe to three degrees of motional freedom, achieves an equal stiffness condition in every direction and reduces the pre-travel error. It is shown that the touch trigger probe has a pre-travel variation of less than 96 nm in all measurement directions and a unidirectional repeatability of 46 nm. Finally, the maximum triggering force is found to be less than 0.1 mN for any approach angle.

In his 1958 study trip to China, Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918-2008) acquired two copies of the 1925-edition Yingzao fashi (Chinese Building Standards), first published in 1103 AD. Utzon's own Yingzao fashi meticulously documented the imperial building practice in feudal China with numerous illustrations. The monograph later became one of the most important sources for Utzon to study the design, structure, construction and decoration of Chinese monuments during his enduring interest in Chinese building culture. However, the precise role of Utzon's ideas and ideals inspired by the Yingzao fashi in the Opera House design still remains largely unexplored. By surveying the primary sources in The Utzon Archives, the State Library of New South Wales and the architectural collection of Utzon's family, as well as interviewing his staff and colleagues, the authors argue the Yingzao fashi delivered an important impact both on the aesthetic ideal and architectonic characteristics of Utzon's Opera House design. This presents that illustrations of Utzon's Yingzao fashi served not only as a conceptual means to initiate his design but also as practical implements for him and his team to solve the problems of design, production and construction, before their forced resignation in 1966.

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Both before and after his study trip to China in 1958, Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918-2008) consistently cited dynastic Chinese architecture as one of his essential design ideals. This article commences with a reconstruction, using archival and anecdotal evidence, of Jørn Utzon's 1958 study trip to China with his close friend, the noted Norwegian architect Geir Grung (1926-89). The investigation seeks to explain both why, as a student, Utzon was so interested in the civilisation of China and how his carefully planned journey yielded Utzon both an intuitive grasp of ideas of Chinese architecture, and, most importantly, a continuing interest in China's traditional systems of building construction. The answers could add to a methodological and theoretical framework for understanding Utzon's work.

Our results suggest that zif268 within the amygdala participates in the DCS facilitation effect on the extinction of conditioned fear.