Para além da partitura: análise do timbre na música de vanguarda

The article examines perceptual aspects of timbre within the context of avant-garde XX century music. An excerpt from a work by Luciano Berio was taken into account. We recorded it on 8 separate channels each of them devoted to small groups of homogeneous sounds, in order to obtain a global result that we could modify by subtracting one or more of the recorded groups. We prepared four different excerpts: one with the original version and three with modified versions. 50 participants (25 experts, 25 non-experts) were invited to fill in a semantic differential bipolar scale made of 12 adjectives, 6 concerning emotional and 6 sensorial aspects of perception. We interpreted the subjects’ responses with the help of a spectrographic analysis and of studies on timbre verbalization. The main aim of our research was to explore the possibilities of timbre analysis, a field that so far has no solid scientific background. The research obtained promising responses from expert listeners, while non-experts manifested a sort of aesthetic refusal of this genre of music. Positive results were obtained also in the critical observations of possibilities and limits of spectrographic analysis and verbalizations of timbre. We hope that our initial data can be useful for future studies on timbre perception.Este artículo pretende examinar los aspectos perceptivos del timbre en el contexto de la música de vanguardia del siglo XX. En la investigación se ha utilizado un fragmento musical tomado de una composición de Luciano Berio. El fragmento ha sido grabado en ocho canales separados, cada uno contenía un pequeño grupo de sonidos homogéneos consiguiendo un resultado global que podía ser modificado eliminando uno o más de los grupos grabados. Se han elaborado cuatro grabaciones distintas, una con la versión original y las otras tres con una versión diferente. Han sido invitados 50 participantes (25 musicalmente expertos y 25 no expertos) y se los ha invitado a completar una escala bipolar de diferencial semántico constituida por 12 adjetivos, 6 pertenecientes a la percepción emocional y 6 a la percepción sensorial. La interpretación de las respuestas de los participantes se ha realizado con la ayuda del análisis espectrográfico y de los estudios sobre verbalización de las calidades tímbricas. El objetivo principal de nuestra investigación ha sido el de explorar cuáles podían ser las posibilidades del análisis del timbre, un campo que todavía no tiene a sus espaldas un solido bagaje científico. Las respuestas dadas por los oyentes expertos se han revelado prometedoras, al contrario los oyentes no expertos han manifestado una especie de rechazo de tipo estético frente a este tipo de música. Resultados positivos se han recogido también con respecto a las útiles observaciones críticas sobre las posibilidades y las limitaciones del análisis espectrográfico y de la verbalización. Tenemos la esperanza de que estos resultados iniciales puedan ser de utilidad para futuros estudios sobre la percepción del timbre.O presente artigo busca examinar os aspectos perceptíveis do timbre no contexto da música de vanguarda do século XX. A pesquisa utilizou um fragmento musical de uma composição de Luciano Berio. O trecho foi gravado em 8 canais separados, cada qual contendo um pequeno grupo de sons similares, a fim de se obter um resultado global que pudesse ser modificado eliminando um ou mais dos grupos gravados. Foram preparadas quatro gravações: uma com a versão original e três com uma versão diferente. Cinquenta participantes (25 especialistas em música e 25 não especialistas) foram convidados a preencher uma escala bipolar de diferencial semântico composta de 12 adjetivos: 6 relativos à percepção emocional e 6 relativos à percepção sensorial. A interpretação da resposta dos participantes foi realizada com a ajuda da análise espectrográfica, e dos estudos sobre a verbalização das qualidades do timbre. O objetivo principal da nossa pesquisa foi o de explorar as diversas possibilidades das análises de timbre; um campo que não possui ainda um sólido embasamento científico. As respostas obtidas através dos ouvintes especialistas mostraram ser promissoras, enquanto as respostas dos não especialistas demonstraram uma rejeição de cunho estético em relação a esse tipo de música. Foram igualmente obtidos resultados positivos em relação às úteis observações críticas sobre as possibilidades e os limites da análise espectrográfica e da verbalização sobre o timbre. Esperamos que os nossos resultados iniciais possam ser utilizados nos estudos futuros sobre a percepção do timbre

Salvare le Apuane e ‘rientrare nel paradiso terrestre’

“Salviamo le Apuane” is a non-structured organisation, like the ancient mountain communities were. It was established in 2010 with the publication of the Charter of Apuan Alps and the preparation of the Plan-Program of alternative economic development for Apuan Alps (Pipsea). It is mostly active on a social network, used as a tool for communication and struggle. The organisation, active on the Apuan mountains in close contact with its communities, works at building an alternative economic development – based on the principle “change the world without taking power” – pointed at solving the two main problems of Apuan Alps: monoculture of marble and demographic desertification. The organisation counts 10.500 members and tries to rebuild an economy based on agriculture, sheep-farming, tree-farming and different kinds of tourism. Relying also on the elders’ knowledge, it works as a free planning agency, providing support and advice to young people who want to establish agricultural and pastoral businesses, building short supply chains. It is currently working on the quality label “Qualità Apuana” for the products of companies tied in the association “The spirit of mountain”, and on the design of trade forms based on an alternative currency (the Apuo). “Salviamo le Apuane” is committed to the recovery and revitalisation of the Apuan cultural identity, by innovating and expanding the concepts of birth and belonging to a general “taking care” of Apuan Alps.“Salviamo le Apuane” è un’organizzazione non strutturata (come erano le antiche comunità della montagna) nata nel 2010 con la pubblicazione della Carta delle Apuane e l’elaborazione del Piano-Programma di sviluppo economico alternativo delle Apuane (Pipsea). Vive parte della sua esistenza su un social network, impiegato come strumento di comunicazione e di lotta. La sua azione si svolge nella montagna apuana e a contatto con le sue comunità, dove lavora a costruire direttamente – in base al principio “cambiare il mondo senza prendere il potere” – uno  sviluppo economico alternativo finalizzato a eliminare i due problemi principali delle Apuane: la monocoltura del marmo e la desertificazione demografica. Il movimento conta 10.500 iscritti. Opera a ricostruire un’economia agricola, pastorale, della coltivazione del bosco, dei tanti turismi possibili. Agisce, anche attraverso i saperi dei suoi anziani, come un’agenzia gratuita di progettazione, sostegno, consulenza a giovani che vogliono impiantare aziende agricole e pastorali, costruendo un mercato basato su filiere corte. Sta lavorando alla realizzazione del marchio “Qualità Apuana” per i prodotti delle aziende aderenti all’associazione “Lo spirito della montagna” e progetta forme di scambio basate su monete alternative (l’Apuo). “Salviamo le Apuane” è impegnata nel recupero e nel rilancio dell’identità culturale degli Apuani, innovando e allargando il concetto di appartenenza e di natività al ‘prendersi cura’ delle Alpi Apuane

Un modello socioeconomico per la bioregione delle Alpi Apuane

In an area full of resources not fully enhanced, due to an economic model strongly dominated by marble quarrying (unsustainable both for its magnitude and modalities), it is possible to build an alternative if we focus on  local heritage. A new development model based on the systematisation, integration and enhancement of heritage resources is now pushed through by the sensibility, vision and initiative of local socioeconomic actors, steadfast in their sense of belonging to the Apuan territory, conscious of the unsustainability of the current economic model and capable of cooperating to make the best use of their territorial capital. The conception of an integrated sustainable development project for the Apuan bioregion is developed along strategic axes and multi-sector actions addressing the issue of local economy reconversion through an integrated perspective, taking also into consideration the necessity of reabsorbing the workforce currently employed in quarrying industry

ADICTOS EM SEXO E PORNOGRAFIA: novo sintoma dos estados-limites?

O presente trabalho pretende abordar uma patologia que vem se delineando - a adicção por sexo e pornografia virtual, como possível novo sintoma dos estados-limites. A cultura vem sofrendo mudanças ao longo do tempo: se na clínica de Freud predominavam casos de histéricas, atualmente percebe-se na clínica pacientes com patologias e modos de funcionamentos psíquicos que não podem ser enquadrados na estrutura neurótica e nem da psicótica; são sujeitos que funcionam psiquicamente nos estados-limites. André Green construiu uma metapsicologia em que foca na relação dos sujeitos e suas relações de objeto. Através do seu trabalho do negativo, pôde mostrar como se realiza a constituição psíquica primária nos sujeitos que funcionam psiquicamente nos estados-limites e suas consequências

Effects of metformin and exercise training, alone or in association, on cardio-pulmonary performance and quality of life in insulin resistance patients

BACKGROUND: Metformin (MET) therapy exerts positive effects improving glucose tolerance and preventing the evolution toward diabetes in insulin resistant patients. It has been shown that adding MET to exercise training does not improve insulin sensitivity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of MET and exercise training alone or in combination on maximal aerobic capacity and, as a secondary end-point on quality of life indexes in individuals with insulin resistance. METHODS: 75 insulin resistant patients were enrolled and subsequently assigned to MET (M), MET with exercise training (MEx), and exercise training alone (Ex). 12-weeks of supervised exercise-training program was carried out in both Ex and MEx groups. Cardiopulmonary exercise test and SF-36 to evaluate Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) was performed at basal and after 12-weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary exercise test showed a significant increase of peak VO2 in Ex and MEx whereas M showed no improvement of peak VO2 (∆ VO2 [CI 95%] Ex +0.26 [0.47 to 0.05] l/min; ∆ VO2 MEx +0.19 [0.33 to 0.05] l/min; ∆ VO2 M -0.09 [-0.03 to -0.15] l/min; M vs E p < 0.01; M vs MEx p < 0.01; MEx vs Ex p = ns). SF-36 highlighted a significant increase in general QoL index in the MEx (58.3 ± 19 vs 77.3 ± 16; p < 0.01) and Ex (62.1 ± 17 vs 73.7 ± 12; p < 0.005) groups. CONCLUSIONS: We evidenced that cardiopulmonary negative effects showed by MET therapy may be counterbalanced with the combination of exercise training. Given that exercise training associated with MET produced similar effects to exercise training alone in terms of maximal aerobic capacity and HRQoL, programmed exercise training remains the first choice therapy in insulin resistant patients

Effects of metformin and exercise training, alone or in combination, on cardiac function in individuals with insulin resistance

Introduction: In patients affected by insulin resistance (IR), metformin (MET) therapy has been shown to exert its positive effects by improving glucose tolerance and preventing the evolution to diabetes. Recently, it was shown that the addition of metformin to physical training did not improve sensitivity to insulin or peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2). The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of metformin and exercise, separately or in combination, on systolic left ventricular (LV) function in individuals with IR. Methods: Seventy-five patients with IR were enrolled and subsequently assigned to MET, combination MET and exercise, or exercise alone. The LV systolic and diastolic functions were evaluated with standard echocardiography tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle tracking echocardiography at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: MET, administered alone or in association with exercise, improved longitudinal LV function, as evidenced by an increase in systolic (S) wave on TDI, alongside increases in longitudinal global strain and strain rate in comparison to the group undergoing physical training alone. The traditional echocardiographic parameters showed no statistically significant differences among the three groups before or after the different cycles of therapy. Conclusions: Treatment with MET, either with or without exercise, but not exercise alone, produced a significant increase in global longitudinal LV systolic function at rest. These findings validate the observation that the use of MET alone or in association with exercise has a crucial role to counteract the negative effects of IR on cardiovascular function

Development and Validation of a New Prognostic System for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Prognostic assessment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. Using the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA) database as a training set, we sought to develop and validate a new prognostic system for patients with HCC. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Prospective collected databases from Italy (training cohort, n = 3,628; internal validation cohort, n = 1,555) and Taiwan (external validation cohort, n = 2,651) were used to develop the ITA.LI.CA prognostic system. We first defined ITA.LI.CA stages (0, A, B1, B2, B3, C) using only tumor characteristics (largest tumor diameter, number of nodules, intra- and extrahepatic macroscopic vascular invasion, extrahepatic metastases). A parametric multivariable survival model was then used to calculate the relative prognostic value of ITA.LI.CA tumor stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, Child-Pugh score (CPS), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in predicting individual survival. Based on the model results, an ITA.LI.CA integrated prognostic score (from 0 to 13 points) was constructed, and its prognostic power compared with that of other integrated systems (BCLC, HKLC, MESIAH, CLIP, JIS). Median follow-up was 58 mo for Italian patients (interquartile range, 26-106 mo) and 39 mo for Taiwanese patients (interquartile range, 12-61 mo). The ITA.LI.CA integrated prognostic score showed optimal discrimination and calibration abilities in Italian patients. Observed median survival in the training and internal validation sets was 57 and 61 mo, respectively, in quartile 1 (ITA.LI.CA score 64 1), 43 and 38 mo in quartile 2 (ITA.LI.CA score 2-3), 23 and 23 mo in quartile 3 (ITA.LI.CA score 4-5), and 9 and 8 mo in quartile 4 (ITA.LI.CA score &gt; 5). Observed and predicted median survival in the training and internal validation sets largely coincided. Although observed and predicted survival estimations were significantly lower (log-rank test, p &lt; 0.001) in Italian than in Taiwanese patients, the ITA.LI.CA score maintained very high discrimination and calibration features also in the external validation cohort. The concordance index (C index) of the ITA.LI.CA score in the internal and external validation cohorts was 0.71 and 0.78, respectively. The ITA.LI.CA score's prognostic ability was significantly better (p &lt; 0.001) than that of BCLC stage (respective C indexes of 0.64 and 0.73), CLIP score (0.68 and 0.75), JIS stage (0.67 and 0.70), MESIAH score (0.69 and 0.77), and HKLC stage (0.68 and 0.75). The main limitations of this study are its retrospective nature and the intrinsically significant differences between the Taiwanese and Italian groups. CONCLUSIONS: The ITA.LI.CA prognostic system includes both a tumor staging-stratifying patients with HCC into six main stages (0, A, B1, B2, B3, and C)-and a prognostic score-integrating ITA.LI.CA tumor staging, CPS, ECOG performance status, and AFP. The ITA.LI.CA prognostic system shows a strong ability to predict individual survival in European and Asian populations

Quantum ESPRESSO: One Further Step toward the Exascale

We review the statusof the Quantum ESPRESSO softwaresuite for electronic-structure calculations based on plane waves,pseudopotentials, and density-functional theory. We highlight therecent developments in the porting to GPUs of the main codes, usingan approach based on OpenACC and CUDA Fortran offloading.We describe, in particular, the results achieved on linear-responsecodes, which are one of the distinctive features of the QuantumESPRESSO suite. We also present extensive performance benchmarkson different GPU-accelerated architectures for the main codes of thesuite

Macroscopic polarization and band offsets at nitride heterojunctions

Ab initio electronic structure studies of prototypical polar interfaces of wurtzite III-V nitrides show that large uniform electric fields exist in epitaxial nitride overlayers, due to the discontinuity across the interface of the macroscopic polarization of the constituent materials. Polarization fields forbid a standard evaluation of band offsets and formation energies: using new techniques, we find a large forward-backward asymmetry of the offset (0.2 eV for AlN/GaN (0001), 0.85 eV for GaN/AlN (0001)), and tiny interface formation energies.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, 2 figure