AUSTRO-GERMAN VIOLIN REPERTORIE FROM BAROQUE THROUGH ROMANTIC PERIOD

At the end of the sixteenth century, Germany had become one of the most active centers of early Baroque music, and therefore Austro-German music came to dominate Western music. An investigation of violin works written during this period reveals the ways in which Austro-German compositions are extraordinary contributions to the violin repertoire. This research warranted further study and performance of these works in order to determine what influence these composers had on the violin repertoire as a whole. For my dissertation recital project, I trace the history of works for violin focusing the violin concerto repertoire in particular. A genre which remained popular throughout the century, the nineteenth-century concerto served primarily as a vehicle for virtuosic display of the violin and piano as never before. For my research I studied and performed works selected from the Baroque through the Romantic period in three recorded recitals with collaborative pianists Ilya Sinaisky, Sun-ha Yun, and Seyon Lee at the Gildenhorn Recital Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. I selected particularly prominent pieces which represent the work of significant composers from each period. The composers discussed include Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), owing to the fact that his works are the culmination of the Baroque era during the first half of the eighteenth century; from the Classical period, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) all of whom emerged mixing German and Italian traditions into his own style, and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), the bridge composer between the Classical and the Romantic periods; Romantic composers, Franz Schubert (1979-1828), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), and Max Bruch (1838-1920), all who tended to mix Classic and Romantic elements. As a violinist, I learned that their own original sound, rich harmonies and unique expression made these works worthy of becoming masterpieces. I have relished the opportunity for musical and professional growth in exploring these substantial compositions.

THE PIANO FANTASY FROM BACH TO DANIELPOUR

The Fantasy, as the term suggests, is a genre that composers have found congenial for exploring innovative and imaginative processes. Works in this genre are numerous in the solo piano literature, and extend even to works for piano and orchestra and to chamber music with piano. I was curious to explore how a specific genre of music maintained similar characteristics but evolved over time. A fantasy is primed to be inventive and I wanted to see how composers from different eras and backgrounds would handle their material in this genre. I have learned that composers worked through formal developments while making innovations within this genre. The heart of my dissertation is presented through the recording project. Because ofthe abundance ofpiano fantasies, many works had to be excluded from this project for time's sake. On two compact discs, I have recorded approximately two hours of solo piano music. I have included some shorter fantasies to magnify significant developments from era to era, country to country, and composer to composer. The first disc has recordings of eighteenth and nineteenth-century fantasies: Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903 by J.S. Bach (1685-1750); Fantasia inC major, H. XVII, 4 by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809); Fantasy inc minor, K. 475 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756- 1791); Fantasia inf-sharp minor, Op. 28 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847); and Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61 by Frederic Chopin (1810-1849). On the second disc I have included mid-19th, 20th and 2151-century piano fantasies: Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H by Franz Liszt (1811-1886); Fantasia Baetica by Manuel de Falla (1876-1946); Three Fantasies by William Bergsma (1921-1994); Fantasy, Aria and Fugue by Frederic Goossen (1927-2011); and Piano Fantasy ("Wenn ich einmal sol! scheiden") by Richard Danielpour (b. 1956). The accompanying document includes program notes for each of the pieces recorded. They were recorded on a Steinway "D" in Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland by Antonino D'Urzo ofOpusrite Productions. This document is available in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland and the CO's are available through the Library System at the University of Maryland.

The feedback we give: university student perceptions and preferences

This paper reports the results of a study on higher education student perceptions of and preferences for feedback on their performance. The issue of feedback to students is becoming increasingly important in higher education, not only because it is an important element of learning, but also as a significant component of the student experience and its evaluation. Within a mass education context, written feedback on coursework may be an important opportunity available to students for individualised attention. The current research explored perceptions of feedback by participants who were studying in undergraduate business degrees in a UK university (N=175). The survey instrument asked participants to evaluate the feedback they receive at university in terms of its impact and influence, as well as their understanding of feedback received and preferences. Analysis of the data indicates that students generally find feedback provided to them helpful and encouraging in improving their work but they also indicate that they would prefer to discuss their work directly with their tutor instead of receiving written feedback. They comment on the illegibility of some hand written feedback received. They also report that, generally, they act on the feedback received in order to improve their work and say that it helps them to reflect on their learning. Students comment that negative feedback received does not make them angry or demotivate them. The survey found considerable variability in the students' understanding of 'typical' feedback comments. The majority of students (79%) also reported that they prefer a structured feedback matrix to general comments because they consider it more specific and easier to understand. The implications of these findings for feedback and assessment practices are discussed and suggestions for improvements developed.

Speed tuning of direction repulsion describes an inverted U-function

Direction repulsion describes the phenomenon in which observers typically overestimate the direction difference between two superimposed motions moving in different directions (Marshak & Sekuler, Science 205(1979) 1399). Previous research has found that, when a relatively narrow range of distractor speeds is considered, direction repulsion of a target motion increases monotonically with increasing speed of the distractor motion. We sought to obtain a more complete measurement of this speed-tuning function by considering a wider range of distractor speeds than has previously been used. Our results show that, contrary to previous reports, direction repulsion as a function of distractor speed describes an inverted U-function. For a target of 2.5deg/s, we demonstrate that the attenuation of repulsion magnitude with high-speed disractors can be largely explained in terms of the reduced apparent contrast of the distractor. However, when we reduce target motion speed, this no longer holds. When considered from the perspective of Edwards et al.s (Edwards, Badcock, & Smith, Vision Research 38 (1998) 1573) two global-motion channels, our results suggest that direction repulsion is speed dependent when the distractor and target motions are processed by different globalmotion channels, but is not speed dependent when both motions are processed by the same, high-speed channel. The implications of these results for models of direction repulsion are discussed.

Altered pericyte-endothelial relations in the rat retina during aging: Implications for vessel stability

Mural cells (smooth muscle cells and pericytes) regulate blood flow and contribute to vessel stability. We examined whether mural cell changes accompany age-related alterations in the microvasculature of the central nervous system. The retinas of young adult and aged Wistar rats were subjected to immunohistofluorescence analysis of a-smooth muscle actin (SMA), caldesmon, calponin, desmin, and NG2 to identify mural cells. The vasculature was visualized by lectin histochemistry or perfusion of horse-radish peroxidase, and vessel walls were examined by electron microscopy. The early stage of aging was characterized by changes in peripheral retinal capillaries, including vessel broadening, thickening of the basement membrane, an altered length and orientation of desmin filaments in pericytes, a more widespread SMA distribution and changes in a subset of pre-arteriolar sphincters. In the later stages of aging, loss of capillary patency, aneurysms, distorted vessels, and foci of angiogenesis were apparent, especially in the peripheral deep vascular plexus. The capillary changes are consistent with impaired vascular autoregulation and may result in reduced pericyte-endothelial cell contact, destabilizing the capillaries and rendering them susceptible to angiogenic stimuli and endothelial cell loss as well as impairing the exchange of metabolites required for optimal neuronal function. This metabolic uncoupling leads to reactivation of

Structural basis of substrate selectivity in the glycerol-3-phosphate: phosphate antiporter GlpT.

Major facilitators represent the largest superfamily of secondary active transporter proteins and catalyze the transport of an enormous variety of small solute molecules across biological membranes. However, individual superfamily members, although they may be architecturally similar, exhibit strict specificity toward the substrates they transport. The structural basis of this specificity is poorly understood. A member of the major facilitator superfamily is the glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) transporter (GlpT) from the Escherichia coli inner membrane. GlpT is an antiporter that transports G3P into the cell in exchange for inorganic phosphate (Pi). By combining large-scale molecular-dynamics simulations, mutagenesis, substrate-binding affinity, and transport activity assays on GlpT, we were able to identify key amino acid residues that confer substrate specificity upon this protein. Our studies suggest that only a few amino acid residues that line the transporter lumen act as specificity determinants. Whereas R45, K80, H165, and, to a lesser extent Y38, Y42, and Y76 contribute to recognition of both free Pi and the phosphate moiety of G3P, the residues N162, Y266, and Y393 function in recognition of only the glycerol moiety of G3P. It is the latter interactions that give the transporter a higher affinity to G3P over Pi.

Reflexiones y representaciones del exilio: de El canto del peregrino (1999) a "El sefardí romántico" (2005)

El exilio es un tema recurrente en la obra de Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, miembro del llamado grupo hispanomexicano. La visión del exilio en su obra incluye no solo el exilio republicano sino también el del pueblo judío. Por eso, diferentes Diásporas históricas se superponen enriqueciendo el significado de la experiencia. En su ensayo El canto del peregrino: hacia una poética del exilio (1999) desarrolla sus pensamientos sobre el exilio y analiza numerosos trabajos de autores exiliados (judíos y republicanos españoles) centrándose en como cada uno reflejó la vivencia del exilio en su trabajo.En mi opinión, las ideas desarrolladas en el ensayo se pueden encontrar en su novela El sefardí romántico: la azarosa vida de Mateo Alemán II (2005). El título de la novela establece una conexión directa con la novela picaresca y la vida judía aludiendo al autor converso de Guzmán de Alfarache (1599-1604). Siguiendo el patrón establecido por la novela picaresca clásica, el protagonista de Muñiz-Huberman viaja por España y Europa denunciando la intolerancia que llevó a la Guerra Civil española y a la II Guerra Mundial. Las circunstancias lo llevan al exilio en México, como en el caso de Mateo Alemán. Según la teoría de Ulrich Wicks, pícaros y exiliados tienen mucho en común en su búsqueda continua de libertad, libertad que el exiliado puede encontrar solo en el idioma, como expone Muñiz-Huberman en su ensayo.

An array-based study of reactivity under solvent-free mechanochemical conditions-insights and trends

An array-based approach is put forward to obtain insight into reactivity under mechanochemical solvent-free conditions. We describe a survey of sixty potential reactions between twelve metal salts MX2 {(M = Cu, X-2 = (OAc)(2), (HCO2)(2), (F3CCO2)(2), (acac)(2), (F(6)acac)(2), (NO3)(2), SO4; M = Ni, X-2 = (OAc)(2), (NO3)(2), SO4; M = Zn, X-2 (OAc)(2), (NO3)(2)} and five bridging organic ligands {isonicotinic acid (HINA), 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2BDC), acetylenedicarboxylic acid (H(2)ADC), 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H3BTC), 4,4'-bipyridyl (BIPY). Reaction conditions involved a ball mill, applied for 15 min at 30 Hz, without external heating. When examined by XRPD, forty of the combinations gave detectable reactions, thirty-eight with crystalline products. Of these, twenty-nine reactions were quantitative (consuming all of at least one reactant). Comparison of XRPD patterns with patterns simulated from single crystal X-ray diffraction data in the Cambridge Structural Database allowed structural identification of six products. Of particular interest are the microporous framework materials [Cu(INA)(2)] and [Cu-3(BTC)(2)] (HKUST-1) obtained by reaction of the corresponding carboxylic acids with copper acetate. Other non-porous polymers with 3-dimensional connectivity, [Ni(ADC)(H2O)(4)], or 1-dimensional connectivity, [Cu(acac)(2)(BIPY)] and [Cu(F6acac)(BIPY)] were also obtained. Reaction between zinc acetate and H2ADC gave a new product which had not previously been characterised by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, but whose XRPD pattern suggests that it is isostructural with the known nickel polymer [Ni(ADC)(H2O)(4)]. Two further isostructural nickel and zinc products were obtained in reactions between HINA and nickel nitrate and zinc nitrate. Trends observed within the array are discussed. Copper acetate and copper formate were the most effective starting materials for reaction with carboxylic acids, potentially related to the basicity of their anions and the solvating effects of the formic and acetic acid byproducts. Amongst the ligands there was a general negative corelation between melting point and reactivity. The issue of pore templating in microporous phases and the generation of new structures is also discussed in relation to the Cu(INA)(2), Cu-3(BTC)(2) and nickel nitrate-BIPY systems. Overall, the study suggests that mechanochemical reactivity between metal salts and organic ligands under solvent free conditions is remarkably general. Use of array-based approaches as demonstrated here is advocated a useful way to reveal underlying trends in reactivity under solvent free mechanochemical conditions and to highlight particular cases for more detailed study.

On the Study of Network Coded AF Transmission Protocol for Wireless Multiple Access Channels

In this paper, the performance of the network coded amplify-forward cooperative protocol is studied. The use of network coding can suppress the bandwidth resource consumed by relay transmission, and hence increase the spectral efficiency of cooperative diversity. A distributed strategy of relay selection is applied to the cooperative scheme, which can reduce system overhead and also facilitate the development of the explicit expressions of information metrics, such as outage probability and ergodic capacity. Both analytical and numerical results demonstrate that the proposed protocol can achieve large ergodic capacity and full diversity gain simultaneously.

Primitive living chitons: Morphological cladistic analysis as a model for character evaluation

Chitons are often referred to as “living fossils” in part because they are proposed as one of the earliest-diverging groups of living molluscs, but also because the gross morphology of the polyplacophoran shell has been conserved for hundreds of millions of years. As such, the analysis of evolution and radiation within polyplacophorans is of considerable interest not only for resolving the shape of pan-molluscan phylogeny but also as model organisms for the study of character evolution. This study presents a new, rigorous cladistic analysis of the morphological characters used in taxonomic descriptions for chitons in the living suborder Lepidopleurina Thiele, 1910 (the earliest-derived living group of chitons). Shell-based characters alone entirely fail to recover any recognized subdivisions within the group, which may raise serious questions about the application of fossil data (from isolated shell valves). New analysis including characters from girdle armature and gill arrangements recovers some genera within the group but also points to the lack of monophyly within the main genus Leptochiton Gray, 1847. Additional characters from molecular data and soft anatomy, used in combination, are clearly needed to resolve questions of chiton relationships. However, the data sets currently available already provide interesting insights into the analytical power of traditional morphology as well as some knowledge about the early evolution and radiation of this group.

Eigenvalues of the time-delay matrix in overlapping resonances

We discuss the properties of the lifetime or the time-delay matrix Q(E) for multichannel scattering, which is related to the scattering matrix S(E) by Q = i?S(dS†/dE). For two overlapping resonances occurring at energies E with widths G(? = 1, 2), with an energy-independent background, only two eigenvalues of Q(E) are proved to be different from zero and to show typical avoided-crossing behaviour. These eigenvalues are expressible in terms of the four resonance parameters (E , G) and a parameter representing the strength of the interaction of the resonances. An example of the strong and weak interaction in an overlapping double resonance is presented for the positronium negative ion. When more than two resonances overlap (? = 1, ..., N), no simple representation of each eigenvalue has been found. However, the formula for the trace of the Q-matrix leads to the expression d(E) = -?arctan[(G/2)/(E - E)] + d(E) for the eigenphase sum d(E) and the background eigenphase sum d(E), in agreement with the known form of the state density. The formulae presented in this paper are useful in a parameter fitting of overlapping resonances. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.