Epigraphic Programs in Almoravid Constructions: The Commemoration of The Emirs’ Supremacy

Despite the ideas transmitted in the traditional historiography, during the Almoravid period, the arts –especially the architecture- had a prominent place within the issues of the Empire. This fact became more important from the naissance of the Almohad movement during the 20’s of the 12th century. In that context, the Almoravid emirs found in the architectural programs a direct manner to shape their political and religious ideas against the Unitarians and to spread them across their territory. Within this framework, the aim of this paper is to analyze the outstanding role of the epigraphic programs in Almoravid constructions, in one hand as a differentiating element from the Almohads (both in content and form) and, on the other hand, as a way to focus on the Almoravid political and religious supremacy and the impregnation of these ideas in the collective memory. To achieve this aim, we will study the epigraphic programs of the main Almoravid artistic manifestations (including the Almoravid Friday mosques and their minbars) and we will compare their content and form with other Islamic manifestations in East and West. Moreover, we will analyze these epigraphic programs in the general context where they are included, as an important part of the conformation of the Almoravid aesthetic. Due to the fact that the Almoravids are considered the introducers of the cursive epigraphy in the West throughout its use at the Qubbat al-Bārūdiyyīn in Marrakech, we will compare the wide spread (both temporary and geographically) of this type of calligraphy with the case of other artistic elements highly developed by them. Therefore, we can conclude that the Almoravid emirs had an important role as renovators of the Western Islamic artistic programs, which they used both as a way of commemoration and as symbol of their political and religious ideas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

User experiences with flexible offices

Different office types provide the preconditions for distinct user experiences. However, research evidence on how users appraise flexible offices such as activity-based or combi offices is not as abundant as in the case of the more traditional open-plan and cell offices. Furthermore, the available literature shows discrepant results between flexible offices. The main difference between traditional and flexible offices is that the design of the latter is intended for users to switch between different shared spaces and workstations oriented to support different activities, needs and preferences. This office design may offer new opportunities and challenges for users as their experiences at work may be influenced by design qualities (or constellations of them) that are not present in traditional offices. I study the experiences of users with flexible offices because I want to understand the influences that the design qualities of office artefacts and spaces have on such experiences, as well as their design implications. In addition, I utilise the acquired knowledge to explore design opportunities for positive user experiences with flexible offices. In this regard, the research angle adopted builds on a UX theoretical background and a practical approach with multiple user studies in real office environments. The findings show that user experiences with flexible offices are influenced by interrelated design qualities of the spaces and artefacts in use, rather than isolated qualities. These (tangible and intangible) qualities define the nature of an artefact, a space, or constellations of them that users experience, for instance the qualities of an office chair vs. a meeting room. Experiences are subjective, but relate to both individual and collective experiences, for example using an ergonomic workstation vs. sharing such workstations. The findings also suggest that designing for user experiences with flexible offices is a highly complex endeavour, and that emphasis should be placed on designing for the experiences of pleasure, community, autonomy, purpose, and control over the environment. Utilising this knowledge to develop and test research prototypes allowed for a richer understanding of the experiential process and its relation to more systemic aspects such as the context of use or the temporality of experiences. Derived from these research activities and their findings, I present in this thesis the tentative SEEX (Stimuli-Evaluation-EXperiential outcome) model of how user experiences take place. This thesis contributes knowledge on theoretical and practical levels for academics and practitioners to continue studying office user experiences from a UX perspective, support informed decisions in the planning, operation, and evaluation of offices, and explore design opportunities for office environments

Jardines de yeso: vestir la arquitectura en época almorávide

Este trabajo tiene por objetivo mostrar los resultados del estudio detallado de las yeserías de época almorávide con decoración de ataurique a partir de los principales conjuntos conservados. Para ello, en él se recogen los rasgos fundamentales de estos “jardines de yeso”, que, junto con otros datos, permiten establecer una evolución dentro del ataurique almorávide y en las yeserías andalusíes en general. Metodológicamente, se ha comprobado la existencia de una organización interna del ataurique que puede sistematizarse en secuencias numéricas muy variadas, que muestra esta evolución y permite proponer una datación más precisa para las yeserías de este periodo. La riqueza de secuencias numéricas aparece tanto en los ejemplares andalusíes como en los magrebíes, hecho que puede interpretarse como un acto intencionado, en relación con unos principios estéticos determinados presentes en las manifestaciones artísticas de época almorávide, que permiten diferenciarlas de otras épocas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Common points of the medieval mediterranean culture: an approach from the application of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to the study of the artistic exchanges

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the ArtMedGIS Project (MSCA – H2020, Grant Agreement nº 699818). The main objective of this Project is to evaluate the artistic exchanges in the Mediterranean during the late Middle Ages through the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in order to assess some common points of the medieval Mediterranean culture. The start point has been the selection of certain elements of the Islamic art, developed by the Almoravids in the 12th century, which can be related to other Mediterranean artistic manifestations due to commercial, political and cultural relations. In this context, the objectives of the project are: to measure the presence of these elements in the main artistic manifestations of the Islamic and Christian Mediterranean countries in the late Middle Ages; to apply the new method based on the GIS to the Art History research; to assess the relation of religion and power with the artistic productions; and to review the concepts of centre and peripheries regarding the artistic production in the Mediterranean context. Beyond the geographical distribution, the use of the GIS has allowed to analyse different phenomena linked to the artistic exchanges and the development of the Mediterranean culture.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 69981

Critical point for the CAF-F phase transition at charge neutrality in bilayer graphene

We report on magneto-transport measurements up to 30 T performed on a bilayer graphene Hall bar, enclosed by two thin hexagonal boron nitride flakes. Our high mobility sample exhibits an insulating state at neutrality point which evolves into a metallic phase when a strong in-plane field is applied, as expected for a transition from a canted antiferromagnetic to a ferromagnetic spin ordered phase. For the first time we individuate a temperature-independent crossing in the four-terminal resistance as a function of the total magnetic field, corresponding to the critical point of the transition. We show that the critical field scales linearly with the perpendicular component of the field, as expected from the underlying competition between the Zeeman energy and interaction-induced anisotropies. A clear scaling of the resistance is also found and an universal behavior is proposed in the vicinity of the transition

The Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union: The case of Morocco

The CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union are a European Commission initiative created to reinforce national and, therefore, regional, capacities regarding nuclear, chemical and biological security outside the European Union. They are made of a network of political and technical experts that mobilize resources in order to achieve a coherent CBRN policy through technical cooperation projects that have been tailored depending on the needs of each partner State. This paper focuses on the origin, legal basis and structure of the CoE taking the Centre of Excellence located in Rabat, Morocco, as a very illustrative example of the CoE functioning and potential. The case of Morocco is especially interesting as it hosts the Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade, one of the eight regions where CoE can be found.Les Centres d’Excellence (CoE) pour l’atténuation des risques CBRN de l’Union Européenne sont une initiative de la Commission Européenne créé pour renforcer des capacités nationaux et, par conséquent, régionaux, en matière de la sécurité nucléaire, chimique et biologique en dehors de l’Union Européenne. Ils sont constitués d’un réseau d’experts politiques et techniques qui mobilisent des ressources afn de parvenir à une politique CBRN cohérente à travers des projets de coopération technique qui ont été adaptés en fonction des besoins de chaque Etat partenaire. Ce document met l’accent sur l’origine, la base juridique et la structure des Centres d’Excellence en prenant le Centre d’Excellence situé à Rabat, au Maroc, comme un exemple très illustratif du fonctionnement et le potentiel des CoE. Le cas du Maroc est particulièrement intéressant car elle héberge le Secrétariat pour la Façade Atlantique de l’Afrique, l’une des huit régions où les CoE peuvent être trouvés.los Centros de Excelencia (CoE) de mitigación de riesgos QBRN de la Unión Europea son una iniciativa de la Comisión Europea creada para fortalecer las capacidades nacionales y, por ende, regionales, en materia de seguridad nuclear, química y biológica fuera de la Unión Europea. Están formados por una red de expertos políticos y técnicos que movilizan recursos para lograr una política QBRN coherente a través de proyectos de cooperación técnica que han sido adaptados a las necesidades de cada país socio. Este documento se centra en el origen, fundamento jurídico y la estructura de los Centros de Excelencia tomando como caso de estudio el Centro ubicado en Rabat, Marruecos, como un ejemplo muy ilustrativo del funcionamiento y el potencial de los CoE. El caso de Marruecos es particularmente interesante ya que alberga la Secretaría de la Fachada Africana Atlántica, de las ocho regiones en las que se pueden encontrar Centros de Excelencia

Modular Multimodal Iron Oxide-Based Nanocarriers for Image-Guided dsRNA Immunostimulation and Platinum Anticancer Drug Design

237 p.El objetivo de este proyecto se centra en la síntesis de nanopartículas inorgánicas de óxido de hierro con una composición, superficie y tamaño especialmente diseñados para activar el sistema inmune y tener capacidad anticancerígena y/o para su utilización como agente de imagen multimodal.Para la activación del sistema inmune se ha biofuncionalizado el sistema con un patrón molecular asociado a patógeno (PAMPs) de interés clínico, llamado poly (I:C) (Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid). Este PAMP es capaz de activar un receptor tipo Toll (TLR3) presente en las células del sistema inmune.La capacidad anticancerígena, se consigue mediante a la incorporación en el sistema de un complejo de Pt (IV) inerte que actúa como profármaco de cisplatino y que junto con el poly (I:C) como agente inmunoestimulador se usan para combinar los efectos de dos terapias complementarias para matar células tumorales in vitro e in vivo.La incorporación de fluorescencia en el sistema mediante un fosfolípido modificado con rodamina B disponible en el mercado, así como el uso del agente radioactivo fac-[99mTc(OH2)3(CO)3]+ y las propiedades magnéticas intrínsecas del sistema, permitieron la visualización del mismo in vitro e in vivo mediante diferentes técnicas de imagen molecular

Fabrication and characterization of graphene nanodevices

[ES]In this Thesis our results on the fabrication of graphene nanodevices and their magnetotransport properties will be shown. In particular, we have fabricated several graphene nanodevices exploring the routes to field effec transistors using different approaches and fundamental physics research using Hall bars, Corbino rings and more exotic geometries. We have studied the quantum Hall effct in several graphene nanodevices: bilayer graphene and trilayer graphene, studying the transport regimes when unwanted charged dopants are present in the device. We extended our studies on the quantum Hall effect and characterized the plateauplateau quantum phase transition in a high mobility bilayer graphene device. Our results on the quantum phase transitions showed to be compatible with a percolation scenario in which the critical exponent of such transition is y=4/3. We have also studied the low field regime in a monolayer graphene device and a bilayer graphene device. For the monolayer graphene device, the trigonal warping is manifested in the destruction of the weak antilocalization. The bilayer graphene sample showed different transport regimes (from insulator like to metallic like) driven by the density. Furthermore, a change in the temperature resulted in ballistic transport for higher densities. Finally, the interplay between the graphene surface and a thin film of tantalum has been studied. We have observed a clear difference between the charge transfer from 3D porous carbon and tantalum and that from 3D porous graphene and tantalum, manifested in a modification of the superconducting properties of thin films of tantalum

Cancer Stem Cells

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