Background and Purpose-To investigate whether molecular markers of inflammation and endothelial injury are associated with early growth of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods-In a multicenter prospective study, we determined concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and cellular fibronectin (c-Fn) in blood samples obtained on admission from 183 patients with primary hemispheric ICH of Ͻ12 hours' duration. Patients had a neurological evaluation and a computed tomography (CT) scan performed at baseline and at 48Ϯ6 hours. Early growth of the ICH was defined as a volume increase Ͼ33% between the 2 CT examinations for ICH with a baseline volume Ͻ20 mL and Ͼ10% for ICH Ն20 mL. Clinical, radiological, and biochemical predictive factors of ICH enlargement were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results-Fifty-four (29.5%) patients showed a relevant early growth of ICH. High leukocyte count and fibrinogen levels, low platelet count, and intraventricular bleeding were associated with early ICH growth in bivariate analyses.

We present a scientific discussion about Chinese historical architecture and cultural paradigms in order to analyze the formation of building patterns objectively connected to environmental features. In this regard, we will demonstrate the process of standardization from architectural modules related in different levels of composition around “voids”, onto cosmological urban tissues in harmony with nature. The conclusions show that we can only understand Chinese architectural patterns in relation to Dào or nature, and in turn, they possess profound social and environmental values from which we receive useful lessons to advance towards sustainability in architecture and urban planning. The authors believe that it is critical for China and the world to find a new approach to the building construction industry with an ecological and philosophical background recognizable as “Chinese” and based in its own past. In order to support the information provided in the first part of the article, the authors have conducted an environmental analysis of the traditional Chinese urban layout whose results greatly confirm the initial hypotheses, i.e. the historical fashion of constructing neighborhoods improves conditions of the town in terms of comfort and is able to save energy, thus reducing pernicious change effects.

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Diverse problems of radiative transfer remain as yet unsolved due to the difficulties of the calculations involved, especially if the intervening shapes are geometrically complex. The main goal of our investigation in this domain is to convert the equations that were previously derived into a graphical interface based on the projected solid-angle principle. Such a procedure is now feasible by virtue of several widely diffused programs for Algorithms Aided Design (AAD). Accuracy and reliability of the process is controlled in the basic examples by means of subroutines from the analytical software DianaX, developed at an earlier stage by the authors, though mainly oriented to closed cuboidal or curved volumes. With this innovative approach, the often cumbersome calculation procedure of lighting, thermal or even acoustic energy exchange can be simplified and made available for the neophyte, with the undeniable advantage of reduced computer time.

Lighting in heritage is complex because of the forms intervening in it. The historical evolution of cultures has not been analytical and therefore, the shapes involved differ greatly from the cuboids typically found in 21st century architecture. As a vector, light inevitably attaches to surface sources. In this research, we focused on 3D curved geometries. Following a different trail to radiative transfer by virtue of detailed knowledge of the spatiality of volumes, we present new expressions, previously undefined in the literature, that are derived from a combination of surfaces that we have found in many archaeological sites around Asia. In the discussion, we start from the particularities of spherical surfaces where a normal vector has to pass through the center. By means of easy calculations, we deducted innovative laws. These in turn, allowed us to formulate several new expressions for configuration factors based on the adroit use of spherical fragments. The method easily extends to organic shapes that are often contained in the sustainable architecture of the past. The method finishes with suitable algorithms to assess the reflections in such curved forms. Finally, we implemented the results in our creative software. In this way, we enhanced the sustainable paradigms for heritage structures in Asia that we present as a conclusion of the article.