Monitoring and analytics to measure heat resilience of buildings and support retrofitting by passive cooling

Designing buildings to prevent indoor overheating requires the definition of accurate procedures to measure the passive survivability of buildings and support retrofitting. This research proposes innovative diagnostic methods to audit the heat resilience of buildings using long-term monitoring data of temperature and CO2 concentrations. The aim is to identify optimal passive cooling alternatives to retrofit the built environment through a speedy and less-disruptive assessment of the actual building performance. The approach focuses on three steps: (1) characterisation of the overheating situation of the indoor environment by a novel seasonal building overheating index (SBOI) ranging from 0 to 100%; (2) diagnosis of the indoor environment through a heat balance map that divides building performance into four thermal stages related to the positive or negative influence of total heat flux, and the ventilation and infiltration load; (3) and calculation of air change rates associated with ventilation and infiltration per thermal stage using the CO2-based decay method. The diagnostic analytics were developed in Python and tested on three homes. The results demonstrate how the proposed approach can efficiently characterise the overheating situation of buildings, with Home 2 showing the most vulnerable scenario (SBOI>35%). Moreover, the indicators identified the best available passive cooling opportunities concerning the reduction of solar and heat gains for Home 2, and the increase of ventilative cooling for Home 1. The research highlights the role of diagnostic analytics using real monitoring data to audit seasonal building performance beyond standard tests and simulations. The source code can be found at https://github.com/lizanafj/analytics-to-assess-the-heat-resilience-of-buildings.ERDF for the Andalusian region US -15547Andalusian Government US.20-06European Commission 101023241Andalusian Government (Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Economia, Innovacion y Ciencia) POST- DOC_21-00575Spanish Governmen

Participative construction of a socioecological model for the social inclusion of people with disabilities

El propósito de este artículo es dar cuenta de un modelo socioecológico de inclusión social dirigido a personas en situación de discapacidad, sus cuidadores y la comunidad de la vereda La Balsa del Municipio de Chía, el cual fue construido a través de una experiencia de investigación acción participativa. En la primera fase del proyecto se identificaron los significados que han construido las personas, sus familias y las redes de apoyo alrededor de la discapacidad, los cuales están relacionados con los problemas que deben afrontar en su cotidianidad y revelan que esta condición les permite reconocer su valía y potencialidades. En la segunda fase participaron 42 personas en situación de discapacidad, sus cuidadores, líderes comunitarios y un equipo conformado por profesionales de enfermería, psicología y pedagogía, la cual estuvo dirigida a construir participativamente el modelo a través de foros comunitarios y el uso de estrategias como las metáforas del árbol y del sol que tienen un carácter evaluativo y motivacional, a partir de las cuales se identificaron los núcleos de desarrollo del modelo: personal, familiar, comunitario, de comunicación y de bienestar, los cuales se pondrán en marcha en la tercera fase del proyecto.The purpose of this article is to give an account of the socio-ecological model of inclusion addressed to people who were in a condition of disability, their caregivers and the community of La Balsa district in the town of Chia. During the first phase of the study, the meanings given by the patients, their families and the support networks to the word "disability" were identified and it was found that these meanings were related to the difficulties that disabled people and their families must face in their day-to-day lives and how this condition might allow them to recognize their sheer value and potential. During the second phase, 42 people, among which were disabled individuals, caregivers, community leaders and a team formed by professionals in nursing, psychology and education participated in the process of construction of this model. The recollection of information related to the personal, family, social and community resources was done through a series of community forums and the use of strategies like the tree and sun metaphor, which have an evaluative and motivational character. These resources were central to identifying the nucleus of development at the personal, family, community, communication and well-being levels, which constituted the central elements of the project

Lipid composition of normal male rat islets

Lipid composition was studied in fresh isolated isolets from normal male rats. Extractable lipids represent 1856 μg per mg islet protein. In such extracts, phospholipids and neutral lipids reprsent 13.5% and 86.5%, respectively. Phosphatidylcholine (45.8%) and phosphatidyl-ethanolamine (20.6%) were the major components of the phospholipid fraction, and phosphatidylinositol (8.9%) was the minor component. Esterified cholesterol (38.5%), cholesterol (25.5%) and free fatty acids (24.4%) were the major components of the neutral lipid fraction. Fatty major components of the neutral lipid fraction. Fatty acids esterified to phospholipids account for 619.7 pmol/islet, and, 2710 pmol/islet were esterified to neutral lipids. In the phospholipid fraction, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were in a similar proportion. Conversely, in the neutral lipids, two-thirds of the fatty acids were unsaturated. The ω6 family was the main component of the phospholipid unsaturated fatty acids. In the ω6 and ω3 families, the long-chain fatty acids represent the main components. In the neutral lipid fraction, a different percentage of each family was found: ω3>ω6>ω9. The long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were also predominant species in the ω6 and ω3 families. Further studies on the lipid composition of islets, obtained from rats with normal and altered islet functions, could provide new insights into the knowledge of the mechanism of insulin secretion.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Lipid composition of normal male rat islets

Lipid composition was studied in fresh isolated isolets from normal male rats. Extractable lipids represent 1856 μg per mg islet protein. In such extracts, phospholipids and neutral lipids reprsent 13.5% and 86.5%, respectively. Phosphatidylcholine (45.8%) and phosphatidyl-ethanolamine (20.6%) were the major components of the phospholipid fraction, and phosphatidylinositol (8.9%) was the minor component. Esterified cholesterol (38.5%), cholesterol (25.5%) and free fatty acids (24.4%) were the major components of the neutral lipid fraction. Fatty major components of the neutral lipid fraction. Fatty acids esterified to phospholipids account for 619.7 pmol/islet, and, 2710 pmol/islet were esterified to neutral lipids. In the phospholipid fraction, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were in a similar proportion. Conversely, in the neutral lipids, two-thirds of the fatty acids were unsaturated. The ω6 family was the main component of the phospholipid unsaturated fatty acids. In the ω6 and ω3 families, the long-chain fatty acids represent the main components. In the neutral lipid fraction, a different percentage of each family was found: ω3>ω6>ω9. The long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were also predominant species in the ω6 and ω3 families. Further studies on the lipid composition of islets, obtained from rats with normal and altered islet functions, could provide new insights into the knowledge of the mechanism of insulin secretion.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

A feminist research proposal for the study of misogyny: reflexive notes after the research process

En los últimos años ha aumentado el interés por el estudio de la misoginia, como consecuencia de los cambios sociales relacionados con la visibilización y denuncia de este problema, de la emergencia de nuevas formas de misoginia con la llegada de Internet y porque se considera fundamental su estudio para comprender la naturaleza de la violencia cometida contra mujeres y niñas. En este contexto, ofrecemos el detalle metodológico de dos investigaciones realizadas en el pasado sobre misoginia y reflexionamos sobre la propuesta de la investigación feminista para su estudio. Comenzamos explicando la propuesta de la metodología afectiva feminista, que sirvió para el estudio de la cultura lad, un conjunto de prácticas misóginas que se dan en entornos universitarios británicos. Después, se detalla una propuesta de investigación basada en la etnografía digital feminista en el marco de una investigación destinada a comprender el papel de las subculturas digitales misóginas de la manosfera española en la normalización y legitimización de la violencia sexual cometida contra mujeres.In recent years, interest in the study of misogyny has increased, as a consequence of social changes related to the visibility of this issue and the emergence of new forms of misogyny with the arrival of the Internet and digital violences. In this context, we offer the methodological detail of two studies on misogyny and we reflect on the proposal of feminist research for its study. We begin by explaining the proposal of the feminist affective methodology, which served to study lad culture, a set of misogynistic practices that occur in British university settings. Then, we revise a research based on feminist digital ethnography aimed at understanding the role of misogynistic digital subcultures in the Spanish manosphere in the normalization and legitimization of sexual violence committed against women

(Re)discovering Vicki Penfold's linocuts

Vicki Penfold (Krakow 1918 - Tenerife 2013) was a Polish-born artist who arrived in the Canary Islands in the 1960s after a long pilgrimage to places as disparate as Kenya, Paris and Israel, among others. She also traveled to Austria to become a student of Oskar Kokoschka in his Salzburg studio. Her personal archive, recently donated to the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias (hereafter IEHC) on the island of Tenerife, preserves a wide variety of materials that are currently being inventoried and catalogued. This collection presents a huge potential for study and cross-sectional analysis to address the methodology of the artist and the materiality of his work. This article proposes an initial analysis of the various matrices, relating them to the pieces currently preserved and establishing relationships with the documentation contained in his personal archive. It also aims to highlight Vicki Penfold as a graphic artist, perhaps her most overlooked facet, but one that highlights her enormous sensitivity and versatility in working with a wide variety of techniques.Vicki Penfold (Cracovie 1918 - Tenerife 2013) était une artiste d'origine polonaise qui est arrivée aux îles Canaries dans les années soixante du siècle dernier après un long pèlerinage dans des lieux aussi disparates que le Kenya, Paris et Israël, entre autres. Elle s'est également rendue en Autriche pour devenir l'élève d'Oskar Kokoschka dans son atelier de Salzbourg. Ses archives personnelles, récemment données à l'Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias (ci-après IEHC) sur l'île de Ténérife, conservent une grande variété de matériaux qui sont actuellement en cours d'inventaire et de catalogage. Cette collection présente un énorme potentiel d'étude et d'analyse transversale pour aborder la méthodologie de l'artiste et la matérialité de son travail. Cet article propose une première analyse des différentes matrices, en les mettant en relation avec les pièces actuellement conservées et en établissant des relations avec la documentation contenue dans ses archives personnelles. Il cherche également à mettre en valeur la figure de Vicki Penfold en tant qu'artiste graphique, peut-être sa facette la plus méconnue, mais qui met en évidence son énorme sensibilité et sa polyvalence à travailler avec une grande variété de techniques

Aspect-ratio and lateral-resolution enhancement in force microscopy by attaching nanoclusters generated by an ion cluster source at the end of a silicon tip

One of the factors that limit the spatial resolution in atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the physical size of the probe. This limitation is particularly severe when the imaged structures are comparable in size to the tip’s apex. The resolution in the AFM is usually enhanced by using sharp tips with high aspect ratios. In the present paper we propose an approach to modify AFM tips that consists of depositing nanoclusters on standard silicon tips. We show that the use of those tips leads to atomic force microscopy images of higher aspect ratios and spatial resolution. The present approach has two major properties. It provides higher aspect-ratio images of nanoscale objects and, at the same time, enables to functionalize the AFM tips by depositing nanoparticles with well-controlled chemical composition.The authors acknowledge the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Comisión Interministerial para la Ciencia Y la Tecnología—CICYT under Contract Nos. MAT2008-06765-C02-02, MAT2009-08650, and CSD2007 00041 (Nanoselect) and through the FPI and “Juan de La Cierva” programs for financial support.Peer reviewe

Modification of AFM tips by depositing nanoparticles with an Ion Cluster Source. Enhancement of the aspect-ratio and lateral resolution

Póster presentado en la NanoSpain Conference (Nanoiberian Conference), celebrada en Bilbao del 11 al 14 de abril de 2011.One of the factors that limit the spatial resolution in atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the physical size of the probe. This limitation is particularly severe when the imaged structures are comparable in size to the tip¿s apex. The resolution in the AFM is usually enhanced by using sharp tips with high aspect ratios. In the present paper we propose an approach to modify AFM tips that consists of depositing nanoclusters on standard silicon tips. We show that the use of those tips leads to atomic force microscopy images of higher aspect ratios and spatial resolution. The present approach has two major properties. It provides higher aspect-ratio images of nanoscale objects and, at the same time, enables to functionalize the AFM tips by depositing nanoparticles with well-controlled chemical composition.Peer Reviewe

Predicted photoreflectance signatures on QD selective contacts for hot carrier solar cells

The CO2 emission of our present energy transformation processes, based mainly on burning fossil fuels, is possibly the main cause of global climatic change. The photovoltaic conversion of solar energy is a clean way of producing which for sustainability should (and most probably will) become a major source of electricity. The sun is a huge resource but relatively diluted and it is reasonable to expect that only high efficiency extraction can be cost effective for mass exploitation. New concepts are neccessary such as hot carrier solar cells

Changes induced by glucose in the plasma membrane properties of pancreatic islets

Partially purified membranes obtained from rat pancreatic isolated islets preincubated for 3 min with 3.3 and 16.6 mM glucose were labelled with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene to study fluorescence polarization. Other islets, incubated for 5 min with the same glucose concentration, were extracted and phospholipids separated by thin-layer chromatography. The composition of phospholipids of fatty acids was then studied by gas-liquid chromatography. Arrhenius plots of the microviscosity in membranes obtained from islets exhibited two components, a steeper slope below 18 degrees C and a gentler slope above 18 degrees C, indicating greater flow activation energy at temperatures below the transition point. Exposure of islets to 16.6 mM glucose significantly increased the flow activation energy (delta E), below and above the transition point. Islets incubated for 5 min with 16.6 mM glucose showed an increase in the percentage composition of 12:0 and 18:2 together with a decrease in the 20:2 W6 and 22:3 W3 fatty acids esterified to phospholipids. Regardless of these changes, no significant alterations occurred in the proportion of saturated fatty acids or in the double bond index; these measurements therefore did not account for the effects of glucose concentration in flow activation energy. The thermotropic changes reported here might be the consequence of some degree of disorder induced by glucose upon the membrane structure. This order alteration could either favor the membrane fusion which occurs during the emiocytosis or only reflects the consequence of such a process.Facultad de Ciencias Médica