Theoretical Background of Marketing-Controlling

In the 21st century the economic environment has been changing fast. To be successful company managements need a system. This system makes marketing costs measurable. If the costs are measurable, spendings will be more reasonable, and in this way marketing costs can be reduced. Of course, to set up a system to increase marketing efficiency several kinds of theoretical and practical methods can be applied. I have chosen the marketing-controlling system. Marketing-controlling makes it possible for marketing to use a measurable component and in this way further develop marketing as a conception. In Germany bigger companies use such a system as a part of the corporate controlling system.

Age-related processing strategies and go–nogo effects in task-switching: an ERP study

We studied cognitive and age-related changes in three task-switching (TS) paradigms: (1) informatively cued TS with go stimuli, (2) informatively cued TS with go and nogo stimuli, (3) non-informatively cued TS with go and nogo stimuli. This design allowed a direct comparison, how informative and non-informative cues influenced preparatory processes, and how nogo stimuli changed the context of the paradigm and cognitive processing in different aging groups. Beside the behavioral measures [reaction time (RT), error rate], event-related potentials (ERPs) were registered to the cue and target stimuli in young (N = 39, mean age = 21.6 ± 1.6 years) and older (N = 40, mean age = 65.7 ± 3.2 years) adults. The results provide evidence for declining performance in the older group: they had slower RT, less hits, more erroneous responses, higher mixing costs and decreased amplitude of ERP components than the participants of the younger group. In the task without the nogo stimuli young adults kept the previous task-set active that could be seen in shorter RT and larger amplitude of cue-locked late positivity (P3b) in task repeat (TR) trials compared to task switch trials. If both go and nogo stimuli were presented, similar RTs and P3b amplitudes appeared in the TR and TS trials. In the complex task situations older adults did not evolve an appropriate task representation and task preparation, as indicated by the lack of cue-locked P3b, CNV, and target-locked P3b. We conclude that young participants developed explicit representation of task structures, but the presence of nogo stimuli had marked effects on such representation. On the other hand, older people used only implicit control strategy to solve the task, hence the basic difference between the age groups was their strategy of task execution

Élvezeti szerek (nikotin, koffein, alkohol) pszichoaktív hatásának komplex pszichofiziológiai vizsgálata = Complex psychophysiological assessment of the psychoactive effect of commonly used drugs (nicotine, caffeine, alcohol)

A vizsgálatok célja kis, "szociális" dózisú élvezeti szerek (nikotin, alkohol) hatásának elemzése volt. Elektrofizológiai módszereket használtunk, melyeket magatartási mutatók (reakcióidő, tévesztések száma) mérésével, és pszichológiai tesztek elvégzésével egészítettünk ki. Alkalmaztuk az újszerű, EEG-komplexitás kvantifikációjára vonatkozó eljárásokat is. Egyszerű algebrai feladat megoldása közben, nehezített ingerdiszkriminációs helyzetben, vizuális memóriaterhelés kapcsán, ill. felkészülés-várakozás alatt rögzített mutatókat elemeztük. A nikotin hatása mind az EEG-ben, mind a kiváltott potenciálokat tekintve éberségi szint emelkedésre utalt, de a változás nem volt statisztikailag szignifikáns mértékű. Nagy adag nikotin vizuális memória-feladatban a feladatmegoldással kapcsolatos EEG-szinkronizációs változást idézett elő. Az alkohol hatása csökkenő figyelmi, és ingerfeldolgozási kapacitásra utal. Számolási helyzetben az alkohol dózisfüggő mértékben csökkenti a munkamemória-terheléssel kapcsolatos EEG-jellemzőket. A vegetatív idegrendszeri változások a kis dózisú alkohol aktivációs hatására utalnak. A felkészülési helyzetben tapasztalt változások a frontális területek kiemelt szerepét valószínűsítik e folyamatban. Ennek a régiónak a fontosságát húzzák alá az idős személyeken megfigyelt, a feladat nehezítésével együttjáró változások is. Korrelációkat találtunk egyes karakterdimenziók és az agyi elektromos tevékenység bizonyos mutatói között. | The aim of this study was the investigation of the effect of low, ?social? doses of drug-like substances like nicotine and alcohol. Electrophysiological methods were used, in addition to which behavioral variables (reaction time, number of errors) were calculated and psychological tests were performed. New procedures, enabling the quantification of EEG-complexity were also used. The above variables, recorded during the execution of simple arithmetic tasks, demanding stimulus-discrimination conditions, during the performance of visual memory and expectancy conditions, were analyzed. The effect of nicotine, as revealed by changes of EEG and that of evoked potentials correspond to increased vigilance. High dose of nicotine induced task-relevant EEG-synchronization in the visual memory task condition. Alcohol causes the decrease of attentional and information processing capacity. During mental arithmetic alcohol in a dose-dependent way decreases task-related EEG-characteristics. Changes of the autonomic nerve functions indicate an activation caused by low alcohol dose. EEG-complexity changes found during expectancy show the importance of the frontal areas in this condition. The changes observed in elderly subjects in tasks with increased difficulty also underlie the importance of this region. Correlations were found between various character-dimensions and certain features of brain electrical activity

What is being done to respond to the rise of chronic diseases and multi-morbidity in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia?

Although countries in central and eastern Europe (CEE) have relatively younger populations compared to the West, their populations are often affected by higher prevalence of chronic conditions and multi-morbidity and this burden will likely increase as their populations age. Relatively little is known about how these countries cater to the needs of complex patients. This Perspective piece identifies key initiatives to improve coordination of care in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, including some pioneering and far-reaching approaches. Unfortunately, some of them have failed to be implemented, but a recent strategic commitment to care coordination in some of these countries and the dedication to rebuilding stronger health systems after the COVID-19 pandemic offer an opportunity to take stock of these past and ongoing experiences and push for more progress in this area

Az információfeldolgozás korai szakaszának lassulása időskorban: Visszaható maszkolás és integráció = Age-related slowing of early visual information processing: Backward masking and integration

Az időskori érzékszervi változásokról és az információfeldolgozás figyelmi szakaszairól rendelkezésre álló jelentős ismeretek mellett viszonylag ritkábban kutatott terület az észlelés korai műveleteinek vizsgálata. Két kísérletben vizsgáltuk e szakaszokat fiatal (19–26 év) és idős (64–75 év) csoportokban. A visszaható maszkolási kísérletben érzelmeket kifejező sematikus arcokat követett értelmetlen mintázatú maszk. A bemutatást követően kétválasztásos helyzetben kellett dönteni arról, hogy melyik érzelmet mutatta az arc. Az arc-maszk időközt lépcsőzetes módszerrel változtattuk a ~80%-os kritériumig. Idős személyeknél a kritikus időtartam (amíg a maszk hatékony volt), lényegesen hosszabb volt, mint fiataloknál, azaz a fiatalabb csoportban a két inger elkülönült feldolgozásához rövidebb idő kellett. Az integrációs kísérletben három betű jelent meg egymás mellett két részletben úgy, hogy a betűk ebből a két részletből állhattak össze. A résztvevők feladata az volt, hogy döntsék el, a három betű értelmes szót alkotott, vagy sem. A változó a két részlet bemutatása közötti időköz volt, melyet ismét lépcsőzetes módszerrel változtattunk. A két életkori csoport között nem találtunk megbízható különbséget, azaz a töredék első részének reprezentációjának fennállása nem volt hosszabb egyik csoportnál sem. A maszkolási eredmények megfelelnek a más módszerekkel mért adatoknak, a ritkábban alkalmazott integrációs módszer eredményei viszont arra utalnak, hogy a mért életkori változások iránya jelentősen függ az alkalmazott paradigmától. | In comparison to the large body of research on age-related changes of the sense organs and age-related changes of attention-related information processing, investigation of earlier stages of information processing is relatively infrequent. We investigated this process in two experiments in young (19-26 years) and older (64-75 years) adults. In the backward masking study the test stimuli were schematic faces with emotional expression. The faces were followed by pattern mask, and in a two-alternative forced choice situation participants decided which one was presented from a pair of faces. The testmask interval was varied by using a staircase method with ~80 percent asymptotic performance. The critical duration of test-mask interval was shorter in the younger participants, showing that separate processing of the two stimuli (temporal acuity) required shorter duration. In the integration study two fragments were presented successively. If the fragments integrated, three letters were accessible. Inter-stimulus interval between the two parts was varied by staircase method. The task was to decide whether the three letters constituted a legal word or not. The critical duration did not significantly differ between the two age groups, i.e., persistence of the first fragment was similar. Results of the masking experiment were similar to other studies with different methodology, whereas the results of the integration experiment show that age-related effects on persistence duration are paradigm dependent

Increased behavioral problems in children with sleep-disordered breathing

Healthy sleep is essential for the cognitive, behavioral and emotional development of children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the behavioral consequences of sleep disturbances by examining children with sleep-disordered breathing compared with control participants.Seventy-eight children with SDB (average age: 6.7 years (SD = 1.83); 61 had OSA and 17 had primary snoring) and 156 control subjects (average age: 6.57 years (SD = 1.46) participated in the study. We matched the groups in age (t(232) = 0.578, p = 0.564) and gender (χ2(1) = 2.192, p = 0.139). In the SDB group, the average Apnea-Hypopnea Index was 3.44 event/h (SD = 4.00), the average desaturation level was 87.37% (SD = 6.91). Parent-report rating scales were used to measure the children's daytime behavior including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and Child Behavior Checklist.Our results showed that children with SDB exhibited a higher level of inattentiveness and hyperactive behavior. Furthermore, the SDB group demonstrated more internalizing (anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, social problems) (p < 0.001) and externalizing (aggressive and rule-breaking behavior) problems compared with children without SDB, irrespective of severity.Based on our findings we supposed that snoring and mild OSA had a risk for developing behavioral and emotional dysfunctions as much as moderate-severe OSA. Therefore, clinical research and practice need to focus more on the accurate assessment and treatment of sleep disturbances in childhood, particularly primary snoring, and mild obstructive sleep apnea

Sound offset-related brain potentials show retained sensory processing, but increased cognitive control activity in older adults

It has been hypothesized that age-related hearing loss is caused not only by peripheral, but also central changes in the auditory system. Many studies utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by sound onsets to characterize age-related differences in central auditory processing. Age-related ERP enhancements in such studies have often been interpreted in terms of elevated sensitivity to auditory stimulation. Such ERPs, however, comprise various components reflecting different aspects of auditory and task-related processing. The composition of the waveforms may considerably differ for ERPs elicited by other auditory events. In the present study ERPs elicited by tone-offsets were used to characterize processing differences between younger and older adults in a short-go, tone-duration discrimination paradigm. Whereas the onset-related auditory ERP was enhanced in the older adult group, no age-related differences were found in the offset-related auditory ERPs observable at temporal electrodes. In older adults, however, offset-related processing was dominated by an N2 that could reflect enhanced cognitive control activities. Because N2 was present regardless discrimination difficulty, younger adults may have framed the task as offset-detection, whereas older adults represented the task as “genuine” discrimination