El área urbana funcional de Madrid (1991-2011). Metodología y resultados de una propuesta de delimitación y caracterización multicriterio

Esta investigación centra su atención en el análisis de los procesos constitutivos de lo urbano, más allá de las delimitaciones territoriales administrativas. Es fundamental arrojar luz sobre dichos procesos para estudiar las dinámicas y disyuntivas que enfrentan nuestros desiguales territorios urbanos. Con esta visión se propone una metodología para delimitar el área urbana funcional de Madrid y establecer sobre ella una diferenciación zonal que conjugue la existencia de un gradiente de intensidad de sus procesos constitutivos con la fracturación social de su espacio. Por último, un análisis multicriterio, a través de la generación de índices sintéticos, comparativos entre las diferentes zonas demarcadas, aportará una base descriptiva sobre la que evaluar tanto el acierto metodológico de la delimitación y caracterización del área funcional como su modelo evolutivo de desarrollo durante las últimas dos décadas. Los datos obtenidos arrojan luz sobre la validez de la tradicional dicotomía madrileña noroeste-sureste, así como, sobre la insostenibilidad del modelo en generación

HeteroGenius: A Framework for Hybrid Analysis of Heterogeneous Software Specifications

Nowadays, software artifacts are ubiquitous in our lives being an essential part of home appliances, cars, cell phones, and even in more critical activities like aeronautics and health sciences. In this context software failures may produce enormous losses, either economical or, in the worst case, in human lives. Software analysis is an area in software engineering concerned with the application of diverse techniques in order to prove the absence of errors in software pieces. In many cases different analysis techniques are applied by following specific methodological combinations that ensure better results. These interactions between tools are usually carried out at the user level and it is not supported by the tools. In this work we present HeteroGenius, a framework conceived to develop tools that allow users to perform hybrid analysis of heterogeneous software specifications. HeteroGenius was designed prioritising the possibility of adding new specification languages and analysis tools and enabling a synergic relation of the techniques under a graphical interface satisfying several well-known usability enhancement criteria. As a case-study we implemented the functionality of Dynamite on top of HeteroGenius.Comment: In Proceedings LAFM 2013, arXiv:1401.056

Artificial intelligence and creativity for generating architectural images from textual descriptions in Midjourney. Emulating Louis I. Kahn

[EN] Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently causing a cultural transformation in different artistic fields, including Architecture, more specifically in the generation of architectural images from textual descriptions (words). Images, some of them experimental, make us think about how far this new system of artistic creation can go. For López de Mántaras (2017, p.1), creativity, as we know it, has given way to the so-called computational creativity. This new form of creative process needs the storage of a large amount of input data that, made available to textual descriptions, will progressively learn and generate images subject to those same words. In this text, we will reflect on how images of architecture can be generated using the MIDJOURNEY Artificial Intelligence system or program, focusing on the figure of Louis I. Kahn and how this Intelligence interprets certain starting words to generate drawn replicas of the architect's works.[ES] Actualmente la Inteligencia Artificial (IA) está provocando una transformación cultural en diferentes campos artísticos, entre ellos la Arquitectura, más concretamente en la generación de imágenes arquitectónicas a partir de descripciones textuales (palabras). Imágenes, algunas de ellas experimentales, nos hacen pensar hasta dónde puede llegar este nuevo sistema de creación artística. Para López de Mántaras (2017, p.1), la creatividad, tal y como la conocemos, ha dado paso a la llamada creatividad computacional. Esta nueva forma de proceso creativo necesita del almacenaje de una gran cantidad de datos de entrada que, puestos a disposición de descripciones textuales, irá aprendiendo progresivamente y generando imágenes sujetas a esas mismas palabras. En este texto someteremos a reflexión cómo se pueden generar imágenes de arquitectura empleando el sistema o programa de Inteligencia Artificial MIDJOURNEY centrándonos en la figura de Louis I. Kahn y cómo esta Inteligencia interpreta ciertas palabras de inicio para generar réplicas dibujadas de las obras del arquitecto.Molina-Siles, P.; Giménez Ribera, M. (2023). Inteligencia artificial y creatividad para la generación de imágenes arquitectónicas a partir de descripciones textuales en Midjourney. Emulando a Louis I. Kahn. EGA Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 28(49):238-251. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2023.19294238251284

A proportional approach to claims problems with a guaranteed minimum

In distribution problems, and specifically in bankruptcy issues, the Proportional (P) and the Egalitarian (EA) divisions are two of the most popular ways to resolve the conflict. Nonetheless, when using the egalitarian division, agents may receive more than her claim. We propose a compromise between the proportional and the egalitarian approaches by considering the restriction that no one receives more than her claim. We show that the most egalitarian compromise fulfilling this restriction ensures a minimum amount to each agent. We also show that this compromise can be interpreted as a process that works in two steps as follows: first, all agents receive an equal share up to the smallest claim if possible (egalitarian distribution), and then, the remaining estate (if any) is allocated proportionally to the remaining claims (proportional distribution). Finally, we obtain that the recursive application of this process finishes at the Constrained Equal Awards solution (CEA).Financial support from Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Banco Santander and Generalitat de Catalunya under Project 2011LINE-06 and the Barcelona GSE

Participation and Solidarity in Redistribution Mechanisms

Following Bossert (1995), we consider a model where personal income depends on two different characteristics: skills and effort. Luttens (2010) introduces claims that individuals have over aggregate income and that only depend on the effort they exert. Moreover, he proposes redistribution mechanisms in which solidarity is based on changes in a lower bound on what every individual deserves according to these claims: the so-called minimal rights (O’Neill 1982). A debatable consequence in one of Luttens’ mechanisms is that “the poorest individuals might up with a negative income” (Luttens 2010); that is, this mechanism does not satisfy participation, which turns out to be incompatible with claims feasibility, under Luttens’ assumptions. We present a new solidarity axiom that is compatible both with participation and claims feasibility, and we provide a mechanism satisfying these properties and our new additive solidarity axiom. Moreover, our mechanism satisfies additional properties, as priority, or respect of minimal rights.This has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness funds under Project ECO2013-43119 and by Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Banco Santander and Generalitat de Catalunya under the project 2011LINE-06

Students’ perspectives on the processes of supervision and assessment of undergraduate dissertations / Perspectiva del alumnado de los procesos de tutorización y evaluación de los trabajos de fin de grado

Producción CientíficaResumen: La incorporación al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior ha supuesto la obligatoriedad de la elaboración de los Trabajos de Fin de Grado (TFG), circunstancia que representa una novedad importante en el sistema universitario español por las importantes repercusiones que sobre el funcionamiento académico acarrea. Este trabajo aporta información relevante sobre los procesos de tutorización y evaluación de los TFGs, desde la perspectiva del alumnado y las consiguientes propuestas de mejora. Los resultados alcanzados indican que, al menos en las instituciones en las que se ha realizado el estudio, es imprescindible la puesta en marcha de iniciativas orientadas a: la mejora de plazos, medios y recursos necesarios para la realización del TFG, la incorporación de criterios más idóneos que los actuales para su evaluación, la mejor preparación para la tutorización de los profesores implicados proporcionar una información previa más adecuada y precisa a los estudiantes en relación con el TFG y elevar el grado de su preparación para la realización del TFG

The Calcium-Looping (CaCO3/CaO) Process for Thermochemical Energy Storage in Concentrating Solar Power Plants

Articulo aceptado por la revista. * No publicado aún [28-06-2019]Energy storage based on thermochemical systems is gaining momentum as potential alternative to molten salts in Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants. This work is a detailed review about the promising integration of a CaCO3/CaO based system, the so-called Calcium-Looping (CaL) process, in CSP plants with tower technology. The CaL process relies on low cost, widely available and non-toxic natural materials (such as limestone or dolomite), which are necessary conditions for the commercial expansion of any energy storage technology at large scale. A comprehensive analysis of the advantages and challenges to be faced for the process to reach a commercial scale is carried out. The review includes a deep overview of reaction mechanisms and process integration schemes proposed in the recent literature. Enhancing the multicycle CaO conversion is a major challenge of the CaL process. Many lab-scale analyses carried out show that residual effective CaO conversion is highly dependent on the process conditions and CaO precursors used, reaching values as different as 0.07-0.82. The selection of the optimal operating conditions must be based on materials, process integration, technology and economics aspects. Global plant efficiencies over 45% (without considering solar-side losses) show the interest of the technology. Furthermore, the technological maturity and potential of the process is assessed. The direction towards which future works should be headed is discussed.Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad CTQ2014-52763-C2, CTQ2017- 83602-C2 (-1-R and -2-R)Unión Europea Horizon 2020 Grant agreement No 727348, project SOCRATCES

Modulating prokaryotic lifestyle by DNA-binding proteins: Learning from (apparently) simple systems

Within the research in Molecular Biology, one important field along the years has been the analyses on how prokaryotes regulate the expression of their genes and what the consequences of these activities are. Prokaryotes have attracted the interests of researchers not only because the processes taking place in their world are important to cells, but also because many of the effects often can be readily measured, both at the single cell level and in large populations. Contributing to the interest of the present topic is the fact that modulation of gene activity involves the sensing of intra- and inter-cellular conditions, DNA binding and DNA dynamics, and interaction with the replication/transcription machinery of the cell. All of these processes are fundamental to the operation of a biological entity and they condition its lifestyle. Further, the discoveries achieved in the bacterial world have been of ample use in eukaryotes. In addition to the fundamental interest of understanding modulation of prokaryotic lifestyle by DNA-binding proteins, there is an added interest from the healthcare point of view. As it is well-known the antibiotic-resistance strains of pathogenic bacteria are a major world problem, so that there is an urgent need of innovative approaches to tackle it. Human and animal infectious diseases impose staggering costs worldwide in terms of loss of human life and livestock, diminished productivity, and the heavy economic burden of disease. The global dimension of international trade, personal travel, and population migration expands at an ever-accelerating rate. This increasing mobility results in broader and quicker dissemination of bacterial pathogens and in rapid spread of antibiotic resistance. The majority of the newly acquired resistances are horizontally spread among bacteria of the same or different species by processes of lateral (horizontal) gene transfer, so that discovery of new antibiotics is not the definitive solution to fighting infectious diseases. There is an absolute need of finding novel alternatives to the "classical" approach to treat infections by bacterial pathogens, and these new ways must include the exploration and introduction of novel antibacterials, the development of alternative strategies, and the finding of novel bacterial targets. However, all these approaches will result in a stalemate if we, researchers, are not able to achieve a better understanding of the mechanistic processes underlying bacterial gene expression. It is, then, imperative to continue gaining insight into the basic mechanisms by which bacterial cells regulate the expression of their genes. That is why our Research Topic hosted by Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences was timely, and the output of it offers novel and up-to-date points of view to the "simple" bacterial world

Mediation in claims problems

Mediation is a dispute resolution process whereby agents reach a mutually acceptable agreement among different proposals that satisfy a set of principles. This paper provides a natural way of coming to such agreements in claims problems. In our approach, mediation combines (i) a set of fair properties (legitimate principles); and (ii) a criterion for delimiting the admissible manners of distributing the endowment, that is determined by the mediator expressing the two (dual) points of view to face such problems: awards and losses. These dual views define a lower and an upper bounds on awards, which are used to implement the so-called Double Recursive Process. We find that this process concludes at the midpoint between the two dual points of view. Finally, we argue that the criterion of the mediator could be established throughout Lorenz domination. In so doing, we retrieve the average of old and well-known rules.Financial support from Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Banco Santander and Generalitat de Catalunya under project 2011LINE-06

Concurso nacional Ateneo Mercantil de Valencia

[ES] Sin resumenGiménez, M. (2009). Concurso nacional Ateneo Mercantil de Valencia. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. (14):198-203. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2009.10256SWORD1982031