abstract: The introduction of a new instrumental piece—specifically Taiwanese—into the cello repertoire is as exciting as it is important. Currently, the majority of works for cello and piano include predominantly Western compositions that is repeatedly taught and performed. Reflections, by Taiwanese composer Ming-Hsiu Yen (Ms. Yen) is a response to this saturation. It is a piece that is both demanding for the performers and entertaining for the audience. Brilliantly written by a composer who has intimate familiarity with both the cello and piano, it is highly suitable for scholarly study and performance. This document details ensemble issues, interpretative suggestions for both cellist and pianist, and general concepts about the music. The composer further adds to these concepts and suggestions. Reflections is a programmatic work comprised of four movements, each with a descriptive title: “Gear,” “Tears of the Angel,” “Spintop,” and “Transformation.” Because the composer’s intentions were driven by pictorial ideas and not by a formal harmonic structure, this paper concentrates on ensemble issues and interpretation less than harmonic analysis. Secondly, the project includes the premiere recording of Reflections, as performer by Yu-Ting Tseng, cellist, and Dr. Jeremy Peterman, pianist. This audio documentation provides other cellists and pianists the opportunity of hearing the piece as originally conceived by the composer, as an aid to their own future preparation of this work. This recording, combined with the interpretative analysis, will assist in bringing Reflections into the cello repertoire and public eye. / Dissertation/Thesis / Reflections Recording Movement I Gear / Reflections Recording Movement II Tears of the Angel / Reflections Recording Movement III Spintop / Reflections Recording Movement IV Transformation / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2016

abstract: This project includes a recording and performance guide for three newly commissioned pieces for the clarinet. The first piece, shimmer, was written by Grant Jahn and is for B-flat clarinet and electronics. The second piece, Paragon, is for B-flat clarinet and piano and was composed by Dr. Theresa Martin. The third and final piece, Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, was written by Kurt Mehlenbacher and is for B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano. In addition to the performance guide, this document also includes background information and program notes for the compositions, as well as composer biographical information, a list of other works featuring the clarinet by each composer, and transcripts of composer and performer interviews. This document is accompanied by a recording of the three pieces. / Dissertation/Thesis / shimmer / Paragon / Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, Movements I and II / Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, Movement III / Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, Movement IV / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2016

abstract: Long-term monitoring of deep brain structures using microelectrode implants is critical for the success of emerging clinical applications including cortical neural prostheses, deep brain stimulation and other neurobiology studies such as progression of disease states, learning and memory, brain mapping etc. However, current microelectrode technologies are not capable enough of reaching those clinical milestones given their inconsistency in performance and reliability in long-term studies. In all the aforementioned applications, it is important to understand the limitations & demands posed by technology as well as biological processes. Recent advances in implantable Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology have tremendous potential and opens a plethora of opportunities for long term studies which were not possible before. The overall goal of the project is to develop large scale autonomous, movable, micro-scale interfaces which can seek and monitor/stimulate large ensembles of precisely targeted neurons and neuronal networks that can be applied for brain mapping in behaving animals. However, there are serious technical (fabrication) challenges related to packaging and interconnects, examples of which include: lack of current industry standards in chip-scale packaging techniques for silicon chips with movable microstructures, incompatible micro-bonding techniques to elongate current micro-electrode length to reach deep brain structures, inability to achieve hermetic isolation of implantable devices from biological tissue and fluids (i.e. cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, etc.). The specific aims are to: 1) optimize & automate chip scale packaging of MEMS devices with unique requirements not amenable to conventional industry standards with respect to bonding, process temperature and pressure in order to achieve scalability 2) develop a novel micro-bonding technique to extend the length of current polysilicon micro-electrodes to reach and monitor deep brain structures 3) design & develop high throughput packaging mechanism for constructing a dense array of movable microelectrodes. Using a combination of unique micro-bonding technique which involves conductive thermosetting epoxy’s with hermetically sealed support structures and a highly optimized, semi-automated, 90-minute flip-chip packaging process, I have now extended the repertoire of previously reported movable microelectrode arrays to bond conventional stainless steel and Pt/Ir microelectrode arrays of desired lengths to steerable polysilicon shafts. I tested scalable prototypes in rigorous bench top tests including Impedance measurements, accelerated aging and non-destructive testing to assess electrical and mechanical stability of micro-bonds under long-term implantation. I propose a 3D printed packaging method allows a wide variety of electrode configurations to be realized such as a rectangular or circular array configuration or other arbitrary geometries optimal for specific regions of the brain with inter-electrode distance as low as 25 um with an unprecedented capability of seeking and recording/stimulating targeted single neurons in deep brain structures up to 10 mm deep (with 6 μm displacement resolution). The advantage of this computer controlled moveable deep brain electrodes facilitates potential capabilities of moving past glial sheath surrounding microelectrodes to restore neural connection, counter the variabilities in signal amplitudes, and enable simultaneous recording/stimulation at precisely targeted layers of brain. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Bioengineering 2016

abstract: Although music is regarded as a universal language, it is rare to find musicians of different ages, ability levels, and backgrounds interacting with each other in collaborative performances. There is a dearth of mixed-ability-level wind band and string orchestra repertoire, and the few pieces that exist fail to celebrate the talents of the youngest and least-experienced performers. Composers writing music for school-age ensembles have also been excluded from the collaborative process, rarely communicating with the young musicians for whom they are writing. This project introduced twenty-nine compositions into the wind band and string orchestra repertoire via a collaboration that engaged multiple constituencies. Students of wind and string instruments from Phoenix’s El Sistema-inspired Harmony Project and the Tijuana-based Niños de La Guadalupana Villa Del Campo worked together with students at Arizona State University and composers from Canada, Finland, and across the United States to learn and record concertos for novice-level soloists with intermediate-level accompaniment ensembles. This project was influenced by the intergenerational ensembles common in Finnish music institutes. The author provides a document which includes a survey of the existing concerto repertoire for wind bands and previous intergenerational and multicultural studies in the field of music. The author then presents each of the mixed-ability concertos created and recorded in this project and offers biographical information on the composers. Finally, the author reflects upon qualitative surveys completed by the project’s participants. Most the new concertos are available to the public. This music can be useful in the development and implementation of similar collaborations of musicians of all ages and abilities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

Interface cerveau-machine pour compenser les déficits moteurs chez des patients ayant des troubles moteurs, avec des implantations chroniques d'électrodes corticales. Etude expérimentale sur animaux. Une interface cerveau-machine (ICM) est définie comme un système de communication qui permet à l'activité cérébrale seule de contrôler des effecteurs externes. L'objectif immédiat des ICM est de fournir des capacités de communication aux personnes gravement handicapées qui sont totalement paralysées par des troubles neuromusculaires, tels que la sclérose latérale amyotrophique, l'accident vasculaire cérébral ou une lésion de la moelle épinière. Des résultats prometteurs (des patients pilotent un joystick grâce à la modulation de leur activité corticale) permettre d'accroître l'espoir dans de futures applications d'ICM avec une matrice de microélectrodes implantées chroniquement à la surface du cortex. Des expériences récentes ont démontré la capacité d'un tétraplégique à contrôler un bras robotisé. Ce travail de thèse contribue aux études précliniques, réalisées en parallèle du développement technique afin de fournir la validation du protocole expérimental chez l'homme par étapes successives. Il permet de développer un dispositif d'enregistrement ElectroCorticoGramme (ECoG) chez des rats, pour l'implanter chez ces animaux et enregistrer leur activité ECoG lors d'expériences comportementales pour contrôler un effecteur externe. Deux types d'études en ligne ont été effectués: le contrôle du distributeur directement par l'activité corticale ou par la combinaison de la tâche motrice (appuyer sur la pédale) et la détection de la signature. Dans les études de contrôle direct par la détection, la Performance Générale (PG) de notre ICM a été de 21,01% ± 4,33 (10 animaux 69 expériences), mais le nombre d'appuis par minute est tombé à 0,57±0,47 rendant plus difficile l'interprétation de ces résultats. C'est pourquoi les expériences, plus complexes, nécessitant l'activation du levier et la détection de signature ont été réalisés. La PG, dans ce cas, est de 37,76% ± 9,64 avec un nombre d'appuis qui a augmenté à 3,24 ± 0,7. La comparaison avec une détection aléatoire nous a permis d'être sûr que ces résultats ne sont pas aléatoires (environ 25-30 fois plus que l'analyse aléatoire). L'une des caractéristiques la plus intéressante de ces expériences est que la zone qui semble en évidence concernée par l'exécution de la tâche motrice est la région du cervelet et non la zone motrice et sensori-motrice, zones qui étaient attendues, comme pour les humains. Un aspect de notre étude sur la neuroplasticité a été de démontrer que la signature, une fois identifiée sur le cervelet, peut être détectée en temps réel dans d'autres régions du cerveau. Nos résultats ont montré une PG de 15,16% ± 3,75 dans 97 expériences faites sur 8 rats. Ces résultats ont montré que l'activité cérébrale en corrélation avec la tâche comportementale, identifiée en premier lieu dans le cervelet, peut être détectée dans une zone différente du cerveau. La caractéristique principale de ce travail de thèse est la démonstration que l'activité neuronale enregistrée en continu au niveau d'une électrode corticale unique peut être efficacement utilisée pour piloter un effecteur avec un degré de liberté, au cours d'expériences longue durant jusqu'à une heure, avec un animal libre de ses mouvements capable de prendre des décisions de manière aléatoire sans indication. Ce travail est une étape déterminante, un premier pas, vers un programme plus vaste visant à fournir un certain niveau de mobilité pour des jeunes patients tétraplégiques. / Brain computer interface with chronic cortical electrode arrays for motor deficit compensation in motor disabled patients. Experimental study in rodents. A brain-computer interface (BCI) is currently defined as a hardware and software communication system that permits cerebral activity alone to control external devices. The immediate goal of BCI research is to provide communication capabilities to severely disabled people who are totally paralyzed or ‘locked in' by neuromuscular disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, brain stem stroke, or spinal cord injury. Promising results (patients piloting a joystick through modulation of their cortical activity) increase the hope of BCI with an array of microelectrodes chronically implanted at the cortex's surface, which doesn't exist yet. Recent experiments demonstrated the capacity for a tetraplegic to control a robotic arm. This PhD work contributes to preclinical studies, performed in parallel of technical development to provide validation of the human experimental protocol in successive steps. It contributes to develop ECoG recording device for rats, to implant them in the corresponding animals and record their ECoG activity during freely moving behavioural experiments to control an external effector. Two kinds of on-line studies have been done: the control of the dispenser directly by cortical activity or by the combination of motor task (push the lever) and detection of the signature. In studies of direct control by the detection the Overall Performance (OP) was 21,01%±4,33 (10 animals 69 experiments) but the number of push per minute fell to 0,57±0,47 making more difficult the interpretation of these results. That's why the experiments, more complicated, requiring both lever activation and signature detection have been realized. The OP, in this case, is 37,76%±9,64 with a number of push which increased back to 3,24±0,7. The comparison with random detection permitted us to be sure that these results are not random (around 25-30 fold more than random analysis). One of the most intriguing features of these experiments is that the area which seems prominently concerned by the execution of the motor task is the cerebellar area and not the central, motor and sensorimotor, areas which would be expected, as in human beings. An aspect of our neuroplasticity study has been to demonstrate that the signature, once identified on cerebellum, can be detected in real-time in other areas of the brain. Our results showed an OP of 15,16%±3,75 in 97 experiments done on 8 rats. These results showed that brain activities correlated with behavioural task identified firstly in cerebellum can be detected in a different area of the brain. The main feature of this report is the demonstration that neural activity continuously recorded at the level of one single cortical electrode can be efficiently used to pilot an effector with one degree of freedom, during experiments up to 1 hour, in a freely moving individual making decisions in a random unsupervised manner. This work is a determining first step towards a larger program aiming at providing a certain level of mobility to young cervical spinal-cord injured patients with tetraplegia.

Submitted by Morgana Silva (morgana_linhares@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-07-21T16:30:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3799587 bytes, checksum: da5ef68c2f776ecc7097c1010149dc82 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-21T16:30:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3799587 bytes, checksum: da5ef68c2f776ecc7097c1010149dc82 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-26 / Popular musicians usually learn their instrument by ear, on their own and taking part of musical groups formed by mutual friends. Nowadays, they have also been seeking for formal education to enhance their knowledge and be more certified. Similarly, the formal spaces to learn music are changing as new courses are being created to supply this demand of new musicians. In this way, this study used the research methodology ‘action research’ to investigate how formal classes that use audio and video recordings affect the skills of popular drummers. The first three chapters of this work compose a bibliographic research that address, respectively, the popular musician, the drums as their musical instrument, and the recording technology. The approach action research was used in a process followed by a cycle so that the researcher could intervene in a practice, with the intention of change. Two participants who did not have any previous formal study were chosen and interviewed to understand what were their opinions about the formal study of the instrument, on the use of recording technology in a pedagogical form, and how were their careers as drummers. Then, four performance observations were done with each participant, assessing their practices in their musical style. A syllabus containing 12 classes was designed from the analysis of these data and a corresponding course was held between September 2013 and April 2014. These private lessons contained topics that are usually present in both formal and informal spaces of musical education. Another learning resource used was make recordings, which is usually regarded as a self-learning music. A period of five months after the interventions was required to seamlessly incorporate studies in the practices of the participants. After this, four more observations were performed with each participant to look for any signs of change. Although they demonstrated some possible effects from studies conducted in private lessons, the observations could not make it clear that these changes were only due to the process carried out in the action step. The changes were clearer after a final interview, which brought about the improvement of self-observation and self-criticism of the two drummers. Furthermore, the positive effects on the perception of “vices” that they carry and also how important was recording as means to learn how to play the drums. It was concluded that the formal studies that have been associated with previous knowledge of these two drummers brought new rhythmic phrases to their repertoires and perfected their ways of playing the instrument. / Os músicos populares normalmente aprendem a tocar sem o auxílio de professores, por conta própria, tirando músicas de ouvido e participando de grupos com amigos em comum. Atualmente, eles também têm se inserido no âmbito formal de ensino, buscando aprimorar os seus conhecimentos para uma melhor qualificação no mercado de trabalho. Da mesma forma, os espaços formais de ensino de música também estão se modificando, criando novos cursos para esta nova demanda de músicos. Assim, essa pesquisa teve como objetivo geral investigar, através de pesquisa-ação, como aulas teóricas e práticas com o recurso metodológico de gravações em áudio e vídeo influem na prática musical de bateristas populares. Para contextualizar o problema e fundamentar a análise, os três primeiros capítulos de base bibliográfica trataram de pontos específicos, sendo o primeiro voltado para o músico popular, o segundo para a bateria e o terceiro para a tecnologia da gravação. Foi utilizada a abordagem de pesquisa-ação, em um processo no qual se seguiu um ciclo para que o pesquisador pudesse intervir em uma prática, com a intenção de mudança. Depois da escolha de dois participantes que não tinham realizado estudos formais prévios, buscou-se compreender, por meio de uma entrevista, quais eram as suas opiniões em torno do estudo formal do instrumento, sobre o uso da tecnologia da gravação de forma pedagógica e como foram as suas trajetórias como bateristas. Em seguida, foram realizadas quatro observações com cada participante, avaliando as suas práticas em seus grupos musicais. A partir da análise desses dados, foi elaborado um plano de curso contendo 12 aulas, ministradas entre os meses de setembro de 2013 e abril de 2014. Através dessa intervenção na forma de aulas particulares, foram vistos alguns dos conteúdos que são comumente estudados nos espaços formais que contemplam o ensino de bateria, assim como outros assuntos que são normalmente tratados em ambientes não formais. Também foi utilizada a gravação como recurso de aprendizagem, modo que é comum na autoaprendizagem de instrumentos. Cinco meses após a intervenção, período este necessário para que os estudos pudessem ser incorporados de forma “natural” nas práticas dos participantes, ocorreram quatro (re)observações com cada um deles, na busca de algum sinal de mudança. Apesar de apresentarem alguns efeitos possíveis decorrentes dos estudos realizados nas aulas particulares, as (re)observações não puderam deixar claro se essas mudanças decorreram exclusivamente do processo realizado na etapa de ação. As mudanças ficaram mais claras através de uma entrevista final, que trouxe informações sobre a melhora da auto-observação e da autocrítica musical dos dois bateristas, além de efeitos positivos sobre a percepção dos “vícios” que eles carregam consigo e também o quanto é importante a gravação como forma de aprendizagem de bateria. Foi possível concluir que os estudos formais foram associados aos conhecimentos prévios desses dois bateristas, trouxeram novas frases rítmicas aos seus repertórios e aperfeiçoaram suas formas de tocar o instrumento.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:34:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:10:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

A fotogrametria é um instrumento de avaliação simples, de baixo custo e objetivo que fornece resultados fáceis de interpretar, precisos e reprodutíveis, sendo muito usada atualmente. Apesar disso, a os protocolos de avaliação por fotogrametria não apresentam uma padronização a ser seguida, tornando difícil a obtenção de um padrão de avaliação com relação a alguns aspectos, como por exemplo, a posição dos pés, carecendo também de informações acerca do comportamento das variáveis associadas a esse tipo de avaliação durante um determinado intervalo de tempo. Essa dissertação foi dividida em dois estudos: Estudo 1: realizou-se uma revisão sistemática com o objetivo de investigar os posicionamentos de pés usados para a realização da avaliação postural semi-estática por meio de fotogrametria. Esse estudo trata-se de uma revisão sistemática de estudos observacionais e ensaios clínicos randomizados e seguiu as recomendações da Colaboração Cochrane. Com as palavras chave “photogrammetry” e “spinal postural evaluation”, realizou-se uma pesquisa nas seguintes bases de dados: PubMed, Science, Scopus, Embase e Bireme. Foram incluídos 40 estudos após crivo dos critérios de elegibilidade, sendo os principais posicionamentos de pés encontrados: autorreferido, paralelos separados, paralelos unidos e posicionamento autorreferido padronizado. Apenas três estudos foram avaliados de baixa qualidade metodológica. Como em nenhum dos estudos incluídos houve comparação de resultados de avaliações realizadas em diferentes posicionamentos de pés, faz-se necessário que estudos que abarquem esse tipo de análise sejam desenvolvidos, também se julgando importante que sejam respeitadas as determinações específicas de cada protocolo de análise. Estudo 2: esse estudo objetivou determinar (1) a reprodutibilidade intra-avaliador das diferentes posições de pés, (2) a classificação das variáveis posturais em estacionária/não estacionária e ergódica/não ergódica, (3) se existe uma posição dos pés com menor variabilidade postural, e (4) se existe uma posição de pés mais confortável para a realização da avaliação postural semi-estática utilizando a fotogrametria. A amostra foi composta por 24 indivíduos adultos de ambos os sexos, sendo eles submetidos à avaliação postural em dois momentos por meio de fotogrametria aonde foram filmados durante 35 segundos em quatro posições de pés: autorreferido (AR), paralelos separados (PS), paralelos unidos (PU) e autorreferido padronizado (ARP). Ao final de cada avaliação o indivíduo apontou em uma escala analógica a sensação subjetiva de desconforto. Após as avaliações, cada filmagem foi dividida em sete fotografias, sendo elas digitalizadas no software Digital Imagem-based Postural Assessment (DIPA). Na análise estatística foram utilizados os seguintes testes: Coeficiente de Correlação Intraclasse (ICC), erro padrão da medida (SEM), mínimo erro detectável (MDC) e média absoluta das diferenças (MAD) para a reprodutibilidade intra-avaliador; ANOVA de medidas repetidas para testar a estacionariedade e ANOVA one-way para testar a ergodicidade das variáveis posturais; Coeficiente de Variação (CV) e ANOVA one-way para análise da variabilidade postural em diferentes posições de pés; e ANOVA oneway para verificar as diferenças entre a sensação subjetiva de desconforto nas posições de pés. A reprodutibilidade das variáveis independeu da posição de pés, sendo todas elas classificadas como excelente. Das doze variáveis analisadas, cinco foram classificadas como estacionárias e ergódicas em todas posições de pés, quatro tiveram classificações dependentes das posições de pés e três foram classificadas como não estacionárias. Quanto à variabilidade postural, os resultados apontam que foram pequenas e semelhantes em todas as posições de pés, não sendo possível apontar uma única posição que apresentasse a menor variabilidade. A posição AR foi a que teve menor sensação subjetiva de desconforto. Concluiu-se que a maioria das variáveis posturais apresentam características estacionárias, que as posições de pés não interferem nos resultados. / Photogrammetry is a low cost and simple objective instrument of evaluation, that provides accurate and reproducible results of easy understanding, being very used nowadays. Nevertheless, the protocols of photogrammetry evaluation do not have a standard to be followed, making it difficult to obtain a standard of evaluation regarding some aspects, for example, the feet positioning, that also lack information about the behavior of variables associated with this type of evaluation for a certain period of time. This dissertation was divided in two studies: Study 1: executed a systematic review with the objective of investigate the feet positioning used to hold the semi-static postural assessment through photogrammetry. This study is a systematic review of observational studies and randomized clinical trials that followed recommendations of the Cochrane Collaboration. With the keywords "photogrammetry" and "spinal postural evaluation", a survey was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Science, Scopus, Embase and Bireme. 40 studies were included after a scrutiny of eligibility criteria, the main feet positioning found were: self-referred, separated in parallel, united in parallel and standardized self-referred position. Only three studies were graded as low methodological quality. As there was no comparison of results of the included studies in different feet positioning, it is necessary that studies that utilize this type of analysis are developed and it is also deemed important that the specific determinations of each analysis protocol are respected. Study 2: The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the intra-rater reproducibility of different feet positioning, (2) the classification of postural variables in stationary / non-stationary and ergodic / nonergodic, (3) if there is a feet positioning with less postural variability, and (4) whether there is a more comfortable feet positioning for the semi-static posture evaluation using photogrammetry. The sample consisted of 24 adults of both genresas they were submitted totwo stages of postural assessment through photogrammetry, where they were filmed for 35 seconds on four feet positions: self-referred (AR), separated in parallel (PS), parallel and united (PU) and standardized self-referred (ARP). At the end of each assessment, the individual pointed the subjective feeling of discomfort in na analogical scale. After the evaluation, each film was divided into seven photographs, which were scanned in the software Digital Image-based Postural Assessment (DIPA). In the statistical analysis, the following tests were used: intra class correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), minimum detectable error (MDC) and mean absolute differences (MAD) to the intra-rater reproducibility; Repeated measures ANOVA to test the stationarity and one-way ANOVA to test the ergodicity of postural variables; Coefficient of Variation (CV) and one-way ANOVA for analysis of postural variability in different feet positioning; and one-way ANOVA to determine differences between the subjective sensation of discomfort in the feet positioning. Irrespective of feet positioning, the reproducibility of variables it was classified as excellent. Of twelve variables, five were classified as stationary and ergodic in all feet positioning, four had dependent classifications of foot positioning and three were classified as non-stationary. The postural variability, the results were similar in all feet position, it is not possible to identify the position that has the lowest variability. The AR position was the one that had less subjective feeling of discomfort. It was concluded that most variables have stationary characteristics, that feet position does not interfere with results.

abstract: Several contemporary clarinet works use Chinese folk music elements from different regions in new compositions to entice listener's and performer's appreciation of Chinese culture. However, to date, limited academic research on this topic exists. This research paper introduces six contemporary clarinet works by six Chinese composers: Qigang Chen's Morning Song, Yan Wang's Mu ma zhi ge (The Song of Grazing Horses), An-lun Huang's Capriccio for Clarinet and Strings Op. 41, Bijing Hu's The Sound of Pamir Clarinet Concerto, Mei-Mi Lan's Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with Harp and Percussion, and Yu-Hui Chang's Three Fantasias for Solo Clarinet in B-flat. They are examined from different perspectives, including general structure, style, and rejuvenated folk music use. The focus of this research paper is to investigate the use of Chinese folk music in several works in collaboration with the composers. The author found that although contemporary composers use Chinese folk music differently in their works (i.e., some use melodies, others use harmony, while others use modes), each work celebrates the music and culture of the folk music on which the pieces are based. It is the author's hope to stimulate people's interest in music using Chinese folk music elements, and bring these lesser known works into the common clarinet repertoire. / Dissertation/Thesis / Morning Song / Mu ma zhi ge (The Song of Grazing Horses) / Capriccio for Clarinet and Strings Op. 41 / The Sound of Pamir Clarinet Concerto movement I / The Sound of Pamir Clarinet Concerto movement II / The Sound of Pamir Clarinet Concerto movement III / Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra movement I / Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra movement II / Three Fantasias for Solo Clarinet in B-flat movement I / Three Fantasias for Solo Clarinet in B-flat movement II / Three Fantasias for Solo Clarinet in B-flat movement III / D.M.A. Music 2013

abstract: Advances in implantable MEMS technology has made possible adaptive micro-robotic implants that can track and record from single neurons in the brain. Development of autonomous neural interfaces opens up exciting possibilities of micro-robots performing standard electrophysiological techniques that would previously take researchers several hundred hours to train and achieve the desired skill level. It would result in more reliable and adaptive neural interfaces that could record optimal neural activity 24/7 with high fidelity signals, high yield and increased throughput. The main contribution here is validating adaptive strategies to overcome challenges in autonomous navigation of microelectrodes inside the brain. The following issues pose significant challenges as brain tissue is both functionally and structurally dynamic: a) time varying mechanical properties of the brain tissue-microelectrode interface due to the hyperelastic, viscoelastic nature of brain tissue b) non-stationarities in the neural signal caused by mechanical and physiological events in the interface and c) the lack of visual feedback of microelectrode position in brain tissue. A closed loop control algorithm is proposed here for autonomous navigation of microelectrodes in brain tissue while optimizing the signal-to-noise ratio of multi-unit neural recordings. The algorithm incorporates a quantitative understanding of constitutive mechanical properties of soft viscoelastic tissue like the brain and is guided by models that predict stresses developed in brain tissue during movement of the microelectrode. An optimal movement strategy is developed that achieves precise positioning of microelectrodes in the brain by minimizing the stresses developed in the surrounding tissue during navigation and maximizing the speed of movement. Results of testing the closed-loop control paradigm in short-term rodent experiments validated that it was possible to achieve a consistently high quality SNR throughout the duration of the experiment. At the systems level, new generation of MEMS actuators for movable microelectrode array are characterized and the MEMS device operation parameters are optimized for improved performance and reliability. Further, recommendations for packaging to minimize the form factor of the implant; design of device mounting and implantation techniques of MEMS microelectrode array to enhance the longevity of the implant are also included in a top-down approach to achieve a reliable brain interface. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Bioengineering 2013