Correction for heart rate variability during 3D whole heart MR coronary angiography.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of a real-time adaptive trigger delay on image quality to correct for heart rate variability in 3D whole-heart coronary MR angiography (MRA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve healthy adults underwent 3D whole-heart coronary MRA with and without the use of an adaptive trigger delay. The moment of minimal coronary artery motion was visually determined on a high temporal resolution MRI. Throughout the scan performed without adaptive trigger delay, trigger delay was kept constant, whereas during the scan performed with adaptive trigger delay, trigger delay was continuously updated after each RR-interval using physiological modeling. Signal-to-noise, contrast-to-noise, vessel length, vessel sharpness, and subjective image quality were compared in a blinded manner. RESULTS: Vessel sharpness improved significantly for the middle segment of the right coronary artery (RCA) with the use of the adaptive trigger delay (52.3 +/- 7.1% versus 48.9 +/- 7.9%, P = 0.026). Subjective image quality was significantly better in the middle segments of the RCA and left anterior descending artery (LAD) when the scan was performed with adaptive trigger delay compared to constant trigger delay. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the use of an adaptive trigger delay to correct for heart rate variability improves image quality mainly in the middle segments of the RCA and LAD.

Oscillatory magnetic tweezers based on ferromagnetic beads and simple coaxial coils

We report the design and validation of simple magnetic tweezers for oscillating ferromagnetic beads in the piconewton and nanometer scales. The system is based on a single pair of coaxial coils operating in two sequential modes: permanent magnetization of the beads through a large and brief pulse of magnetic field and generation of magnetic gradients to produce uniaxial oscillatory forces. By using this two step method, the magnetic moment of the beads remains constant during measurements. Therefore, the applied force can be computed and varies linearly with the driving signal. No feedback control is required to produce well defined force oscillations over a wide bandwidth. The design of the coils was optimized to obtain high magnetic fields (280 mT) and gradients (2 T/m) with high homogeneity (5% variation) within the sample. The magnetic tweezers were implemented in an inverted optical microscope with a videomicroscopy-based multiparticle tracking system. The apparatus was validated with 4.5 ¿m magnetite beads obtaining forces up to ~2 pN and subnanometer resolution. The applicability of the device includes microrheology of biopolymer and cell cytoplasm, molecular mechanics, and mechanotransduction in living cells.

Vision suisse romande de la pratique infirmière avancée [Advanced nursing practice: vision in Switzerland].

To meet the challenges related to the development of health problems taking into account the development of knowledge, several innovations in care are being implemented. Among these, advanced nursing roles and increased interprofessional collaboration are considered as important features in Switzerland. Although the international literature provides benchmarks for advanced roles, it was considered essential to contextualize these in order to promote their application value in Switzerland. Thus, from 79 statements drawn from the literature, 172 participants involved in a two-sequential phases study only kept 29 statements because they considered they were relevant, important and applicable in daily practice. However, it is important to point out that statements which have not been selected at this stage to describe advanced practice cannot be considered irrelevant permanently. Indeed, given the emergence of advanced practice in western Switzerland, it is possible that a statement judged not so relevant at this moment of the development of advanced practice, will be considered as such later on. The master's program in nursing embedded at the University of Lausanne and the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland was also examined in the light of these statements. It was concluded that all the objectives of the program are aligned with the competencies statements that were kept.

Valoración de credit default swaps: una aplicación del modelo de Hull-White al mercado español

En este trabajo se presenta una aplicación empírica del modelo de Hull-White (2000) al mercado de renta fija español. Este modelo proporciona la expresión por el cálculo de los pagos hechos por el comprador de un credit default swap (CDS), bajo la hipótesis de que no existe riesgo de contrapartida. Se supone, además, que la curva cupón cero, la tasa de recuperación constante y el momento del suceso de crédito son independientes. Se utilizan bonos del Banco Santander Central Hispano para mesurar la probabilidad neutra al riesgo de quiebra y, bajo hipótesis de no arbitraje, se calculan las primas de un CDS, por un bono subyacente con la misma calificación crediticia que la entidad de referencia. Se observa que las primas se ajustan bien a los spreads crediticios del mercado, que se acostumbran a utilizar como alternativa a las mismas.

Magnetic field induced entropy change and magnetoelasticity in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys

The magnetocaloric effect that originates from the martensitic transition in the ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Gashape-memory alloy is studied. We show that this effect is controlled by the magnetostructural coupling at boththe martensitic variant and magnetic domain length scales. A large entropy change induced by moderatemagnetic fields is obtained for alloys in which the magnetic moment of the two structural phases is not verydifferent. We also show that this entropy change is not associated with the entropy difference between themartensitic and the parent phase arising from the change in the crystallographic structure which has beenfound to be independent of the magnetic field within this range of fields.

Soil losses from typic cambisols and red latosol as related to three erosive rainfall patterns

Rainfall erosivity is one of the main factors related to water erosion in the tropics. This work focused on relating soil loss from a typic dystrophic Tb Haplic Cambisol (CXbd) and a typic dystrophic Red Latosol (LVdf) to different patterns of natural erosive rainfall. The experimental plots of approximately 26 m² (3 x 8.67 m) consisted of a CXbd area with a 0.15 m m-1 slope and a LVdf area with 0.12 m m-1 slope, both delimited by galvanized plates. Drainpipes were installed at the lower part of these plots to collect runoff, interconnected with a Geib or multislot divisor. To calculate erosivity (EI30), rainfall data, recorded continuously at a weather station in Lavras, were used. The data of erosive rainfall events were measured (10 mm precipitation intervals, accuracy 0.2 mm, 24 h period, 20 min intervals), characterized as rainfall events with more than 10 mm precipitation, maximum intensity > 24 mm h-1 within 15 min, or kinetic energy > 3.6 MJ, which were used in this study to calculate the rainfall erosivity parameter, were classified according to the moment of peak precipitation intensity in advanced, intermediate and delayed patterns. Among the 139 erosive rainfall events with CXbd soil loss, 60 % were attributed to the advanced pattern, with a loss of 415.9 Mg ha-1, and total losses of 776.0 Mg ha-1. As for the LVdf, of the 93 erosive rainfall events with soil loss, 58 % were listed in the advanced pattern, with 37.8 Mg ha-1 soil loss and 50.9 Mg ha-1 of total soil loss. The greatest soil losses were observed in the advanced rain pattern, especially for the CXbd. From the Cambisol, the soil loss per rainfall event was greatest for the advanced pattern, being influenced by the low soil permeability.

Magnetic field induced entropy change and magnetoelasticity in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys

The magnetocaloric effect that originates from the martensitic transition in the ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Gashape-memory alloy is studied. We show that this effect is controlled by the magnetostructural coupling at boththe martensitic variant and magnetic domain length scales. A large entropy change induced by moderatemagnetic fields is obtained for alloys in which the magnetic moment of the two structural phases is not verydifferent. We also show that this entropy change is not associated with the entropy difference between themartensitic and the parent phase arising from the change in the crystallographic structure which has beenfound to be independent of the magnetic field within this range of fields.

Valoración de credit default swaps: una aplicación del modelo de Hull-White al mercado español

En este trabajo se presenta una aplicación empírica del modelo de Hull-White (2000) al mercado de renta fija español. Este modelo proporciona la expresión por el cálculo de los pagos hechos por el comprador de un credit default swap (CDS), bajo la hipótesis de que no existe riesgo de contrapartida. Se supone, además, que la curva cupón cero, la tasa de recuperación constante y el momento del suceso de crédito son independientes. Se utilizan bonos del Banco Santander Central Hispano para mesurar la probabilidad neutra al riesgo de quiebra y, bajo hipótesis de no arbitraje, se calculan las primas de un CDS, por un bono subyacente con la misma calificación crediticia que la entidad de referencia. Se observa que las primas se ajustan bien a los spreads crediticios del mercado, que se acostumbran a utilizar como alternativa a las mismas.

Stability-dependent behavioural and electro-cortical reorganizations during intentional switching between bimanual tapping modes

This study investigated behavioural and electro-cortical reorganizations accompanying intentional switching between two distinct bimanual coordination tapping modes (In-phase and Anti-phase) that differ in stability when produced at the same movement rate. We expected that switching to a less stable tapping mode (In-to-Anti switching) would lead to larger behavioural perturbations and require supplementary neural resources than switching to a more stable tapping mode (Anti-to-In switching). Behavioural results confirmed that the In-to-Anti switching lasted longer than the Anti-to-In switching. A general increase in attention-related neural activity was found at the moment of switching for both conditions. Additionally, two condition-dependent EEG reorganizations were observed. First, a specific increase in cortico-cortical coherence appeared exclusively during the In-to-Anti switching. This result may reflect a strengthening in inter-regional communication in order to engage in the subsequent, less stable, tapping mode. Second, a decrease in motor-related neural activity (increased beta spectral power) was found for the Anti-to-In switching only. The latter effect may reflect the interruption of the previous, less stable, tapping mode. Given that previous results on spontaneous Anti-to-In switching revealing an inverse pattern of EEG reorganization (decreased beta spectral power), present findings give new insight on the stability-dependent neural correlates of intentional motor switching. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

El discurs polític: la immigració com a pretext

El treball és una d’anàlisi del discurs polític que apareix en els programes electorals dels candidats a les presidencials franceses 2012, centrant l’atenció en el terme immigration. L’objectiu és identificar de quina manera expressen la seva ideologia, concretar les semblances, les divergències i els matisos que determinen en els seus discursos.

The Implied Book and the Narrative Text. On a Blind Spot in Narratological Theory - from a Media Studies Perspective

The article is concerned with the formal definition of a largely unnoticed factor in narrative structure. Based on the assumptions that (1) the semantics of a written text depend, among other factors, directly on its visual alignment in space, that (2) the formal structure of a text has to meet that of its spatial presentation and that (3) these assumptions hold true also for narrative texts (which, however, in modern times typically conceal their spatial dimensions by a low-key linear layout), it is argued that, how ever low-key, the expected material shape of a given narrative determines the configuration of its plot by its author. The ,implied book' thus denotes an author's historically assumable, not necessarily conscious idea of how his text, which is still in the process of creation, will be dimensionally presented and under these circumstances visually absorbed. Assuming that an author's knowledge of this later (potentially) substantiated material form influences the composition, the implied book is to be understood as a text-genetically determined, structuring moment of the text. Historically reconstructed, it thus serves the methodical analysis of structural characteristics of a completed text.

Topological phases in small quantum Hall samples

Topological order has proven a useful concept to describe quantum phase transitions which are not captured by the Ginzburg-Landau type of symmetry-breaking order. However, lacking a local order parameter, topological order is hard to detect. One way to detect it is via direct observation of anyonic properties of excitations which are usually discussed in the thermodynamic limit, but so far has not been realized in macroscopic quantum Hall samples. Here we consider a system of few interacting bosons subjected to the lowest Landau level by a gauge potential, and theoretically investigate vortex excitations in order to identify topological properties of different ground states. Our investigation demonstrates that even in surprisingly small systems anyonic properties are able to characterize the topological order. In addition, focusing on a system in the Laughlin state, we study the robustness of its anyonic behavior in the presence of tunable finite-range interactions acting as a perturbation. A clear signal of a transition to a different state is reflected by the system's anyonic properties.

Polttolaitosten päästöjen viranomaisraportoinnin uudistaminen

EU:n suurtenpolttolaitosten direktiivi (2001/80/EY) sekä jätteenpolttodirektiivi (2000/76/EY) aiheuttavat lähivuosina oleellisia muutoksia polttolaitosten päästöjen tarkkailuun. Nämä direktiivit on pantu täytäntöön Suomen lainsäädännössä vastaavina asetuksina. Tässä diplomityössä selvitettiin, mitä muutoksia uudistunut lainsäädäntö tuo polttolaitosten päästölaskentaan ja viranomaisraportointiin. Suurimpia muutoksia ovat päästöjen tarkkailujaksojen lyhentyminen, raja-arvojen tulkinnan muuttuminen, häiriö- sekä ylös- ja alasajojaksojen jättäminen pois pitoisuusraja-arvojen tarkkailusta sekä siirtyminen ominaispäästöjen (mg/MJ) laskennasta pitoisuusarvojen (mg/m3n) laskentaan. Päästötietojen raportoinnissa on huomioitava, että ympäristöhallinnon tavoitteena on siirtyä sähköisesti tapahtuvaan tiedonsiirtoon ja kuukausittain tapahtuvaan raportointiin kaikkien tarkkailtavien päästöjenosalta. Uudistunut ympäristölainsäädäntö koskee jo eräitä polttolaitoksia ja lopuillekin uudistuneet vaatimukset astuvat voimaan lähivuosien aikana. LCP-asetuskoskee uusia laitoksia heti, olemassa oleville laitoksille uudet mittausvelvoitteet astuvat voimaan 27.11.2004 ja asetuksen mukaiset raja-arvot 1.1.2008 alkaen. Samoin jätteenpolttoasetus koskee uusia laitoksia heti, käytössä oleville laitoksille se astuu voimaan 29.12.2005. Ensimmäisen ympäristöluvan myöntämisajankohta määrää, luetaanko laitos uusiin vai olemassa tai käytössä oleviin laitoksiin.LCP-asetuksessa uusien ja olemassa olevien laitosten päästöjen tarkkailu poikkeaa hieman toisistaan. Jätteenpoltto- ja rinnakkaispolttolaitoksilla päästöjen tarkkailun toteutustapa puolestaan riippuu poltettavan jätteen laadusta ja sen määrän suhteesta muuhun polttoaineeseen. Lisäksi tämän diplomityöprojektin aikana laadittiin yksityiskohtaiset toteutusohjeet polttolaitoksia koskevan uudistuneen ympäristölainsäädännön mukaiselle päästöjen tarkkailulle ja raportoinnille. Ohjeet laadittiin erikseen LCP- ja jätteenpolttoasetusten soveltamiseksi sekä CO2-päästöjen määrittämistä varten. Ohjeita ei ole sisällytetty tähän työhön, vaan niitä kannattaa tiedustella Kontram Oy:ltä, mikäli niihin halutaan tutustua tarkemmin.

Direct-on-line axial flux permanent magnet synchronous generator static and dynamic performance

In distributed energy production, permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) are often connected to the grid via frequency converters, such as voltage source line converters. The price of the converter may constitute a large part of the costs of a generating set. Some of the permanent magnet synchronous generators with converters and traditional separately excited synchronous generators couldbe replaced by direct-on-line (DOL) non-controlled PMSGs. Small directly networkconnected generators are likely to have large markets in the area of distributed electric energy generation. Typical prime movers could be windmills, watermills and internal combustion engines. DOL PMSGs could also be applied in island networks, such as ships and oil platforms. Also various back-up power generating systems could be carried out with DOL PMSGs. The benefits would be a lower priceof the generating set and the robustness and easy use of the system. The performance of DOL PMSGs is analyzed. The electricity distribution companies have regulations that constrain the design of the generators being connected to the grid. The general guidelines and recommendations are applied in the analysis. By analyzing the results produced by the simulation model for the permanent magnet machine, the guidelines for efficient damper winding parameters for DOL PMSGs are presented. The simulation model is used to simulate grid connections and load transients. The damper winding parameters are calculated by the finite element method (FEM) and determined from experimental measurements. Three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D FEA) is carried out. The results from the simulation model and 3D FEA are compared with practical measurements from two prototype axial flux permanent magnet generators provided with damper windings. The dimensioning of the damper winding parameters is case specific. The damper winding should be dimensioned based on the moment of inertia of the generating set. It is shown that the damper winding has optimal values to reach synchronous operation in the shortest period of time after transient operation. With optimal dimensioning, interferenceon the grid is minimized.

Niños "vergonzantes" y "pequeños rojos". La población marginal infantil en la Cataluña interior del primer franquismo

En el imaginario colectivo de la sociedad de posguerra siempre están presentes las duras condiciones de la vida cotidiana. La población infantil fue especialmente sensible a esta situación debido al alto índice de enfermedades infecciosas, el racionamiento dietético y las angustias derivadas del conflicto bélico. En estas condiciones, el Auxilio Social de la Falange fue el encargado de administrar la beneficencia y, a su vez, resocializar la población, en este caso, la infantil, dentro de los valores nacionalsindicalistas y nacionalcatólicos. Ello le permitió no sólo controlar la política social sino también criminalizar a los vencidos en el momento de administrarla. En definitiva, fue uno de los pilares fundamentales en el proceso de construcción del edificio franquista.