Cepstral peak prominence: a comprehensive analysis

An analytical study of cepstral peak prominence (CPP) is presented, intended to provide an insight into its meaning and relation with voice perturbation parameters. To carry out this analysis, a parametric approach is adopted in which voice production is modelled using the traditional source-filter model and the first cepstral peak is assumed to have Gaussian shape. It is concluded that the meaning of CPP is very similar to that of the first rahmonic and some insights are provided on its dependence with fundamental frequency and vocal tract resonances. It is further shown that CPP integrates measures of voice waveform and periodicity perturbations, be them either amplitude, frequency or noise.

Hydrodynamic forces on heave plates for offshore systems oscillating close to the seabed or the free surface

La energía eólica marina es uno de los recursos energéticos con mayor proyección pudiendo contribuir a reducir el consumo de combustibles fósiles y a cubrir la demanda de energía en todo el mundo. El concepto de aerogenerador marino está basado en estructuras fijas como jackets o en plataformas flotantes, ya sea una semisumergible o una TLP. Se espera que la energía eólica offshore juegue un papel importante en el perfil de producción energética de los próximos años; por tanto, las turbinas eólicas deben hacerse más fables y rentables para ser competitivas frente a otras fuentes de energía. Las estructuras flotantes pueden experimentar movimientos resonantes en estados de la mar con largos períodos de oleaje. Estos movimientos disminuyen su operatividad y pueden causar daños en los componentes eléctricos de las turbinas y en las palas, también en los risers y moorings. La respuesta de la componente vertical del movimiento puede reducirse mediante diferentes actuaciones: (1) aumentando la amortiguación del sistema, (2) manteniendo el período del movimiento vertical fuera del rango de la energía de la ola, y (3) reduciendo las fuerzas de excitación verticales. Un ejemplo típico para llevar a cabo esta reducción son las "Heave Plates". Las heave plates son placas que se utilizan en la industria offshore debido a sus características hidrodinámicas, ya que aumentan la masa añadida y la amortiguación del sistema. En un análisis hidrodinámico convencional, se considera una estructura sometida a un oleaje con determinadas características y se evalúan las cargas lineales usando la teoría potencial. El amortiguamiento viscoso, que juega un papel crucial en la respuesta en resonancia del sistema, es un dato de entrada para el análisis. La tesis se centra principalmente en la predicción del amortiguamiento viscoso y de la masa añadida de las heave plates usadas en las turbinas eólicas flotantes. En los cálculos, las fuerzas hidrodinámicas se han obtenido con el f n de estudiar cómo los coeficientes hidrodinámicos de masa añadida5 y amortiguamiento varían con el número de KC, que caracteriza la amplitud del movimiento respecto al diámetro del disco. Por otra parte, se ha investigado la influencia de la distancia media de la ‘heave plate’ a la superficie libre o al fondo del mar, sobre los coeficientes hidrodinámicos. En este proceso, un nuevo modelo que describe el trabajo realizado por la amortiguación en función de la enstrofía, es descrito en el presente documento. Este nuevo enfoque es capaz de proporcionar una correlación directa entre el desprendimiento local de vorticidad y la fuerza de amortiguación global. El análisis también incluye el estudio de los efectos de la geometría de la heave plate, y examina la sensibilidad de los coeficientes hidrodinámicos al incluir porosidad en ésta. Un diseño novedoso de una heave plate, basado en la teoría fractal, también fue analizado experimentalmente y comparado con datos experimentales obtenidos por otros autores. Para la resolución de las ecuaciones de Navier Stokes se ha usado un solver basado en el método de volúmenes finitos. El solver usa las librerías de OpenFOAM (Open source Field Operation And Manipulation), para resolver un problema multifásico e incompresible, usando la técnica VOF (volume of fluid) que permite capturar el movimiento de la superficie libre. Los resultados numéricos han sido comparados con resultados experimentales llevados a cabo en el Canal del Ensayos Hidrodinámicos (CEHINAV) de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid y en el Canal de Experiencias Hidrodinámicas (CEHIPAR) en Madrid, al igual que con otros experimentos realizados en la Escuela de Ingeniería Mecánica de la Universidad de Western Australia. Los principales resultados se presentan a continuación: 1. Para pequeños valores de KC, los coeficientes hidrodinámicos de masa añadida y amortiguamiento incrementan su valor a medida que el disco se aproxima al fondo marino. Para los casos cuando el disco oscila cerca de la superficie libre, la dependencia de los coeficientes hidrodinámicos es más fuerte por la influencia del movimiento de la superficie libre. 2. Los casos analizados muestran la existencia de un valor crítico de KC, donde la tendencia de los coeficientes hidrodinámicos se ve alterada. Dicho valor crítico depende de la distancia al fondo marino o a la superficie libre. 3. El comportamiento físico del flujo, para valores de KC cercanos a su valor crítico ha sido estudiado mediante el análisis del campo de vorticidad. 4. Introducir porosidad al disco, reduce la masa añadida para los valores de KC estudiados, pero se ha encontrado que la porosidad incrementa el valor del coeficiente de amortiguamiento cuando se incrementa la amplitud del movimiento, logrando un máximo de damping para un disco con 10% de porosidad. 5. Los resultados numéricos y experimentales para los discos con faldón, muestran que usar este tipo de geometrías incrementa la masa añadida cuando se compara con el disco sólido, pero reduce considerablemente el coeficiente de amortiguamiento. 6. Un diseño novedoso de heave plate basado en la teoría fractal ha sido experimentalmente estudiado a diferentes calados y comparado con datos experimentales obtenidos por otro autores. Los resultados muestran un comportamiento incierto de los coeficientes y por tanto este diseño debería ser estudiado más a fondo. ABSTRACT Offshore wind energy is one of the promising resources which can reduce the fossil fuel energy consumption and cover worldwide energy demands. Offshore wind turbine concepts are based on either a fixed structure as a jacket or a floating offshore platform like a semisubmersible, spar or tension leg platform. Floating offshore wind turbines have the potential to be an important part of the energy production profile in the coming years. In order to accomplish this wind integration, these wind turbines need to be made more reliable and cost efficient to be competitive with other sources of energy. Floating offshore artifacts, such oil rings and wind turbines, may experience resonant heave motions in sea states with long peak periods. These heave resonances may increase the system downtime and cause damage on the system components and as well as on risers and mooring systems. The heave resonant response may be reduced by different means: (1) increasing the damping of the system, (2) keeping the natural heave period outside the range of the wave energy, and (3) reducing the heave excitation forces. A typical example to accomplish this reduction are “Heave Plates”. Heave plates are used in the offshore industry due to their hydrodynamic characteristics, i.e., increased added mass and damping. Conventional offshore hydrodynamic analysis considers a structure in waves, and evaluates the linear and nonlinear loads using potential theory. Viscous damping, which is expected to play a crucial role in the resonant response, is an empirical input to the analysis, and is not explicitly calculated. The present research has been mainly focused on the prediction of viscous damping and added mass of floating offshore wind turbine heave plates. In the calculations, the hydrodynamic forces have been measured in order to compute how the hydrodynamic coefficients of added mass1 and damping vary with the KC number, which characterises the amplitude of heave motion relative to the diameter of the disc. In addition, the influence on the hydrodynamic coefficients when the heave plate is oscillating close to the free surface or the seabed has been investigated. In this process, a new model describing the work done by damping in terms of the flow enstrophy, is described herein. This new approach is able to provide a direct correlation between the local vortex shedding processes and the global damping force. The analysis also includes the study of different edges geometry, and examines the sensitivity of the damping and added mass coefficients to the porosity of the plate. A novel porous heave plate based on fractal theory has also been proposed, tested experimentally and compared with experimental data obtained by other authors for plates with similar porosity. A numerical solver of Navier Stokes equations, based on the finite volume technique has been applied. It uses the open-source libraries of OpenFOAM (Open source Field Operation And Manipulation), to solve 2 incompressible, isothermal immiscible fluids using a VOF (volume of fluid) phase-fraction based interface capturing approach, with optional mesh motion and mesh topology changes including adaptive re-meshing. Numerical results have been compared with experiments conducted at Technical University of Madrid (CEHINAV) and CEHIPAR model basins in Madrid and with others performed at School of Mechanical Engineering in The University of Western Australia. A brief summary of main results are presented below: 1. At low KC numbers, a systematic increase in added mass and damping, corresponding to an increase in the seabed proximity, is observed. Specifically, for the cases when the heave plate is oscillating closer to the free surface, the dependence of the hydrodynamic coefficients is strongly influenced by the free surface. 2. As seen in experiments, a critical KC, where the linear trend of the hydrodynamic coefficients with KC is disrupted and that depends on the seabed or free surface distance, has been found. 3. The physical behavior of the flow around the critical KC has been explained through an analysis of the flow vorticity field. 4. The porosity of the heave plates reduces the added mass for the studied porosity at all KC numbers, but the porous heave plates are found to increase the damping coefficient with increasing amplitude of oscillation, achieving a maximum damping coefficient for the heave plate with 10% porosity in the entire KC range. 5. Another concept taken into account in this work has been the heave plates with flaps. Numerical and experimental results show that using discs with flaps will increase added mass when compared to the plain plate but may also significantly reduce damping. 6. A novel heave plate design based on fractal theory has tested experimentally for different submergences and compared with experimental data obtained by other authors for porous plates. Results show an unclear behavior in the coefficients and should be studied further. Future work is necessary in order to address a series of open questions focusing on 3D effects, optimization of the heave plates shapes, etc.

Acoustic characterization of open cavities with the image source model

El objetivo de esta tesis es investigar las resonancias acústicas de una cavidad abierta tridimensional, de paredes rectas o inclinadas, mediante un método rápido y eficiente en el dominio del tiempo. Este método modela la respuesta temporal en cualquier punto como la convolución de la forma de onda de la fuente con la respuesta impulsiva de la cavidad, la cual se obtiene como una secuencia de impulsos retardados y atenuados procedentes de la fuente real, el primero, y de las fuentes imágenes especulares, los siguientes (Modelo Fuente Imagen, ISM). Además de las componentes directa y reflejadas en las paredes, la respuesta impulsiva también incluye las contribuciones difractadas en los bordes, obtenidas mediante la generación de las componentes difractadas de cada fuente imagen. Las frecuencias de resonancia acústica de la cavidad abierta son extraídas de los picos de la Función de Respuesta en Frecuencia (FRF), obtenida como la transformada de Fourier de la respuesta temporal correspondiente entre una fuente puntual y un punto cualquiera de la cavidad. Las frecuencias de resonancia acústicas estimadas mediante este Método de Fuentes Imagen + difracción en bordes son validadas por comparación con las que proporciona un Modelo de Elementos Finitos (FEM) y con las medidas experimentalmente, con diferencias menores que el 1.6 % y el 2.7 %, respectivamente. A modo de comparación, las frecuencias de resonancia estimadas para la misma cavidad por el método ISM, cuando no se incluye la difracción en los bordes, difieren en un 5.7 % de las obtenidas experimentalmente. ABSTRACT The goal of this thesis is to investigate the acoustic resonances of a three-dimensional open cavity, with parallel and non-parallel walls, by a fast and efficient method in the time domain. This method models the time response in any point as the convolution of the source waveform with the impulse response of the cavity, which, in turn, is obtained as a sequence of attenuated and delayed impulses coming, the first from the real, and the subsequent from the mirror imaged sources (Image Source Model). Besides direct and wall-reflected components, the impulse response includes also edge-diffracted contributions by generating first order diffraction components for each image source. The acoustic resonance frequencies of the open cavity are extracted from the peaks of the Frequency Response Function (FRF), obtained as the Fourier transform of the corresponding time response between a point source and any point in the cavity. The acoustic resonance frequencies estimated by the Image Source Model + edge diffraction are validated by comparison with those provided by a Finite Element Model (FEM) and the ones measured experimentally, differing less than 1.6 % and 2.7 %, respectively. As a comparison, resonance frequencies estimated with the pure Image Source Model differ by 5.7 % from the measured ones.

Analysis of measured and simulated supraglottal acoustic waves

To date, although much attention has been paid to the estimation and modeling of the voice source (ie, the glottal airflow volume velocity), the measurement and characterization of the supraglottal pressure wave have been much less studied. Some previous results have unveiled that the supraglottal pressure wave has some spectral resonances similar to those of the voice pressure wave. This makes the supraglottal wave partially intelligible. Although the explanation for such effect seems to be clearly related to the reflected pressure wave traveling upstream along the vocal tract, the influence that nonlinear source-filter interaction has on it is not as clear. This article provides an insight into this issue by comparing the acoustic analyses of measured and simulated supraglottal and voice waves. Simulations have been performed using a high-dimensional discrete vocal fold model. Results of such comparative analysis indicate that spectral resonances in the supraglottal wave are mainly caused by the regressive pressure wave that travels upstream along the vocal tract and not by source-tract interaction. On the contrary and according to simulation results, source-tract interaction has a role in the loss of intelligibility that happens in the supraglottal wave with respect to the voice wave. This loss of intelligibility mainly corresponds to spectral differences for frequencies above 1500 Hz.

Selectively filled photonic liquid crystal fibers = Fibras de cristal fotónico selectivamente llenas con cristal líquido

El presente trabajo de Tesis se ha centrado en el diseño, fabricación y caracterización de dispositivos basados en fibras de cristal fotónico infiltrado selectivamente con cristales líquidos, polímeros y una mezcla de ambos. Todos los dispositivos son sintonizables, y su área de aplicación se centra en comunicaciones ópticas y sensores. La manipulación y fusionado de fibras fotónicas, el llenado selectivo de determinadas cavidades y la alineación recíproca de fibras mantenedoras de polarización son tareas muy específicas y delicadas para las que se requieren protocolos muy estrictos. Previo a la fabricación de dispositivos ha sido necesaria por tanto una tarea de sistematización y creación de protocolos de fabricación. Una vez establecidos se ha procedido a la fabricación y caracterización de dispositivos. Los dispositivos fabricados se enumeran a continuación para posteriormente detallar una a una las singularidades de cada uno. • Interferómetros intermodales hechos a partir de una porción de fibra fotónica soldada entre dos fibras estándar, bien monomodo o PANDA (mantenedora de polarización). Estos interferómetros han sido sumergidos o bien llenados selectivamente con cristales líquidos para así sintonizar la señal interferométrica guiada a través de la fibra. • Infiltración de fibras fotónicas con cristales líquidos colestéricos con especial énfasis en la fase azul (blue phase) de estos materiales. Las moléculas de cristal líquido se autoalinean en volumen por lo que la infiltración de fibras fotónicas con estos cristales líquidos es muy interesante, pues es conocida la dificultad de alinear apropiadamente cristales líquidos dentro de cavidades micrométricas de las fibras fotónicas. • Grabación de redes holográficas de forma selectiva en las cavidades de una fibra fotónica. Estas redes holográficas, llamadas POLICRYPS (POlymer-LIquid CRYstal-Polymer Slices), son redes fabricadas a base de franjas de polímero y cristal líquido alineado perpendicularmente a dichas franjas. Las franjas son a su vez perpendiculares al eje de la fibra como lo puede ser una red de Bragg convencional. El cristal líquido, al estar alineado perpendicularmente a dichos franjas y paralelo al eje de la fibra, se puede conmutar aplicando un campo eléctrico externo, modificando así el índice efectivo de la red. Se puede fabricar por lo tanto una red de Bragg sintonizable en fibra, muy útil en comunicaciones ópticas. • Llenado selectivo de fibras fotónicas con polidimetilsiloxano (PDMS), un polímero de tipo silicona. Si se realiza un llenado selectivo asimétrico se puede inducir birrefringencia en la fibra. El índice de refracción del PDMS tiene una fuerte dependencia térmica, por lo que se puede sintonizar la birrefringencia de la fibra. • Estudio teórico de llenado selectivo de fibras fotónicas con PDMS dopado con nanopartículas de plata de 5, 40 y 80 nm. Estas nanopartículas poseen un pico de absorción en torno a los 450 nm debido a resonancias superficiales localizadas de plasmones (LSPR). La resonancia del plasmon tiene una fuerte dependencia con el índice de refracción del material colindante, y al ser éste PDMS, la variación de índice de refracción se ve amplificada, obteniendo una absorción sintonizable. Se ha propuesto la fabricación de polarizadores sintonizables usando esta técnica. Como ya se ha dicho, previamente a la fabricación ha sido necesaria la protocolización de diversos procedimientos de fabricación de alta complejidad, así como protocolizar el proceso de toma de medidas para optimizar los resultados. Los procedimientos que han requerido la formulación de protocolos específicos han sido los siguientes: • Llenado selectivo de cavidades en una fibra fotónica. Dichas fibras tienen generalmente un diámetro externo de 125 μm, y sus cavidades son de entre 5 y 10 μm de diámetro. Se han desarrollado tres técnicas diferentes para el llenado/bloqueado selectivo, pudiéndose combinar varios protocolos para la optimización del proceso. Las técnicas son las siguientes: o Llenado y bloqueado con un prepolímero. Dicho prepolímero, también llamado adhesivo óptico, está inicialmente en estado líquido y posee una cierta viscosidad. Las cavidades de la fibra fotónica que se desea llenar o bloquear poseen un diámetro diferente al resto, por lo que en el proceso de llenado aparecen dos frentes de llenado dependientes de su diámetro. A mayor diámetro, mayor velocidad de llenado. Polimerizando cuando existe dicha diferencia en los frentes se puede cortar por medio, obteniendo así una fibra parcialmente bloqueada. o Colapsamiento de las cavidades de menor diámetro mediante aplicación de calor. El calor producido por un arco voltaico de una soldadora de fibra estándar fusiona el material exterior de la fibra produciendo el colapsamiento de las cavidades de menor diámetro. En esta técnica también es necesaria una diferencia de diámetros en las cavidades de la fibra. o Bloqueo una a una de las cavidades de la fibra fotónica con adhesivo óptico. Este procedimiento es muy laborioso y requiere mucha precisión. Con este sistema se pueden bloquear las cavidades deseadas de una fibra sin importar su diámetro. • Alineación de una fuente de luz linealmente polarizada con una fibra mantenedora de polarización ya sea PANDA o fotónica. Así mismo también se han alineado entre sí fibras mantenedoras de polarización, para que sus ejes rápidos se fusionen paralelos y así el estado de polarización de la luz guiada se mantenga. • Sistematización de toma de medidas para caracterizar los interferómetros modales. Éstos son altamente sensibles a diversas variables por lo que el proceso de medida es complejo. Se deben aislar variables de forma estrictamente controlada. Aunque todos los dispositivos tienen en común el llenado selectivo de cavidades en una fibra fotónica cada dispositivo tiene sus peculiaridades, que van a ser explicadas a continuación. ABSTRACT The present Thesis has been centered in the design, fabrication and characterization of devices based on photonic crystal fibers selectively filled with liquid crystals, polymers and a mixture of both. All devices are tunable and their work field is optical communications and sensing The handling and splicing of photonic crystal fibers, the selective filling of their holes and the aligning of polarization maintaining fibers are very specific and delicate tasks for which very strict protocols are required. Before the fabrication of devices has therefore been necessary task systematization and creation of manufacturing protocols. Once established we have proceeded to the fabrication and characterization of devices. The fabricated devices are listed below and their peculiarities are detailed one by one: • Intermodal interferometers made with a portion of photonic crystal fiber spliced between two optical communication fiber pigtails, either single mode or PANDA (polarization-maintaining) fiber. These interferometers have been submerged or selectively filled with liquid crystals to tune the interferometric guided signal. • Infiltration of photonic fibers with cholesteric liquid crystals with special emphasis on their blue phase (blue phase). The liquid crystal molecules are self-aligning in volume so the infiltration of photonic fibers with these liquid crystals is very interesting. It is notoriously difficult to properly align liquid crystals within micron cavities such as photonic fibers. • Selectively recording of holographic gratings in the holes of photonic crystal fibers. These holographic gratings, called POLICRYPS (POlymer-LIquid CRYstal-Polymes Slices), are based on walls made of polymer and liquid crystal aligned perpendicular to them. These walls are perpendicular to the axis of the fiber as it can be a conventional Bragg grating. The liquid crystal is aligned perpendicular to the walls and parallel to the fiber axis, and can be switched by applying an external electric field and thus change the effective index of the grating. It is thus possible to manufacture a tunable Bragg grating fiber, useful in optical communications. •Asymmetrically selective filling of photonic crystal fibers with a silicone polymer like called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to induce birefringence in the fiber. The refractive index of PDMS has temperature dependence, so that the birefringence of the fiber can be tuned. • Theoretical study of photonic crystal fibers selectively filled with PDMS doped with silver nanoparticles of 5, 40 and 80 nm. These nanoparticles have an absorption peak around 450 nm due to localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR). Plasmon resonance has a strong dependence on the refractive index of the adjacent material, and as this is PDMS, the refractive index variation is amplified, obtaining a tunable absorption. Fabrication of tunable polarizers using this technique has been proposed. Before starting the fabrication, it has been necessary to optimize several very delicate procedures and different protocols have been designed. The most delicate procedures are as follows: • Selective filling of holes in a photonic crystal fiber. These fibers generally have an outer diameter of 125 μm, and their holes have a diameter around between 5 and 10 μm. It has been developed three different techniques for filling / selective blocking, and they can be combined for process optimization. The techniques are: o Filling and blocked with a prepolymer. This prepolymer also called optical adhesive is initially in liquid state and has a certain viscosity. The holes of the photonic crystal fiber that are desired to be filled or blocked should have a different diameter, so that in the filling process appear two different fronts depending on the hole diameter. The holes with larger diameter are filled faster. Then the adhesive is polymerized when there is such a difference on the front. A partially blocked fiber is obtained cutting between fronts. o Collapsing of holes of smaller diameter by application of heat. The heat produced by an arc of a standard fusion splicer fuses the outer fiber material producing the collapsing of the cavities of smaller diameter. In this technique also you need a difference of diameters in the fiber holes. o Blocking one by one the holes of photonic crystal fiber with optical adhesive. This procedure is very laborious and requires great precision. This system can block unwanted cavities regardless fiber diameter. • Aligning a linearly polarized light source with a polarization-maintaining fiber (either a PANDA fiber as a photonic crystal fiber). It is needed also an aligning between polarization-maintaining fibers, so that their fast axes parallel merge and that is state of polarization of light guided is maintained. • Systematization of taking measurements to characterize the modal interferometers. These are highly sensitive to several variables so the measurement process is very complicated. Variables must be fixed in a very controlled manner. Although all devices have the common characteristic of being selectively filled PCFs with some kind of material, each one has his own peculiarities, which are explained below.

Cómic, arquitectura narrativa. Describiendo cuatro dimensiones con dos

Cómic, arquitectura narrativa. Describiendo cuatro dimensiones con dos. La mayor parte de los estudios con un enfoque académico en torno a cómic y arquitectura, se han centrado más en las distintas realidades representadas dentro del medio, en sus decorados, que en la estructura del cómic en sí. Existe un aspecto gráfico que se ha venido obviando o al menos no ha adquirido el protagonismo que merece: los espacios representados en el cómic se encuentran en un medio que se concibe y estructura de una manera similar a como el arquitecto dibuja y concibe la arquitectura. En lo básico, históricamente, las herramientas y soportes para idear y representar la arquitectura son muy parecidas a aquellas que usa el autor de cómic. Lápiz, tinta y color sobre un papel, combinadas trabajando en un tablero, ese es lugar de nacimiento de ambos mundos. A lo largo de esta tesis se muestra cómo el dibujo une a creadores de narraciones gráficas y edificios. La relación va más allá de que el cómic pueda utilizar las disposiciones vitruvianas, ichnographia, ortographia o scenographia, (planta, alzado, perspectiva), la propia articulación que hace del espacio de la página, puede sintonizar con la manera en la que se concibe una estructura arquitectónica. La tesis inicia con un capítulo de recorrido en torno a las teorías del cómic existentes, buscando intersecciones posibles con la representación arquitectónica o el proyecto espacial. En este primer paso de estudio del estado de la cuestión han pesado más los trabajos de los últimos veinticinco años. Se trata de un periodo en el que, a la par que se ha producido una explosión creativa en el mundo del cómic, determinados teóricos han incidido en un análisis más formal y visual del medio. Tras recoger teorías en el primer capítulo, se plantea un recorrido histórico a la búsqueda de posibles resonancias de “arquitecturas mentales” en el pasado. Esta búsqueda de referentes más allá del siglo XIX, momento en el que nace el medio en su forma actual, es ya un aspecto comúb en distintos estudios de cómic que han servido de inspiración. Se ha preferido ubicar esta colección de antecedentes como segundo capítulo, evitando dar al trabajo un carácter de historia e incidiendo en su enfoque de tipo visual. El tercer capítulo analiza una serie de obras y autores de cómic en su forma actual, buscando distintas estrategias para la descripción de espacios y las narraciones que ocurren en ellos. El crecimiento de casos en estas últimas décadas ha demostrado hasta qué punto el desarrollo de un campo depende tanto de que exista una masa crítica en un contexto conectado y productivo, como de la aparición de individuos que abren puertas a los demás, con la cristalización personal que hacen de una situación. Se analiza en un cuarto capítulo la relación entre la arquitectura y el cómic modernos. Una relación que se presenta partiendo desde sus respectivos padres, para después tratar un elenco creciente de experiencias en el que la narración gráfica y el hecho arquitectónico estan íntimamente ligados. Inspirado en la estrategia que Gubern y Gasca utilizan en El discurso del cómic (Cátedra, 1988) se cierra la tesis con un discurso visual por las arquitecturas mentales y narrativas del cómic: la representación del espacio a través de juego con las dimensiones, el uso de recursos gráficos propios de la descripción arquitectónica, la sección, la planta, la utilización de elementos constructivos,etc, completando el abanico de estrategias gráficas presentadas. ABSTRACT Comic narrative architecture. Describing four dimensions with two Most of the studies with an academic focus around comics and architecture have centered their view more on the different realities represented in the media, in its sets, than in the structure of comics itself. There is a graphic aspect that has been ignored, or at least has not gained the prominence it deserves: the spaces rendered in the comics are set in a medium that is conceived and structured in a similar way as the architect draws and conceives architecture. In basics, tools for designing and representing architecture are very similar to those used by the cartoonist. Pencil, ink and color on paper, combined working on a board, that is birthplace of both worlds. Throughout this thesis its shown how drawing connects creators of graphic stories and buildings. The relationship goes beyond the use that comics can do of the Vitruvian provisions, ichnographia, ortographia or scenographia (plan, elevation, perspective), to the arrange itself that it makes with space on the page, in tune with the way in which architectural structures are conceived. The thesis starts with a chapter that collects existing comics theories and their possible intersection with architectural rendering. In this first step of study on the state of affairs, the focus has been over studies from the last twenty years. It is a period in which, at the same time that there has been a creative explosion in the world of comics, some theorists have worked with a more formal and visual approach. After collecting theories in the first chapter, a historical tour is made to search for possible resonances of “mental architectures” in the past. This search for references beyond the nineteenth century, when the medium was born in its current form, is already a regular process in various recent studies that have served as inspiration. We preferred to locate this as a second chapter, to avoid giving the work a character of History, and reenforcing its visual approach. The third chapter analyzes a series of comics and authors, looking for different strategies for describing spaces and stories that occur in them. The growth of cases in recent decades has shown how the development of a field depends both on the existence of a critical mass in a connected and productive enviroment, and the appearance of individuals who open doors to others with the personal crystallization that they make on that context. The relationship between architecture and the modern comic is analyzed in a fourth chapter. A relationship that is described starting from their parents, and then going through a growing cast of experiences in which graphic narrative and architecture are closely linked. Inspired by the strategy used Gubern and Gasca in El discurso del cómic (Cátedra, 1988), The Comics’ Speech, the thesis concludes with a visual discourse through this narrative comic architectures: the representation of space by playing with dimensions, the use of resources for architectural rendering, section, plant, etc., to complete the range of graphical strategies presented.

Un deseo moderno todavía pendiente : la casa patio, una posible técnica de agrupación de vivienda colectiva vertical

La idea de aportar a la vivienda en altura las cualidades de la casa patio, se ha estudiado durante años. Podemos decir que el origen de este análisis se inició en 1922 cuando Le Corbusier empezó a investigar a cerca de los Inmuebles Villa; sin duda sabemos que ha llegado hasta la actualidad. Ayudado por la labor de búsqueda de diferentes arquitectos a lo largo de la historia, podemos afirmar que todos los casos conforman una idea única de proyecto. La idea de agrupar casas patio en altura manteniendo las características propias de este tipo de viviendas, privacidad, espacio libre, apertura cenital, comunicación interior‐exterior… Los Inmuebles‐Villa serán repetidamente aludidos, citados o retomados como un tipo paradigmático entre las propuestas de agrupaciones de casas patio en altura. Si pensamos en el concepto tradicional de patio, denominarlo como un espacio de viviendas apiladas en altura no parece una elección adecuada, no obstante la noción de patio permite una gran cantidad de asociaciones. Su valor radica en el traslado de una idea conocida a un nuevo contexto, produciendo así una reformulación del problema. Elegimos para este proceso, la vivienda colectiva, entendiendo la colectividad como agrupación, pues es esta agrupación de vivienda la encargada de crear ciudad; así no sólo vale la pena dar importancia a una célula con su independencia, sino en la relación que estas establecen con sus semejantes. De ahí la idea de que esa colectividad de casas patio, pueda darse también en vertical, buscando las condiciones antes mencionadas. Un deseo que apareció en el Movimiento Moderno y que desde ese momento ha sido algo anhelado por la arquitectura hasta nuestros días. El patio se presenta en la mayoría de las ocasiones como un espacio con múltiples afecciones, desde el patio que aporta a la vivienda una zona de esparcimiento hasta un espacio destinado a la ventilación, aunque en definitiva, podemos decir que consiste en un espacio capaz de contener un lugar. Quizás por eso aparece de diversas formas en nuestra arquitectura, sin importar su ubicación o forma. Simplemente un espacio que aporta al interior unas características que esas viviendas nunca alcanzarían sin él. Por eso lo que conocemos como casa patio es un tipo de arquitectura que se extiende hasta la antigüedad. Ese concepto de espacio exterior incorporado a la vivienda es una de las piezas fundamentales en nuestra arquitectura. Una idea ampliamente estudiada que deja a un lado los diferentes tipos de “patio” que fueron apareciendo, así como las múltiples funciones que dichos espacios fueron capaces de llevar a cabo, primando en definitiva la forma en la que cambiaron la idea de habitar. A lo largo de este análisis se han ido hallando evidencias de los múltiples mecanismos empleados en los casos estudiados. Como se ha visto, en ellos aparecen características que únicamente pueden aparecer en un espacio exterior cuando se trata de un patio. Los patios estudiados se consideran patios tradicionales, independientemente de la cota a la que se encuentren, aunque no cumplan alguna de las características a priori necesarias para la definición de patio. Para captar la esencia de esos espacios, no es necesario traspasar sus límites, ya que ésta se irradia al interior e invade la atmósfera de los espacios contiguos. Se plantea como objetivo principal rastrear las huellas de una investigación proyectual que Le Corbusier inaugura y deja abierta; se trata de descubrir qué ecos, qué rebotes, qué repercusiones tiene el concepto de patio en altura a lo largo de su historia. En esta búsqueda de identificación de las características de estos espacios, hemos seleccionado tres casos, partiendo de las experiencias tanto en patios tradicionales como en patios en altura de tres maestros como son Le Corbusier, José Luis Sert y Charles Correa. Los casos estudiados podrían haber sido muchos más. Este número supone solo un ejemplo de un universo mayor, que ha sido operativo para el desarrollo de este trabajo. Ellos nos guiarán por su arquitectura para intentar resolver la idea de los patios en altura. Hemos analizado las influencias proyectuales existentes entre algunos de los casos que forman parte de esta reflexión, entre los que existen unos vínculos claros, que pueden ser esas claves que estamos buscando para resolver la agrupación de casa patio en altura. A través de este trabajo se ha puesto de manifiesto que la aplicación del concepto de casas patio en altura depende tanto de su ubicación, del clima y la cultura local, como el tipo de patio del que se parte. De estos conceptos surgen soluciones diferentes entre ellas y por tanto no pueden extrapolarse una sola idea a todos los casos. Algunas ideas están presentes durante toda la investigación: fachadas como resultado de la repetición de células, sucesión de espacios, plantas de casas patio tradicional, dobles alturas…Otros casos destacan por su singularidad, por haber buscado la solución del problema mediante la originalidad. En definitiva buscamos casas patio en altura. Y si esta tesis contribuye, en alguna medida, a obtener las claves para que esta tipología edificatoria funcione, de sus características, sus necesidades, y su resultado, es decir, de su búsqueda de ese deseo moderno que presentábamos al principio, será entonces que esa tipología ilusoria, sea una arquitectura real, y por lo tanto también podrá llevarse a cabo y dejar de ser un deseo para convertirse en realidad. Sera que el deseo moderno se ha cumplido. ABSTRACT The idea of giving housing the height of the patio housing qualities, it has been studied for ages. It can be said that the origin of this analysis was started in 1922, when Le Cobustier began investigating about The Villa Building: obviously it is known nowadays due to different architect’s labor of searching through the history. It’s easy to say that all the cases shape a single project idea , the idea of gathering patio houses with the same height keeping the inner characteristics of traditional patio houses such privacy, free space, zenithal opening, inside –outside communication…etc. If we thought about the traditional concept of patio, to define it, in the case of gathering because of the height, it is not suitable to consider it like a pile of houses with the same height. Nevertheless the concept of patio allows a wide variety of settlements. Its worth is based on the transference of a renowned idea into a new context, producing thus a reformulation of the problem. The patio is frequently disposed like a zone with multiple utilities, from the leisure zone patio to an air circulating space, definitively it can be said that it consists on a space which is able to content a place. Maybe that is why it appears in various forms in our architecture, regardless of its placement or shape. It is simply a space which provides many features which are impossible to reach without it. That is what we know as patio house is a type of architecture which is spread till antiquity. This concept of outdoors space joined housing is one of the main pieces of our architecture. It is an idea wide analyses which lefts aside the different types of patios which were developed, focusing mainly the way they changed the idea of inhabiting. We have chosen for this analysis process, the collective housing, we understood collective like group, thus it is the group of housing responsible to built up a city, not just it is worth to give importance to an independent cell, in addition to the relation which those ones can stablish with their similar ones. Due to the idea of collectivity of patio houses, it can be also developed in vertical, looking for the previously mention condition. A wish which appeared with the modern movement and since then it has been something desired by architecture just nowadays. It is understood as the main target to follow the trail about a project investigation which was begun and left open by Le Cobustier: the task is discovering the resonances, the bounces and repercussions which belong to the patio concept in height through its history. In this quest to distinguish the characteristics of these spaces, we have chosen three cases, starting from the experiences as traditional patios as in the height of patios of the masters such as Le Cobustier, Jose Luis Sert and Charles Correa. The studied cases could be even more. This number is just an example of a huger universe, which has been operational for the developing of this work. We will be managed through their architecture trying to solve the idea of patios according to their height. Over this analysis evidences there are found multiple mechanics used in the studied cases. As we could see later, in these ones there are characteristics which are only found in an outdoors space when it is a patio. The studied patios are considered traditional patios, independently of the level they have, although they do not fit at first some of the necessary characteristics included in a patio definition. To catch the essence of those spaces, it is not necessary to go through its limits, since it is transmitted to the interior and pervades the adjoining spaces. It has been analyzed the project influences exiting among several cases which build up part of this consideration , among them there are some clear links, which may be these keys we are looking for to solve the joint of patio houses in height. With this work it has been highlighted that the application of the patios houses in height concept depends not only on its placement, the weather and the local culture, but also on the type of patio we are using. From these considerations different solutions were given by themselves as consequence they can be extrapolated into a single idea for all the cases. Some ideas are present along the complete investigation: facades resulting from cells repetition, series of spaces, traditional patio house floor, double height… Some other cases stand out due to it singularity, because they have searched for a solution to the problem by means of originality. To sum up, we look for patio houses in height. And if this thesis contributes, in some way, to get the clues to make work this type of building, about its characteristics, its necessities and its result, in other words, its searching of this modern desire that we showed at the beginning, then this imaginary typo will be a real architecture therefore it can also come truth and can abandon the form of wish to became into a reality. So the modern desire has been fulfilled.

O Judaísmo Encalacrado: mística e religião em A Hora da Estrela, de Clarice Lispector

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de demonstrar a importância e pertinência do diálogo entre literatura e religião, concentrando o âmbito de sua pesquisa a partir das relações entre a escritura de Clarice Lispector e as ressonâncias de uma tradição (judaísmo), que embora não tenha sido assumida pela autora, persiste, encalacrada em toda a sua obra. Tendo, como objeto de pesquisa o romance A Hora da Estrela, esta dissertação procurou entender como o drama da narrativa, em seu jogo de tensões e identidades, em sua pluralidade de títulos e referências, sinaliza também um profundo problema com a religião. Focando, de forma especial a personagem Macabéa, este estudo procurou compreender como as referencias da personagem, sua dificuldade com as palavras, seus desencontros do outro (tu) e sua rejeição social, revelam um grave problema de ordem teológica, demonstrando os equívocos de uma sociedade, que fundada sobre o prisma da religião, massacra os mais fracos. O desfecho do livro sinaliza uma possível epifania, mas, desvela-se num fracasso da religião e de seu poder salvífico. O trabalho procurou a partir dos principais temas do romance, perceber suas correspondências com o tema da religião. Pode com isso, a partir das contribuições de Scholem, ver como dilema existencial e subjetivo da personagem possui proximidade com o drama místico cabalístico, além disso, perceber as correlações entre a obra clariceana e textos da tradição judaíca, quer na sua referência explícita (nome da personagem), como também, em seu aspecto de busca, em sua forma de midrash e nas inúmeras exegeses e comentários que propicia. Finaliza seu esforço, levantando uma discussão ética sobre os valores teológicos da sociedade e seus profundos equívocos, ante a vida e morte da pobre Macabéa, uma mulher que viveu a religião nos limites da própria existência.

O Judaísmo Encalacrado: mística e religião em A Hora da Estrela, de Clarice Lispector

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de demonstrar a importância e pertinência do diálogo entre literatura e religião, concentrando o âmbito de sua pesquisa a partir das relações entre a escritura de Clarice Lispector e as ressonâncias de uma tradição (judaísmo), que embora não tenha sido assumida pela autora, persiste, encalacrada em toda a sua obra. Tendo, como objeto de pesquisa o romance A Hora da Estrela, esta dissertação procurou entender como o drama da narrativa, em seu jogo de tensões e identidades, em sua pluralidade de títulos e referências, sinaliza também um profundo problema com a religião. Focando, de forma especial a personagem Macabéa, este estudo procurou compreender como as referencias da personagem, sua dificuldade com as palavras, seus desencontros do outro (tu) e sua rejeição social, revelam um grave problema de ordem teológica, demonstrando os equívocos de uma sociedade, que fundada sobre o prisma da religião, massacra os mais fracos. O desfecho do livro sinaliza uma possível epifania, mas, desvela-se num fracasso da religião e de seu poder salvífico. O trabalho procurou a partir dos principais temas do romance, perceber suas correspondências com o tema da religião. Pode com isso, a partir das contribuições de Scholem, ver como dilema existencial e subjetivo da personagem possui proximidade com o drama místico cabalístico, além disso, perceber as correlações entre a obra clariceana e textos da tradição judaíca, quer na sua referência explícita (nome da personagem), como também, em seu aspecto de busca, em sua forma de midrash e nas inúmeras exegeses e comentários que propicia. Finaliza seu esforço, levantando uma discussão ética sobre os valores teológicos da sociedade e seus profundos equívocos, ante a vida e morte da pobre Macabéa, uma mulher que viveu a religião nos limites da própria existência.

Complete resolution of the solid-state NMR spectrum of a uniformly 15N-labeled membrane protein in phospholipid bilayers

Complete resolution of the amide resonances in a three-dimensional solid-state NMR correlation spectrum of a uniformly 15N-labeled membrane protein in oriented phospholipid bilayers is demonstrated. The three orientationally dependent frequencies, 1H chemical shift, 1H–15N dipolar coupling, and 15N chemical shift, associated with each amide resonance are responsible for resolution among resonances and provide sufficient angular restrictions for protein structure determination. Because the protein is completely immobilized by the phospholipids on the relevant NMR time scales (10 kHz), the linewidths will not degrade in the spectra of larger proteins. Therefore, these results demonstrate that solid-state NMR experiments can overcome the correlation time problem and extend the range of proteins that can have their structures determined by NMR spectroscopy to include uniformly 15N-labeled membrane proteins in phospholipid bilayers.

Correlation of the structural and functional domains in the membrane protein Vpu from HIV-1

Vpu is an 81-residue membrane protein encoded by the HIV-1 genome. NMR experiments show that the protein folds into two distinct domains, a transmembrane hydrophobic helix and a cytoplasmic domain with two in-plane amphipathic α-helices separated by a linker region. Resonances in one-dimensional solid-state NMR spectra of uniformly 15N labeled Vpu are clearly segregated into two bands at chemical shift frequencies associated with NH bonds in a transmembrane α-helix, perpendicular to the membrane surface, and with NH bonds in the cytoplasmic helices parallel to the membrane surface. Solid-state NMR spectra of truncated Vpu2–51 (residues 2–51), which contains the transmembrane α-helix and the first amphipathic helix of the cytoplasmic domain, and of a construct Vpu28–81 (residues 28–81), which contains only the cytoplasmic domain, support this structural model of Vpu in the membrane. Full-length Vpu (residues 2–81) forms discrete ion-conducting channels of heterogeneous conductance in lipid bilayers. The most frequent conductances were 22 ± 3 pS and 12 ± 3 pS in 0.5 M KCl and 29 ± 3 pS and 12 ± 3 pS in 0.5 M NaCl. In agreement with the structural model, truncated Vpu2–51, which has the transmembrane helix, forms discrete channels in lipid bilayers, whereas the cytoplasmic domain Vpu28–81, which lacks the transmembrane helix, does not. This finding shows that the channel activity is associated with the transmembrane helical domain. The pattern of channel activity is characteristic of the self-assembly of conductive oligomers in the membrane and is compatible with the structural and functional findings.

Solid and liquid phase 59Co NMR studies of cobalamins and their derivatives

We describe the application of 59Co NMR to the study of naturally occurring cobalamins. Targets of these investigations included vitamin B12, the B12 coenzyme, methylcobalamin, and dicyanocobyrinic acid heptamethylester. These measurements were carried out on solutions and powders of different origins, and repeated at a variety of magnetic field strengths. Particularly informative were the solid-state central transition NMR spectra, which when combined with numerical line shape analyses provided a clear description of the cobalt coupling parameters. These parameters showed a high sensitivity to the type of ligands attached to the metal and to the crystallization history of the sample. 59Co NMR determinations also were carried out on synthetic cobaloximes possessing alkyl, cyanide, aquo, and nitrogenated axial groups, substituents that paralleled the coordination of the natural compounds. These analogs displayed coupling anisotropies comparable to those of the cobalamins, as well as systematic up-field shifts that can be rationalized in terms of their stronger binding affinity to the cobalt atom. Cobaloximes also displayed a higher regularity in the relative orientations of their quadrupole and shielding coupling tensors, reflecting a higher symmetry in their in-plane coordination. For the cobalamines, poor correlations were observed between the values measured for the quadrupole couplings in the solid and the line widths observed in the corresponding solution 59Co NMR resonances.

Noninvasive measurement of gene expression in skeletal muscle

We have developed a noninvasive detection method for expression of viral-mediated gene transfer. A recombinant adenovirus was constructed by using the gene for arginine kinase (AK), which is the invertebrate correlate to the vertebrate ATP-buffering enzyme, creatine kinase. Gene expression was noninvasively monitored using 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS). The product of the AK enzyme, phosphoarginine (PArg), served as an MRS-visible reporter of AK expression. The recombinant adenovirus coding for arginine kinase (rAdCMVAK) was injected into the right hindlimbs of neonatal mice. Two weeks after injection of rAdCMVAK, a unique 31P-MRS resonance was observed. It was observable in all rAdCMVAK injected hindlimbs and was not present in the contralateral control or the vehicle injected limb. PArg and phosphocreatine (PCr) concentrations were calculated to be 11.6 ± 0.90 and 13.6 ± 1.1 mM respectively in rAdCMVAK injected limbs. AK activity was demonstrated in vivo by monitoring the decreases in PArg and ATP resonances during prolonged ischemia. After 1 h of ischemia intracellular pH was 6.73 ± 0.06, PCr/ATP was decreased by 77 ± 8%, whereas PArg/ATP was decreased by 50 ± 15% of basal levels. PArg and PCr returned to basal levels within 5 min of the restoration of blood flow. AK activity persisted for at least 8 mo after injection, indicating that adenoviral-mediated gene transfer can produce stable expression for long periods of time. Therefore, the cDNA encoding AK provides a useful reporter gene that allows noninvasive and repeated monitoring of gene expression after viral mediated gene transfer to muscle.

NMR and mutagenesis evidence for an I domain allosteric site that regulates lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 ligand binding

The leukocyte integrin, lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) (CD11a/CD18), mediates cell adhesion and signaling in inflammatory and immune responses. To support these functions, LFA-1 must convert from a resting to an activated state that avidly binds its ligands such as intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1). Biochemical and x-ray studies of the Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) I domain suggest that integrin activation could involve a conformational change of the C-terminal α-helix. We report the use of NMR spectroscopy to identify CD11a I domain residues whose resonances are affected by binding to ICAM-1. We observed two distinct sites in the CD11a I domain that were affected. As expected from previous mutagenesis studies, a cluster of residues localized around the metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) was severely perturbed on ICAM-1 binding. A second cluster of residues distal to the MIDAS that included the C-terminal α-helix of the CD11a I domain was also affected. Substitution of residues in the core of this second I domain site resulted in constitutively active LFA-1 binding to ICAM-1. Binding data indicates that none of the 20 substitution mutants we tested at this second site form an essential ICAM-1 binding interface. We also demonstrate that residues in the I domain linker sequences can regulate LFA-1 binding. These results indicate that LFA-1 binding to ICAM-1 is regulated by an I domain allosteric site (IDAS) and that this site is structurally linked to the MIDAS.

NMR characterization and solution structure determination of the oxidized cytochrome c7 from Desulfuromonas acetoxidans

The solution structure of the three-heme electron transfer protein cytochrome c7 from Desulfuromonas acetoxidans is reported. The determination of the structure is obtained through NMR spectroscopy on the fully oxidized, paramagnetic form. The richness of structural motifs and the presence of three prosthetic groups in a protein of 68 residues is discussed in comparison with the four-heme cytochromes c3 already characterized through x-ray crystallography. In particular, the orientation of the three hemes present in cytochrome c7 is similar to that of three out of four hemes of cytochromes c3. The reduction potentials of the individual hemes, which have been obtained through the sequence-specific assignment of the heme resonances, are discussed with respect to the properties of the protein matrix. This information is relevant for any attempt to understand the electron transfer pathway.