Abstract
Research indicates that music therapists are likely to make use of computer software, designed to measure changes in the way a patient and therapist make use of music in music therapy sessions. A proof of concept study investigated whether music analysis algorithms (designed to retrieve information from commercial music recordings) can be adapted to meet the needs of music therapists. Computational music analysis techniques were applied to multi-track audio recordings of simulated sessions, then to recordings of individual music therapy sessions: these were recorded by a music therapist as part of her ongoing practice with patients with acquired brain injury. The music therapist wanted to evaluate two hypotheses: one, whether changes in her tempo were affecting the tempo of a patient's play on acoustic percussion instruments, and two, whether her musical interventions were helping the patient reduce habituated, rhythmic patterning. Automatic diagrams were generated that gave a quick overview of the instrumental activity contained within each session: when, and for how long each instrument was played. From these, computational analysis was applied to musical areas of specific interest. The results of the interdisciplinary team work, audio recording tests, computer analysis tests, and music therapy field tests are presented and discussed.

Abstract
Among the many opportunities offered by electric vehicles (EVs), the design of power trains based on in-wheel electric motors represents, from the vehicle dynamics point of view, a very attractive prospect, mainly due to the torque-vectoring capabilities. However, this distributed propulsion also poses some practical challenges, owing to the constraints arising from motor installation in a confined space, to the increased unsprung mass weight and to the integration of the electric motor with the friction brakes. This last issue is the main theme of this work, which, in particular, focuses on the design of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). The proposed structure for the ABS is composed of a tyre slip controller, a wheel torque allocator and a braking supervisor. To address the slip regulation problem, an adaptive controller is devised, offering robustness to uncertainties in the tyre-road friction and featuring a gain-scheduling mechanism based on the vehicle velocity. Further, an optimisation framework is employed in the torque allocator to determine the optimal split between electric and friction brake torque based on energy performance metrics, actuator constraints and different actuators bandwidth. Finally, based on the EV working condition, the priorities of this allocation scheme are adapted by the braking supervisor unit. Simulation results obtained with the CarSim vehicle model, demonstrate the effectiveness of the overall approach.

Abstract

Abstract
Spurred by the problem of identifying, in real-time, the adhesion levels between the tyre and the road, a practical, linear parameterisation (LP) model is proposed to represent the tyre friction. Towards that aim, results from the theory of function approximation, together with optimisation techniques, are explored to approximate the non-linear Burckhardt model with a new LP representation. It is shown that, compared with other approximations described in the literature, the proposed LP model is more efficient, that is, it requires a smaller number of parameters, and provides better approximation capabilities. Next, a modified version of the recursive least squares, subject to a set of equality constraints on parameters, is employed to identify the LP in real time. The inclusion of these constraints, arising from the parametric relationships present when the tyre is in free-rolling mode, reduces the variance of the parametric estimation and improves the convergence of the identification algorithm, particularly in situations with low tyre slips. The simulation results obtained with the full-vehicle CarSim model under different road adhesion conditions demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed LP and the robustness of the friction peak estimation method. Furthermore, the experimental tests, performed with an electric vehicle under low-grip roads, provide further validation of the accuracy and potential of the estimation technique.

Abstract
Wearable wireless medical sensors beneficially impact the healthcare sector, and this market is experiencing rapid growth. In the United States alone, the telecommunications services market for the healthcare sector is forecast to increase from $7.5 billion in 2008 to $11.3 billion in 2013. Medical body area networks improve the mobility of patients and medical personnel during surgery, accelerate the patients' recovery, and facilitate the remote monitoring of patients suffering from chronic diseases. Currently, MBANs are being introduced in unlicensed frequency bands, where the risk of mutual interference with other electronic devices can be high. Techniques developed during the evolution of cognitive radio can potentially alleviate these problems in medical communication environments. In addition, these techniques can help increase the efficiency of spectrum usage to accommodate the rapidly growing demand for wireless MBAN solutions and enhance coexistence with other collocated wireless systems. This article proposes a viable architecture of an MBAN with practical CR features based on ultra wideband radio technology. UWB signals offer many advantages to MBANs, and some features of this technology can be exploited for effective implementation of CR. We discuss the physical and MAC layer aspects of the proposal in addition to the implementation challenges.

Abstract
This paper analyses price competition between two firms producing horizontally and vertically differentiated goods. These are assumed to be credence goods, as consumers can hardly ascertain the quality of the commodities. To illustrate the model, we adapt it to represent a newspaper industry with two outlets, when the population of readers have preferences both on the political stance of the newspapers and on the accuracy of the news they dispatch.