"The centenary of the Catalan Institution for Natural History", by Lluís Centelles

1999       Volume 1  Issue 2

		Arithmetical problems in number fields, abelian varieties and modular forms Bayer, P. et al.
		Sudden cardiac death Martínez-Rubio, A.,Bayés-Genís, A., Guindo, J. and Bayés de Luna, A.
		Possibilities of man-machine interaction through the perception of human gestures Amat, J., Casals, A., Frigola, M. and Pagès, J.
		Crustal accretion at mid-ocean ridges and backarc spreading centers: Insights from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Bransfield Basin and the North Fiji Basin Gràcia, E. and Escartín, J.
		The ontological deficits of quantum reality Lapiedra, R.
		OMEGA: a system for the effective construction, coding and decoding of block error-correcting codes Xambó, S.
		The Catalan process for the direct production of malleable iron and its spread to Europe and the Americas Tomàs, E.
		Earth Sciences in Catalonia: 1990-1995 Serrat, D. and Reguant, S.
		Physics research in Catalonia: The highly cited papers Serra, P. and Rovira, Ll.
		The Supercomputing Center of Catalonia (CESCA)
		The centenary of the Catalan Institution for Natural History Maluquer, J.
Arithmetical problems in number fields, abelian varieties and modular forms
Bayer, P. et al.
Number theory, a fascinating area in mathematics and one of the oldest, has experienced spectacular progress in recent years. The development of a deep theoretical background and the implementation of algorithms have led to new and interesting interrelations with mathematics in general which have paved the way for the emergence of major theorems in the area. This report summarizes the contribution to number theory made by the members of the Seminari de Teoria de Nombres (UB-UAB-UPC) in Barcelona. These results are presented in connection with the state of certain arithmetical problems, and so this monograph seeks to provide readers with a glimpse of some specific lines of current mathematical research.
Sudden cardiac death
Martínez-Rubio, A.,Bayés-Genís, A., Guindo, J. and Bayés de Luna, A.
Sudden death is a frequent event whose causes may not be anticipated, but often has a cardiac origin. Sudden cardiac death is the final consequence of many pathophysiological mechanisms which have caused acute or chronic arrhythmogenic disease. Single or multifactorial triggering factors may interact with the arrhythmogenic substrate to lead to lethal arrhythmias. Stratifying populations according to risk is feasible, but the immediate priority is prevention of triggering and disease-promoting factors. ICD therapy is the best treatment for most survivors of sudden cardiac death. Drug therapy, catheter ablation, antitachycardia surgery or heart transplant are only first-choice treatments for very few patients. Choosing the best therapy is an individual decision based on the patient's clinical picture, the type of arrhythmia seen and hospital experience in the various techniques.
Possibilities of man-machine interaction through the perception of human gestures
Amat, J., Casals, A., Frigola, M. and Pagès, J.
As man-machine interaction grows there is an increasing need for friendly interfaces. Human-machine oral communication as a means of natural language interaction is becoming quite common. Interpretation of human gestures can, in some applications, complement such communication. This article describes an interpretation of gestures procedure. The system is based on a computer vision system for the detection and tracking of a human operator and the interpretation of a specific set of human gestures in real time. A mesura que les màquines s'utilitzen interaccionant cada
Crustal accretion at mid-ocean ridges and backarc spreading centers: Insights from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Bransfield Basin and the North Fiji Basin
Gràcia, E. and Escartín, J.
Mid-Ocean Ridges are a natural laboratory for the study of magmatic and tectonic processes and their interactions. Owing to their relatively simple structure and geodynamic history, they have been studied by highly active projects, such as RIDGE (USA), followed by the international initiative InterRidge, which have yielded enormous advances during the last two decades. By these ridge-oriented initiatives, a large portion of the global ridge system has been explored, mapped and sampled. These data have constrained models of melt production and dynamics of the mantle, formation of the lithosphere, magmatic accretion of the crust, tectonic deformation, and volcanic processes at shallow levels, as well as their interactions. Geophysical observations (bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and gravity) from several sites along mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and two back-arc basins (Bransfield and North Fiji) summarized here provide constraints on the surface expression of ridge tectonism, volcanism, and the density structure of the oceanic lithosphere in depth, and their bearing on the accretionary processes at ridges.
The ontological deficits of quantum reality
Lapiedra, R.
Before entering into any deeper philosophical discussions, our immediate intuition is that our world is comprised of our own consciousness, with its contents and varying states, and an outer world that is independent of our consciousness. Take, for example, a table and the image and idea we have of that table. Let's say the table is brown. Yet, what is brown? The table, you reply, which even had it been red or green would still be a table. This table is also, to a greater or lesser extent, hard to the touch. So, let's try again. What is this hard, brown object? The very table under discussion, at all times the table, which moreover occupies a given place and has certain dimensions. The table, that if I close my eyes disappears from sight, but returns if I open them. This table is the object of somebody else's comments, (oh, that memorable meal we had on it one day!) and my expectations (now, I leave, but when I come back tomorrow, I know I will find it in the same corner of the room)....
OMEGA: a system for the effective construction, coding and decoding of block error-correcting codes
Xambó, S.
In this work, we show how to implement effective constructions, coding and decoding of algebraic codes by means of Omega, a system specifically designed and programmed for general mathematical computations. For alternant codes, the main class we consider (which includes BCH, RS and classical Goppa codes), we give an implementation of the Euclidean division BM decoding algorithm. For cyclic codes we implement the Meggitt decoder, and to illustrate how it works we provide an implementation of the Meggitt syndrome tables for the two Golay codes. Finally, we present several other groups of functions and the computations and problems (still almost in the area of error-correcting codes) they solve.
The Catalan process for the direct production of malleable iron and its spread to Europe and the Americas
Tomàs, E.
From the beginning of the Iron Age, in the second millennium before the Christian era, iron was obtained from ores using the bloomery process, which comprised the following stages:    a) Introduction of the crushed mineral and charcoal into a cavity or low furnace.    b) Combustion of the charcoal, aided by a strong air current to reach sufficiently high temperatures (around 1200ºC) and production of a high-reduction gas (CO).    c) Progressive reduction of the mineral using the reducing gas, which produced a solid yet spongy lump of iron and liquid slag that had to be separated from the metal.    d) Compacting and purifying of the bloom through hammering and the subsequent shaping of it by smithy work. ...
Earth Sciences in Catalonia: 1990-1995
Serrat, D. and Reguant, S.
Research in the Earth Sciences in Catalonia is mostly conducted in three types of institutions: universities, centres devoted exclusively to research, and museums. The universities with Departments of Geology are the «Universitat de Barcelona» (UB), the «Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona» (UAB). The «Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya» (UPC) and the «Universitat de Girona» (UG), while they do not have specific Departments of Geology, teach and undertake research in the Earth Sciences. ...
Physics research in Catalonia: The highly cited papers
Serra, P. and Rovira, Ll.
Very often, the knowledge that lay people and specialists have about scientific research in Catalonia is just an amount of generic data about the budget (input) for a certain period, and some undefined statistical figures on the number of publications (output). Thus it is imperative that researchers as well as politicians and society in general have a solid knowledge of these matters in order to more effectively situate research in our innovative, cultural and entrepreneurial panorama. ...
The Supercomputing Center of Catalonia (CESCA)
The Supercomputing Center of Catalonia (CESCA) was inaugurated in October 1991 with the aim of offering high performance computing services to universities, research centers and enterprises. The Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca (FCR) promoted CESCA at the request of the Departament de Presidència of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The consortium was also made up of the -at those time- four public Catalan universities (Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and Universitat Pompeu Fabra). Later, Universitat de Girona, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Universitat de Lleida and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya were also incorporated. To facilitate the access to its resources, since 1993 it manages the Anella Científica (Scientific Ring), sponsored by the FCR, ...
The centenary of the Catalan Institution for Natural History
Maluquer, J.
The end of 1999 marks the 100 th anniversary of the decision, taken on the 3 December 1899 by three young students in Barcelona, to found the Catalan Institution for Natural History, with the intention of bringing together experts and amateur enthusiasts in the fields of zoology, botany and geology in one association. There were two main reasons underlying the decision of these students to set up a scientific society: their vocation as naturalists, which found no adequate outlet in the institutions of the day, and, even less so, in a somewhat stagnant university atmosphere; and the manifest desire - though not exclusively - to centre their research within Catalonia and, ...