Vertigo: Saul Bassin ja John Whitneyn minimalistinen estetiikka

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on tutkia elokuvallista ilmaisua alkutekstiosiossa ja sen mainonnassa käytettyjä keinoja Alfred Hitchcockin elokuvan Vertigo avulla. Työssä analysoin elokuvaa ja sen eri tasoja pyrkien ymmärtämään siinä käsiteltävät teemat ja niiden esittelyyn vaikuttaneet taiteelliset ja tekniset ratkaisut toteutuksessa. Taiteen historian kautta avaan eri tyylisuuntia ja kulttuuria eteenpäin vieneitä suuntauksia ja syy ja seuraussuhteita sekä nostan esille muutamia merkittävimmistä taiteilijoista, joiden luulen vaikuttaneen myös käsiteltävän teoksen estetiikkaan. Lisäksi perehdyn John Whitneyn työhön ja tietokoneanimaation varhaisvaiheisiin. huimauksen tunnetta ja illuusioita käsitellään tarkemmin seuraavissa luvuissa ja perehdyn alkuperäisen elokuvan teemaan. Työssä käydään läpi minimalistisen ilmaisutyylin käyttöä 3D-animaatiossa ja digitaalisessa kuvituksessa. Lopuksi sovellan oppimaani rekonstruoimalla vuonna 1958 ilmestyneen elokuvan julisteen ja alkutekstiosion moderneilla työkaluilla säilyttäen alkuperäisen teoksen tunnelman. Tutkimalla alkuperäistä elokuvaa ja sen graafista ilmettä teen alkutekstiosion kuvitteelliseen animaatioelokuvaan nimeltä Vertigo2: Whirlpool of bullets. Opinnäytetyössä käydään läpi elokuvan teemoja ja tekniikoita sekä historiaa ja taustoja. Myös elokuvan taustalla vaikuttaneita henkilöitä käsitellään pintaa syvemmältä. Produktiivisessa osiossa käydään läpi cel-shading renderöintitekniikkaa ja tutkitaan sen eri käyttömahdollisuuksia tuotettaessa piirrosmaisempaa ja kaksiulotteisempaa yksinkertaistettua grafiikkaa. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on antaa lukijalle kuva varhaisesta elokuvien alkutekstiosioiden kehittymisestä ja tietokoneanimaatiosta keskittymällä Vertigo elokuvaan vaikuttaneiden taiteilijoihin.In this Bachelor’s thesis, I will study the meaning and visual presentation of a title sequence and movie posters by analyzing the Vertigo. Learned methods and techniques are then applied to a project, in which a poster and title sequence are produced. In the first chapters, the reader is introduced to Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece and to his earlier work for background information of the movie and its director. Next chapter analyzes themes and methods that are processed in the movie as well provides an in depth analyze of the plot. The following chapter’s focus is on visual illustrations of Vertigo and the artistic influence on graphic design. Moreover, the development of technology that has affected art-work in Vertigo are depicted. This includes the significant technological progress in the field of printmaking and the birth of computer animation. The continuum of various art movements will eventually lead us to minimalism and the art of movie title sequences by Saul Bass whose thesis will be studied in greater depth. While these topics may appear seemingly unrelated, a connection is, however, explained later.The present thesis will also introduce twentieth century art, particularly printmaking and thus attempts to show the influence of other artists of the era whose works might have affected Vertigo’s artwork. Vertigo as a phenomenon and illusions in general as an error of perception are then studied further to achieve deeper understanding of the theme of the movie. For the later explanatory introduction to the work of Roger Caillois is made. The work aims to produce the title sequence of fictional animation movie Vertigo 2: Whirlpool of bullets. The chapter will go through every step of work on producing a movie poster and title sequence to a movie and explain its techniques. The movie poster will be made using 3ds max and cel-shading as well more traditional digital illustration tools such as Photoshop. Different possibilities of 3d -modeling and achieving simple yet powerful imagery are discussed briefly in the following chapter. Making the storyboard and the final rendering of the title sequence comprise the themes of the final chapter. This thesis aims to give its reader information about the early work in the field of title sequences, movie posters and most importantly computer animation. This is achieved through focusing on three different gentlemen in particular who are: director Alfred Hitchcock, graphic designer Saul Bass and animator and inventor John Whitney.What they all have in common is Sight & Sounds #1 movie of all time: Vertigo

Building thermal storage technology: Compensating renewable energy fluctuations

Emerging technologies and new intelligent management systems will be needed to rise to the energy challenges posed by buildings today. Thermally activated building systems (TABS) are attracting growing interest on the back of their energy savings potential. The TABS studied in this article, a new prefabricated panel designed for installation in residential building façades, was characterised by the high thermal inertia afforded by the phase change materials in its composition. The design and assessment of the potential savings derived from TABS require specific characterisation methodologies to estimate the amount of useful energy available to control the indoor environment. A two-stage approach was adopted for the TABS studied here with ``ideal'' operating control (the building is assumed to be at a constant desired temperature). The first stage involved a simplified method for characterising system behaviour based on performance maps developed from CFD simulations. Such maps can be used to quickly assess changes in system energy performance following on variations in design and operating parameters. In the second, the TABS was integrated into a building with a simplified model to assess monthly energy demand to evaluate the system potential for energy savings in representative types of Spanish single-family housing in different climate zones. The first-stage findings showed that given the system significant inertia, it discharged for several days, even when charging occurred only on the first, ensuring a wide operating range adaptable to renewable resource limitations. The analysis of potential, in turn, revealed that savings of over 40% in heating demand are possible even under the least favourable circumstances.This study was funded by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the INPHASE (RTC-2015-3583-5) and DACAR (BIA2016-77431-C2-2-R), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the University of Seville under its Research Plan VI (VPPI-US). Prof. Cabeza would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to her research group GREiA (2017 SGR 1537). GREiA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme

Potential of energy flexible buildings: Evaluation of DSM strategies using building thermal mass

Energy flexible buildings through smart demand-side management (DSM) or smart demand response (DR) using efficient energy storage, are currently one of the most promising options to deploy low-carbon technologies in the electricity networks without the need of reinforcing existing networks. Although, many ignore the potential, economic and energetic benefits these alternatives could hold for buildings, users and tariffs. In the study carried out a control system of demand management measures is analyzed, based on the use of the buildings' thermal mass as thermal storage (preheating, precooling and night ventilation). This demand management system is analyzed in five existing residential buildings in the so-called reference scenario (construction, user and current prices). Subsequently, comes the analysis of the optimal manage- ment strategy choice from the system, when facing changes in the housings' constructive characteristics and electric tariffs. The dynamism of the management system stands out from the results achieved, as well as the de- pendence of the possible strategy choices on the climate zones. In the reference situation, the maximum economic savings obtained after the implementation of the management system correspond to 3.2% for heating and 8.5% for cooling. In this same manner, when the buildings are previously rehabilitated, the savings can double even generating energy savings. Finally, it can be concluded that the low installation costs of these measures make them a winning solution, as long as the electric pricing and user behavior allow the required flexibility.The authors would like to take this opportunity to thank the DACAR project “Zero-Energy Balance Districts Through Algorithms of Adaptive Comfort and Optimal Management of Energy Networks” (BIA2016-77431-C2-2-R) funded by Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Government of Spain) and European Regional Development's Funds (ERDF) for its partial support. And the University of Seville under its Research Plan VI (VPPI-US)

Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of serological (IFAT) and molecular (direct PCR) techniques for diagnosis of leishmaniasis in lagomorphs using a Bayesian approach

Leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania infantum, is a vector-borne zoonotic disease that is endemic to the Mediterranean basin. The potential of rabbits and hares to serve as competent reservoirs for the disease has recently been demonstrated, although assessment of the importance of their role on disease dynamics is hampered by the absence of quantitative knowledge on the accuracy of diagnostic techniques in these species. A Bayesian latent-class model was used here to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the Immuno-fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) in serum and a Leishmania-nested PCR (Ln-PCR) in skin for samples collected from 217 rabbits and 70 hares from two different populations in the region of Madrid, Spain. A two-population model, assuming conditional independence between test results and incorporating prior information on the performance of the tests in other animal species obtained from the literature, was used. Two alternative cut-off values were assumed for the interpretation of the IFAT results: 1/50 for conservative and 1/25 for sensitive interpretation. Results suggest that sensitivity and specificity of the IFAT were around 70–80%, whereas the Ln-PCR was highly specific (96%) but had a limited sensitivity (28.9% applying the conservative interpretation and 21.3% with the sensitive one). Prevalence was higher in the rabbit population (50.5% and 72.6%, for the conservative and sensitive interpretation, respectively) than in hares (6.7% and 13.2%). Our results demonstrate that the IFAT may be a useful screening tool for diagnosis of leishmaniasis in rabbits and hares. These results will help to design and implement surveillance programmes in wild species, with the ultimate objective of early detecting and preventing incursions of the disease into domestic and human populations

Assessing the Electrochemical Performance of Different Nanostructured CeO2 Samples as Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this work, six samples of CeO2 are successfully prepared by diverse synthesis routes leading to different microstructures regarding both morphology and particle size. The structural and microstructural characteristics presented by the samples and their influence on the electrochemical response of the prepared anodes are analyzed. In particular, the Ce-CMK3 sample, synthesized from a mesoporous carbon obtained through a CMK3 silica template, displays an enhanced electrochemical response. Thus, capacity values of ~220 mA h g−1 are obtained at a current rate of 0.155 A g−1 after 50 cycles and an excellent cyclability at intermediate current densities. On the other hand, it is observed that the capacity values are satisfactorily recovered at 0.31 A g−1, displaying ~100 mA h g−1 after 550 cycles and efficiencies close to 100%. The electrochemical performance is interpreted considering the microstructural peculiarities of this anode, which are deeply analyzed.Depto. de Química InorgánicaFac. de Ciencias QuímicasTRUEMINECOpu

Behaviour of a concrete wall containing micro‐encapsulated PCM after a decade of its construction

Today, our society has the duty of reducing the energy consumed in the building sector. A promising technology to achieve this goal is the implementation of thermal energy storage (TES) solutions in buildings envelope. Lately, much literature dealing with the effect of the inclusion of latent heat storage materials in construction materials to provide higher thermal inertia has appeared, mostly focusing on the evaluation of the thermal properties, density, or porosity of these new materials. However, few of them evaluated the long stability properties of the materials with embedded PCM when included in a building, very much needed since the lifetime of a building is about 50 years. Therefore, in this study, an evaluation of a house‐like cubicle of concrete with micro‐encapsulated PCM after a decade of its construction is carried out. The results are compared to the tests done in 2005 concluding that the thermal performance of this cubicle presented no degradation in the PCM effect.The work partially funded by the Spanish Government (ENE2015‐64117‐C5‐1‐R (MINECO/FEDER), ULLE10‐4E‐1305, and ENE2005‐08256‐C02‐01). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2014 SGR 123) and the city hall of Puigverd de Lleida. GREiA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. Financiado por el proyecto RTC‐2015‐3583‐5 (INPHASE) del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, dentro del Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad, en el marco del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013‐2016, y ha sido cofinanciado con FONDOS FEDER, con el objetivo de promover el desarrollo tecnológico, la innovación y una investigación de calidad

Evaluation of the behavior of an innovative thermally activated building system (TABS) with PCM for an efficient design

The global energy crisis has caused a double effect. On the one hand, users are increasingly aware of the energy cost they face. On the other hand, public administrations have become aware of the importance of limiting energy consumption in buildings as a way to combat climate change and reduce the energy dependence with the climate. This situation supposes a great opportunity for innovative constructive solutions with an energetic behaviour that surpasses the traditional approach of reduction of the transmittance. In this work, studies are presented to obtain potential of a new solution thermally activated with two innovations with respect to those existing in the market: its activation is done by hot / cold water produced by renewable systems; and its concrete structural element in addition to having coupled the heat exchanger presents an innovative mortar doped with PCM microencapsulated phase change material.Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Government of Spain) and European Regional Development's funds (ERDF) project “Zero-Energy Balance Districts Through Algorithms of Adaptive Comfort and Optimal Management of Energy Networks” (BIA2016-77431-C2-2-R)University of Seville (Spain) Plan VI (VPPI-US

Spatial dynamics of bovine tuberculosis in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain (2010-2012)

Progress in control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is often not uniform, usually due to the effect of one or more sometimes unknown epidemiological factors impairing the success of eradication programs. Use of spatial analysis can help to identify clusters of persistence of disease, leading to the identification of these factors thus allowing the implementation of targeted control measures, and may provide some insights of disease transmission, particularly when combined with molecular typing techniques. Here, the spatial dynamics of bTB in a high prevalence region of Spain were assessed during a three year period (2010-2012) using data from the eradication campaigns to detect clusters of positive bTB herds and of those infected with certain Mycobacterium bovis strains (characterized using spoligotyping and VNTR typing). In addition, the within-herd transmission coefficient (β) was estimated in infected herds and its spatial distribution and association with other potential outbreak and herd variables was evaluated. Significant clustering of positive herds was identified in the three years of the study in the same location ("high risk area"). Three spoligotypes (SB0339, SB0121 and SB1142) accounted for >70% of the outbreaks detected in the three years. VNTR subtyping revealed the presence of few but highly prevalent strains within the high risk area, suggesting maintained transmission in the area. The spatial autocorrelation found in the distribution of the estimated within-herd transmission coefficients in herds located within distances <14 km and the results of the spatial regression analysis, support the hypothesis of shared local factors affecting disease transmission in farms located at a close proximity