Somatic education approaches in piano studies: A snapshot of Spanish conservatoire practices

Somatic education in professional instrumental teaching is an emerging field in Spanish conservatoire culture. Although we find that the Alexander Technique was included in some European institutions since the middle of the XXth Century, this was not the case in the Spanish context. By means of a qualitative study, through document analysis and fifteen in-depth interviews with somatic teachers, the statutory frameworks of professional Piano studies and teaching plans related to somatic education in Spanish conservatoires, the principles that support them and the current practices that are undertaken in professional piano studies were analyzed. We found that there are eclectic approaches and practices in correlation with the background of the teachers in charge of the courses. Four main orientations can be described: somatic education per se; ergonomics and postural technique; body communication, training and technique; and mental and concentration control techniques. Further research to explore the interrelationships between somatic approaches and instrumental teaching would greatly benefit the fieldS

Determinación de familias mineralógicas en suelos sobre rocas graníticas de la provincia de La Coruña

[Resumen] La aplicación de la metodología propuesta por la Soil Taxonomy (1975) para la determinación de familias mineralógicas a un conjunto de suelos desarrollados sobre diversos tipos de rocas graníticas, permite observar que, generalmente, estos suelos pueden clasificarse como pertenecientes a las familias mixtas, existiendo una tendencia micácea o incluso verdaderas clases micáceas en el caso de aquellas rocas que contienen una alta proporción de moscovi ta (en general granitos de dos micas).Cuando la mica dominante es la biotita los suelos se incluyen en las familias mixtas,debido a la fácil alteración de este mineral, en los medios ácidos ricos en materia orgánica, hacia materiales ver miculíticos.[Abstract] The application of the Soil Taxonomy methodology (1975) for the determination of mineralogical families in several soils developped on granitic rocks, shows that, generally, these soils are incl~ded in mi xed classes with a micaceous tendence, or even pure micaceous classes, in thouse soils developped on rocks with a high proportion of muscovite (generally two mica granites). If the predominant mica is bioti te, the soils belong to mixed classes as a consecuence of the weatherability of this mineral towards vermiculitic materials (in acid and organic matter rich environments)

Dependence of the Star Formation Efficiency on the Parameters of Molecular Cloud Formation Simulations

We investigate the response of the star formation efficiency (SFE) to the main parameters of simulations of molecular cloud formation by the collision of warm diffuse medium (WNM) cylindrical streams, neglecting stellar feedback and magnetic fields. The parameters we vary are the Mach number of the inflow velocity of the streams, Msinf, the rms Mach number of the initial background turbulence in the WNM, and the total mass contained in the colliding gas streams, Minf. Because the SFE is a function of time, we define two estimators for it, the "absolute" SFE, measured at t = 25 Myr into the simulation's evolution (sfeabs), and the "relative" SFE, measured 5 Myr after the onset of star formation in each simulation (sferel). The latter is close to the "star formation rate per free-fall time" for gas at n = 100 cm^-3. We find that both estimators decrease with increasing Minf, although by no more than a factor of 2 as Msinf increases from 1.25 to 3.5. Increasing levels of background turbulence similarly reduce the SFE, because the turbulence disrupts the coherence of the colliding streams, fragmenting the cloud, and producing small-scale clumps scattered through the numerical box, which have low SFEs. Finally, the SFE is very sensitive to the mass of the inflows, with sferel decreasing from ~0.4 to ~0.04 as the the virial parameter in the colliding streams increases from ~0.15 to ~1.5. This trend is in partial agreement with the prediction by Krumholz & McKee (2005), since the latter lies within the same range as the observed efficiencies, but with a significantly shallower slope. We conclude that the observed variability of the SFE is a highly sensitive function of the parameters of the cloud formation process, and may be the cause of significant scatter in observational determinations.Comment: 19 pages, submitted to MNRA

A Deep-Time Socioecosystem Framework to Understand Social Vulnerability on a Tropical Island

Archaeological research has the potential to contribute to our understanding of social vulnerability to environmental change by providing examples of change in the deep and recent past. Here we argue that human activity and historical processes deeply transform tropical environments through time, and that these changes accumulate on the landscape affecting social vulnerability. These changes, however, are not always evident due to rapid vegetation growth obscuring past human impact. Our research investigates the northernmost 25 km of the Manatí Hydrological Basin in Puerto Rico, focusing on evidence of human activity and environmental characteristics including topography, sediments and vegetation cover. The data collected, which articulates archaeological and ethnographic records, covers the span of pre-Columbian occupation of the region, through the colonial periods, and into the twentieth century. Results show that human activity through time has deeply altered the forests. The accumulation of long-term histories of biotic, abiotic and cultural dynamics affects social sensitivity and exposure. Human ingenuity can widen resilience thresholds, making long-term practices particularly important components of adaptive strategies. Deep-time socioecological perspectives can contribute to current vulnerability assessments by enhancing local and historical records that can feed predictive models and inform decision-making in the present

A particle system with explosions: law of large numbers for the density of particles and the blow-up time

Consider a system of independent random walks in the discrete torus with creation-annihilation of particles and possible explosion of the total number of particles in finite time. Rescaling space and rates for diffusion/creation/annihilation of particles, we obtain a stong law of large numbers for the density of particles in the supremum norm. The limiting object is a classical solution to the semilinear heat equation u_t =u_{xx} + f(u). If f(u)=u^p, 1<p \le 3, we also obtain a law of large numbers for the explosion time

Sucrose esters from Physalis peruviana calyces with anti-inflammatory activity

Physalis peruviana is a native plant from the South American Andes and is widely used in tra- ditional Colombian medicine of as an anti-inflam- matory medicinal plant, specifically the leaves, calyces, and small stems in poultice form. Pre- vious studies performed by our group on P. pe- ruviana calyces showed potent anti-inflamma- tory activity in an enriched fraction obtained from an ether total extract. The objective of the present study was to obtain and elucidate the ac- tive compounds from this fraction and evaluate their anti-inflammatory activity in vivo and in vi- tro. The enriched fraction of P. peruviana was pu- rified by several chromatographic methods to ob- tain an inseparable mixture of two new sucrose esters named peruviose A (1) and peruviose B (2). Structures of the new compounds were eluci- dated using spectroscopic methods and chemical transformations. The anti-inflammatory activity of the peruvioses mixture was evaluated using λ-carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and lipopolysaccharide-activated peritoneal macro- phages. Results showed that the peruvioses did not produce side effects on the liver and kidneys and significantly attenuated the inflammation in- duced by λ-carrageenan in a dosage-dependent manner, probably due to an inhibition of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2, which was demon- strated in vitro. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of sucrose esters in P. pe- ruviana that showed a potent anti-inflammatory effect. These results suggest the potential of su- crose esters from the Physalis genus as a novel natural alternative to treat inflammatory diseases

Tailoring of magnetocaloric response in nanostructured materials: Role of anisotropy

The magnetocaloric response of an ensemble of oriented uniaxial magnetic objects, perpendicularly magne- tized to their easy axes, for temperatures close to the blocking temperature is calculated with the aim of demonstrating that the control of the sample’s microstructure makes up an effective way to tailor its magne- tocaloric response. Coexisting positive and negative magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is found for a model mate- rial with a single magnetic phase transition. Both MCE regimes are controlled by the magnitude of the applied magnetic field. As a proof of concept, experimental results for arrays of self-assembled ferromagnetic nano- wires embedded into highly ordered nanoporous anodic alumina templates are shown, suggesting the validity of the numerical calculations

The wideband backend at the MDSCC in Robledo. A new facility for radio astronomy at Q- and K- bands

The antennas of NASA's Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) in Robledo de Chavela are available as single-dish radio astronomical facilities during a significant percentage of their operational time. Current instrumentation includes two antennas of 70 and 34 m in diameter, equipped with dual-polarization receivers in K (18 - 26 GHz) and Q (38 - 50 GHz) bands, respectively. We have developed and built a new wideband backend for the Robledo antennas, with the objectives (1) to optimize the available time and enhance the efficiency of radio astronomy in MDSCC; and (2) to tackle new scientific cases impossible to that were investigated with the old, narrow-band autocorrelator. The backend consists of an IF processor, a FFT spectrometer (FFTS), and the software that interfaces and manages the events among the observing program, antenna control, the IF processor, the FFTS operation, and data recording. The whole system was end-to-end assembled in August 2011, at the start of commissioning activities, and the results are reported in this paper. Frequency tunings and line intensities are stable over hours, even when using different synthesizers and IF channels; no aliasing effects have been measured, and the rejection of the image sideband was characterized. The first setup provides 1.5 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth in a single polarization, using 8192 channels and a frequency resolution of 212 kHz; upgrades under way include a second FFTS card, and two high-resolution cores providing 100 MHz and 500 MHz of bandwidth, and 16384 channels. These upgrades will permit simultaneous observations of the two polarizations with instantaneous bandwidths from 100 MHz to 3 GHz, and spectral resolutions from 7 to 212 kHz.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Accepted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Predicting the onset and persistence of episodes of depression in primary health care. The predictD-Spain study: Methodology

Background: The effects of putative risk factors on the onset and/or persistence of depression remain unclear. We aim to develop comprehensive models to predict the onset and persistence of episodes of depression in primary care. Here we explain the general methodology of the predictD-Spain study and evaluate the reliability of the questionnaires used. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study. A systematic random sample of general practice attendees aged 18 to 75 has been recruited in seven Spanish provinces. Depression is being measured with the CIDI at baseline, and at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. A set of individual, environmental, genetic, professional and organizational risk factors are to be assessed at each follow-up point. In a separate reliability study, a proportional random sample of 401 participants completed the test-retest (251 researcher-administered and 150 self-administered) between October 2005 and February 2006. We have also checked 118,398 items for data entry from a random sample of 480 patients stratified by province. Results: All items and questionnaires had good test-retest reliability for both methods of administration, except for the use of recreational drugs over the previous six months. Cronbach's alphas were good and their factorial analyses coherent for the three scales evaluated (social support from family and friends, dissatisfaction with paid work, and dissatisfaction with unpaid work). There were 191 (0.16%) data entry errors. Conclusion: The items and questionnaires were reliable and data quality control was excellent. When we eventually obtain our risk index for the onset and persistence of depression, we will be able to determine the individual risk of each patient evaluated in primary health car