Upper Limb Portable Motion Analysis System Based on Inertial Technology for Neurorehabilitation Purposes

Here an inertial sensor-based monitoring system for measuring and analyzing upper limb movements is presented. The final goal is the integration of this motion-tracking device within a portable rehabilitation system for brain injury patients. A set of four inertial sensors mounted on a special garment worn by the patient provides the quaternions representing the patient upper limb’s orientation in space. A kinematic model is built to estimate 3D upper limb motion for accurate therapeutic evaluation. The human upper limb is represented as a kinematic chain of rigid bodies with three joints and six degrees of freedom. Validation of the system has been performed by co-registration of movements with a commercial optoelectronic tracking system. Successful results are shown that exhibit a high correlation among signals provided by both devices and obtained at the Institut Guttmann Neurorehabilitation Hospital.

Analysing written production competence descriptors for academic and professional purposes and their calibration to the CEFR

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) "describes in a comprehensive way what language learners have to learn to do in order to use a language for communication and what knowledge and skills they have to develop so as to be able to act effectively" (Council of Europe, 2001: 1). This paper reports on the findings of two studies whose purpose was to assess written production competence descriptors meant for their inclusion into the Academic and Professional English Language Portfolio KELP) for students of engineering and architecture. The main objective of these studies was to establish whether the language competence descriptors were a satisfactory valid tool in their language programmes from the point of view of clarity, relevance and reliability, as perceived by the students and fellow English for Academic Purposes (RAP) / English for Science and Technology (EST) instructors. The studies shed light on how to improve unsatisfactory descriptors. Results show that the final descriptor lists were on the whole well calibrated and fairly well written: the great majority was considered valid for both teachers and students involved.

Mozarabic Chant anechoic recordings for auralization purposes

The Hispanic Rite is the liturgy celebrated by Christians of the Iberian Peninsula before the imposition of the Roman Rite in the mid-eleventh century. As in other early Christian liturgies, music was the core of the Hispanic Rite. This music, known as Mozarabic Chant is one of the richest musical repertoires of the Middle Ages. Currently, a research project is underway involving the restoration of the Hispanic Rite sound, using techniques of acoustic virtual reality. The project aims to perform the auralization of the sound of Mozarabic Chant in his primitive environment, that is, taking into account the acoustic characteristics of the pre-Romanesque churches in their original state. For this purpose, anechoic recordings were made for a number of musical pieces representative of the Mozarabic Chant repertoire. In total eight (8) musical pieces have been recorded and interpreted, each of one, by six (6) different singers. The recordings were made using a spherical array composed by 32 microphones. This paper describes the more relevant aspects related to the recorded musical material, the technical specifications and installation details of the recording equipment, the data processing, and a summary of the results.

Processing of the JEFF-3.1.2 Cross Section Library into various formats (ACE, PENDF, GENDF, MATXSR and BOXER) for testing purposes

1. Objectives and planning 1.1 Processing JEFF-3.1.2 in ACE format 1.2 Processing JEFF-3.1.2 to JANIS and BOXER format 1.3 Changes in NJOY99.364 1.4 Updates in JEFF-3.1.2 1.5 Processing TENDL-2011

Scale model research for room acoustics purposes

In the field of Room Acoustics it is common using scale models to study a room. Through this method it is possible to predict its behavior, which may be very useful to detect and correct any problem prior to build it, saving many resources. Nowadays this method has been relegated to a secondary position due to the peak of simulation software, which makes possible studying rooms in a cheap, flexible and simple way, as well as it is potentially less time consuming. Nevertheless, the scale model method is still under study, as it may give some additional information. This project intends to focus in pedagogic possibilities of the scale model method. This method offers the student the opportunity of study and grasp some of the most important phenomena in Room Acoustics, in a more intuitive way than just a software simulation. Furthermore most of the existing software in this field is aimed to the technician working in the lab, as efficiently as possible, not to the student trying to understand and learn something. Here, the facilities and resources of Syddansk Universitet regarding this matter will be studied and evaluated, as well as the procedure for the experiments, paying special attention not only to its reliability and accuracy, but also to its didactic possibilities. Besides, if possible, any improvement that could help to enhance any of the listed aspects will be suggested. En el ámbito de la Acústica Arquitectónica es común el uso de modelos a escala para estudiar un recinto determinado. Mediante esta técnica es posible por ejemplo predecir el comportamiento del recinto y detectar problemas antes de su construcción, con el consecuente ahorro de recursos. Actualmente el uso de modelos a escala está desplazado a un segundo plano por el uso de software simulación, debido a la sencillez y flexibilidad que puede aportar la simulación por ordenador, así como a la economía de tiempo y recursos que supone. Sin embargo sigue siendo objeto de estudio, dado que puede aportar información muy valiosa para el ingeniero. Este proyecto se centra en las posibilidades pedagógicas de dicho método. El uso de modelos a escala brinda la oportunidad a los estudiantes de estudiar y comprender algunos de los fenómenos más importantes en la Acústica Arquitectónica de una forma más directa e intuitiva que una simulación por ordenador. Se pretende estudiar y evaluar los medios al alcance de los estudiantes en la Syddansk Universitet, así como los métodos usados, atendiendo no sólo a su precisión y fiabilidad, si no a su potencial pedagógico. Así mismo, si es posible, se propondrán cambios que puedan suponer una mejora en cualquiera de estos aspectos. Así el proyecto se divide en varias secciones claramente diferenciadas. En el apartado Background and Theoretical Basis se introduce el tema del estudio y simulación de recintos acústicos. Se explica su importancia y utilidad, y se comenta la situación actual de estas técnicas, abordando diferentes métodos usados así como sus bases teóricas y principales ventajas e inconvenientes. Bajo el apartado de Project se analizan diferentes factores relacionados con el problema. Se estudian los recursos a disposición del alumno, desde el software y hardware implicados hasta el equipo de medida y otros recursos necesarios para la realización de las prácticas. Es en esta parte donde se centra la parte más importante del trabajo, consistente en la medición y comprobación de las características más relevantes del equipo implicado. Haciendo posible así confirmar su validez y precisión, tanto desde el punto de vista técnico como pedagógico, así como estableciendo los límites dentro de los que se puede considerar fiable el modelo. Al final de este apartado se aborda la influencia de la absorción del aire en altas frecuencias, y la variación en los coeficientes de absorción y dispersión de los materiales respecto de la frecuencia. Por último se realiza una verificación subjetiva del sistema completo, debido a que por limitaciones técnicas no ha sido posible evaluar el montaje en el rango equivalente a toda la banda audible, y que los métodos estudiados tienen como meta última asegurar una buena percepción por parte del oyente en el recinto dado. Dentro del apartado Conclusions se hace un breve resumen de las conclusiones extraídas anteriormente, y se valora el rendimiento y utilidad general del modelo, que a pesar de algunos problemas de precisión y repetibilidad lógicos debido a los medios usados, es válido para ilustrar los fenómenos físicos que se quieren enseñar al alumno. En la sección de Future Work se proponen diferentes vías de trabajo para futuros proyectos en la Syddansk Universitet que podrían ser útiles confirmar el trabajo realizado en este proyecto, mejorar la precisión y fiabilidad del montaje o enriquecer las posibilidades pedagógicas de las prácticas relacionadas. Por último se encuentra, tras el apartado de referencias, los anexos con tablas y gráficas relativas a las medidas realizadas en diferentes partes del trabajo. También se puede encontrar información y material relacionado con el proyecto en el CD adjunto.

Assessment of urban parameterizations in the WRF model for air quality modelling purposes in Madrid (Spain)

This study aims to assess the performance or multi-layer canopy parameterizations implemented in the mesoscale WRF model in order to understand their potential contribution to improve the description of energy fluxes and wind fields in the Madrid city. It was found that the Building Energy Model (BEP+BEM) parameterization yielded better results than the bulk standard scheme implemented in the Noah LSM, but very close to those of the Building Energy Parameterization (BEP). The later was deemed as the best option since data requirements and CPU time were smaller. Two annual runs were made to feed the CMAQ chemical-transport model to assess the impact of this feature in routinely air quality modelling activities.