BREATHING TECHNIQUES IN THE PARIS SINGING TREATISE ("MÉTHODE DE CHANT", PARIS, 1803)

This article tries to identify the breathing techniques proposed in the Paris Singing treatise, published in 1803. The method gives us the description of the respiratory movement practiced by singers before the institutionalization of knowledge according to scientific research. The aim of the French school was to produce a natural tone and to deliver beauty in the act of singing without physical limitations or excesses imposed on the body or voice. We found that the French school aims to respect the length of the sentences and this to the detriment of the quality of the sound emitted. Regarding the physiology of breathing, the method uses analogies with images that allow singers to imagine what is “hidden” in their body, and explain the functioning of different parts, according to the “tasks” assigned to them. The teachers of this method suggest to the practitioner not to think about breathing and uses the term natural breathing, as there is no difference between the breath needed to sing and the breath needed to speak. Their abstraction is that the performer does not think about breathing while speaking, so there is no need for a breathing-oriented thinking process even during singing. Rezumat. TEHNICI DE RESPIRAȚIE DIN METODA DE CÂNTAT PUBLICATĂ LA PARIS LA 1803 (MÉTHODE DE CHANT, PARIS, 1803). Acest articol încearcă să identifice tehnicile de respirație propuse în tratatul publicat în 1803 la Paris. Metoda ne oferă descrierea mișcărilor respiratorii practicate de cântăreți înainte de instituționalizarea cunoștințelor conform cercetărilor științifice dedicate vocii. Scopul școlii franceze era de a produce un ton natural și de a oferi frumusețe în actul de a cânta fără limitări fizice sau excese impuse corpului sau vocii. Am constatat că școala franceză își propune să respecte lungimea propozițiilor sau frezelor și asta în detrimentul calității sunetului emis. În ceea ce privește fiziologia respirației, metoda folosește analogii cu imagini care permit cântăreților să-și imagineze ceea ce este „ascuns” în corpul lor și să explice funcționarea diferitelor părți anatomice în conformitate cu „sarcinile” care le sunt atribuite. Profesorii acestei metode sugerează practicantului să nu se gândească la respirație și folosesc termenul de respirație naturală, deoarece autorii consideră că nu există nici o  diferență între respirația necesară pentru a cânta și respirația necesară pentru a vorbi. Abstracția lor este că interpretul nu se gândește la respirație în timp ce vorbește, deci nu este nevoie de un proces de gândire orientat spre respirație nici în timpul cântatului. Cuvinte cheie: școala de canto franceză, respirația naturală

Constraints on Beta Functions from Duality

We analyze the way in which duality constrains the exact beta function and correlation length in single-coupling spin systems. A consistency condition we propose shows very concisely the relation between self-dual points and phase transitions, and implies that the correlation length must be duality invariant. These ideas are then tested on the 2-d Ising model, and used towards finding the exact beta function of the $q$-state Potts model. Finally, a generic procedure is given for identifying a duality symmetry in other single-coupling models with a continuous phase transition.Comment: LaTeX, 6 page

The non-centrosymmetric lamellar phase in blends of ABC triblock and ac diblock copolymers

The phase behaviour of blends of ABC triblock and ac diblock copolymers is examined using self-consistent field theory. Several equilibrium lamellar structures are observed, depending on the volume fraction of the diblocks, phi_2, the monomer interactions, and the degrees of polymerization of the copolymers. For segregations just above the order-disorder transition the triblocks and diblocks mix together to form centrosymmetric lamellae. As the segregation is increased the triblocks and diblocks spatially separate either by macrophase-separating, or by forming a non-centrosymmetric (NCS) phase of alternating layers of triblock and diblock (...ABCcaABCca...). The NCS phase is stable over a narrow region near phi_2=0.4. This region is widest near the critical point on the phase coexistence curve and narrows to terminate at a triple point at higher segregation. Above the triple point there is two-phase coexistence between almost pure triblock and diblock phases. The theoretical phase diagram is consistent with experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Macromolecule

Excited Random Walk in One Dimension

We study the excited random walk, in which a walk that is at a site that contains cookies eats one cookie and then hops to the right with probability p and to the left with probability q=1-p. If the walk hops onto an empty site, there is no bias. For the 1-excited walk on the half-line (one cookie initially at each site), the probability of first returning to the starting point at time t scales as t^{-(2-p)}. Although the average return time to the origin is infinite for all p, the walk eats, on average, only a finite number of cookies until this first return when p<1/2. For the infinite line, the probability distribution for the 1-excited walk has an unusual anomaly at the origin. The positions of the leftmost and rightmost uneaten cookies can be accurately estimated by probabilistic arguments and their corresponding distributions have power-law singularities near the origin. The 2-excited walk on the infinite line exhibits peculiar features in the regime p>3/4, where the walk is transient, including a mean displacement that grows as t^{nu}, with nu>1/2 dependent on p, and a breakdown of scaling for the probability distribution of the walk.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 2-column revtex4 format, for submission to J. Phys.

Gluon mass generation in the PT-BFM scheme

In this article we study the general structure and special properties of the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the gluon propagator constructed with the pinch technique, together with the question of how to obtain infrared finite solutions, associated with the generation of an effective gluon mass. Exploiting the known all-order correspondence between the pinch technique and the background field method, we demonstrate that, contrary to the standard formulation, the non-perturbative gluon self-energy is transverse order-by-order in the dressed loop expansion, and separately for gluonic and ghost contributions. We next present a comprehensive review of several subtle issues relevant to the search of infrared finite solutions, paying particular attention to the role of the seagull graph in enforcing transversality, the necessity of introducing massless poles in the three-gluon vertex, and the incorporation of the correct renormalization group properties. In addition, we present a method for regulating the seagull-type contributions based on dimensional regularization; its applicability depends crucially on the asymptotic behavior of the solutions in the deep ultraviolet, and in particular on the anomalous dimension of the dynamically generated gluon mass. A linearized version of the truncated Schwinger-Dyson equation is derived, using a vertex that satisfies the required Ward identity and contains massless poles belonging to different Lorentz structures. The resulting integral equation is then solved numerically, the infrared and ultraviolet properties of the obtained solutions are examined in detail, and the allowed range for the effective gluon mass is determined. Various open questions and possible connections with different approaches in the literature are discussed.Comment: 54 pages, 24 figure

WHO informal consultation on revision of guidelines on evaluation of similar biotherapeutic products, virtual meeting, 30 June – 2 July 2021

Publisher Copyright: © 2022The WHO informal consultation was held to promote the revision of WHO guidelines on evaluation of similar biotherapeutic products (SBPs) adopted by the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization (ECBS) in 2009. It was agreed in the past consultations that the evaluation principles in the guidelines are still valid, but a review was recommended to provide more clarity and case-by-case flexibility. The opportunity was therefore taken to review the experience and identify areas where the current guidance could be more permissive without compromising its basic principles, and where additional explanation could be provided regarding the possibility of reducing the amount of data needed for regulatory approval. The meeting participants applauded the leading role taken by the WHO in providing a much-needed streamlined approach for development and evaluation of SBPs which will provide efficient and cost-effective product development and increase patient access to treatments. It was recognized that the principles as currently described in the draft WHO guidelines are based on sound science and experience gained over the last fifteen years of biosimilar approvals. However, since these guidelines when finalised will constitute the global standard for biosimilar evaluation and assist national regulatory authorities in establishing revised guidance and regulatory practice in this complex area, it was felt that further revision and clarity on certain perspectives in specific areas was necessary to dispel uncertainties arising in the current revised version. This report describes the principles in the draft guidelines, including topics discussed and consensus reached.Peer reviewe