Hermeneutics and principles of quality in urban morphology

[☺EN] It is common to ascertain the loss of quality in the urban form during the 20th and 21st centuries, especially in the current globalization scenario, and in comparison to the previous centuries. Relevant authors of the cultural and artistic critique such as Erwin Panofsky, Ernst Gombrich or Enrique Lafuente Ferrari have defended the identification of the quality in the works of creation as the fundamental objective of the critique. Due to this, the research and identification of the quality features in the urban form are pertinent in order to have useful instruments to correct this contemporary cultural loss. It is therefore proposed the identification of quality principles of urban form from a hermeneutic point of view. That is to say, each of these principles as capable of opening a certain horizon of comprehension of a specific perspective of quality. For example, we can aim at: beauty, scale, amenity, grace, order, etc. Each principle, offers then a horizon of understanding and also of urban creativity that assembles into this work from the analysis of operative subprinciples and their verification on specific expressive cases of urban form, in both, historical and current aspects. The principles in turn can intertwine offering cumulative and transverse quality options. Therefore, what is sought, is to offer a pertinent and structured hermeneutical tool for the analysis of urban form in its values of quality and excellence.Poyatos Sebastián, J.; Baró Zarzo, JL. (2018). Hermeneutics and principles of quality in urban morphology. En 24th ISUF International Conference. Book of Papers. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1637-1643. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISUF2017.2017.6726OCS1637164

Estudio de la deleción espontánea de los exones 45–55 en el gen DMD y su aplicación como modelo de terapia génica. Análisis de factores condicionantes del fenotipo y estudio del modelo celular

La deleción de los exones 45 al 55 en el gen DMD (del45-55) se ha postulado como un interesante modelo terapéutico, mediante el que se podrían beneficiar hasta 60% de pacientes con distrofia muscular de Duchenne. Sin embargo, ésta se expresa con una gran variabilidad clínica, observando sujetos asintomáticos, mientras que otros presentan debilidad muscular, así como alteraciones cardiacas severas. El objetivo de la presente tesis doctoral es llevar a cabo un profundo análisis de la del45-55 para tratar de desvelar los factores que promueven su presentación de manera asintomática, de forma que pueda replicarse como modelo de terapia para la distrofia muscular de Duchenne. Metodología Para ello, se coordinó un estudio transversal multicéntrico, para identificar al máximo y realizar una evaluación clínica y funcional de sujetos con la del45-55. Además, se diseñó un panel de genes de secuenciación masiva para analizar los casos índice y determinar los puntos de rotura en los intrones 44 y 55 del gen DMD; así como la presencia de polimorfismos en genes modificadores de DMD y de mutaciones concurrentes. Se llevó a cabo análisis de estadística bayesiana estudios de correlación. También se realizó estudios de haplotipos, así como de expresión de distrofina en nueve biopsias musculares. Como prueba de concepto se procedió a reproducir del45-55 específica encontrada en un subgrupo de sujetos analizados; en una línea de mioblastos DMD, mediante el sistema de edición CRISPR-Cas9. Resultados La serie recogida consta de un total de 57 sujetos, 23 índice que expresan fenotipo tipo Becker (28%), cardiopatía aislada (19%) y signos asintomáticos (53%). Se detectaron alteraciones cognitivas en el 90% de los pacientes pediátricos. Los casos índice se agruparon en únicamente 10 deleciones con puntos de rotura específicos, debido 5 eventos fundadores (uno recurrente). El subgrupo D5 se asoció estadísticamente con una mayor severidad, no encontrando alteraciones promovidas por sus puntos de rotura. Todas las biopsias analizadas presentaban una expresión de distrofina superior al 67%. Entre los factores modificadores en trans explorados, encontramos que la ausencia de un determinado haplotipo en LTBP4 se asociaba con la presencia de cardiopatía. La introducción de la del45-55 en mioblastos DMD mediante CRIPSR-Cas9 es capaz de recuperar la expresión de distrofina y mejorar los defectos de diferenciación que presentaba esta línea, sin ocasionar modificaciones no deseadas en el genoma. Conclusión Se confirmó que la del45-55 segrega con una gran proporción de fenotipos asintomáticos o benignos, pero también existe la presencia de formas severas, de cardiopatía aislada y alteraciones cognitivas. Aunque identificamos una influencia de un determinado punto de rotura y del haplotipo en LTBP4 con la severidad, deben existir otros mecanismos responsables de la variabilidad. Aún así la del45-55 podría suponer un potencial modelo terapéutic

General Purpose Artificial Intelligence Systems (GPAIS): Properties, Definition, Taxonomy, Open Challenges and Implications

Most applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are designed for a confined and specific task. However, there are many scenarios that call for a more general AI, capable of solving a wide array of tasks without being specifically designed for them. The term General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence Systems (GPAIS) has been defined to refer to these AI systems. To date, the possibility of an Artificial General Intelligence, powerful enough to perform any intellectual task as if it were human, or even improve it, has remained an aspiration, fiction, and considered a risk for our society. Whilst we might still be far from achieving that, GPAIS is a reality and sitting at the forefront of AI research. This work discusses existing definitions for GPAIS and proposes a new definition that allows for a gradual differentiation among types of GPAIS according to their properties and limitations. We distinguish between closed-world and open-world GPAIS, characterising their degree of autonomy and ability based on several factors such as adaptation to new tasks, competence in domains not intentionally trained for, ability to learn from few data, or proactive acknowledgment of their own limitations. We then propose a taxonomy of approaches to realise GPAIS, describing research trends such as the use of AI techniques to improve another AI or foundation models. As a prime example, we delve into generative AI, aligning them with the terms and concepts presented in the taxonomy. Through the proposed definition and taxonomy, our aim is to facilitate research collaboration across different areas that are tackling general-purpose tasks, as they share many common aspects. Finally, we discuss the current state of GPAIS, its challenges and prospects, implications for our society, and the need for responsible and trustworthy AI systems and regulation, with the goal of providing a holistic view of GPAIS

A prescription of methodological guidelines for comparing bio-inspired optimization algorithms

Bio-inspired optimization (including Evolutionary Computation and Swarm Intelligence) is a growing research topic with many competitive bio-inspired algorithms being proposed every year. In such an active area, preparing a successful proposal of a new bio-inspired algorithm is not an easy task. Given the maturity of this research field, proposing a new optimization technique with innovative elements is no longer enough. Apart from the novelty, results reported by the authors should be proven to achieve a significant advance over previous outcomes from the state of the art. Unfortunately, not all new proposals deal with this requirement properly. Some of them fail to select appropriate benchmarks or reference algorithms to compare with. In other cases, the validation process carried out is not defined in a principled way (or is even not done at all). Consequently, the significance of the results presented in such studies cannot be guaranteed. In this work we review several recommendations in the literature and propose methodological guidelines to prepare a successful proposal, taking all these issues into account. We expect these guidelines to be useful not only for authors, but also for reviewers and editors along their assessment of new contributions to the field.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science (TIN2016-8113-R, TIN2017-89517-P and TIN2017-83132-C2- 2-R) and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (PINV-18-XEOGHQ-19- 4QTEBP). Eneko Osaba and Javier Del Ser-would also like to thank the Basque Government for its funding support through the ELKARTEK and EMAITEK programs. Javier Del Ser-receives funding support from the Consolidated Research Group MATHMODE (IT1294-19) granted by the Department of Education of the Basque Government

Asimetrías: Colección de Textos de Arquitectura. Número especial - homenaje a Margarita Fernández Gómez y Cecilio Sánchez-Robles Beltrán

Esta publicación se compone de una serie de textos, algunos de investigación y otros de recuerdo personal, escritos en memoria de la catedrática Margarita Fernández Gómez y del profesor Cecilio Sánchez-Robles Beltrán, ambos compañeros del Departamento de Composición Arquitectónica y fallecidos en el año 2015. En la primera parte del libro encontramos ocho textos que nos acercan a las semblanzas de los dos homenajeados, desde su faceta humana, docente e investigadora. A continuación se desarrollan otros trece pequeños ensayos de carácter investigador y que abarcan un amplio margen cronológico, desde la Edad Media hasta la actualidad, con los siguientes títulos: Una visión crítica de la Lonja de Valencia - Conservación y lineamentos en la obra de Leon Battista Alberti. Notas para una introducción - Influencia del renacimiento romano en algunas portadas valencianas del siglo XVI - Las escaleras de los colegios jesuitas del Reino de Valencia (1544-1767) - Atmósferas domésticas en la pintura. Paraíso o Infierno - La nave de la fábrica Devís/Macosa. Una aproximación a la arquitectura industrial valenciana - Alberti evocado por Alvar Aalto - Luigi Moretti en Milán. Una regeneración urbana histórica - Fundación del Amo. Alcanzando la modernidad a través de la construcción de su Colegio Mayor - Cheste: puerta de entrada al sistema de las Universidades Laborales - Siete pasos hacia la modernidad en la obra de Mauro Lleó - Una lectura crítica de la Declaración de Florencia (2014). Heritage and Landscape as Human Values - ElCASC. Un laboratorio para la regeneración urbana, social y cultural del centro histórico de VillenaIborra Bernad, FJ.; Poyatos Sebastian, J. (2017). Asimetrías: Colección de Textos de Arquitectura. Número especial - homenaje a Margarita Fernández Gómez y Cecilio Sánchez-Robles Beltrán. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Departamento de Composición Arquitectónica. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/8596

Optimización inspirada en la naturaleza y en la biología: Lo bueno, lo malo, lo feo y lo esperanzador

Nowadays, optimization has become an important issue for industrial systems and product development. From an engineering perspective, optimization implies adjusting or fine-tuning system designs considering one or more performance factors. Unfortunately, for many complex problems there is no optimization technique that can achieve the optimum solution in a reasonable computation time. As a result, the optimization process is often done manually. In recent years a myriad of optimization techniques have appeared, all inspired by phenomena observed in nature, such as behavioral patterns in animals (such as the exploration and search for food, moving, hunting, …), physical and chemical processes [1]. These techniques, often referred to as nature- or bio-inspired optimization algorithms, allow users to optimize a problem without requiring special knowledge about it: they only need to be informed about the fitness function to be optimized, and the mechanisms by which new candidate solutions can be produced. Each algorithm defines how existing solutions can be combined and modified to create new ones in an intelligent way to search for the best solution. Although they cannot guarantee that the optimum solution will be eventually achieved, they can automatically yield good solutions in reasonable computation times. These features make bio-inspired optimization proposals a promising research area and a great alternative to optimize complex processes, as has been already showcased in many real-world problems. In this work we present nature- and bio-inspired optimization from a global perspective. We describe techniques falling in this area, their evolution, how they operate, and why they bridge an important gap not covered by previous optimization techniques. On a critical note, we also give a clear view of the current situation in the area, indicating the positive aspects and issues that should be urgently improved. Considering this critical view, we suggest promising trends that we believe will lead us to a brighter future in nature- and bio-inspired optimization, plenty of successful examples of their application to real-world engineering problems. The manuscript is structured as follows: Section 2 describes bio-inspired optimization and exposes the reasons and advantages that make this area interesting from the scientific and practical points of view (focusing on introducing what they are and why they are useful). In Section 3 we examine the exciting panorama of recent applications in which nature- and bio-inspired optimization has become a central technology (the good), the upsurge of novel metaphors for the design of new proposals that do not lead to innovative solutions (the bad), and poor methodological practices that draw misleading conclusions that must be avoided in this field (the ugly). Finally, Section 4 summarizes the paper and highlights what is next to be done in the area of bio-inspired optimization (the hopeful), especially for engineering applications

A method of reading the urban landscape: Albarracín (Spain) case study

Esta comunicación se enmarca en la línea de trabajo de Kevin Lynch, Gordon Cullen y otros, de profundizar en la lectura del paisaje urbano. Se contempla la lectura del paisaje como relevante perspectiva antropológica en la recepción de la forma urbana y la forma del territorio. La perspectiva del trabajo es entonces de experiencia y vivencia de la forma en la dirección apuntada por Fernando Távora y desde la articulación fenomenológica integrada de esta vivencia, desde los sentidos, las emociones, la intuición y la reflexión. Se parte de la siguiente organización metodológica de la experiencia o lectura paisajística: a. Papel desempeñado por el conjunto urbano, función y sentido en el territorio. b. Importancia del caserío como determinante destacado del carácter y ambiente del paisaje urbano. Se parte así del estudio morfológico del caserío y de su configuración del espacio público de acuerdo con sus específicas reglas de organización y desarrollo, en mayor o menor conexión estructural con el medio natural. c. Se aborda la relación de este caserío y el espacio público en los encuentros con los edificios urbanos relevantes y/o monumentales. d. Se contempla la relación formal y visual de lo anterior con el paisaje natural que lo envuelve y penetra. Estas son las líneas de organización de un método de lectura del paisaje urbano que se amplía y pormenoriza en la comunicación. El bello caso de Albarracín sirve de expresiva ocasión para su aplicación.This communication follows the line of work of Kevin Lynch, Gordon Cullen and others, aimed at deepening the reading of urban landscape. We consider the reading of landscape as a relevant anthropological perspective in the reception of the urban form and the form of territory. The perspective of this study is then connected with the experience of form in the direction pointed out by Fernando Távora and from the integrated phenomenological articulation of this experience, from the senses, emotions, intuition, and reflection. It is based on the following methodological organization of landscape experience or reading: a. Role played by the urban ensemble, function and meaning in the territory. b. Importance of the set of houses as a prominent determinant of the character and atmosphere of the urban landscape. This is based on the morphological study of the houses and the configuration of the public space according to its specific rules of organization and development, in greater or lesser structural connection with the natural environment. c. The relationship between this country houses and the public space is discussed in the meetings with the relevant and/or monumental urban buildings. d. The formal and visual relationship of the above is contemplated with the natural landscape that envelops and penetrates it. These are the lines of organization of a method of reading the urban landscape that is expanded and detailed in the communication. The beautiful case of Albarracín represents an expressive occasion for its application

Manuel Cortina, proto-art-nouveau architect: the evolution of a language

[SPA] El arquitecto José María Manuel Cortina Pérez (1868-1950) representa el principal exponente de la arquitectura protomodernista valenciana, creador de un lenguaje muy rico y personal calificado por el profesor Benito Goerlich comomedievalismo fantástico. El texto aborda el desarrollo de este particular lenguaje y analiza los rasgos característicos que definen su insólitorepertorio, tanto material como ornamental. Un estilo romántico que bebe principalmente de fuentes de la escuela dearquitectura de Barcelona, donde cursó sus estudios bajo el magisterio de arquitectos ilustres como Elies Rogent y Lluís Domènech i Montaner, y en menor medida de la escuela madrileña, en la que completó su último año de carrera. Aellas se añade la asimilación de peculiaridades autóctonas y otros rasgos formales importados, canalizadosprincipalmente a través del Diccionario de Viollet-le-Duc y de Ruskin. A modo de conclusión se reflexiona desde Cortina sobre la elaboración del último lenguaje arquitectónico propiamentehistórico, el modernista, y su capacidad y límites para hacer ciudad frente a la irrupción inmediata del lenguaje de la modernidad arquitectónica. [ENG] The architect José María Manuel Cortina Pérez (1868-1950) is the main representative of the Proto-Art-NouveauValencian architecture. He is the creator of a very rich and personal language that has been described by ProfessorBenito Goerlich as fantastic medievalism. The text presents the development of this particular language and analyses the unique features that define its incrediblerepertoire in both, the material and the ornamental aspects. This is a romantic style whose main source can be found inthe architecture school of Barcelona —where Cortina Perez studied under the guide of distinguished architects such as EliesRogent and LluísDomènec i Montaner— and also, to a lesser extent, in the school of Madrid, where he finishedthe last year of his degree. To these two sources, some autochthonous peculiarities and some imported formal featuresmainly acquired from Viollet-le-Duc and Ruskin can be added. To conclude, a reflection is made from Cortina’s view about the elaboration of the last truly historical architecturallanguage, that is to say, Art Nouveau, and its capacities and its limits to conform the city before the immediate irruptionof the modern architecture languag

Comprehensive Taxonomies of Nature- and Bio-inspired Optimization: Inspiration versus Algorithmic Behavior, Critical Analysis and Recommendations

In recent years, a great variety of nature- and bio-inspired algorithms has been reported in the literature. This algorithmic family simulates different biological processes observed in Nature in order to efficiently address complex optimization problems. In the last years the number of bio-inspired optimization approaches in literature has grown considerably, reaching unprecedented levels that dark the future prospects of this field of research. This paper addresses this problem by proposing two comprehensive, principle-based taxonomies that allow researchers to organize existing and future algorithmic developments into well-defined categories, considering two different criteria: the source of inspiration and the behavior of each algorithm. Using these taxonomies we review more than three hundred publications dealing with nature-inspired and bio-inspired algorithms, and proposals falling within each of these categories are examined, leading to a critical summary of design trends and similarities between them, and the identification of the most similar classical algorithm for each reviewed paper. From our analysis we conclude that a poor relationship is often found between the natural inspiration of an algorithm and its behavior. Furthermore, similarities in terms of behavior between different algorithms are greater than what is claimed in their public disclosure: specifically, we show that more than one-third of the reviewed bio-inspired solvers are versions of classical algorithms. Grounded on the conclusions of our critical analysis, we give several recommendations and points of improvement for better methodological practices in this active and growing research field.Comment: 76 pages, 6 figure