Beurteilung von Musik. Gibt es Unterschiede zwischen Musikexperten und Laien?

Der Einfluß der musikalischen Vorbildung auf die Musikbeurteilung wird von den Autorinnen näher betrachten. Gibt es Unterschiede in den persönlichen Musikpräferenzen von Musikexperten und Laien? Wie unterscheidet sich ihre Beurteilung von konkreten Musikbeispielen? Ziehen Experten und Laien unterschiedliche Gesichtspunkte heran, um ihre persönliche Musik zu charakterisieren? (DIPF/Orig.

Multi-Sensor Arrays for Online Monitoring of Cell Dynamics in in vitro Studies with Choroid Plexus Epithelial Cells

Sensors and multi-sensor arrays are the basis of new technologies for the non-label monitoring of cell activity. In this paper we show that choroid plexus cells can be cultured on silicon chips and that sensors register in real time changes in their activity, constituting an interesting experimental paradigm for cell biology and medical research. To validate the signals recorded (metabolism = peri-cellular acidification, oxygen consumption = respiration; impedance = adhesion, cell shape and motility) we performed experiments with compounds that act in a well-known way on cells, influencing these parameters. Our in vitro model demonstrates the advantages of multi-sensor arrays in assessment and experimental characterization of dynamic cellular events—in this case in choroid plexus functions, however with applicability to other cell types as well

Cannabidivarin for HIV‐Associated Neuropathic Pain: A Randomized, Blinded, Controlled Clinical Trial

HIV remains a major burden to the health care system and neuropathic pain is the most common neurological complication of HIV infection. Because current treatment strategies often lack satisfying pain relief, cannabinoids (CBs) are discussed as a new option. We investigated cannabidivarin (CBDV) as treatment for HIV-associated neuropathic pain. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Patients underwent two successive treatment phases (4 weeks each) and were treated with CBDV (400 mg/day) or placebo in a randomized order. A 3-week washout phase was designed to eliminate potential carry-over effects. Patients were followed up for 3 weeks after the end of the second treatment phase. The primary end point was pain intensity on an 11-point numeric rating scale, recorded in a diary. Secondary end points were additional pain medication, pain characteristics, and quality of life. We included 32 patients. The mean pain intensity under CBDV was 0.62 points higher compared with placebo (P = 0.16, 95% confidence interval -0.27 to 1.51). CBDV did not influence the amount of additional pain medication, pain characteristics, or quality of life. The incidence of adverse events was similar during both treatments. No suspected unexpected adverse reactions occurred during either treatment. CBDV was safe but failed to reduce neuropathic pain in patients with HIV. This may be explained by a lack of CB receptor activation, as indicated by preclinical experiments. Although a larger patient number might be desirable, we would not expect a change in the conclusions because the present differences are far from statistical significance. Therefore, we would currently not consider CBDV as a clinically meaningful treatment option for neuropathic pain

Multi-Sensor Arrays for Online Monitoring of Cell Dynamics in in vitro Studies with Choroid Plexus Epithelial Cells

Sensors and multi-sensor arrays are the basis of new technologies for the non-label monitoring of cell activity. In this paper we show that choroid plexus cells can be cultured on silicon chips and that sensors register in real time changes in their activity, constituting an interesting experimental paradigm for cell biology and medical research. To validate the signals recorded (metabolism = peri-cellular acidification, oxygen consumption = respiration; impedance = adhesion, cell shape and motility) we performed experiments with compounds that act in a well-known way on cells, influencing these parameters. Our in vitro model demonstrates the advantages of multi-sensor arrays in assessment and experimental characterization of dynamic cellular events—in this case in choroid plexus functions, however with applicability to other cell types as well

Cardiac autonomic neuropathy in patients with diabetes and no symptoms of coronary artery disease: comparison of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy and heart rate variability

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in a cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes, truly asymptomatic for coronary artery disease (CAD), using heart rate variability (HRV) and (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-mIBG) myocardial scintigraphy. METHODS The study group comprised 88 patients with type 2 diabetes prospectively recruited from an outpatient diabetes clinic. In all patients myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, CAN by HRV and (123)I-mIBG myocardial scintigraphy were performed. Two or more abnormal tests were defined as CAN-positive (ECG-based CAN) and one or fewer as CAN-negative. CAN assessed by (123)I-mIBG scintigraphy was defined as abnormal if the heart-to-mediastinum ratio was 25%, or the total defect score was >13. RESULTS The prevalence of CAN in patients asymptomatic for CAD with type 2 diabetes and normal myocardial perfusion assessed by HRV and (123)I-mIBG scintigraphy was respectively, 27% and 58%. Furthermore, in almost half of patients with normal HRV, (123)I-mIBG scintigraphy showed CAN. CONCLUSION The current study revealed a high prevalence of CAN in patients with type 2 diabetes. Secondly, disagreement between HRV and (123)I-mIBG scintigraphy for the assessment of CAN was observed.Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog

Feindstrafrecht - Eine kritische Analyse

Der auf Günther Jakobs zurückgehende Begriff des Feindstrafrechts hat in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Aktualität gewonnen und ist aus der Debatte um die Gewichtung von sich widersprechenden Sicherheits- und Freiheitsinteressen im Rahmen laufender Gesetzgebungsverfahren kaum noch wegzudenken, gerade wenn brisante und medienwirksame Bereiche wie die Anti-Terror-Gesetzgebung oder das Sexualstrafrecht betroffen sind.Geraldine Morguet analysiert zunächst den Begriff des Feindstrafrechts, indem das zugrunde liegende Theorienmodell und die äußeren Merkmale herausgearbeitet werden. In einem zweiten Schritt wird das geltende Strafrecht (auch anhand von Beispielen aus Kriminalpolitik und Rechtsprechung) auf übereinstimmende Eigenschaften untersucht. Dabei belegt nicht zuletzt der anschließende Vergleich mit ausländischen Rechtssetzungsentwicklungen (v. a. Kolumbien, GB), dass sich der Strafgesetzgeber auch zukünftig kaum der Einbeziehung tendenziell "feindstrafrechtlicher" Maßnahmen verwehren wird. Schließlich wird herausgestellt, dass Feindstrafrecht z. T. durchaus zweckerfüllend, also geeignet und erforderlich sein kann, bestimmte Kriminalitätsbereiche effektiv zu bekämpfen. Dagegen richtet sich die nachfolgende Prüfung der Verhältnismäßigkeit selbstverständlich nach den Schranken, die das Grundgesetz dem strafrechtlichen Regelungsinstrumentarium vorgibt. Daraus folgt nicht nur die Unvereinbarkeit des Feindstrafrechts mit grundlegenden Verfassungsprinzipien, sondern auch, dass die Jakobssche Konstruktion, soweit sie über die bei ihm benannten Merkmale hinausgeht, sich nicht mit dem tatsächlich praktizierden Recht deckt. Damit bleibt das Modell eben im Wesentlichen theoretisch, auch wenn es sonst durchaus geeignet ist, die mit der gegenwärtigen Maschinerie von Bekämpfungs- und Sicherheitsgesetzgebung einhergehenden Gefahren eindringlich vor Augen zu führen

Comparison Of Approaches To Continuous Hand Gesture Recognition For A Visual Dialog System

Continuous hand gesture recognition requires the detection of gestures in a video stream and their classification. In this paper two continuous recognition solutions using HiddenMarkov -Models (HMMs) are compared. The first approach uses a motion detection algorithm to isolate gesture candidates followed by a HMM recognition step. The second approach is a single-stage, HMM-based spotting method improved by a new implicit duration modeling. Both strategies have been tested on continuous video data containing 41 different types of gestures embedded in random motion. The data has been derived from usability experiments with an application providing a realistic visual dialog scenario. The results show that the improved spotting method in contrast to the motion detection approach can successfully suppress random motion providing excellent recognition results. 1. INTRODUCTION Gestures are an efficient communication modality in many everyday situations. To study and optimize the possible use..

An Integral Stochastic Approach To Image Sequence Segmentation And Classification

Finding and identifying characteristic or meaningful image sequences in a continuous video stream is a challenging task with many applications. This paper presents a new and efficient approach to these temporal segmentation and classification problems based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). The basic principle consists in continuously observing the output scores of the HMMs at every time step. Peaks, which appear in the individual HMM output scores, allow to determine in an integral way which image sequence occured at what time. The application of our method to the spotting of connected dynamic hand gestures provided excellent recognition results and a high temporal accuracy. 1. INTRODUCTION The validity and performance of a HMM-based approach to the classification of isolated image sequences have been recently demonstrated by some works (e. g. [1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]). All of these works deal with manually labeled image sequence material. However, many applications in a natural environment..

A Universal HMM-Based Approach to Image Sequence Classification

In this paper a universal approach to the classification of video image sequences by Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) is presented. The extraction of low level features allows the HMM to build an internal image representation using standard training algorithms. As a result, the states of the HMMs contain probability density functions, so called image density functions, which reflect the structure of the underlying images preserving their geometry. The successful application of the approach to both the recognition of dynamic head and hand gestures demonstrates the universal validity and sensitivity of our method. Even sequences containing only small detail changes are reliably recognized. 1. Introduction Vision based gesture recognition has many applications in natural and intuitive human-machine-communication, telecommunications, and robotics. Since gestures are dynamic processes, they require methods for the classification of image sequences. Statistical approaches using HMMs applied t..