The Dirty Carter Electronic Sound Generating Instrument was designed by John Richards (Dirty Electronics) and Chris Carter from legendary Industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. It was produced for a special performance by Carter and the 25 strong Dirty Electronics Ensemble in 2010. It was originally designed as a touch controlled instrument with the player's skin resistance completing the circuit. This hard wired modification by A.S.M.O. gives more control and predictability by wiring all to the touch contacts to pots and switches. An additional low pass resonant filter has been added, LFO and an external CV socket for filter modulation.

The case is made of stained ply and the front panel is covered with black leatherette.

Orange Juice Drive is in a classical RAT type circuit and sounding topolgy. We add extra switch for select between symmetric or asymmetric clipping. Not operable with battery.

    

www.customanalogpedals.com/orange-juice-drive/

The spillway of the water reservoir "Lacul Morii" (Mill's Lake) was commissioned in 1986. The reservoir is the largest lake in Bucharest, with an area of 246 ha. It was built for flood protection and for flow modulation of Dambovita river. Making a lake near an urban area required decommissioning of existing uses, including demolition and decommissioning of a church.

 

Connected Vehicle SafetyCars that look out for each other

 

With a little warning, many traffic accidents can be avoided altogether. Enabling cars and scooters to communicate and work together may be the first step to avoid collisions and other incidents. To do this, fast and reliable communication amongst vehicles is critical, even on crowded city streets. Intel Labs, through the Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Connected Context Computing, is exploring visible light from tail lights to support high-speed data transmission over the short distances between vehicles. The technology uses direct modulation of LED tail lights to encode data in the visible spectrum, while maintaining a constant ambient lighting state. At almost no

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

White Sands Missile Range Museum

 

Telemetry is the science of measuring something in one place and reporting the results in another.

 

A simple example of telemetry is the automobile speedometer, which measures the wheels' rotation and presents it in miles per hour on the dashboard.

 

Most telemetry used in missile testing is Radio Frequency (RF) transmitted from a missile to a ground receiver. NASA uses telemetry to keep tabs on the functioning of space equipment. Telemetry has been one of the most important data sources used for testing at WSMR.

 

This telemetry package was discovered in an old missile assembly building in the mid-1980s. Shipping documents indicate that it was shipped to Douglas Aircraft Company at White Sands Proving Ground in 1956 and 1957.

 

These Commutator/ Transmitter sets are believed to have been utilized in the Honest John rocket.

 

Especially noteworthy is the fact that this Commutator was a motor driven, mechanical device and the VCO/Transmitter package used vacuum tubes. Today's packages are completely solid state.

  

How did this circa-1957 telemetry package work?

 

COMMUTATOR

Analog voltages representing a number of functions such as elevon, rudder and seeker head positions pressure, and battery voltages were sequentially sampled and converted to a voltage pulse temperature, train (commutated data) and sent to a VCO

 

VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator)

The voltage pulse train (commutated data) was used to drive a VCO to vary the oscillator's center frequency (called FM or frequency modulation)

 

TRANSMITTER

This FM (frequency modulated) signal from the VCO was then sent to a RF Transmitter (radio frequency amplifier) that transmitted the data through an onboard antenna to a ground station receiver

 

RECEIVER

The ground station received this transmitted data signal and sent it through an FM discriminator that changed the data signal back to a voltage pulse train.

 

DECOMMUTATOR

The decommutator converted the voltage pulse train data back to the original set of analog functions that were then recorded on media such as strip charts or analog tapes.

At the Cluny Museum, medieval culture showcases its ancestral knowledge. It took five centuries to discover that the thymus and the genitals are connected, as seen in this statue of the first man to experience desire, through a dream about a mythical serpent.....

Within the thymus, regulation of the cellular crosstalk directing T cell development depends on spatial interactions within specialized niches. To create a spatially defined map of tissue niches guiding human postnatal T cell development, we employed the multidimensional imaging platform co-detection by indexing (CODEX) as well as cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes sequencing (CITE-seq) and assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq). We generated age-matched 4- to 5-month-old human postnatal thymus datasets for male and female donors, identifying significant sex differences in both T cell and thymus biology. We demonstrate a possible role for JAG ligands in directing thymic-like dendritic cell development, identify important functions of a population of extracellular matrix (ECM)− fibroblasts, and characterize the medullary niches surrounding Hassall’s corpuscles. Together, these data represent an age-matched spatial multiomic resource to investigate how sex-based differences in thymus regulation and T cell development arise, providing an essential resource to understand the mechanisms underlying immune function and dysfunction in males and females.

 

The thymus is the primary organ responsible for the generation and selection of mature, functional, and self-tolerant T cells.1 Effective T cell development is a critical component of our immune system’s ability to accurately and exclusively identify and kill foreign entities such as pathogens. During early postnatal T cell development—the period in life when T cell development is most active2—thymic seeding progenitors migrate to the thymus and mature into thymocytes. Thymic architecture is highly organized to provide spatially defined, stage-specific signaling cues to migrating thymocytes that guide development toward functional mature T cells.3,4,5,6

Recent single-cell sequencing resources demonstrating the diversity of human thymus tissue are incongruous with our current framework of thymus structure and organization,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 which describe a general migratory path thymocytes take through the cortex and medulla during conventional αβT cell development. Spatial transcriptomic sequencing of human thymus has demonstrated a deeper granularity of thymic niches and their evolution during fetal development to support different waves of non-conventional T cells.19,20 However, our understanding of how human postnatal thymus niches support conventional and non-conventional T cell development, T-lineage branching, and alternative lineage development remains limited.3,4,6 T cells generated at this stage of postnatal human development will become the foundation of our immune system, patrolling the body for decades.21 Thus, insights into early postnatal thymus niche biology are crucial to understand how our adaptive immune system is built and how perturbations in postnatal T cell development may emerge as immune dysfunction later in life.

To create a spatially defined map of tissue niches guiding human postnatal T and alternative lineage cell development, we employed multi-dimensional spatial proteomic imaging using co-detection by indexing (CODEX),22,23 single-cell transcriptomic-proteomic profiling using cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes sequencing (CITE-seq),24 and single-cell assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq).25 Given the emerging recognition of sex differences in thymus gene expression and function,26,27,28,29,30,31 we collected and analyzed samples from male and female donors. Our analysis identifies significant sex differences during early postnatal development that affect T cell and thymus biology through common and cell type-specific mechanisms. Additionally, we highlight key cell types contributing to thymic involution that exhibit sex-based differences in thymic growth and early transition toward adipogenesis. These data suggest that kinetic differences in thymic involution are present between sexes and, importantly, that mechanisms driving thymic involution begin early in life. Altogether, these data represent a powerful age-matched spatial multiomic resource to investigate how sex-based differences in thymus biology and T cell development arise, and how they contribute to sex differences in diseases caused by immune dysfunction.

Results

Spatial multiomic profiling of human postnatal thymus identifies sex-based differences in T cells and thymus biology

We performed single-cell CITE-seq, ATAC-seq, and CODEX imaging on 4–33 months human postnatal thymuses, including 6 (3 female and 3 male) 4- to 5-month-old age-matched samples (Table S1). Each donor sample was processed simultaneously for CODEX imaging and sequencing (Figure 1A). We included a comprehensive 137 antibody panel (Data S1), allowing us to compare epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic expression kinetics across developing thymocytes and enabling direct comparison of cells identified via phenotypic expression in CODEX with cells captured via CITE-seq. Prior to sequencing, we enriched CD45− non-hematopoietic cells and CD25+CD8− regulatory T (Treg) cells to ensure coverage of low-abundance cell types. After quality control and computational merging of individually sequenced patient datasets, we obtained a total of 74,334 cells with CITE-seq, including 19,434 non-T-lineage cells, and captured 25,717 nuclei with ATAC-seq. Importantly, cell proximity in CODEX tissue niches was used to screen predicted receptor-ligand interactions.

 

Figure 1 Spatial multiomic analysis identifies sex-biased characteristics of thymic niches

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CITE-seq cells were clustered based on transcriptional expression and annotated based on marker gene and surface protein expression (Figure S1A; Table S2).7,8 ATAC-seq clusters were computationally labeled using CITE-seq reference cluster labels, which identified 34 ATAC-seq cluster transfer labels for dataset integration (Figures 1B and S1B). We captured 54,900 thymocytes spanning development from early thymic progenitors (ETPs) to mature single positive (SP) T cells, immature innate cells, innate-like cells, and Tregs. We identified three Treg populations expressing canonical lineage markers, namely Treg progenitors (Pro-Tregs), thymic Tregs (tTregs), and recirculating/resident Tregs (rrTregs).32 We also identified antigen-presenting cells, including B cells, mast cells, monocytes, and six populations of dendritic cells (DCs).33 In addition to the activated DCs (aDCs), plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), DC1, and DC2/3 populations described by Park et al.,7 we found proliferating populations of pDCs and DC1. We also captured 7,093 epithelial cells, including cortical epithelial cells (cTECs), medullary epithelial cells (mTECs), activated mTECs, and mimetic TECs.

Importantly, we captured 7,721 mesenchymal cells, which contribute to negative selection and thymic involution.9,19,34,35,36 Subclustering identifies important mesenchymal cell types, including two populations of endothelial cells (ECs) defined by differential expression of Notch ligands (ECs, ECs (Notch)). Additionally, we identified lymphatic ECs (LECs), pericytes, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and five distinct fibroblast cell types, including DPP4+ capsular fibroblasts (DPP4+ capFibs), capsule fibroblasts (capFibs), medullary fibroblasts (mFibs), KRT+ fibroblasts (KRT+ Fibs), and proliferating fibroblasts (Fibs (P)).

We imaged each tissue sample with a custom 48 antibody CODEX panel to study the architecture and function of niches guiding thymocyte development, aiming to define the niche characteristics guiding T-lineage branch points. Stage-specific thymocyte phenotyping markers (CD62L, CCR7, CD1A, CD5, CD7, CD4, CD8, CD3, CD45RO, CD45RA, FOXP3, and SATB1) identified CD3+ double positive cells (DPs) undergoing T-lineage commitment toward CD4 or CD8 T cells. Phenotyping markers for non-T-lineage hematopoietic cells (CD19, CD11c, CD11b, and CD68), epithelial cells (EPCAM and KRT5/8), mural cells (MCAM and SMA), ECs (CD31), and fibroblasts (PDGFRA) identified the remaining major cell types defining thymic niche architecture. Finally, we included functional markers to define patterns of antigen presentation (CD86), human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II expression (HLA-ABC and HLA-DR,DP,DQ), adhesion ligands (ICAM and VCAM), Notch ligands (DLL1, DLL4, JAG1, and JAG2), T cell activation (PD-1), self-tolerance (PD-L1), proliferation (Ki67), and enzymatic regulation (15-PDGH). In sum, our CODEX panel enabled investigation of spatially regulated mechanisms directing human T cell development.

Using neural-network-driven cell segmentation and Leiden-based clustering,23 we identified individual cells within thymic tissue for each sample (Figure S1C). We annotated cell types based on tissue location and phenotypic expression compared with CITE-seq clusters (Figure 1C), performed proximity-based neighborhood clustering to identify niches,23 and annotated niches based on location and cell type composition (Figure 1D; Figure S1D). This analysis quantified proximity-based cell-cell interactions (Figure S1E) and served as a platform to interrogate spatially defined thymic niche biology via integrated sequencing-imaging analysis.

Because of known sex differences in thymus and T cell gene expression,31 we compared our age-matched male and female samples separately. In line with prior reports of sex-biased gene expression on autosomes,37,38,39,40 only 2% of male differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found on the Y chromosome and 0.3% of female DEGs were found on the X chromosome (Tables S3 and S4). Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) on male vs. female cells for each cell type identified pathways commonly upregulated in either sex (Figure 1E; Data S1). Pathways differentially regulated across hematopoietic, epithelial, and stromal cells represent cell-intrinsic sex-based differences. Female cells have higher gene expression of transcription, energy regulation, and antigen presentation. Male cells, by contrast, have increased gene expression of proinflammatory signaling, amino acid metabolism, and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) signaling. The top differentially expressed energy regulation and metabolism pathways were similarly sex-biased in human kidney,41 suggesting multiple organs show consistent sex-biased enrichment of pathways linked to metabolism and energy production. Our data align with sex-biased trends identified in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines42 and other human organs,43 indicating these pathways often differ between male and female cells across various cell types.

By contrast, some pathways showed cell type-specific sex-biased enrichment. Female T and hematopoietic cells showed enrichment of interferon signaling, and female fibroblast and perivascular cells were enriched in extracellular matrix (ECM)-centric pathways (Figure 1E). Our dataset also identified differential sex-specific pathway enrichment between cell types. Gene expression indicated higher cytokine signaling in T cells and hematopoietic cells in females and in epithelial and mesenchymal cells in males (Figure 1E). These data show significant gene expression differences in male and female thymic cells. To demonstrate sex differences at the proteomic level, we identified genes with a log fold change greater than 1 that contributed to increased chemokine signaling in male T cells. CXCR4, an important chemokine receptor in thymocyte migration and development, had increased expression in male progenitor T (pro-T) cells, which we confirmed via flow cytometry (3 male, 3 female; p = 0.03; Figure S1F). As higher levels of cytokine and interferon signaling have been previously shown to influence thymus and T cell biology,44,45 our data suggest male and female T cells develop in different signaling environments and may respond differently to cytokine stimuli.

Next, we quantified cell type abundance within male and female tissues, demonstrating differences in cortical and medullary cell distributions between sexes. When normalized to the total number of cells per lobe, female thymus lobes contained significantly more DPs (p = 0.011) and cTECs (p = 0.0023). In males, we found significantly more SPs (p = 4.2 × 10−4), CD3+ DPs (p = 9.9 × 10−4), activated mTECs (p = 0.0014), and VSMCs (p = 2.4 × 10−6) (Figure 1F). Given that thymus lobules with more DPs and cTECs would have a greater proportion of cells undergoing positive selection and lobules with more medullary cells would have more cells undergoing negative selection, these data suggest that sex differences in cell type abundance may influence the resources directed toward specific stages of thymocyte selection. Alternatively, these results may suggest that male and female thymuses are developmentally asynchronous, with males exhibiting faster growth and involution kinetics, resulting in decreased cortical-to-medullary ratios even in early neonatal stages. We focused further analyses on sequential developmental niches, including analysis of sex differences in cell types and niches at each stage.

JAG1 skews ETP development toward thymic DCs

We first analyzed the cortico-medullary junction (CMJ) where cells home to the thymus (Figure 2A). This region recruits and supports ETPs10 and is composed of ECs, VSMCs, and pericytes expressing the Notch ligand JAG1 (Figures 2B and 2C). CITE-seq demonstrated that the cell adhesion molecule used by ETPs to enter the thymus, CD62L, is quickly downregulated upon CMJ entrance through the vasculature (Figure S2A). However, recently immigrated CD62L+ double negative cells are frequently located in the subcapsular zone (Figure S2B), suggesting that ETPs enter the thymus and rapidly migrate to a subcapsular niche where DLL4, a more potent Notch ligand, is highly expressed on fibroblasts and subcapsular epithelial cells (Figures 2D and S2C). However, the concentrated presence of JAG1 at the entry point indicates that ETPs are first exposed to this Notch ligand.

 

Figure 2 Thymic progenitors entering via the corticomedullary junction are exposed to a gradient of Notch ligands, which influence lineage specification

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CellChat46 pathway analysis showed that JAG1-NOTCH1 interactions between endothelial and perivascular cells are enriched with ETPs (Figure 2E), while JAG1-NOTCH2 and JAG1-NOTCH3 interactions are enriched with DC1, DC1 (P), DC2/3, and aDCs (Figures 2E–2G). These data suggest that JAG1 could induce commitment toward other hematopoietic lineages, such as pDCs, conventional DCs (cDCs), or macrophages, which are known to develop within the thymus.10 As JAG ligands induce weaker Notch induction,47,48,49,50 we hypothesized that early contact with ETPs could maintain T-lineage potential while cells migrate toward DLL4 in the subcapsular niche.

We first analyzed the ability of the four thymic Notch ligands to induce T-lineage commitment or alternative lineage development from cord-blood-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in a defined, feeder-free culture system44 (Figure 2H). We included titrated concentrations of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which is produced by mast cells at the CMJ, to support DC development.51 We found that only DLL1 and DLL4 ligands induce T-lineage commitment, whereas JAG ligands or no ligand controls supported myeloid cell development and did not induce T-lineage commitment (Figure S2D). Specifically, JAG ligands with GM-CSF skewed CD68+ DC development toward CD14− DC1 cells, while no ligand controls skewed CD68+ DC development toward CD14+ DC2/3 cells (Figures 2I and S2E).

Next, to test our hypothesis that Notch signals via JAG1 ligands could act as a bridge toward later DLL4 interactions, we analyzed cells grown on JAG1 for 3, 5, or 7 days prior to DLL4 transfer (Figure 2J). We found that cells cultured on JAG ligands or no ligands for 3 days maintained reduced T-lineage commitment compared with DLL1 or DLL4 cells (pJAG1 = 0.033; pJAG2 = 0.017), whereas cells cultured on JAG ligands for longer than 3 days lost T-lineage potential (Figure 2K), indicating that JAG ligands could not support T-lineage potential.

We next analyzed the contribution of different Notch ligands to the development of male and female ETPs (Figures S2F and S2G). Our data suggest that JAG ligand interactions are more abundant and diverse in females, with JAG1-NOTCH1 interactions enriched in female ETPs and DLL4 interactions enriched in male ETPs.

Together, these data suggest that timely migration from the CMJ to DLL4 ligands at the subcapsular zone is critical for T-lineage commitment, and exposure to JAG ligands at the CMJ can guide alternative lineage development toward thymic-derived DCs. Our data further demonstrate previously unrecognized sex-biased regulation by Notch ligands.

Analysis of the subcapsular zone identifies sex-based differences in fibroblast regulation of DP development and thymus growth

From the CMJ, ETPs migrate to the subcapsular zone via a CCL25-CCR9 chemokine gradient established by cTECs and directed to pro-T, DP (P), and DP2 (Q), but not DP1 (Q) cells (Figure 3A; Figure S3A). The subcapsular niche consists of JAG1+ VCAM1+ DCs, cTECs, capsular fibroblasts, DPP4+ capsular fibroblasts, and proliferating fibroblasts, which secrete and maintain spatially regulated ECM ligands to support sequential thymocyte development (Figures 3B and 3C; Figure S3B and S3C).

 

Figure 3 Fibroblasts in the subcapsular zone contribute to regulation of thymus biology and T cell progenitor development

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GSEA showed that DPP4+ capsule fibroblasts were enriched in HSP90 chaperone cycle for steroid hormone receptors (padjusted = 0.0065; 18/52 pathway genes significantly upregulated) (Data S1), suggesting an enhanced response to steroid hormones and supporting their role in sex hormone-based thymic involution.9 By contrast, capFibs were enriched for genes related to cytokine (interleukin [IL]-33, padjusted = 1.50 × 10−6; IL-34, padjusted = 3.56 × 10−7) and chemokine signaling (CCL2, padjusted = 5.10 × 10−40; CXCL3, padjusted = 0.020; CXCL12, padjusted = 1.78 × 10−8; CXCL14, padjusted = 3.63 × 10−15), functions previously attributed to TECs. Furthermore, CellChat identified cortical fibroblasts as major contributors to insulin growth factor (IGF) signaling through predicted signaling to cTECs, which are found in close proximity in the cortex (Figure S3D), via IGF2-IGF1R and IGF1-IGF1R axes, and to ETPs and β-selection cells, which were found under the capsule (Figure S2B), via an IGF2-IGF2R axis (Figures 3D–3F).

We next explored the role of proliferating fibroblasts. GSEA comparisons between capFibs and Fibs (P) showed marked differences in signal transduction pathways. CapFibs resembled traditional fibroblasts, which upregulate tyrosine kinase, angiogenesis, and ECM regulation and deposition pathways, whereas Fib (P) upregulates WNT signaling and cell sensing pathways, including genes involved in transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in the stimuli sensing channels pathway and taste receptors (TASRs) (Figure 3G; Data S1). Interestingly, CODEX images identified ECM− PDGFRa+ fibroblasts lacking extra domain A fibronectin (EDA-FN) expression, indicating that Fibs (P) are not involved in fibrotic matrix deposition unlike capFibs (Figure 3H; Figure S3B). Fibs (P) form a network of PDGFRa+ cells throughout the cortex that does not overlap with the cTEC network, yet maintain cell-cell contact in specific niches and often localize near cortical capillaries (Figure S3D).

We found sex-specific differences in vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) signaling within ECM− fibroblasts (Fib (P)) and other mesenchymal cells. Although all thymic fibroblasts produce the angiogenesis growth factor VEGFA, male fibroblasts express more than female cells (Fibs (P): padjusted = 0.0306; DPP4+ capFibs: padjusted = 0.0318; mFibs: padjusted = 1.85 × 10−6) (Figure 3I). Given that postnatal male thymuses are larger than female thymuses in humans and primates26 (Figure S3E), male fibroblasts may provide increased VEGFA to support angiogenesis and rapid thymic growth observed during postnatal development.52 Additionally, male mFibs have higher expression of FGF7 (padjusted = 0.0154), which regulates thymus size.53 CellChat predicts that male Fibs (P) are enriched in FGF10 compared with females, which supports cTEC proliferation and vascular growth,53,54 and only male VSMCs express FGF18 (Figures S3F–S3H). These sex biases in fibroblast growth factor (FGF) gene expression may contribute to the larger size of early postnatal male thymuses by stimulating epithelial and EC growth and proliferation.

Comparison of DEGs between male and female mesenchymal cells found increased expression of adipogenesis, cytokine, and GPCR signaling pathways in DPP4+ capFibs (Figure 3J). We also found increased expression of APOD, a gene associated with androgen, estrogen, progesterone, and glucocorticoid signaling,55,56 across male fibroblast populations (Fibs (P): padjusted = 2.18 × 10−26, mFibs: padjusted = 8.45 × 10−32) (Figure S3I). Given the association of hormone signaling with thymic involution,29,52,57 these findings suggest early initiation of thymic involution in postnatal males.

In sum, we identified three roles for fibroblasts within the subcapsular niche: maintaining tissue structure and organization via ECM and chemokine signaling, directly regulating cTEC maintenance and expansion, and potentially coordinating T cell development directly through growth factors and cell-cell interactions.

Human postnatal thymocytes may self-select in the cortex to support positive selection of conventional αβT cells

Upon exiting the subcapsular zone, DPs migrate into the inner cortex toward the medulla, where they receive positive selection signals that guide T-lineage branching toward CD4 or CD8 SP cells (Figure 4A). For DPs to transition toward the CD4 lineage, cells must receive T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation through HLA class II interactions, yet previous mouse studies have shown transcriptional downregulation of HLA class I and II in DPs.58,59 Low transcriptional expression is hypothesized to prevent thymocyte-thymocyte self-selection during positive selection, necessitating DP interactions with cTECs to receive positive selection signals.

 

Figure 4 HLA class I and II interactions may support thymocyte positive selection in the inner cortical zone

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Analogous to mouse literature, quiescent human DPs do not express HLA class II transcripts and have closed CIITA promoters (Figures 4B and 4C). Despite the lack of class II mRNA, thymocytes express low levels of HLA class II protein throughout development (Figure 4B). Additionally, in contrast to mouse data, we observe constitutive class I mRNA expression, which increased as cells transitioned toward SPs (Figure 4D). This is consistent with ATAC-seq data demonstrating that the B2M promoter is open throughout thymocyte development (Figure 4E). We confirmed HLA expression via flow cytometry and found that approximately 25% of DPs express both class I and II, and over 65% of DPs are class I+ (Figure S4A). Thus, thymocyte self-selection within the cortex could support positive selection. In support of this notion, CODEX enabled us to identify locations within the cortex devoid of epithelial, fibroblast, endothelial, or DCs but packed with DPs expressing class II+ molecules concentrated at cell junctions (Figure 4F). We confirmed the absence of spindle-like cTEC projections in this niche via confocal imaging (Figure 4G). Additionally, we quantified cell-cell interactions and identified a niche (positive selection niche 1) consisting of class II+ DPs and CD3+ DPs and a niche (self-selection niche) containing mainly class II+ DPs (Figure 1D). Finally, we sorted thymocytes to isolate immature DPs (CD4+CD8+CD3−TCR−) and mature DPs (CD4+CD8+CD3+TCR+) from three donors and cultured them for 7 days in a feeder-free assay. In the absence of epithelial cells, both immature and mature DPs upregulate HLA class II proteins (Figure 4H), and immature DPs continue to mature along their developmental pathway, as indicated by increased percentage of CD27+ DPs in culture after 7 days (Figure 4I).

Next, we identified a niche that directs T-lineage commitment toward CD4 or CD8SPs. We performed differential gene expression analysis on clusters representing this lineage branch point to identify markers for our CODEX panel (Figure S4B). We found SATB1 expression increased as DPs transitioned toward SPs (Figure S4C), and compared with CD8SP transition cells, CD4SP transition cells had higher expression of this master transcription factor60 (Figures S4D and S4E). Imaging analysis confirmed increased SATB1 expression coincides with CD3 upregulation, consistent with a role in late DP development and lineage branching (Figure 4J).7 Neighborhood analysis identified a niche enriched for mature CD3+ DPs in the inner cortex, suggesting that there either exists a niche specifically for late DP development and CD4 lineage transition or that cells are pre-disposed to CD4 lineage development through their TCR and migrate as clonal populations after proliferation at the outer cortex.

We compared cortical niche organization between sexes and found differences in niche organization supporting conventional T cell development, self-selection, and cross presentation. Females showed increased neighborhood interactions between the cortical DC niche containing JAG1+ VCAM+ DCs and the mature DP niche containing CD3+ DPs, the positive selection niche 1 containing class II+ DP cells and CD3+ DP cells, and the positive selection niche 3 containing DCs and DPs (Figure S4F) as well as increased cell-cell interactions between cTECs and class II+ DPs (Figures S4G and S4H). Conversely, males had increased cell-cell interactions between cTECs and CD3+ DPs (Figures S4G and S4H). These data suggest that the proportionally larger female cortex could increase cross presentation from DCs and cTECs to class II+ DPs, possibly facilitating greater use of self-selection as an alternative mechanism for positive selection.

Taken together, spatial multiomic analysis of the inner cortex identified cortical niches supporting specific stages of DP development, including three positive selection niches, a specialized niche for self-selection, and a mature DP niche thymocytes migrate through prior to entering the medulla.

Spatial multiomics identifies key mechanisms regulating negative selection niches in the medulla

Mature DPs enter the medulla, an environment specialized for negative selection, and transition toward CD4 or CD8 lineages (Figure 5A). Within the medulla, cells specialized for negative selection localize around keratinized structures called Hassall’s corpuscles (HCs).61 HCs appear during late prenatal development and are abundant in human postnatal thymuses but rare in mice.62 Here, we demonstrate that HCs can be divided into three major components: an external epithelial border of highly keratinized cells, an inner border of cells expressing prostaglandin-degrading enzyme 15-PGDH (HPGD), and a central PDGFRa+ mass (Figure 5B). HCs produce thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP),61 an analog of IL-7, which activates DCs to increase expression of class II and co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86. Importantly, subclustering stromal populations identified a population of KRT+ fibroblasts resembling cells undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)63 (Figures S5A and S5B). CITE-seq identified TSLP and 15-PGDH mRNA expression in KRT+ Fibs, mFibs, mTECs, activated mTECs, and aDCs (Figure 5C), implicating these cell types as potential contributors to the function of HCs. Finally, given the inner layer of 15-PGDH+ cells, we explored the role of prostaglandin signaling regulation within the medulla. We found that DC1 cells express high levels of PGE2, whereas DC2/3 cells and monocytes express the PTGER2 and PTGER4 receptors, and aDCs express the PTGER3 receptor (Figure 5C), suggesting prostaglandin signaling is a major regulator of DC activity near HCs.

 

Figure 5 HCs represent scalable organizing centers for negative selection in the neonatal thymic medulla

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CODEX imaging suggests HCs act as sub-medullary organizational centers to segregate the inner medulla into specialized niches for negative selection. CD86+ APCs, a subset of which express the co-stimulatory ligand CD40, localize near HCs and in direct contact with CD45RA+ mature SPs (Figure 5D; Figure S5C). In addition, approximately 30% of medullary area is composed of CD19+ B cells,64 which cluster into niches surrounding HCs (Figure S5D). These B cells are found in close contact with—and are often enveloped within—mTECs, potentially facilitating cross presentation with epithelial cells (Figure 5E). These results suggest thymic B cells may comprise an important source of antigen presentation for negative selection.64,65 We quantified medullary neighborhoods and identified six niches, including an mTEC maturation niche, a cross-presentation niche, and four niches specialized for negative selection, which vary in relative location to HCs or the CMJ, as well as their composition of APCs, epithelial, and T cells (Figure 1D; Figure S1D).

Negative selection niches surrounding HCs play a key role in conventional T cell and tTreg development.61 We enriched CD25+ cells for sequencing and found a population of CD25hi pro-Tregs expressing canonical Treg markers CTLA-4, TNFRSF1B (TNFR2), and TNFRSF4 (OX40); positive/negative selection markers (ITM2A, RANBP1, NCL, NME1, MIF, and ATP5G1); Treg developmental long non-coding RNA (MIR155HG)66,67,68,69; and other markers described in mice (Figure S5E). Whereas pro-Tregs expressed high levels of pro-apoptotic gene BCL2L11, mature tTreg subsets expressed the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2. Gene network reconstruction via SCENIC70 identified transcription factor networks activated during pro-Treg to tTreg transition (Figure 5F).

The thymus also contains mature, highly activated Tregs, labeled as rrTregs, believed to have recirculated from the periphery.71,72 rrTregs lack expression of CCR7 or thymic egress markers (KLF2 and S1PR1) but express IL1R2 (Figure S5F), which sequesters the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β to reduce local concentrations.73 CODEX imaging identified tTregs and rrTregs dispersed throughout the medulla, with rrTregs primarily adjacent to CD68+ DCs (Figure 5G). CellChat supported the potential of rrTregs to sequester inflammatory cytokines through interactions with DC2/3 via an IL-1β-IL-1R2 axis (Figure S5G). rrTregs also exhibited a tissue resident Treg phenotype (BATFhigh CCR8+) associated with wound healing and tissue regeneration function,74 and expressed remodeling and tissue repair-related genes such as matrix metalloproteinase enzymes (MMP25 and ADAM19) (Figure S5H). Overall, these findings illustrate Treg diversity in the thymus with their developmental trajectories and functions yet to be elucidated.

Comparisons of male and female rrTregs showed that male rrTregs had higher expression of IL-4 and IL-13, heat shock factor protein 1 (HSF1), and IL-1 signaling pathways (Figure 5H), suggesting rrTreg-mediated regulation of IL-1R2-mediated anti-inflammatory feedback checkpoints is a more prominent mechanism in male tTreg development in early postnatal thymus. Notably, male-activated mTECs have higher expression of CD40 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inflammatory pathways than females, possibly resulting in higher rrTreg activity (Figure S5I).

Finally, as Tregs have been shown in mouse to contribute to thymic involution through JAG1,75 we explored sex-based differences in tTreg gene expression. GSEA showed male rrTregs and tTregs have higher expression of adipogenesis pathways (Figures 5H and 5I). Given the presence of cells undergoing EMT, our data underlie the aggressive timeline of thymic involution and suggest that sex-based differences in thymus functional decline begin early in life.

Our detailed examination of the medulla identifies several niches specialized for negative selection, cross presentation, and mTEC maturation around HCs and demonstrates sex biases in inflammatory pathways and thymic involution kinetics within these niches.

Discussion

We performed spatial multiomics to construct a tissue atlas of niches guiding T cell development in early human postnatal thymus. These datasets characterize how key developmental niches drive lineage branch decisions, identify a possible mechanism for conventional αβT cell development through self-selection, and suggest additional functions for mesenchymal cell types governing thymus biology. Furthermore, we discovered several sex-specific differences in thymus cell and niche biology. As T cell development is a dynamic migratory process, knowledge of cell position in combination with proteomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic sequencing data provides an invaluable resource to predict niche-specific signaling cues directing T cell development, and mechanisms responsible for maintaining tissue structure and directing thymic involution.

We describe an approach to sequencing analysis using multidimensional imaging to establish benchmarks for the location, ligand expression, and composition of key niches in T cell development. This enables us to analyze cell-cell interactions guided by niche composition, identifying physiologically relevant ligand-receptor interactions based on cell proximity within the tissue. Ultimately, this approach maps epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data to distinct tissue niches at single-cell resolution. Furthermore, we included equal numbers of male and female age-matched thymus samples, enabling comparison between sexes across platform modalities. Our analysis of sex-matched human early postnatal thymus demonstrates the highly plastic nature of thymus lobule organization and resource dedication. Each niche responds to sex-biased developmental kinetics, supporting robust T cell development to ultimately produce functional immune systems in different manners (Figure 6). The findings herein describe only a subset of the data, and we encourage the community to capitalize on this resource to provide further insight into sex differences and targeted niche-specific inquiries.

 

Figure 6 The human early postnatal thymus lobule is spatially organized into sex-biased niches to support stage-specific T cell development

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In our analysis of Notch ligands, we complemented our in silico approach with in vitro analysis. Our analysis suggests that JAG1 at the CMJ cannot support T-lineage commitment as cells migrate toward the subcapsular zone but instead skew alternative lineage development toward a CD14− DC1 subset (Figure 6). CD14 expression on DCs is linked with increased inflammatory cytokine production,76 suggesting that JAG ligands promote non-inflammatory DC phenotypes. These results highlight the importance of precise Notch signaling strength and timing in the thymus and emphasize the need for strict spatial control of different Notch ligands within thymic niches. Our observation of high JAG1 expression in the medulla and decreased DLL4 expression on cTECs outside the subcapsular zone aligns with previous studies on human postnatal thymus.77

In the subcapsular zone, we characterize the important roles of specialized fibroblasts. DPP4+ capFibs, described in mouse as cells with progenitor and anti-fibrotic potential,78,79,80,81,82 are observed as a fibroblast subset responsive to changes in systemic hormone levels. Since thymic function and involution are regulated by sex hormone levels,57,83,84,85 DPP4+ capFibs likely control these processes and are potential targets for addressing age-related thymic involution.86 Previously, only medullary fibroblasts were linked to thymocyte development and selection in the medulla.82 We demonstrate that capFibs may directly support thymocyte development in the cortex by producing growth factors like IGF2 (Figure 6). Blocking IGF2 signaling arrests thymocytes at the double negative stage,87 and our data identify capFibs as the IGF2 source, suggesting capFibs as an additional cell source of cytokines and growth factors for in vitro developmental systems. Finally, we demonstrate that ECM profiles of thymic fibroblasts are tightly regulated based on spatial localization. Future work should characterize how tissue stiffness changes as thymocytes migrate through developmental thymic niches to improve biomaterial strategies for in vitro T cell development.88

Furthermore, we identify a population of ECM− cortical fibroblasts that are enriched in cell sensing pathways, such as TASRs and TRP channels. Interestingly, TASRs regulate cell responses to local soluble substances, such as glucose, modulating release of hormones and other signaling molecules.89 Similarly, TRP channels play roles in cell sensing, such as pheromone signaling, nociception, temperature sensation, and osmoregulation.90 Given the proximity of these cells to vasculature in the cortex, Fibs (P) may play a critical role as regulatory cells by sensing environmental changes and modulating thymus size (Figure 6). Their lack of ECM production and network-like structure resemble fibroblast reticular cells (FRCs) in the lymph node, which rapidly proliferate and remodel the cortex during infection.91 Our data are generated from early postnatal thymus samples, an age with active T cell development, suggesting these fibroblasts expand the thymic cortex similarly to FRCs during infection, signaling through FGF and IGF to stromal and epithelial cells to orchestrate remodeling.

While the dogma in thymocyte positive selection suggests that DPs downregulate class II RNA to prevent self-selection and force interactions with cTECs,58,59 several studies suggest that T-lineage cells can select off each other to support CD4 T cell development.20,92,93,94 Here, we describe an inner cortical niche where class II+ DPs reside that may support positive selection via DP-DP self-selection (Figure 6). We show that immature DPs cultured without epithelial cells upregulate HLA class II and continue to mature and receive positive selection signals. Additionally, upregulated SATB1 expression identifies mature DPs in an inner cortical niche and the CD4 branch of their progeny, suggesting it may determine early lineage specificity. Future work should investigate critical features of this niche and SATB1’s role in thymocyte development.

Within the medulla, we identified a niche adjacent to HCs specialized for negative selection and highlighted the role of rrTregs in modulating the medullary inflammatory environment (Figure 6). The abundance of HCs in human but not mouse, and their proximity to negative selection niches, suggests these structures evolved to provide niche-level organization within the larger human medulla or to regulate negative selection more stringently in longer-lived species.

Comparing male and female tissue showed sex differences in both T cell and thymus biology. Studies on post-pubertal males and females show that sex hormones differentially regulate thymic involution between sexes,26,27,28,29,30,52,57,84,86 and that androgen blockers increase FOXN1 expression, thymic involution, and increased rejuvenation.29,30,52,84,86 Additionally, older males produce fewer recent thymic emigrants and have smaller thymuses compared with females.26,28 Some studies describe decreased numbers of AIRE+ mTECs with age and in females,95 potentially predisposing females who maintain greater thymic function later in life to autoimmune disease.29 These studies also observe less interlobular fat in young female thymus,26 suggesting differences in thymic involution kinetics begin pre-puberty. However, current literature has not addressed transcript-level sex differences underlying functional differences in thymic and immune function. Our analysis uncovers that female thymic cells upregulate energy regulation, transcription, and antigen-presentation pathways, whereas male cells increase proinflammatory signaling, amino acid metabolism, and GPCR signaling. These cell metabolic differences align with transcript-level sex differences in other organs41,42,43 and highlight the need for sex-based cell culture optimization in in vitro T cell culture systems.

In addition to changes common to other organs,40,41 we identify thymus-specific differences affecting key processes in thymocyte development and training. Females have a larger proportion of cortical cells per lobule, aligning with lower thymic involution rates and a larger cortex/medulla ratio.26,27,52 ETPs have enriched interactions with JAG1 as they migrate away from the CMJ, suggesting increased JAG1 interactions could skew ETP lineage commitment toward less inflammatory DC phenotypes (Figure 6). In the female cortex, we observe increased cTEC and class II+ DP interactions and increased interactions between cortical DC and positive selection niches, suggesting thymocyte self-selection may play a larger role during positive selection (Figure 6). Conversely, the female medulla shows decreased inflammatory pathway activation and fewer medullary cells. These data suggest females prioritize generating a larger repertoire of DPs over deleting autoreactive cells through negative selection, potentially contributing to sex differences in autoimmune disease prevalence in females.96

In males, we observe enriched DLL4 interactions with ETPs, which aligns with previous data demonstrating that androgen levels positively correlate with DLL4 on cTECs.29 The male cortex shows increased interactions with mature CD3+ DPs and cTECs, suggesting male thymocytes may have lower proliferation rates post β-selection, allowing sufficient space for positive selection. In the medulla, male-activated mTECs exhibit increased inflammatory pathway markers, and male Tregs exhibit higher inflammatory modulation and activate thymic involution pathways.75 Upregulation of inflammatory modulation by male rrTregs may regulate the higher proinflammatory signaling in male cells (Figure 6). Interestingly, post-pubertal males have more Tregs and fewer CD4 T cells than females, possibly due to a more inflammatory medullary environment skewing CD4 development toward the Treg lineage.31

We further explore sex differences in thymus size control mechanisms. Among fibroblast populations, we find significant differences in expression of growth and angiogenesis factors, such as VEGFA and FGFs, potentially contributing to the size difference in male and female thymuses at this age (Figure 6). These data align with and extend known sex differences in growth factor expression, including sex-biased expression of growth hormone and IGF-1 in regulating size of different tissues.97,98 Importantly, these results indicate sex-specific differences in early thymus structure maintenance and growth, which could skew T cell development. We also establish an early transition toward an adipogenic environment in males. These observations align with findings in model organisms, where young male rats exhibit higher rates of thymic involution52 and early postnatal male primates have a larger interlobular fat area.26 Together, these factors define two possible mechanisms contributing to a male-female difference in thymus size and involution kinetics.

Future studies should test how sex differences at the transcript, niche, and organ level impact differential T cell production and quality as well as explore how sex differences in other organs contribute to known differences in immune responses. Defined in vitro and organoid culture systems replicating the thymic microenvironment present powerful platforms to test if the cell type-specific and sex-specific differences identified here lead to increased autoimmune disease incidence among females and increased infection susceptibility in males. Furthermore, given the surprising sex-based differences at this early postnatal stage, future work should examine aged thymus to investigate how cellular level differences in thymic involution kinetics may translate to larger impacts on our immune system later in life.

Limitations of the study

Our analysis of intra-sex variation is limited by access to patient samples as well as the inability to conduct mechanistic experiments in the context of a whole organism. There is an opportunity for future work to further validate and expand on predicted ligand-receptor interactions.

 

The thymic epithelium is responsible for the secretion of thymic peptides, which intervene in some steps of intra- and extrathymic T cell differentiation. Recent data suggest that thymic hormone secretion is modulated by the neuroendocrine network, comprising thyroid, adrenals, and gonads. However, the role of the pituitary gland in this regulation is still poorly understood. In the present paper we studied the in vivo and in vitro influences of PRL on the secretion of thymulin, one of the chemically defined thymic hormones, by thymic epithelial cells (TEC). When injected daily (20-100 micrograms/20 g) in young or old C57BL/6 mice, PRL induced a specific increase in thymulin synthesis and secretion, respectively, measured by the number of thymulin-producing cells in the thymus and the peripheral levels of the hormone. This stimulation was dose dependent and reversible after the end of treatment. Similar findings have been made in animals with pituitary dwarfism, known to have low levels of circulating thymulin. This stimulatory effect was also observed in primary cultures of human and mouse TEC when PRL (10(-7) to 10(-8) M) was applied to culture supernatants, thus suggesting that PRL could act directly on TEC. In addition, we induced in vivo experimental hypoprolactinemia, treating mice with bromocriptine, a dopamine receptor agonist that inhibits pituitary PRL secretion. Bromocriptine treatment (100-200 micrograms/20 g) yielded a significant decrease in thymulin secretion that could be reversed by coincident treatment with PRL. In the light of previous observations that bovine GH can also increase thymulin production in aged dogs, we performed a series of experiments in vitro to evaluate whether GH has a direct effect on TEC. We observed that only human GH preparations that are known to have a PRL-like effect were efficient in stimulating thymulin biosynthesis and release into the culture supernatants. The effects of PRL on TEC were not restricted to thymic hormone production. We observed that TEC proliferation, as well as the numbers of a TEC subset defined by the expression of cytokeratins 3 and 10, could also be increased by PRL treatment. All these findings show that the pituitary gland directly affects TEC in terms of cytoskeletal and secretory protein expression as well as cell cycle.. This paper reviews the mechanism of sex hormone actions on the thymus, presenting mainly our data obtained at the cellular and molecular levels. First, data supporting the "genomic" action via the nuclear sex hormone receptor complexes are as follows: 1) sex hormone receptors and the thymic factor (thymulin) are co-localized in thymic epithelial cells, but not in T cells; 2) production/expression of thymic factors (thymulin, thymosin alpha 1) are remarkably inhibited by sex hormone treatment; 3) sex hormones cause changes in T cell subpopulations in the thymus; and 4) sex hormones strongly influence the development of thymus tumors in spontaneous thymoma BUF/Mna rats through their receptor within the tumor cells. Secondly, data indicating the "non-genomic" action of sex hormones via a membrane signal-generating mechanism are as follows: 1) the proliferation/maturation of thymic epithelial cells is mediated through protein kinase C activity introduced by sex hormones; 2) sex hormones directly influence DNA synthesis and cdc2 kinase (cell cycle-promoting factor) activity..

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2737149/

 

www.cell.com/developmental-cell/fulltext/S1534-5807(24)00539-2

Image shows placement of a single front loaded primary transmit coil running across a 50MHz DDS (Direct-Digital-Synthesiser). The DDS includes full Freq-Phase modulation control for both power and data transfer. On-board circuitry also includes real time phase and magnitude monitoring of primary coil voltage and current waveforms allowing full monitoring of resulting transformer impedance and power coupling.

 

A single coil driver was included as a fallback option after requirements changes mandating direct wire galvanic coupling of signals into the eye via a percutaneous plug.

 

Advanced eye-tracking coil driver functions were subsequently removed from future designs with eye tracking then reverting to the use of mirrors and FPGA driven image segmentation ;-(

  

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 1_

Cynthia Castillo, Moises Talavera, Amir Hanna, Guillermo Perez, Osvaldo Andrade

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

Trek 7900 drop bar conversion. This was a garage queen in relatively good shape with minimal needs. This was the first day off the stand. While I've frame up built bikes in 2 days before, including painting the bike (not this one), this build took me almost 4 years from purchase to finish. Wasn't complex, just didn't have a reason to complete it. This photo is 4 days before it leaves on a 250mi week long trip (which other than 1 flat and some rack damage on Amtrak, it did fantastic, 0 mechanicals).

 

These are fantastic bikes still relevant today. Those V brakes, wet and loaded (with fresh pads and maintained braking surfaces) will stop as well as any mechanical disc. And thats really the only thing that these don't have that a new bike does. I personally run canti's on my 7900 because I don't like the stopping power (too much) of the XT V-brakes. The modulation of a cantilever cannot be beat and Avid Shorty Ultimates are trouble free to setup and maintain vs traditional cantis ( was running LX cantis)

 

For the full story including the gear and restoration info:

 

Trek 7900 restoration and drop bar conversion

The mallard or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. Males have green heads, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent purple or blue feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is 81–98 cm (32–39 in) and the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in) long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb). Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes.

 

The female lays 8 to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff spotless eggs, on alternate days. Incubation takes 27 to 28 days and fledging takes 50 to 60 days. The ducklings are precocial and fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.

 

The mallard is considered to be a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Unlike many waterfowl, mallards are considered an invasive species in some regions. It is a very adaptable species, being able to live and even thrive in urban areas which may have supported more localised, sensitive species of waterfowl before development. The non-migratory mallard interbreeds with indigenous wild ducks of closely related species through genetic pollution by producing fertile offspring. Complete hybridisation of various species of wild duck gene pools could result in the extinction of many indigenous waterfowl. This species is the main ancestor of most breeds of domestic duck, and its naturally evolved wild gene pool has been genetically polluted by the domestic and feral mallard populations.

 

Taxonomy and evolutionary history

The mallard was one of the many bird species originally described in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus. He gave it two binomial names: Anas platyrhynchos and Anas boschas.The latter was generally preferred until 1906 when Einar Lönnberg established that A. platyrhynchos had priority, as it appeared on an earlier page in the text. The scientific name comes from Latin Anas, "duck" and Ancient Greek πλατυρυγχος, platyrhynchus, "broad-billed" (from πλατύς, platys, "broad" and ρυγχός, rhunkhos, "bill"). The genome of Anas platyrhynchos was sequenced in 2013.

 

The name mallard originally referred to any wild drake, and it is sometimes still used this way. It was derived from the Old French malart or mallart for "wild drake" although its true derivation is unclear. It may be related to, or at least influenced by, an Old High German masculine proper name Madelhart, clues lying in the alternative English forms "maudelard" and "mawdelard". Masle (male) has also been proposed as an influence.

 

Mallards frequently interbreed with their closest relatives in the genus Anas, such as the American black duck, and also with species more distantly related, such as the northern pintail, leading to various hybrids that may be fully fertile. The mallard has hybridized with more than 40 species in the wild, and an additional 20 species in captivity, though fertile hybrids typically have two Anas parents. Mallards and their domestic conspecifics are fully interfertile; many wild mallard populations in North America contain significant amounts of domestic mallard DNA.

 

Genetic analysis has shown that certain mallards appear to be closer to their Indo-Pacific relatives, while others are related to their American relatives. Mitochondrial DNA data for the D-loop sequence suggest that mallards may have evolved in the general area of Siberia. Mallard bones rather abruptly appear in food remains of ancient humans and other deposits of fossil bones in Europe, without a good candidate for a local predecessor species. The large Ice Age palaeosubspecies that made up at least the European and West Asian populations during the Pleistocene has been named Anas platyrhynchos palaeoboschas.

 

Mallards are differentiated in their mitochondrial DNA between North American and Eurasian populations,[19] but the nuclear genome displays a notable lack of genetic structure. Haplotypes typical of American mallard relatives and eastern spot-billed ducks can be found in mallards around the Bering Sea. The Aleutian Islands hold a population of mallards that appear to be evolving towards becoming a subspecies, as gene flow with other populations is very limited.

 

Also, the paucity of morphological differences between the Old World mallards and the New World mallard demonstrates the extent to which the genome is shared among them such that birds like the Chinese spot-billed duck are highly similar to the Old World mallard, and birds such as the Hawaiian duck are highly similar to the New World mallard.

 

The size of the mallard varies clinally; for example, birds from Greenland, though larger, have smaller bills, paler plumage, and stockier bodies than birds further south and are sometimes classified as a separate subspecies, the Greenland mallard (A. p. conboschas).

 

Description

The mallard is a medium-sized waterfowl species that is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks. It is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long – of which the body makes up around two-thirds – has a wingspan of 81–98 cm (32–39 in),[24]: 505  and weighs 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb).[25] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 25.7 to 30.6 cm (10.1 to 12.0 in), the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in), and the tarsus is 4.1 to 4.8 cm (1.6 to 1.9 in). The breeding male mallard is unmistakable, with a glossy bottle-green head and a white collar that demarcates the head from the purple-tinged brown breast, grey-brown wings, and a pale grey belly. The rear of the male is black, with white-bordered dark tail feathers.  The bill of the male is a yellowish-orange tipped with black, with that of the female generally darker and ranging from black to mottled orange and brown. The female mallard is predominantly mottled, with each individual feather showing sharp contrast from buff to very dark brown, a coloration shared by most female dabbling ducks, and has buff cheeks, eyebrow, throat, and neck, with a darker crown and eye-stripe. Mallards, like other sexually-dimorphic birds, can sometimes go though spontaneous sex reversal, often caused by damaged or nonfunctioning sex organs, such as the ovaries in mallard hens. This phenomenon can cause female mallards to exhibit male plumage, and vice versa (phenotypic feminisation or masculinisation).

 

Both male and female mallards have distinct iridescent purple-blue speculum feathers edged with white, which are prominent in flight or at rest but temporarily shed during the annual summer moult. Upon hatching, the plumage of the duckling is yellow on the underside and face (with streaks by the eyes) and black on the back (with some yellow spots) all the way to the top and back of the head. Its legs and bill are also black. As it nears a month in age, the duckling's plumage starts becoming drab, looking more like the female, though more streaked, and its legs lose their dark grey colouring. Two months after hatching, the fledgling period has ended, and the duckling is now a juvenile. The duckling is able to fly 50–60 days after hatching. Its bill soon loses its dark grey colouring, and its sex can finally be distinguished visually by three factors: 1) the bill is yellow in males, but black and orange in females; 2) the breast feathers are reddish-brown in males, but brown in females; and 3) in males, the centre tail feather (drake feather) is curled, but in females, the centre tail feather is straight. During the final period of maturity leading up to adulthood (6–10 months of age), the plumage of female juveniles remains the same while the plumage of male juveniles gradually changes to its characteristic colours. This change in plumage also applies to adult mallard males when they transition in and out of their non-breeding eclipse plumage at the beginning and the end of the summer moulting period. The adulthood age for mallards is fourteen months, and the average life expectancy is three years, but they can live to twenty.

 

Several species of duck have brown-plumaged females that can be confused with the female mallard. The female gadwall (Mareca strepera) has an orange-lined bill, white belly, black and white speculum that is seen as a white square on the wings in flight, and is a smaller bird.  More similar to the female mallard in North America are the American black duck (A. rubripes), which is notably darker-hued in both sexes than the mallard, and the mottled duck (A. fulvigula), which is somewhat darker than the female mallard, and with slightly different bare-part colouration and no white edge on the speculum.

  

Mallards are among the most common bird species to exhibit aberrant colouration, typically due to genetic mutations.[39] The female pictured here is leucistic; leucism in birds often results in 'cream-colored', 'apricot' or muted feathers on certain parts of the body.

In captivity, domestic ducks come in wild-type plumages, white, and other colours. Most of these colour variants are also known in domestic mallards not bred as livestock, but kept as pets, aviary birds, etc., where they are rare but increasing in availability.

 

A noisy species, the female has the deep quack stereotypically associated with ducks.  Male mallards make a sound phonetically similar to that of the female, a typical quack, but it is deeper and quieter compared to that of the female. Research conducted by Middlesex University on two English mallard populations found that the vocalisations of the mallard varies depending on their environment and have something akin to a regional accent, with urban mallards in London being much louder and more vociferous compared to rural mallards in Cornwall, serving as an adaptation to persistent levels of anthropogenic noise.

 

When incubating a nest, or when offspring are present, females vocalise differently, making a call that sounds like a truncated version of the usual quack. This maternal vocalisation is highly attractive to their young. The repetition and frequency modulation of these quacks form the auditory basis for species identification in offspring, a process known as acoustic conspecific identification. In addition, females hiss if the nest or offspring are threatened or interfered with. When taking off, the wings of a mallard produce a characteristic faint whistling noise.

 

The mallard is a rare example of both Allen's Rule and Bergmann's Rule in birds. Bergmann's Rule, which states that polar forms tend to be larger than related ones from warmer climates, has numerous examples in birds, as in case of the Greenland mallard which is larger than the mallards further south. Allen's Rule says that appendages like ears tend to be smaller in polar forms to minimise heat loss, and larger in tropical and desert equivalents to facilitate heat diffusion, and that the polar taxa are stockier overall. Examples of this rule in birds are rare as they lack external ears, but the bill of ducks is supplied with a few blood vessels to prevent heat loss, and, as in the Greenland mallard, the bill is smaller than that of birds farther south, illustrating the rule.

 

Due to the variability of the mallard's genetic code, which gives it its vast interbreeding capability, mutations in the genes that decide plumage colour are very common and have resulted in a wide variety of hybrids, such as Brewer's duck (mallard × gadwall, Mareca strepera).

 

Distribution and habitat

The mallard is widely distributed across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres; in North America its range extends from southern and central Alaska to Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, across the Palearctic, from Iceland and southern Greenland and parts of Morocco (North Africa) in the west, Scandinavia and Britain to the north, and to Siberia, Japan, and South Korea. Also in the east, it ranges to south-eastern and south-western Australia and New Zealand in the Southern hemisphere. It is strongly migratory in the northern parts of its breeding range, and winters farther south. For example, in North America, it winters south to the southern United States and northern Mexico, but also regularly strays into Central America and the Caribbean between September and May. A drake later named "Trevor" attracted media attention in 2018 when it turned up on the island of Niue, an atypical location for mallards.

 

The mallard inhabits a wide range of habitats and climates, from the Arctic tundra to subtropical regions. It is found in both fresh- and salt-water wetlands, including parks, small ponds, rivers, lakes and estuaries, as well as shallow inlets and open sea within sight of the coastline. Water depths of less than 0.9 metres (3.0 ft) are preferred, with birds avoiding areas more than a few metres deep. They are attracted to bodies of water with aquatic vegetation. 

 

Behaviour

The mallard is omnivorous and very flexible in its choice of food. Its diet may vary based on several factors, including the stage of the breeding cycle, short-term variations in available food, nutrient availability, and interspecific and intraspecific competition. The majority of the mallard's diet seems to be made up of gastropods, insects (including beetles, flies, lepidopterans, dragonflies, and caddisflies), crustaceans, other arthropods, worms, many varieties of seeds and plant matter, and roots and tubers. During the breeding season, male birds were recorded to have eaten 37.6% animal matter and 62.4% plant matter, most notably the grass Echinochloa crus-galli, and nonlaying females ate 37.0% animal matter and 63.0% plant matter, while laying females ate 71.9% animal matter and only 28.1% plant matter. Plants generally make up the larger part of a bird's diet, especially during autumn migration and in the winter.

 

The mallard usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing; there are reports of it eating frogs. However, in 2017 a flock of mallards in Romania were observed hunting small migratory birds, including grey wagtails and black redstarts, the first documented occasion they had been seen attacking and consuming large vertebrates. It usually nests on a river bank, but not always near water. It is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and forms large flocks, which are known as "sordes".

 

Breeding

Mallards usually form pairs (in October and November in the Northern Hemisphere) until the female lays eggs at the start of the nesting season, which is around the beginning of spring. At this time she is left by the male who joins up with other males to await the moulting period, which begins in June (in the Northern Hemisphere). During the brief time before this, however, the males are still sexually potent and some of them either remain on standby to sire replacement clutches (for female mallards that have lost or abandoned their previous clutch) or forcibly mate with females that appear to be isolated or unattached regardless of their species and whether or not they have a brood of ducklings.

 

Nesting sites are typically on the ground, hidden in vegetation where the female's speckled plumage serves as effective camouflage, but female mallards have also been known to nest in hollows in trees, boathouses, roof gardens and on balconies, sometimes resulting in hatched offspring having difficulty following their parent to water.

 

Egg clutches number 8–13 creamy white to greenish-buff eggs free of speckles. They measure about 58 mm (2.3 in) in length and 32 mm (1.3 in) in width.[90] The eggs are laid on alternate days, and incubation begins when the clutch is almost complete. Incubation takes 27–28 days and fledging takes 50–60 days. The ducklings are precocial and fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch. However, filial imprinting compels them to instinctively stay near the mother, not only for warmth and protection but also to learn about and remember their habitat as well as how and where to forage for food. Though adoptions are known to occur, female mallards typically do not tolerate stray ducklings near their broods, and will violently attack and drive away any unfamiliar young, sometimes going as far as to kill them.

 

When ducklings mature into flight-capable juveniles, they learn about and remember their traditional migratory routes (unless they are born and raised in captivity). In New Zealand, where mallards are naturalised, the nesting season has been found to be longer, eggs and clutches are larger and nest survival is generally greater compared with mallards in their native range.

 

In cases where a nest or brood fails, some mallards may mate for a second time in an attempt to raise a second clutch, typically around early-to-mid summer. In addition, mallards may occasionally breed during the autumn in cases of unseasonably warm weather; one such instance of a 'late' clutch occurred in November 2011, in which a female successfully hatched and raised a clutch of eleven ducklings at the London Wetland Centre.

 

During the breeding season, both male and female mallards can become aggressive, driving off competitors to themselves or their mate by charging at them. Males tend to fight more than females and attack each other by repeatedly pecking at their rival's chest, ripping out feathers and even skin on rare occasions. Female mallards are also known to carry out 'inciting displays', which encourage other ducks in the flock to begin fighting. It is possible that this behaviour allows the female to evaluate the strength of potential partners.

 

The drakes that end up being left out after the others have paired off with mating partners sometimes target an isolated female duck, even one of a different species, and proceed to chase and peck at her until she weakens, at which point the males take turns copulating with the female. Lebret (1961) calls this behaviour "Attempted Rape Flight", and Stanley Cramp and K.E.L. Simmons (1977) speak of "rape-intent flights". Male mallards also occasionally chase other male ducks of a different species, and even each other, in the same way. In one documented case of "homosexual necrophilia", a male mallard copulated with another male he was chasing after the chased male died upon flying into a glass window. This paper was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2003.

 

Mallards are opportunistically targeted by brood parasites, occasionally having eggs laid in their nests by redheads, ruddy ducks, lesser scaup, gadwalls, northern shovelers, northern pintails, cinnamon teal, common goldeneyes, and other mallards. These eggs are generally accepted when they resemble the eggs of the host mallard, but the hen may attempt to eject them or even abandon the nest if parasitism occurs during egg laying.

 

Predators and threats

In addition to human hunting, mallards of all ages (but especially young ones) and in all locations must contend with a wide diversity of predators including raptors and owls, mustelids, corvids, snakes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, turtles, large fish, felids, and canids, the last two including domestic cats and dogs. The most prolific natural predators of adult mallards are red foxes (Vulpes vulpes; which most often pick off brooding females) and the faster or larger birds of prey, (e.g. peregrine falcons, Aquila or Haliaeetus eagles). In North America, adult mallards face no fewer than 15 species of birds of prey, from northern harriers (Circus hudsonius) and short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) (both smaller than a mallard) to huge bald (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), and about a dozen species of mammalian predators, not counting several more avian and mammalian predators who threaten eggs and nestlings.

 

Mallards are also preyed upon by other waterside apex predators, such as grey herons (Ardea cinerea), great blue herons (Ardea herodias) and black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), the European herring gull (Larus argentatus), the wels catfish (Silurus glanis), and the northern pike (Esox lucius). Crows (Corvus spp.) are also known to kill ducklings and adults on occasion. Also, mallards may be attacked by larger anseriformes such as swans (Cygnus spp.) and geese during the breeding season, and are frequently driven off by these birds over territorial disputes. Mute swans (Cygnus olor) have been known to attack or even kill mallards if they feel that the ducks pose a threat to their offspring. Common loons (Gavia inmer) are similarly territorial and aggressive towards other birds in such disputes, and will frequently drive mallards away from their territory. However, in 2019, a pair of common loons in Wisconsin were observed raising a mallard duckling for several weeks, having seemingly adopted the bird after it had been abandoned by its parents.

 

The predation-avoidance behaviour of sleeping with one eye open, allowing one brain hemisphere to remain aware while the other half sleeps, was first demonstrated in mallards, although it is believed to be widespread among birds in general.

 

Status and conservation

Since 1998, the mallard has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This is because it has a large range–more than 20,000,000 km2 (7,700,000 mi2) and because its population is increasing, rather than declining by 30% over ten years or three generations and thus is not warranted a vulnerable rating. Also, the population size of the mallard is very large.

 

Unlike many waterfowl, mallards have benefited from human alterations to the world – so much so that they are now considered an invasive species in some regions. They are a common sight in urban parks, lakes, ponds, and other human-made water features in the regions they inhabit, and are often tolerated or encouraged in human habitat due to their placid nature towards humans and their beautiful and iridescent colours. While most are not domesticated, mallards are so successful at coexisting in human regions that the main conservation risk they pose comes from the loss of genetic diversity among a region's traditional ducks once humans and mallards colonise an area. Mallards are very adaptable, being able to live and even thrive in urban areas which may have supported more localised, sensitive species of waterfowl before development. The release of feral mallards in areas where they are not native sometimes creates problems through interbreeding with indigenous waterfowl. These non-migratory mallards interbreed with indigenous wild ducks from local populations of closely related species through genetic pollution by producing fertile offspring. Complete hybridisation of various species of wild duck gene pools could result in the extinction of many indigenous waterfowl. The mallard itself is the ancestor of most domestic ducks, and its naturally evolved wild gene pool gets genetically polluted in turn by the domestic and feral populations. Over time, a continuum of hybrids ranging between almost typical examples of either species develop; the speciation process is beginning to reverse itself. This has created conservation concerns for relatives of the mallard, such as the Hawaiian duck, the New Zealand grey duck (A. s. superciliosa) subspecies of the Pacific black duck, the American black duck, the mottled duck, Meller's duck, the yellow-billed duck, and the Mexican duck, in the latter case even leading to a dispute as to whether these birds should be considered a species (and thus entitled to more conservation research and funding) or included in the mallard species. Ecological changes and hunting have also led to a decline of local species; for example, the New Zealand grey duck population declined drastically due to overhunting in the mid-20th century. Hybrid offspring of Hawaiian ducks seem to be less well adapted to native habitat, and using them in re-introduction projects apparently reduces success. In summary, the problems of mallards "hybridising away" relatives is more a consequence of local ducks declining than of mallards spreading; allopatric speciation and isolating behaviour have produced today's diversity of mallard-like ducks despite the fact that, in most, if not all, of these populations, hybridisation must have occurred to some extent.

 

Invasiveness

Mallards are causing severe "genetic pollution" to South Africa's biodiversity by breeding with endemic ducks even though the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds – an agreement to protect the local waterfowl populations – applies to the mallard as well as other ducks.[131] The hybrids of mallards and the yellow-billed duck are fertile, capable of producing hybrid offspring. If this continues, only hybrids occur and in the long term result in the extinction of various indigenous waterfowl. The mallard can crossbreed with 63 other species, posing a severe threat to indigenous waterfowl's genetic integrity. Mallards and their hybrids compete with indigenous birds for resources, including nest sites, roosting sites, and food.

 

Availability of mallards, mallard ducklings, and fertilised mallard eggs for public sale and private ownership, either as poultry or as pets, is currently legal in the United States, except for the state of Florida, which has currently banned domestic ownership of mallards. This is to prevent hybridisation with the native mottled duck.

 

The mallard is considered an invasive species in Australia and New Zealand,  where it competes with the Pacific black duck (known as the grey duck locally in New Zealand) which was over-hunted in the past. There, and elsewhere, mallards are spreading with increasing urbanisation and hybridising with local relatives.

 

The eastern or Chinese spot-billed duck is currently introgressing into the mallard populations of the Primorsky Krai, possibly due to habitat changes from global warming. The Mariana mallard was a resident allopatric population – in most respects a good species – apparently initially derived from mallard-Pacific black duck hybrids; it became extinct in the late 20th century.

 

The Laysan duck is an insular relative of the mallard, with a very small and fluctuating population. Mallards sometimes arrive on its island home during migration, and can be expected to occasionally have remained and hybridised with Laysan ducks as long as these species have existed. However, these hybrids are less well adapted to the peculiar ecological conditions of Laysan Island than the local ducks, and thus have lower fitness. Laysan ducks were found throughout the Hawaiian archipelago before 400 AD, after which they suffered a rapid decline during the Polynesian colonisation.Now, their range includes only Laysan Island. It is one of the successfully translocated birds, after having become nearly extinct in the early 20th century.

 

Relationship with humans

Mallards have often been ubiquitous in their regions among the ponds, rivers, and streams of human parks, farms, and other human-made waterways – even to the point of visiting water features in human courtyards.

  

George Hetzel, mallard still life painting, 1883–1884

Mallards have had a long relationship with humans. Almost all domestic duck breeds derive from the mallard, with the exception of a few Muscovy breeds, and are listed under the trinomial name A. p. domesticus. Mallards are generally monogamous while domestic ducks are mostly polygamous. Domestic ducks have no territorial behaviour and are less aggressive than mallards. Domestic ducks are mostly kept for meat; their eggs are also eaten, and have a strong flavour. They were first domesticated in Southeast Asia at least 4,000 years ago, during the Neolithic Age, and were also farmed by the Romans in Europe, and the Malays in Asia. As the domestic duck and the mallard are the same species as each other, it is common for mallards to mate with domestic ducks and produce hybrid offspring that are fully fertile. Because of this, mallards have been found to be contaminated with the genes of the domestic duck.

 

While the keeping of domestic breeds is more popular, pure-bred mallards are sometimes kept for eggs and meat, although they may require wing clipping to restrict flying.

 

Hunting

Mallards are one of the most common varieties of ducks hunted as a sport due to the large population size. The ideal location for hunting mallards is considered to be where the water level is somewhat shallow where the birds can be found foraging for food. Hunting mallards might cause the population to decline in some places, at some times, and with some populations. In certain countries, the mallard may be legally shot but is protected under national acts and policies. For example, in the United Kingdom, the mallard is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which restricts certain hunting methods or taking or killing mallards.

 

As food

Since ancient times, the mallard has been eaten as food. The wild mallard was eaten in Neolithic Greece. Usually, only the breast and thigh meat is eaten. It does not need to be hung before preparation, and is often braised or roasted, sometimes flavoured with bitter orange or with port.

A pedal for aggressive, mid-gain, fuzz like clipping drive tone fans. High output capability can used for pushing an amplifier. It also acts as a clean boost, when drive knob is all the way down. Operable with battery.

 

Controls: Volume, Fine, Gain (6 position rotary switch)

 

www.customanalogpedals.com/purple-fuzzy-drive/

Dub~STEP~ARCADE

a cross between a dub siren and atari punk console with A/D gen and LFO modulation

KITS NOW AVAILABLE

www.magicmess.co.uk

www.magicmess.co.uk/DSA/dsa.php

Dimensions: 20" wide X 10" tall X 12" deep.

Uses standard 1/4" jacks for audio out and patch panel.

Monophonic, with low-pass filter, envelope (HADSR) controls, LFO, pitch width modulation, white and pink noise generation, and external signal in jack.

 

About the Korg MS-10:

brief description

online manual

video demo

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

This is a tremolo that we have designed as standard sounding with LFO. Transparent and in sinusodial wave form. Extra led indicates LFO's speed. Not operable with battery.Controls: Depth, Rate--SOLD--

    

www.customanalogpedals.com/odd-eyed-tremolo/

Dimensions: 20" wide X 10" tall X 12" deep.

Uses standard 1/4" jacks for audio out and patch panel.

Monophonic, with low-pass filter, envelope (HADSR) controls, LFO, pitch width modulation, white and pink noise generation, and external signal in jack.

 

About the Korg MS-10:

brief description

online manual

video demo

The Dirty Carter Electronic Sound Generating Instrument was designed by John Richards (Dirty Electronics) and Chris Carter from legendary Industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. It was produced for a special performance by Carter and the 25 strong Dirty Electronics Ensemble in 2010. It was originally designed as a touch controlled instrument with the player's skin resistance completing the circuit. This hard wired modification by A.S.M.O. gives more control and predictability by wiring all to the touch contacts to pots and switches. An additional low pass resonant filter has been added, LFO and an external CV socket for filter modulation.

The case is made of stained ply and the front panel is covered with black leatherette.

Having fun with my new Strobist gear. Decided to take this interesting older radio out of the cabinet and see what I could do.

 

Strobist info:

Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, 13mm extension tube

1/250, f/8, ISO 100

Canon Speedlite 430EX @ 1/64, 105mm camera right

Canon Speedlite 430EX II @ 1/64, 24mm behind radio

20" silver reflector camera left

Flashes fired via CyberSync triggers

Airbrushed various Alclads onto the tripod after polishing the helmet (hohoho).

 

I thought I'd try colour modulation for the first time on the tanks. Looks crazy now but it should tone down nicely.

Julio Le Parc 'Modulación', (Modulation), 1976, Galería La Cometa, Bogotá, Colombia

Amplitude Modulation is not dead, but it is coughing blood. Adopted in the 1920's as the primary mode for broadcasting it's days are number. European broadcasters are planning to stop AM transmission in the next 5 years.

Here's some spec's on this sweet system. It's a "Matrix" system, meaning that it has the ability to change all of it's routings on every preset.

 

Instead of being tied to one signal flow you can have any signal flow you want, when you want. Which is pretty handy for score music composer & guitar instrumental musician who has to constantly change the signal flow.

 

The switcher has a software interface that allows you to create an icon for each device and it's corresponding input(s) & Output(s), then using the mouse, connect the rig you want to have at that moment with no extra devices connected to the signal path for the cleanest path possible from pick ups to speakers.

 

A matrix switcher has 16x Inputs & 16x Outputs, so we decided to put 5 switchers in this system, connected them to each other & bunch of other cool gear. Each switcher has a "Group" responsibility:

1. "Master" - Magnetic & Piezo Inputs + 4x Amplifiers + 1 Axe FX ("Front End" of 4 Wire Config) + Multiple Connections to the other Switchers

2. "Harmonics" - Octave, Fuzz & Overdrive devices.

3. "Dynamics" - Compressors, EQ's Filters, Synthesizers.

4. "Modulations" - Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, UniVibe, & Tremolo.

5. "Time" - Delays & Reverbs + Axe FX ("Back End") for Reverb, Delay & Looper.

 

Any order & combination of series & parallel is possible, the possibilities for signal routings are only limited by the player's imagination...

In the afternoon of 15 April 2009, the Moon-1 Humvee Rover encountered a snow-covered lead (opening in the sea-ice exposing liquid water) at 68o15.573’N, 108o52.820’W which caused the vehicle to sink through slush and become immobilized. The Northwest Passage Drive Expedition team succeeded in rescuing the vehicle using the Moon-1’s powerful front winch, ice anchors, and the Humvee’s unique break throttle modulation (BTM) torque transfer capability. The Expedition continued that day and reached Campsite Five at the western tip of Kent Peninsula (68o36.820’N, 108o19.409’W) in the evening, achieving a distance traversed that day of 97 km and a total distance traversed from Kugluktuk of 336 km.

(Photo Mars Institute/Haughton-Mars Project/J. Schutt)

Highlights from NPR (Neighborhood Public Radio) at MOCA's Engagment Party. "IN YOUR CAR" Day 2 of 3

www.moca.org/party/npr/

 

While MOCA generally encourages green transportation, NPR asks that visitors bring their cars to this event. FREE parking will be available in public lot 7; entry is accessible from Judge John Aiso Street.

 

In Your Car will feature two concurrent sound projects broadcasting on local frequencies, Park Park Revolution and Ping Modulation.

 

Park Park Revolution will be a composition “played” by cars parked in the lot surrounding the Geffen Contemporary. NPR will divide the Geffen lot into four sections, with each assigned to its own broadcast frequency. Directed into parking spaces, drivers will be instructed to tune in their radios and turn up their volumes to create a quadraphonic matrix of sound.

 

Under the canopy located at the Geffen entrance, Ping Modulation will pay homage to artist Robert Rauschenberg’s Open Score. For this project, NPR will outfit ping-pong tables with contact microphones and sound processors; as visitors match off in games of table tennis, the noise of their play will be fed to radio broadcasts that will transform their participation into sound art.

 

Published on May 2, 2011

by MOCA

Dub~STEP~ARCADE REAR VIEW has both 9v battery and 9vdc supply socket- board has a LM3809 9v regulator on board

a cross between a dub siren and atari punk console with A/D gen and LFO modulation

KITS NOW AVAILABLE

www.magicmess.co.uk

www.magicmess.co.uk/DSA/dsa.php

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

Custom Italian Sub-Miniature Tube Overdrive

    

www.customanalogpedals.com/the-italian-tube-overdrive/

With the EBS UniChorus you can choose between low noise studio quality Chorus, Flange and Pitch Modulation effects. Analog Processing

 

The pedal is built with the best analog processing circuitry. This gives a smoother, warmer and fatter sounding chorus/flange effect, useful both for live and studio performances.

See it in the Allied-Indies Store.

Manchester Cathedral.

St Mary Window, 1980.

By Antony Hollaway (1928-2000).

 

In 1963 the stained glass designer and craftsman Tony Hollaway was introduced to the Manchester architect, Harry Fairhurst. Eight years later, after they had worked together on commissions in Cheshire and Liverpool, Fairhurst sought Tony's advice about a plan for five large stained-glass windows in Manchester Cathedral.

 

Thus was Tony asked to design and make the first window, the St George in the inner south-west aisle. It was completed in 1973. Further windows followed in 1976 and 1980 and the final window, Revelation was installed in 1995.

  

Detail: The St Mary Window. Designed by Antony Hollaway, 1980. (This is in the Tower.)

 

The circle, which dominates the window, is the ancient Christian symbol of perfection. It is marred by the death of Jesus in the form of a shart of leight or the sword. This is a direct reference to the prohecy of Simeon to the Blessed Virgin at the time of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. (“A sword shall piee through your own Soul also”. Luke 2: 35).

 

This destoryed the perfection of the circle which is compensated for visually the the arcs of red and yellow. “And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven: a women clother with the sun, the moon under her feet …” (Revelation 12:1). These radii restore the symmetry required for formal and design purposes.

 

These are seven shades of blue within the circle, blue being a colour traditionally associated with St Mary the Virgin. The circle contains a serpent. This is a multiple image best understood under the following headings:

 

The circle placed upon these blocks of colour are letter forms both upper and lower case which are essentially to create a pattern. However, they may be re-assembled to read verses from the Magnificate: left to right. The act of re-assembling the letters is intended to concentrate the mine on the text which would not necessarily result from ‘easy reading’.

 

The above details are intended to present:

1. A suitable light modulation for this part of the building.

2. A relationship with the two adjoining windows.

3. A monumentality and dignity appropriate to the Architecture and to the special place of this window in the Scheme, and of the Virgin Mary among the Patron Saints of the Cathedral.

 

All the teaching elements of the window are subordinate to the formal design requirements expressed in (3).

Class 4 antennas such as Sentinel® from CommScope diminish the

risk of interference to the microwave link (see graph), providing a marked improvement of the

carrier-to-interference (C/I) ratio. This allows radios to operate at higher modulation levels for

longer, thereby increasing total traffic and, hence, revenue over the link.

Additionally, Class 4 antennas with their low side lobe levels allow better reuse of the same

frequency channel, thus requiring fewer channels. This more efficient use of spectrum offers

significant advantages: The repeated reuse of the same frequencies substantially reduces

spectrum costs; alternatively, where required, the spectrum freed by using Class 4 antennas

allows wider channels to be used, thus increasing capacity in the network.

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

Title: Concha Renaissance San Juan Resort

Other title: Concha

Creator: Toro, Osvaldo 1914-1995; Ferrer, Miguel, 1915-2004; Salvadori, Mario George, 1907-1997; Marvel & Marchand Architects

Creator role: Architect

Date: 1958 (original) 2008 (renovation)

Current location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Description of work: Renaissance Hotels tasked architect Jose R. Marchand and interior designer Jorge Rossello with renovating and saving this beachside landmark. "[B]y the mid-1990s the venerable La Concha hotel had been shuttered, abandoned and left to rot...Originally designed by Osvaldo Toro and Miguel Ferrer, with an eccentric but utterly loveable seashell-shaped restaurant by Mario Salvatori [sic], La Concha was a beautifully massed, expertly sited, vividly inventive building perfectly in sync with its time. Closely attuning the hotel to its sun-swept setting, the architects created deep-shading overhangs, open corridors, windows and doors that gave onto lush interior courtyards and provided cross ventilation, and beautifully lacy quiebra-sol (their take on a brise-soleil) for further modulation of the light and heat" (Frank, Michael. "La Concha Revival". Architectural Digest. Aug 2009, p. 103-104. Print).

Description of view: Distant view of the west facade of the hotel from the park la Ventana al Mar.

Work type: Architecture and Landscape

Style of work: Modern: International Style

Culture: Puerto Rican

Materials/Techniques: Concrete

Grasses

Trees

Source: Pisciotta, Henry (copyright Henry Pisciotta)

Date photographed: May 13, 2008

Resource type: Image

File format: JPEG

Image size: 2304H X 3072W pixels

Permitted uses: This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted. For additional details see: alias.libraries.psu.edu/vius/copyright/publicrightsarch.htm

Collection: Worldwide Building and Landscape Pictures

Filename: WB2010-0252 Concha.JPG

Record ID: WB2010-0252

Sub collection: resorts

fountains

Copyright holder: Copyright Henry Pisciotta

BOSS OC-3 Octaver > Digitech Whammy

Whammy Dry: BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner (doubling as a mute) > Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler (x3)

Whammy Wet: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi > Boss DD-3 > Boss DD-7 > Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler

 

Orange Rocker 30 > Orange 2x10

 

myspace.com/aardvarkrobinson

The Dirty Carter Electronic Sound Generating Instrument was designed by John Richards (Dirty Electronics) and Chris Carter from legendary Industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. It was produced for a special performance by Carter and the 25 strong Dirty Electronics Ensemble in 2010. It was originally designed as a touch controlled instrument with the player's skin resistance completing the circuit. This hard wired modification by A.S.M.O. gives more control and predictability by wiring all to the touch contacts to pots and switches. An additional low pass resonant filter has been added, LFO and an external CV socket for filter modulation.

The case is made of stained ply and the front panel is covered with black leatherette.

Teisipäev, 14. aprill kell 19.30 ja 21.00

Kanuti Gildi SAAL (Pikk 20)

Pilet 10/7 eelmüügist, 12/7 enne kontserti

KAVAS:

“Rhythmus 21” (1921): Video Hans Richter, muusika Ove-Kuth Kadak (2015, esiettekanne) … 3’10”

“(üle)küllus” (2015, esiettekanne): Muusika ja video Aljona Kastjušina … 7’

“Controcorrente” (2012, Eesti esiettekanne): Muusika ja video Ivan Penov … 7’30″

“Phase Walk” (2015, esiettekanne): Henri Georg Viies … u 7’

“Cross modulation” (2015, esiettekanne): Muusika Ekke Västrik … 7’

“Ghosts and Whispers” (2014, Eesti esiettekanne): Muusika ja video Damiano Marconi … 6’30″

“Merkin” (2015, esiettekanne): Hendrik Tammjärv … u 7’

“Seppie senz’ossa” (2013, Eesti esiettekanne): Video Paolo Pachini, muusika Roberto Doati … 10’

“Rhythmus 21” (1921): Video Hans Richter, muusika Giovanni Tancredi (2015, esiettekanne) … 3’10”

 

Audiovisuaalsed kompositsioonid, versioon 1.2: visuaalne väljendus muusikalise mõtte laiendusena.

 

Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia kompositsiooniosakonna audiovisuaalse kompositsiooni kontsert toob kokku selle valdkonna ajaloo olulise repertuaari ja EMTA audiovisuaalse kompositsiooni tudengite loomingu. Sel aastal esitleb EMTA muuhulgas rahvusvaheliselt tuntud heliloojate Paolo Pachini ja Roberto Doati audiovisuaalse kompositsiooni “Seppie senz’ossa” (2013) Eesti esiettekannet.

 

Kontserdi kunstiline juht on Paolo Girol.

 

Kestus: umbes 1 tund.

 

Saadaval piiratud hulk pileteid (kontsert kantakse ette kaks korda, igal kontserdil ainult 50 istekohta patjadel). Hilinejaid sisse ei lubata!

 

Koostöös Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia kompositsiooniosakonna ja festivaliga “Saksa kevad”

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 1_

Cynthia Castillo, Moises Talavera, Amir Hanna, Guillermo Perez, Osvaldo Andrade

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

amorphica.com/networked.html

 

Group 3_

Alejandro Candela, Georgina Muñoz, Carlos Paz, Berenice Jimenez, Laura Antelo, Gabriel Manriquez

 

Networked Fabrication for Urban Provocations.

Shifting Paradigms from Mass Production to Mass Customization

Computational architecture and design course

 

Conventional construction methods all depart from the basic premises of mass production: standardization, modulation and a production line. What these systems developed during the last two centuries fail to take into account are the evolutionary leaps and bounds the manufacturing industry has taken over the last decades. With the introduction of CNC technologies and rapid prototyping machines have altered the paradigms of fabrication forever. It is due to these new tools that it is now possible to create (n) amount of completely unique and different pieces with the same amount of energy and material that is required to create (n) identical pieces. The possibilities for implementation of new forms, textures, materials and languages are infinite due to the versatility that these new tools offer a growing network of architects, designers, fabricators that are integrating them into their professional practices to generate unique and precise objects that respond to countless data and real-life conditions.

 

Instructors:

Monika Wittig [ LaN, IaaC ]

Shane Salisbury [ LaN, IaaC ]

Filippo Moroni [ SOLIDO, Politecnico di Milano ]

MS Josh Updyke [ Advanced Manufacturing Institute, KSU, Protei ]

Aaron Gutiérrez Cortes [ Amorphica ]

SMS303's Ultra Rare Dutch

Tidal Quad Modular Filter

Only 15-20 are build

Back rear controls, in-outputs

 

The Tidal Quad is a 4-channel filterbank with extensive control and modulation possibilities. The filter can be used in High-/ Low-/ or Bandpass with an Envelope follower for each mode. There is also an LFO for each set of 2 Channels which allows complex modulations. Additionally it offers a Waveshaper for each channel. For friends of analog distortion this unit leaves no wish open.

* 4x HP/BP/LP - Filtermodule

* LFO Channel 1+2 (Cutoff)

* LFO Channel 3+4 (Cutoff)

* LFO each channel positive or negative switch

* 1 Waveshaper per Channel

* 4x Sidechain Input with Envelope Follower for Cutoff-Modulation

 

The resonant filter might be the most important effect in popular music these days. However if you want to insert a filter on multiple channels of your mixer and also would like to have a lot of knobs and modulation possibilities, there was no real solution. That's why Tidal Music Electronics announces it's four channel desktop multimode filter. You can switch the four individual resonant filters between Lowpass, Bandpass and Highpass modus. Each filter can be modulated by an envelope follower, a LFO and an external CV. The envelope follower is specially designed to track percussive sounds without false triggering, a key feature when used with drumcomputers, grooveboxes or guitar.

 

Maximum Modulation:

Each filterbank has 4 VCFs, 4 Waveshapers, 4 Envelopefollowers and 2 Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs). The filters are switchable between 3 modes, Lowpass, Bandpass and Highpass. The Low- and Bandpass are 24 dB and the Highpass is 12 dB/Oct. The cutoff of each channel can be modulated by it's own Envelope follower which can be fed by a sidechain input or by the audiosignal itself. This option gives you the possibilities to create very funky filter-effects. Each LFO modulates 2 channels and every channel has it's own depth controller which can be set positive or negative. This can be used to generate cool stereo effects.

 

The Waveshaper

The waveshaper is one of the components which give the filterbank it's unique sound. It actually is a wavefolder which "folds" the tops of the waveform back instead of clipping. This sounds a bit like an overdrive but also has some characteristics of Frequency Modulation.

 

To give you a better idea what the waveshaper actually does we'll illustrate what happens with a simple sine wave using different ratio settings for each of the two shaper modes.

London uk

Jagadish Adhikari

Actor | Comedian | Presenter | Theatre Artist | Media Professional

Gallery

(Professional stills / theatre & film photographs – to be added)

© Photographer credits (as applicable)

 

Representation

Open to agency representation

Available for casting on international platforms (UK EU Europe / Asia globally as per project)

 

Personal Details

Name: Jagadish Adhikari (also credited as Jay)

Gender: Male

Year of Birth: 1990

Age: 34 years

Acting Age: 22–48 years

Place of Birth: Thansing, Nuwakot, Nepal

Nationality: Nepalese

Current Base: Kathmandu (NP)

International Experience: France (Bordeaux, Paris)

Housing Options: Nepal, India France (EU uk and globally availability on project basis)

 

Physical Characteristics

Height: approx. 166 cm

Eye Color: Dark Brown

Hair Color: Black

Ethnicity / Heritage: South Asian / Himalayan (Nepalese)

Stature: Average, adaptable (character roles, comedic & dramatic)

 

Main Profession

Actor (Film, Television & Theatre)

Comedian / Stand-up Performer

Presenter (TV / Radio – RJ & VJ)

Media & Communication Professional

 

Languages

Nepali – Native

English – Fluent

Hindi – Fluent

French – Conversational / Professional working proficiency

 

Dialects / Accents

Nepali regional accents

Indian subcontinent neutral Hindi

South Asian English

International English (European influence)

 

Stage & Performance Skills

Improvisation

Character comedy

Social realism acting

One-man theatre performance

Street theatre & awareness drama

Voice modulation

Hosting & live audience interaction

 

Special Skills

Stand-up comedy

Script development & adaptation

Direction (theatre & television)

Communication strategy & media coordination

Social issue–based performance

Public speaking & moderation

Method acting for character roles

 

Filmography

Film

Mahapurush – Feature Film

Juvenile – Feature Film

Lakhapati Magne – Feature Film

AARYA – Feature Film

By-Road

Pachuto

Radhika

Satidevi

Danaraj

Sath Sath

Pralobhan (Indo–Nepali)

Farki Aune Chu Ma (Indian Nepali Film)

 

Television / Web Series

Jiwan-Chakra (2008) – Jay (Breakthrough Role)

Bharosa – Actor & Deputy Director

RisaniMaaf

Bhadragol

Sakkigoni

SARKHAR KO SIR

Halka Ramailo

U&I

College Nepal

 

Theatre

Performed in 18+ stage dramas across 88+ locations in Nepal, including:

Muna-Madan

Death of Happiness

Bahula Kaji Ko Sapna (as Bir Bahadur)

Ek Raat

Ek-Chihan

Numerous social awareness and humanitarian street plays

 

Awards & Recognition

Best Supporting Actor – NAFTA Awards (2009)

Recognized for contribution to socially engaged theatre and media

 

Education & Training

Doctorate (PhD) in Management –international university France (ongoing)

MBA – IAE Université de Bordeaux, France

M.A. in Sociology – Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

Advanced Diploma in Management – Inspire College, London, UK

Acting Training:

National Theatre, Nepal

Hollywood Film Institute (Dov Simens)

 

Additional Professional Experience

Communication Officer – UN agencies

Media Coordinator & Advisor – NGOs & international projects

Social activist working with:

Nepal Red Cross Society

HEAN

Voice of Development

 

Availability

Film

Television

Web Series

Theatre

International Co-productions

Festivals & Experimental Cinema

  

Jagadish “Jay” Adhikari – Official Public Profile

Actor • Comedian • Media Personality • Advisor • Counselor • Researcher • Humanitarian

 

🔹 Basic Information

Full Name: Jagadish Adhikari

Also Known As: Jay / जय जगदीश अधिकारी

Date of Birth: February 21, 1990

Birthplace: Thansing–04, Nuwakot, Bagmati Province, Nepal

Nationality: Nepali

Marital Status: Unmarried

 

Family:

All belongs to Government officer & social actovist worker)

Father: Kedar Prasad Adhikari (Government officer & social worker)

Mother: Jayanti Adhikari

Brother: Dr. Ujjwal Adhikari cpunselor and astrologer

  

🔹 Academic Qualifications

 

PhD (ongoing Doctorate in Management)

Paris Institute of Management & Technology, France (2025–2027)

 

MBA – Master of Business Administration

IAE Université de Bordeaux, France (2023–2025)

Advanced Diploma in Management

Inspire College, London, UK (2020–2022)

  

B.A. in humanit8es and Social Science Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal (2014–2018

  

🔹 Professional Identity

Jagadish “Jay” Adhikari is a multifaceted Nepali public figure an actor, comedian, director, media personality, counselor, advisor, and social activist whose creative journey spans Nepal, South Asia, and Europe. Known for his emotional depth, humor, and social engagement, he bridges entertainment, education, and cultural diplomacy.

  

🎭 Acting & Performing Arts Career

 

Early Journey

 

Began with Red Cross street plays, performing for humanitarian awareness.

 

Formal training at:

 

National Theatre, Nepal rastriya nachghar (2008)

 

Hollywood Film Institute under Dov Simens (2016)

 

Theatre / Stage Performances (88+ Shows Worldwide)

 

Performed across Nepal, India, Bangladesh, the UK, France, and Spain. Major plays include:

 

Muna-Madan

 

Death of Happiness

 

Bahula Kaji Ko Sapna (as Bir Bahadur)

 

Ek Raat

 

Ek-Chihan

 

Numerous social, educational, and awareness dramas

  

📺 Television & Web Series

 

Jiwan-Chakra (as Jay)

 

Bharosa – Actor & Deputy Director

 

RisaniMaaf

 

Bhadragol

 

Kya Jamana Aa

 

Sakkigoni

 

SARKHAR KO SIR

 

Halka Ramailo

 

U&I

 

College Nepal

  

🎬 Films

 

Nepali Cinema

 

Juvenile

 

Lakhapati-Magne

 

AARYA

 

Sath Sath

 

Danaraj

 

Mahapurush

 

By-Road

 

Pachuto

 

Radhika

 

Satidevi

 

Bhojpuri & Indian Nepali Films

 

Pralobhan

 

Farki Aune Chu Ma

  

🏆 Awards & Honors

 

Major Achievements

 

Best Supporting Actor – NAFTA (2009)

 

Teej Music Award – Global Actors Association

  

Appreciations & Recognitions

 

Honored by:

 

NRNA UK – Sir Tulsi Ram Poudel (British Army)

 

NRNA France – Nirmal Aryal

 

Nepalese Embassy in Paris – H.E. Mohan Krishna Shrestha

 

Dr. Ram Saran Mahat – Nuwakot Mahotsob

 

Bagmati Province Chief Minister

 

Nepal Chambers of Commerce

 

IME Group Nepal

 

Minister of Communication, Nepal

 

Gagan Thapa

 

French Embassy in Nepal – H.E. Yves Carmona

 

Malteser International

 

Shakti Samuha Nepal

  

🎤 Media & Communication

 

RJ/VJ & Presenter – Notably “JayHos”

 

Media Coordinator & Advisor – UN agencies & international organizations

 

Deputy Director – TV series including Bharosa, Series Aasha, Jiwan Chakra

 

Stand-Up Comedy – Humor mixed with philosophy & social commentary

 

Motivational Speaker & Storyteller

  

🌍 Humanitarian & Social Work

 

Active contributor to:

 

HEAN

 

Nepal Red Cross Society

 

Voice of Development

  

Advisor – Utpala Foundation Nepal

Promoting youth leadership, cultural preservation, and creative empowerment.

 

Uses drama, media, and public speaking to support:

 

Education

 

Mental health

 

Social awareness

 

Humanitarian causes

  

🌐 Online Presence & Media Coverage

 

Featured in:

 

YouTube (performances, interviews, BTS videos)

 

News portals: Tourism Mail, The Rising Nepal, Ekantipur

 

Professional listings: IMDb, Filmweb, LinkedIn, NepaleseArtist.com

 

Cultural events, cooking competitions, food-safety campaigns

 

Stage festivals and international programs

  

📚 Special Interests & Creative Projects

 

Experimental one-man films

 

Nepali & bilingual audiobook scripts

 

Photography and documenting global cultures

 

Has traveled to 33+ countries since 2009

 

Exploring themes of exile, identity, humor, introspection, philosophy

  

Explore8848 – Online Counselling Center

 

Founder: Jagadish Adhikari

 

A micro-entreprise counseling initiative offering:

 

One-on-one emotional counselling

 

Stress & adaptation coaching

 

Cross-cultural support

 

Guidance for international students in Europe

 

Career & academic counseling

 

Group workshops & webinars

 

Services in Nepali, English, and simple French

  

Mission: Provide accessible, empathetic, culturally informed mental and emotional support.

 

Clients: Nepali diaspora, international students, expats, and multicultural communities across Europe.

  

🌟 Personal Philosophy

 

“From the narrow streets of Nuwakot to the stages of Europe,

my journey has never been about fame —

it has always been about the message.

Art can heal, educate, and unite people across borders.”

Jagadish “Jay” Adhikari

  

⭐ Signature Quote

“From the narrow streets of Nuwakot to the stages of Europe, my journey has never been about fame — it has always been about the message. Art can heal, educate, and unite people across borders.” Jagadish “Jay” Adhikari

  

🎭 Acting • Creativity • Art

 

“Acting is not about pretending — it is about revealing the truth we hide from ourselves.”

 

“Every character I play teaches me something about humanity.”

 

“Humor is my bridge; emotion is my language.”

 

“Art is my passport. It lets me travel beyond borders, cultures, and identities.”

 

“A single performance can touch a thousand hearts — that is the power of storytelling.”

  

🌍 Humanitarian • Social Work

 

“I believe social responsibility begins with awareness — and awareness begins with a story.”

 

“Humanitarian work is not charity; it is compassion in action.”

 

“When we uplift one voice, we empower an entire community.”

 

“Service is the highest form of art.”

  

🎤 Media Personality • Communication

 

“Communication is not just speaking — it is connecting, understanding, and empowering.”

 

“The microphone is a tool; the real message comes from the heart.”

 

“Media can create narratives, but we must choose narratives that create hope.”

  

Counsellor • Explore8848 Founder

 

“Everyone carries a silent story. Counselling is the art of listening to what remains unspoken.”

 

“Emotional strength is not the absence of struggle — it is the courage to continue.”

 

“In a foreign land, guidance isn’t a luxury; it is a lifeline.”

 

“Healing begins when someone finally says: ‘I understand you.’”

  

📚 Philosophical • Life Journey Quotes

 

“Life has taken me across 33 countries, but the journey within has been the longest.”

 

“Identity is not where you were born — it is what you choose to become.”

 

“The world teaches you geography; struggles teach you humanity.”

 

“Exile is not always a place. Sometimes it is a feeling we learn to transform into strength.”

 

🎬 Professional Mission & Vision

 

“My mission is simple: use art, communication, and compassion to create meaningful impact.”

 

“Entertainment becomes powerful when it educates. Education becomes powerful when it inspires.”

 

“I stand at the intersection of creativity and responsibility.”

  

✨ Short Taglines / Public Bio Headers

 

These are perfect for posters, websites, or official documents:

 

Actor. Comedian. Counselor. Researcher. Humanitarian.

 

Where art meets responsibility.

 

A storyteller shaped by struggle, service, and global journeys.

 

Creativity with purpose.

 

Turning experiences into expression, and expression into impact.

  

Dr. Jagadish Adhikari (Jay)

 

Nepalese Actor | Academic | Consultant | Cultural Strategist

Currently based in Paris, France

 

Contact: +33 7 73 28 75 57

+9779841015016 | Email: drjadhikari@gmail.com

  

Professional Snapshot

 

Dr. Jagadish Adhikari, professionally known as Jay, is a multidisciplinary professional whose work spans performing arts, strategic communication, and humanitarian engagement. Known for blending creativity with institutional expertise, he bridges theatre, media, and advisory roles to advance social awareness and cross-cultural dialogue.

 

Actor / Director / Comedian: National theatre, TV series, and films (including Chakkar, Juvenile, and Sakkigoni).

 

Consultant / Advisor: Strategic communication and humanitarian programs for UNICEF, UNDP, and French Embassy Nepal.

 

Academic: PhD in Management (ongoing), MBA from IAE Université de Bordeaux, MA in Sociology from Tribhuvan University.

 

Cultural Engagement: Founder/Contributor of Explore 8848, fostering international cultural exchange.

  

Professional Experience

 

Customer Service – Grand Hotel General Restaurant, France (Oct 2023 – Present)

 

Senior Counselor – Study Destination Centre Education Consultancy (Nov 2019 – August 2023)

 

Advised students on academic pathways, managed client relations, supported international education processes

  

COMMunication Relationship Officer – UNICEF WASH Program partnerships woth SSC Sunrise Social Club Nuwakot Nepal (Jan 2013 – Sept 2019)

 

Administration, event coordination, stakeholder relations

  

Character Artist – National Media Production (Chakkar, Juvenile, etc.)

 

Drama Actor / Director & Stand-up Comedian – Active in national government cultural programs like radio nepal nepal police nepal army rastriya nachghar m art theater mandala theater actors studio Kantipur film academy Oscar film academy and polygon college for masters in journalism since 2008 till date..

  

Education & Certifications

 

PhD Ongoing

 

MBA completed – IAE Université de Bordeaux, France

 

BA humanities and social sciences – Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

 

Certofied English Proficiency from london uk TOEIC Speaking 160 (Level 7), Writing 155 (Level 7)

 

Professional Memberships: Film Artistes Association of Nepal & UK Artist Unions (ID: 00274)

 

Driving License: nepal and UK Provisional (Categories A, B, f, k, p)

  

Specialized Training & Recognition

 

UNICEF Nepal: Training on Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfer (HACT)

 

GATE College: Certificate of Appreciation for contribution to World Food Safety Day

 

Cultural Corporation (Sanskritik Sansthan): Recommendation for promoting Nepali culture

Acting National theater nepal

Hollywood Film Institute under Dov Simens California usa

  

Cover Letter (Summary)

 

I am writing to express my interest in a professional position within your organization. With over a decade of experience spanning education consultancy, administration, and the creative sector, I bring a unique combination of strategic thinking, creativity, and public engagement.

 

My career combines international academic expertise (PhD and MBA) with hands-on experience in performing arts, including theatre, television, and film. I have contributed to UNICEF, UNDP, and cultural initiatives that link policy with public communication.

 

I am confident that my interdisciplinary experience and adaptability would allow me to make a meaningful contribution to your organization. I look forward to discussing how my skills align with your needs.

 

Yours sincerely,

Jagadish Adhikari

  

Wikipedia-Style Biography

 

Jagadish Adhikari (Jay) is a Nepalese actor, presenter, academic, and consultant. Born in Thansing, Nuwakot, Nepal, he began his career with street theatre for social awareness under the Nepal Red Cross Society. He later trained formally at the National Theatre of Nepal and the Hollywood Film Institute (USA).

 

Adhikari has appeared in TV series (Sakkigoni, Halka Ramailo), films (Chakkar, Juvenile), and multiple stage productions. He served as Deputy Director of Nepal Television dramas Bharosa and Jiwan Chakra.

 

Academically, he holds a PhD in Management, an MBA from IAE Université de Bordeaux, and an MA in Sociology. He has worked with UNICEF, UNDP, and the French Embassy, contributing to development communication, DRR, and institutional accountability worked woth Mr Jagadishwor Thapa.

 

Currently based in Paris, France, he contributes to the Explore 8848 cultural initiative, fostering international cultural exchange.

  

Artist’s Statement

 

I come from a land of hills where stories are not written—they are lived.

My earliest stage was the street, my first audience a community, and my first purpose service.

 

I perform because listening alone is not enough.

I study because feeling alone is not sufficient.

 

Theatre taught me how emotion moves people; management taught me how systems move societies. Between these disciplines, I learned that human dignity is both an art and a structure—fragile, yet designable.

 

I exist between stages:

 

Between the village and the world

 

Between comedy and consequence

 

Between exile and belonging

  

When I perform, I do not escape reality—I return to it with sharper language.

When I consult, I do not abandon creativity—I apply it where policy meets people.

 

Explore 8848 is not a brand; it is a metaphor: ascent without domination, ambition without erasure, and global movement without forgetting origin.

 

I seek convergence—where laughter reveals truth, governance remembers empathy, and identity survives movement. I am a student of systems, a practitioner of performance, and a witness to migration. What I offer is not perfection, but presence—on stage, in policy, and within the ongoing conversation of belonging.

   

DSP-based drumcomputer. Very versatile. Offers 4 different algorithms to create drums with: an emulation of the Roland TR-series, Frequency Modulation, Physical Modelling and 12bit samples. Love it for being an allrounder.