Design of surface forces apparatus for tribology studies combined with nonlinear optical spectroscopy

We describe the design, calibration, and performance of surface forces apparatus with the capability of illumination of the contact interface for spectroscopic investigation using optical techniques. The apparatus can be placed in the path of a Nd-YAG laser for studies of the linear response or the second harmonic and sum-frequency generation from a material confined between the two surfaces. In addition to the standard fringes of equal chromatic order technique, which we have digitized for accurate and fast analysis, the distance of separation can be measured with a fiber-optic interferometer during spectroscopic measurements (2 Å resolution and 10 ms response time). The sample approach is accomplished through application of a motor drive, piezoelectric actuator, or electromagnetic lever deflection for variable degrees of range, sensitivity, and response time. To demonstrate the operation of the instrument, the stepwise expulsion of discrete layers of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane from the contact is shown. Lateral forces may also be studied by using piezoelectric bimorphs to induce and direct the motion of one surface.

The pivot player in handball and patterns detection - instrument

The theoretical context of this study is related with the observational methodology in the context of group games and sports studies, specifically Handball. Thus, this study intends to analyze the performance of the pivot player in the World Cup 2007 - Germany, European 2008 - Norway 2008 and China OG 2008 in a qualitative dimension. Our purpose was to get as much information as possible about the whole activity of the pivot player, by identifying sequential patterns of behaviour or conduct of the player/game, by using the sequential analysis. The observation instrument used to meet the main purpose of this work consists of a combination of format fields (FF) and systems of categories (SC). The codifications undertaken occurred in several handball games. Using this instrument we have shown that it provides support for the purposes for which it was developed, allowing more research into the offensive process of handball. Besides this, it makes possible the analysis of aspects of the game through perspective and contextual sequences, which we consider to be more accurate, to fit the "reality" of a game such as handball.

Observational methodology in football: Development of an instrument to study the offensiva game in football.

The following paper introduces a new approach to the analysis of offensive game in football. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to create an instrument for collecting information for the analysis of offensive action and interactions game. The observation instrument that was used to accomplish the main objective of this work consists of a combination of format fields (FC) and systems of categories (SC). This methodology is a particular strategy of the scientific method that has as an objective to analyse the perceptible behaviour that occurs in habitual contexts, allowing them to be formally recorded and quantified and using an ad hoc instrument in order to obtain a behaviour systematic registration that, since they have been transformed in quantitative data with the necessary reliability and validity determined level, will allow analysis of the relations between these behaviours. The codifications undertaken to date in various games of football have shown that it serves the purposes for which it was developed, allowing more research into the offensive game methods in football.

The effect of tax enforcement on tax elasticities: Evidence from charitable contributions in France

Optimal tax formulas expressed in "sufficient statistics" are usually calibrated under the assumptionthat the relevant tax elasticities are unaffected by other available policy instruments.In practice though, tax authorities have many more instruments than the mere tax rates andtax elasticities are functions of all these policy instruments. In this paper we provide evidencethat tax elasticities are extremely sensitive to a particular policy instrument: the level of taxenforcement. We exploit a natural experiment that took place in France in 1983, when the taxadministration tightened the requirements to claim charitable deductions. The reform led to asubstantial drop in the amount of contributions reported to the administration, which can becredibly attributed to overreporting of charitable contributions before the reform, rather thanto a real change in giving behaviours. We show that the reform was also associated with asubstantial decline in the absolute value of the elasticity of reported contributions. This findingallows us to partially identify the elasticity of overreporting contributions, which is shown tobe large and inferior to -2 in the lax enforcement regime. We further show using bunching oftaxpayers at kink-points of the tax schedule that the elasticity of taxable income also experienceda significant decline after the reform. Our results suggest that optimizing the tax rate fora given tax elasticity when other policy instruments are not optimized can lead to misleadingconclusions when tax authorities have another instrument that could set the tax elasticity itselfat its optimal level as in Kopczuk and Slemrod [2002].

Carnatic music: Svara, Gamaka, Motif and Raga identity

Over the last century in Karnatik music, the method ofunderstanding raga has been to break it down into its variouscomponents, svara, scale, gamaka, and phrases. In this paper, an attempt is made to define the abstract concept of raga in its entirety within the aesthetics of Karnatik music considering the various components and their symbiotic relationship. This paper also attempts to prove that theidentity of a raga exists as a whole. Section 2 explains theconcept of a fundamental musical note or svara. Section 3 illustrates the concept of gamaka or inflections. Section 4 delves into the concept of raga in detail and then flows into Section 5 which enunciates the identity of a raga in terms of svara, gamaka, and phraseology. The paper concludes in Section 6, and Section 7 gives the references.

La Política 2.0 amb la generació Nintendo

The eruption of Web 2.0 has transformed the uses and strategies of political communication. The campaign developed by Obama's team is a good example of the electoral efficiency of these new tools whose results we are now analysing and evaluating. While our present leaders could be classified as the "fax generation", the North American experience opens the doors to a new way of relating with the electoral masses. With these new instruments of interactive communication, voters have the space to be able to make their voices heard and to be able to affect the electoral programme, something which undoubtedly benefits an election campaign's degree of democratic quality

Application of ultrasound in bone surgery: two case reports

The present study describes some of the applications of ultrasound in bone surgery, based on the presentation of two clinical cases. The Piezosurgery® ultrasound device was used (Tecnología Mectron Medical, Carasco, Italy). In one case the instrument was used to harvest a chin bone graft for placement in a bone defect at level 1.2, while in the other case a bony window osteotomy was made in the external wall of the maxillary sinus, in the context of a sinus membrane lift procedure. The Piezosurgery® device produces specific ultrasound frequency modulation (25-29 kHz), and has been designed to secure increased precision in application to bone surgery. This instrument produces selective sectioning of the mineralized bone structures, and causes less intra- and postoperative bleeding. One of the advantages of the Piezosurgery® device is that it can be used for maxillary sinus lift procedures in dental implant placement. In this context it considerably lessens the risk of sinus mucosa laceration by preparing the bony window in the external wall of the upper maxilla, and can be used to complete the lifting maneuver. The use of ultrasound in application to hard tissues can be regarded as a slow technique compared with the conventional rotary instruments, since it requires special surgical skill and involves a certain learning curve.

Plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex induced by Music-supported therapy in stroke patients: a TMS study.

Playing a musical instrument demands the engagement of different neural systems. Recent studies about the musician"s brain and musical training highlight that this activity requires the close interaction between motor and somatosensory systems. Moreover, neuroplastic changes have been reported in motor-related areas after short and long-term musical training. Because of its capacity to promote neuroplastic changes, music has been used in the context of stroke neurorehabilitation. The majority of patients suffering from a stroke have motor impairments, preventing them to live independently. Thus, there is an increasing demand for effective restorative interventions for neurological deficits. Music-supported Therapy (MST) has been recently developed to restore motor deficits. We report data of a selected sample of stroke patients who have been enrolled in a MST program (1 month intense music learning). Prior to and after the therapy, patients were evaluated with different behavioral motor tests. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) was applied to evaluate changes in the sensorimotor representations underlying the motor gains observed. Several parameters of excitability of the motor cortex were assessed as well as the cortical somatotopic representation of a muscle in the affected hand. Our results revealed that participants obtained significant motor improvements in the paretic hand and those changes were accompanied by changes in the excitability of the motor cortex. Thus, MST leads to neuroplastic changes in the motor cortex of stroke patients which may explain its efficacy.

Plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex induced by Music-supported therapy in stroke patients: a TMS study.

Playing a musical instrument demands the engagement of different neural systems. Recent studies about the musician"s brain and musical training highlight that this activity requires the close interaction between motor and somatosensory systems. Moreover, neuroplastic changes have been reported in motor-related areas after short and long-term musical training. Because of its capacity to promote neuroplastic changes, music has been used in the context of stroke neurorehabilitation. The majority of patients suffering from a stroke have motor impairments, preventing them to live independently. Thus, there is an increasing demand for effective restorative interventions for neurological deficits. Music-supported Therapy (MST) has been recently developed to restore motor deficits. We report data of a selected sample of stroke patients who have been enrolled in a MST program (1 month intense music learning). Prior to and after the therapy, patients were evaluated with different behavioral motor tests. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) was applied to evaluate changes in the sensorimotor representations underlying the motor gains observed. Several parameters of excitability of the motor cortex were assessed as well as the cortical somatotopic representation of a muscle in the affected hand. Our results revealed that participants obtained significant motor improvements in the paretic hand and those changes were accompanied by changes in the excitability of the motor cortex. Thus, MST leads to neuroplastic changes in the motor cortex of stroke patients which may explain its efficacy.

Plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex induced by Music-supported therapy in stroke patients: a TMS study.

Playing a musical instrument demands the engagement of different neural systems. Recent studies about the musician"s brain and musical training highlight that this activity requires the close interaction between motor and somatosensory systems. Moreover, neuroplastic changes have been reported in motor-related areas after short and long-term musical training. Because of its capacity to promote neuroplastic changes, music has been used in the context of stroke neurorehabilitation. The majority of patients suffering from a stroke have motor impairments, preventing them to live independently. Thus, there is an increasing demand for effective restorative interventions for neurological deficits. Music-supported Therapy (MST) has been recently developed to restore motor deficits. We report data of a selected sample of stroke patients who have been enrolled in a MST program (1 month intense music learning). Prior to and after the therapy, patients were evaluated with different behavioral motor tests. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) was applied to evaluate changes in the sensorimotor representations underlying the motor gains observed. Several parameters of excitability of the motor cortex were assessed as well as the cortical somatotopic representation of a muscle in the affected hand. Our results revealed that participants obtained significant motor improvements in the paretic hand and those changes were accompanied by changes in the excitability of the motor cortex. Thus, MST leads to neuroplastic changes in the motor cortex of stroke patients which may explain its efficacy.

L’orquestra inclusiva dintre del context escolar

Aquest treball d’investigació pretén conèixer els factors que condicionen una pràctica instrumental inclusiva en el context escolar i d’aula; un tema poc treballat amb consciència d’universalitat en l’àrea curricular d’Educació Musical. En primer lloc, a la fonamentació teòrica, s’han extret les principals idees de diferents autors que tracten sobre el Disseny Universal, l’Ensenyament Multinivell, el treball cooperatiu i el treball musical amb instrumentació Orff. De cada un d’aquests blocs s’ha realitzat una relació entre aquestes teories i l’aplicació al context musical. Posteriorment, treballant des de la base teòrica, s’ha aplicat una intervenció a nivell escolar de dues setmanes on es pretén identificar els ítems que dificulten o afavoreixen la pràctica instrumental a l’aula i idear alternatives de pràctica instrumental inclusiva.

Maneig i compliment terapèutic de les persones afectades per MPOC de l'ABS Girona 2

L’ús de programes senzills, dirigits a malalts amb MPOC comporta una reducció significativa del nombre de les hospitalitzacions. Amb MPOC com amb qualsevol patologia crònica, és fonamental que tant el pacient com la família rebin una informació adequada sobre la malaltia, els factors de risc, els hàbits que faciliten la progressió i les mesures terapèutiques necessàries en cada moment de la malaltia. És fonamental revisar el compliment del tractament i la tècnicad’inhalació, i els malalts amb insuficiència respiratòria crònica amb tractament d’oxigenoteràpia domiciliària cal revisar els objectius d’aquest tractament, les diferents fonts existents i com utilitzar-les

Estudi i disseny d'un sistema de modificació tímbrica en instruments determinats a través d'anàlisi, filtratge i síntesi de senyal d'àudio digital

Aquest treball final de carrera sorgeix doncs d'una idea molt ambiciosa: crear un sistema de processat de senyal digital que permetés, a temps real, convertir un timbre d'un instrument determinat a un altre, és a dir, a través d'un micròfon que capti el so d'un instrument, com ara el clarinet, analitzar i processar mitjançant programari d'ordinador aquest so d'entrada. Conseqüentment, convertir-lo per poder percebre'l a través dels altaveus com a so d'un altre instrument. D'aquesta manera, un músic amb habilitats per tocar el clarinet, mitjançant aquesta eina podria simular so de saxo, trompeta, etc., sense haver de recórrer a un sintetitzador ni a altres instruments MIDI.

Clasificación automática de textos y explotación BI

El presente proyecto tiene como objetivo desarrollar una tecnología que permita codificar grandes cantidades de texto de manera automática para posteriormente ser visualizada y analizada mediante una aplicación diseñada en Qlikview. El motor de la investigación e implementación de este proyecto se ha encontrado en la incipiente presencia de tecnologías informáticas en los procesos de codificación para ciencias políticas. De esta manera, el programa creado tiene como objetivo automatizar un proceso que se desarrolla comúnmente de manera manual y, por ende, las ventajas de introducir técnicas informáticas son notablemente valiosas. Estas automatizaciones permiten ahorrar tanto en tiempo de codificación, como en recursos económicos o humanos. Se ha elaborado una revisión teórica y metodológica que han servido como instrumentos de estudio y mejora, con el firme propósito de reducir al máximo el margen de error y ofrecer un instrumento de calidad con salida de mercado real. El método de clasificación utilizado ha sido Bayes, y se ha implementado utilizando Matlab. Los resultados de la clasificación han llegado a índices del 99.2%. En la visualización y análisis mediante Qlikview se pueden modificar los parámetros referentes a partido político, año, categoría o región, con lo que se permite analizar numerosos aspectos relacionados con la distribución de las palabras repartidas entre las diferentes categorías y en el tiempo.

Lyra Viol “Instrument de música domèstica”

El propòsit d'aquest treball és donar a conèixer la lyra viol i la seva música. Entre d'altres maneres de tocar aquest instrument, mostrar com aquest servia per acompanyar la veu, així com arranjar peces polifòniques tal i com trobem en publicacions de l'època. I serà a partir d'aquests exemples, que he fet els meus propis arranjaments per a viola de gamba i que incloc en aquest treball.