Movement Sonification of Musical Gestures: Investigating Perceptual Processes Underlying Musical Performance Movements

(Abstract to follow

El mindfulness y sus factores como predictores de las estrategias de autorregulación emocional en estudiantes de una universidad de Lima

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar y analizar si el mindfulness y sus cinco factores son predictores importantes de las estrategias de autorregulación emocional (reevaluación cognitiva y supresión). Para este fin se evaluó una muestra de 455 estudiantes de una universidad de Lima de entre 17 y 28 años (M = 20.49; DE. = 3.17), de las cuales un 52.7% fueron mujeres, y, por otra parte, el 59.1% no había hecho ninguna práctica de mindfulness. La mayoría de los participantes (73.8%) pertenecía a carreras de letras y, a su vez, el 22.6% se encontraba realizando alguna actividad laboral paralelamente a sus estudios. Por un lado, se utilizó el Cuestionario de Regulación Emocional (ERQ; Gross y John, 2003) adaptado por Gargurevich y Matos (2010) a la población peruana (ERQP); y, por otro, el Cuestionario de las Cinco Facetas de Mindfulness (Baer et al., 2006) traducido y validado por Loret de Mola (2009). En total, se realizaron cuatro análisis de regresión lineal jerárquica con la finalidad de determinar los predictores de la reevaluación cognitiva y supresión conductual. En primer lugar, se encontró que los factores Observación, Ausencia de Juicio y Ausencia de Reactividad resultaron ser predictores significativos de la reevaluación cognitiva. Por otro lado, se encontró que tanto el Mindfulness Total como sus factores de Descripción y Ausencia de Juicio predicen significativamente la supresión. Adicionalmente, se encontró al sexo como un predictor de esta última estrategia de Autorregulación, ya que los participantes hombres obtuvieron mayor puntuación en esta dimensión. Finalmente, a través de una comparación de muestras independientes, se encontró que el puntaje de Ausencia de reactividad difería en función del sexo de los participantes; mientras que los puntajes de Mindfulness Total, Observación y Ausencia de Juicio se diferenciaron en función a la pertenencia a un trabajo actual.The present research aimed to determine and analyze whether mindfulness and its five dimensions are important predictors of emotion self-regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and suppression). For this purpose, a sample of 455 students from a university in Lima between 17 and 28 years old (M = 20.49; SD = 3.17) was evaluated, of which 52.7% were women, and 59.1% had done no mindfulness practice ever. Most of the participants (73.8%) belonged to liberal arts, social and, in turn, 22.6% were carrying out some work activity in parallel to their studies. On the one hand, the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross and John, 2003) adapted by Gargurevich and Matos (2010) to the Peruvian population (ERQP) was used; and, on the other hand, the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer et al., 2006) translated and validated by Loret de Mola (2009). In total, four hierarchical linear regression analyzes were performed in order to determine the predictors of Cognitive Reappraisal and Behavioral Suppression. In the first place, it was found that Observation, non-Judgment and non-Reactivity turned out to be significant predictors of cognitive reappraisal. On the other hand, it was found that both Total Mindfulness and its Description and Absence of Judgment dimensions significantly predict Suppression. Additionally, sex was found to be a predictor of this last Self-regulation strategy, since male participants scored higher on this dimension. Finally, through a comparison of independent samples, it was found that non-reactivity score differed depending on the sex of participants; while Total Mindfulness, Observation and non- Judgment scores were differentiated based on belonging to a current job

Focus of attention in musical learning and music performance: a systematic review and discussion of focus instructions and outcome measures

The topic of attentional focus (focus of attention, FOA) in musical learning and performance has recently received increasing interest, as the growing number of empirical studies inspired by the established FOA paradigm in sports by Wulf and colleagues in 1998. The current systematical review aims at collecting, abstracting, and categorizing relevant data to show which kinds of FOA instructions were applied in experimental designs and what kinds of dependent variables were used to measure the effects of FOA instruction on musical performance. The three main inclusion criteria in the selection process were experimental design, detailed descriptions of FOA instructions, and outcome measures (OMs). A systematic search was conducted with a complex search term in four scientific databases in March 2023. For presenting and synthesizing results, we used data collection and an inductive-deductive data categorization. Fifteen studies with a total sample size of 401 participants were included out of 387 records initially identified. We collected 53 different FOA instruction citations from the 15 studies and classified them into 9 FOA subcategories, of which the most applied were bodily focus (21%), sound focus (15%), and visual focus (14%). Selected studies used 63 OMs that were abstracted to 10 different OM categories with expert ratings (27%) and acoustical analysis (22%) as the most applied dependent variables. Data categorization and abstraction of additional study information show multiple combinations of FOA instructions, OMs, participants’ instruments and expertise, and musical tasks. Finally, studies show no consistent results of superiority of either external or internal or otherwise different FOA considering positive effects on musical performance. Limitations of the review lie in the small study sample, possible criticism of applied eligibility criteria, and subjectivity of data categorization. We propose a research agenda with a more exploratory approach that comprehensively and qualitatively examines the dimensions of musical goals to create a database that could provide a foundation for developing a music-specific FOA model

Los nuevos requisitos para la formación en Psiquiatría y Psicoterapia. Una nueva perspectiva para la Psiquiatría alemana.

Sin resumen

Psychologische Prädiktoren für das Auftreten einer Major Depression und einer PTBS nach schweren Unfällen

Theoretischer Hintergrund/Fragestellung: Ziel unserer prospektiven Studie war die Identifikation von Prädiktoren für das Auftreten einer Depression im ersten halben Jahr nach einem Unfall. Methode: Es wurden 52 Unfallpatienten untersucht. Die Ersterhebung erfolgte innerhalb der ersten sechs Wochen nach dem Unfall. Ergebnisse: Depressive Patienten gaben kurz nach dem Unfall eine geringere Lebenszufriedenheit und soziale Unterstützung an und berichteten häufiger über psychische Störungen und traumatische Erlebnisse vor dem Unfall als Nicht-Depressive. Außerdem litten sie zum Zeitpunkt der Ersterhebung häufiger unter psychischen Störungen und fühlten sich durch die psychischen Symptome stärker beeinträchtigt. Schlussfolgerung: Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass Patienten mit einem Risiko für die Entwicklung einer Depression bereits kurz nach einem Unfall identifiziert werden können

Los nuevos requisitos para la formación en Psiquiatría y Psicoterapia. Una nueva perspectiva para la Psiquiatría alemana.

Sin resumen

Onset and maintenance of psychiatric disorders after serious accidents

The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate the onset, course, and remission of psychiatric disorders in the first 6months after a serious accident for consecutive patients in a hospital emergency department. Participants were 58 patients aged 18-65 who were assessed shortly after attending a hospital emergency department and were followed up 6months afterwards. Patients were interviewed with regard to past and current psychiatric history using different instruments (e.g. SCID for DSM-IV). Prior to their accidents, 35% of all subjects had experienced one or more psychiatric disorders (lifetime prevalence). Shortly after the accident, the incidence of Acute Stress Disorder (7%), subsyndromal Acute Stress Disorder (12%), and adjustment disorder (1.5%) was increased as a reaction to the accident. At this time, 29% of all patients suffered from an acute psychiatric disorder. Six-months after the accident, 10% of the subjects met criteria for Major Depression, 6% for PTSD, 4% for subsyndromal PTSD, and 1.5% for Specific Phobia as newly developed disorders. The course of the psychiatric disorders shows that those patients who met criteria for any psychiatric diagnosis shortly after the accident ran a much higher risk for developing new or comorbid psychiatric disorders in the futur

Metabolism the Difficile Way: The Key to the Success of the Pathogen Clostridioides difficile

Strains of Clostridioides difficile cause detrimental diarrheas with thousands of deaths worldwide. The infection process by the Gram-positive, strictly anaerobic gut bacterium is directly related to its unique metabolism, using multiple Stickland-type amino acid fermentation reactions coupled to Rnf complex-mediated sodium/proton gradient formation for ATP generation. Major pathways utilize phenylalanine, leucine, glycine and proline with the formation of 3-phenylproprionate, isocaproate, butyrate, 5-methylcaproate, valerate and 5-aminovalerate. In parallel a versatile sugar catabolism including pyruvate formate-lyase as a central enzyme and an incomplete tricarboxylic acid cycle to prevent unnecessary NADH formation completes the picture. However, a complex gene regulatory network that carefully mediates the continuous adaptation of this metabolism to changing environmental conditions is only partially elucidated. It involves the pleiotropic regulators CodY and SigH, the known carbon metabolism regulator CcpA, the proline regulator PrdR, the iron regulator Fur, the small regulatory RNA CsrA and potentially the NADH-responsive regulator Rex. Here, we describe the current knowledge of the metabolic principles of energy generation by C. difficile and the underlying gene regulatory scenarios