Optimization for Sustainable Design through Building Information Modeling

More than thirty years after the definition of the concept of sustainable development, the European Union's Agenda 2030 renews its commitment to protect the Planet and to support the needs of present and future generations. All sectors of human activity have to make their contribution to this significant challenge of our time. Therefore, the construction sector can also make an essential contribution in terms of its impact. In this context, designers are called upon to modify their actions in order to take into account the environmental, social, and economic impacts during the entire life cycle of construction. Therefore, a substantial transformation in the designer's "mentality" is necessary. The digital revolution could be a suitable opportunity for a profound renewal oriented towards sustainability. The new digital technologies and the increased computing power are useful to manage the increasing complexity in current projects and to support collaboration between the many experts involved. The thesis aim is to analyse the current state and identify the signs of change and the cues to imagine possible virtuous complicity between sustainable development goals and the potential of the digital revolution, supported by the operational features of optimization methods. The further intent is to translate the synergy between the three key topics - sustainability, digitization, and optimization - through an operational strategy that can be a concrete demonstration of what is proposed and offered to designers

Challenges of integrated river basin management in the case of a non-perennial river in Djibouti (East Africa)

River basinsWater resource managementNatural disastersFlood water

Relação da violência familiar e a impulsividade em uma mostra de adolescentes mexicanos

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between domestic violence and impulsivity in a sample of Mexican adolescents and to determine whether variables such as gender, parental anxiety and parenting styles affect that relationship. A total of 344 senior high students of the City of Mexico participated in the study, of which 57 reported violence between their parents. Results indicate a low relationship between violence of the parents and their levels of impulsivity, this relationship being mediated by the degree of presence of the adolescent in such episodes of violence. On the other hand, an authoritarian parenting style is mainly associated with high levels of impulsivity, where anxiety is the mediator of such relationship. Results are discussed in terms of the intergenerational transmission of violence.O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a relação entre a violência familiar e a impulsividade em uma mostra de adolescentes mexicanos, e determinar se variáveis como o gênero, a ansiedade e os estilos parentais de criação afetam essa relação. Participaram um total de 344 alunos de nível médio superior da Cidade do México, dos quais 57 relataram violência entre seus pais. Os resultados indicam uma relação baixa de violência entre os pais e os níveis de impulsividade, sendo esta relação mediada pelo grau de presença do adolescente em tais atos violentos. Por outra parte, um estilo parental autoritário associa-se principalmente com níveis elevados de impulsividade, sendo a ansiedade mediadora dessa relação. Os resultados são discutidos em função da transmissão intergeracional da violência.El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar la relación entre la violencia familiar y la impulsividad en una muestra de adolescentes mexicanos, y determinar si variables como el género, la ansiedad y los estilos parentales de crianza afectan dicha relación. Participaron un total de 344 alumnos de nivel medio superior de la Ciudad de México, de los cuales 57 reportaron violencia entre sus padres. Los resultados indican una relación baja de la violencia entre los padres y los niveles de impulsividad, siendo esta relación mediada por el grado de presencia del adolecente en dichos actos violentos. Por otra parte, un estilo parental autoritario se asocia principalmente con niveles elevados de impulsividad, siendo la ansiedad mediadora de dicha relación. Los resultados se discuten en función de la transmisión intergeneracional de la violencia

On the behavior of the Hartshorne-Rao module in the Hilbert scheme of curves in P3\mathbb{P}^{3}

We study the behavior of the Hartshorne-Rao module in the unique component of ACM curves of degree $d_{r}=\frac{r(r+1)}{2}$ and genus $g_{r}=\frac{r(r+1)(2r-5)}{6}+1$, denoted by $\overline{\mathscr{C}_{r}}$. In particular, in the case of curves of degree $6$ and genus $3$ we prove that the subvariety of curves with Hartshorne-Rao module of rank one in the component $\overline{\mathscr{C}_{3}}$ is a reducible divisor and the components of such divisor generate a face of the effective cone Eff$(\overline{\mathscr{C}_{3}})$. In general, we verify that the subvariety of curves with Hartshorne-Rao module of rank one in $\overline{\mathscr{C}_{r}}$ always contains a divisor

Investigating the effects of neuromodulatory training on autistic traits: a multi-methods psychophysiological study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by noticeable difficulties with social interaction and communication. Building on past research in this area and with the aim of improving methodological perspectives, a multi method approach to the study of ASD, mirror neurons and neurofeedback was taken. This thesis is made up of three main experiments: 1) A descriptive study of the resting state electroencephalography (EEG) across the spectrum of autistic traits in neurotypical individuals, 2) A comparison of 3 EEG protocols on MNs activation (mu suppression) and its difference according to self-reported traits of autism in neurotypical individuals, and 3) Neurofeedback training (NFT) on individuals with high autistic traits. In chapters 3 and 4 we employed simultaneous monitoring of physiological data. For chapter 3 EEG and eye-tracking was used, In the case of chapter 4, EEG and eye-tracking as well functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Overall the findings revealed differences in mu rhythm reactivity associated to AQ traits. In chapter 2, the rEEG showed that individuals with high AQ scores showed less activation of frontal and fronto-central regions combined with higher levels of complexity in fronto-temporal, temporal, parietal and parieto-occipital areas. In chapter 3, EEG protocols that elicited Mu reactivity in individuals with different AQ traits suggested that as the AQ traits become more pronounced in neurotypical population, the event-related desynchronization (ERD) in low alpha declines. Chapter 3 was also the basis for the choice of pre/post assessment for chapter 4. In chapter 4 the multi-method physiological approach provided parallel physiological evidence for the effects of NFT in sensorimotor reactivity, namely, an increase in ERD in high alpha, higher levels of oxygenated haemoglobin and changes to the amplitude and frequency in the microstructure of mu for participants who underwent active training as opposed to a sham group

Effects of Feeding and Mating on Pheromone Release in the Southern Pine Beetle

Response of field populations of Delldroetoll1lS frontalis Zimmermann to their aggregating pheromone was correlated with pheromone content of dissectted hindgut tissues of adult beetles a determined by the gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) technique. Adult beetles in various stages of feeding activity and reproductive states were used for this purpose. Two major components of the aggregating pheromones, frontalin and trans-verbenol, were found in the largest quantities in emergent unfed females. After 48 hours of feeding, frontal in content of the hindguts was 29% and trans-verbeno content was only 5% of that of emergent females. Continuous bioassays of females feeding in host material showed increasing response of field populations to the beetle until 24-48 hours after feeding had begun, then response declined. The fact that pheromone content declined steadily following beetle attack while field response increased was thought to be due to capture of the pheromone in frass particles, thus slowing its rate of release. The decline of pheromone components in hindguts of mated females was not precipitous or abrupt a suggested by behavioral studies on other species of DendroctollllS. Field bioassays confirmed the GLC studies and showed that in both virgin and mated females peak attractiveness occurred 24-48 hours after the tree was attacked the beetles

Applications of an Integrated Design Methodology for Regenerative Process of the Existing Buildings

The building sector has been identified as one of the key sectors to achieve the 20/20/20 targets of the EU. In particular, the existing buildings are considered as one of most potential sub-sectors to reach energy and raw materials savings. This research is integrated in this European context and the main goal is to look for solutions that can be fully integrated in the building system and that can optimize all the sustainable future aspects. A global approach is proposed to generate a comprehensive framework for the building renovation process. It's an "action guide" of the entire regenerative process already applied to different types of buildings. A summary of the results obtained in the buildings regeneration projects are presented

Reduced-Rank Tensor-on-Tensor Regression and Tensor-variate Analysis of Variance

Fitting regression models with many multivariate responses and covariates can be challenging, but such responses and covariates sometimes have tensor-variate structure. We extend the classical multivariate regression model to exploit such structure in two ways: first, we impose four types of low-rank tensor formats on the regression coefficients. Second, we model the errors using the tensor-variate normal distribution that imposes a Kronecker separable format on the covariance matrix. We obtain maximum likelihood estimators via block-relaxation algorithms and derive their computational complexity and asymptotic distributions. Our regression framework enables us to formulate tensor-variate analysis of variance (TANOVA) methodology. This methodology, when applied in a one-way TANOVA layout, enables us to identify cerebral regions significantly associated with the interaction of suicide attempters or non-attemptor ideators and positive-, negative- or death-connoting words in a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study. Another application uses three-way TANOVA on the Labeled Faces in the Wild image dataset to distinguish facial characteristics related to ethnic origin, age group and gender.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables, 2 algorithm

La regulación aversiva en las interacciones madre-niño en díadas con historia de maltrato infantil

Se observaron díadas madre-hijo (hija) con historia de abuso en dos condiciones: libre y académica. El objetivo fue ampliar la evidencia respecto a los procesos de regulación aversiva en las relaciones coercitivas en condiciones de baja y alta demanda. Se realizaron análisis de dependencias secuenciales y de secuencias temporales que son sensibles a los procesos de reforzamiento positivo y negativo que operan en relaciones coercitivas, según las hipótesis de obediencia e indiscriminación materna. Los resultados sugieren al reforzamiento negativo como un factor importante en el maltrato físico infantil, ya que se observó que los episodios de intercambio se ajustaron de manera marcada a las demandas de la madre, más que a las del niño. En general, el estudio sugiere además que las madres se comportan de manera inconsistente ante el comportamiento infantil, y que suelen fracasar en cuanto a la supervisión del cumplimiento de instrucciones.We observed the interaction between mother-child dyads with history of physical abuse under two conditions: free and academic. Our aim was to gather further evidence with regard to aversive regulation processes in coercive relationships. Mother and children’s behavior were coded on different categories and analyses of sequential dependencies and temporal sequences were run. These analyses are sensitive to the negative and positive reinforcement processes that are supposed to operate in coercive relationships as proposed by the obedience and maternal indiscrimination hypotheses. The results indicate the role of negative reinforcement as an important factor in physical abuse, because it was observed that the behavioral episodes were more adjusted to the mother’s demands than to the child’s demands. In general, the study additionally suggested that the mothers are inconsistent before the child’s behavior, and that they usually fail in supervising the completion of instructions.DGAPA PAPIIT IN30150