Die Umstellung der Anlage der Heubeck-Richttafeln von Perioden- auf Generationentafeln: Wirkungen auf den Steuervorteil, auf Prognoserechnungen und auf die Kosten des Arbeitgebers einer Pensionszusage

--

Psychophysiological effects of synchronous versus asynchronous music during cycling

"This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in (https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2014&issue=02000&article=00024&type=abstract )"Purpose: Synchronizing movement to a musical beat may reduce the metabolic cost of exercise, but findings to date have been equivocal. Our aim was to examine the degree to which the synchronous application of music moderates the metabolic demands of a cycle ergometer task. Methods: Twenty-three recreationally active men made two laboratory visits. During the first visit, participants completed a maximal incremental ramp test on a cycle ergometer. At the second visit, they completed four randomized 6-min cycling bouts at 90% of ventilatory threshold (control, metronome, synchronous music, and asynchronous music). Main outcome variables were oxygen uptake, HR, ratings of dyspnea and limb discomfort, affective valence, and arousal. Results: No significant differences were evident for oxygen uptake. HR was lower under the metronome condition (122 T 15 bpm) compared to asynchronous music (124 T 17 bpm) and control (125 T 16 bpm). Limb discomfort was lower while listening to the metronome (2.5 T 1.2) and synchronous music (2.3 T 1.1) compared to control (3.0 T 1.5). Both music conditions, synchronous (1.9 T 1.2) and asynchronous (2.1 T 1.3), elicited more positive affective valence compared to metronome (1.2 T 1.4) and control (1.2 T 1.2), while arousal was higher with synchronous music (3.4 T 0.9) compared to metronome (2.8 T 1.0) and control (2.8 T 0.9). Conclusions: Synchronizing movement to a rhythmic stimulus does not reduce metabolic cost but may lower limb discomfort. Moreover, synchronous music has a stronger effect on limb discomfort and arousal when compared to asynchronous music

A measure of kinematic limb instability modulation by rhythmic auditory stimulation

Abstract A mathematical method based on computations of residual absolute value sums (RAVS) was developed for the quantitative analysis of tremor-like perturbations of knee angle during the gait cycle. The method was tested on simulation data created by adding sinusoidal tremor of varying frequency and amplitude to the knee-angle graph of a healthy test subject. The method was then applied to compare knee tremor reduction, with and without auditory rhythm, in a group of "ve traumatically brain-injured patients with gait hemiparesis. Deviations from normal gait performance due to tremor were assessed by using self-comparison to a 17th-degree regression polynomial of each subject's own motion-, time-, and point-normalized knee-angle curve. With rhythmic cueing, the "ve subjects had a statistically signi"cant RAVS-measured mean tremor reduction of 39.5$22.6% (t"!3.91; p"0.017)

Musical Neglect Training for Chronic Persistent Unilateral Visual Neglect Post-stroke

Unilateral visual neglect from right hemispheric stroke is a condition that reduces a person's ability to attend to and process stimuli in their left visual field, resulting in neglect and inattention to the left side of their environment. This perceptual processing deficit can negatively affect individuals' daily living which in turn reduces functional independence. Musical Neglect Training (MNT) has been developed based on previous research evidence to improve left visual field processing. Two individuals with persistent chronic unilateral visual neglect participated in this study. Participants underwent six individual MNT sessions. Active MNT was used involving exercises on musical equipment (tone bars) to complete musical patterns emphasizing attentional focus toward the neglect visual field. Two standardized assessments (Albert's and Line Bisection Test) were used. The assessments were administered immediately before and after each of the 6 MNT sessions to assess the within-session effect of MNT. Follow-up testing was done 1 week after their 6th session to examine the longer-lasting effects of MNT. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to examine results. Both participants showed significant improvement pre vs. posttest on the Albert's Test but not on the Line Bisection Test. The current study presents the positive potential of MNT for patients with chronic persistent visual neglect. In particular, effects were shown for exploratory visuomotor neglect (Albert's test), but not for egocentric perceptive neglect (Line Bisection Test), and substantiated for within-session effects only. The predictable auditory stimulus patterns associated with object sequences (tone bars) to provide feedback, direct spatial attention and orientation, and initiate intention for movement into the neglect field may offer specific advantages to reduce persistent perceptual attention deficits

Herausforderungen und Best Practices bei der Entwicklung von Geschäftsmodellen für Forschungsdatenzentren am Fallbeispiel FDZ Bildung

Diese Veröffentlichung geht zurück auf eine Masterarbeit im Studiengang Digitales Datenmanagement, M. A. an der Fachhochschule Potsdam und der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.Forschungsdatenzentren (FDZ) sehen sich zunehmend einer wachsenden zu archivierenden Datenmenge gegenüberstehen. Dies wirft Fragen nach den zur Verfügung stehenden Ressourcen der FDZ auf. Da diese begrenzt sind, setzen sich einige FDZ verstärkt damit auseinander, die entstehenden Aufwände und Kosten bei der Datenarchivierung und -bereitstellung zu reduzieren bzw. durch zusätzliche Einnahmen weitere Ressourcen zu akquirieren. In der vorliegenden Masterarbeit steht die Entwicklung von Geschäftsmodellen für FDZ im Fokus, wobei speziell auch die Kostenbeteiligung der Datenproduzierenden als mögliche zusätzliche Einnahmequelle für FDZ betrachtet wird. Als Fallbeispiel dient das Forschungsdatenzentrum Bildung (FDZ Bildung). Die gestellten Forschungsfragen lauten: Welchen Herausforderungen begegnen FDZ bei der Entwicklung von Geschäftsmodellen und welche Best Practices bestehen bereits? Wie können diese bei der Entwicklung eines Geschäftsmodells für das FDZ Bildung berücksichtigt werden? Um die Fragen zu beantworten, wurden Expert*innen aus verschiedenen FDZ und dem FDZ Bildung zu den eigenen Aufgaben, Aufwänden und Ressourcen sowie zu Erfahrungen und Einschätzungen zum Thema Geschäftsmodell-Entwicklung interviewt. Die Diskussion der Ergebnisse mit Blick auf das FDZ Bildung zeigt, dass Geschäftsmodelle einen ganzheitlichen Ansatz bieten, Tätigkeiten von FDZ zu beschreiben und zu analysieren. Es gibt verschiedene Ansätze, die FDZ in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem eigenen Geschäftsmodell und vor dem Hintergrund von Ressourcenengpässen in den Blick nehmen können. Insbesondere eine Flexibilisierung der Angebote und die Beteiligung von Datengebenden an den Kosten stellen mögliche Ansätze dar

Evaluation of a Group Music Intervention to Support School-Readiness Skills in Preschool Children with Hearing Loss

Although children with hearing loss are now often integrated into mainstream classrooms, many do not begin school with age-appropriate school-readiness skills. Traditional therapies in early listening and spoken language programs rarely focus on developing the social skills, executive functions, and motor abilities needed for the typical classroom environment of friends, academics, and play. The question, then, is how to incorporate group activities into traditional therapies in order to build skills in these areas, and whether or not the use of music and its social aspects could support this. A quasi randomized, group, facilitated, music intervention was conducted to help support school readiness skill development in preschool aged children with hearing loss. Standardized testing was used to measure outcomes, and although improvement in skills was observed during the intervention, all test results were nonsignificant. Families reported overall improvement in skills and enjoyment of the intervention. Questions arise regarding the limits of standardized measures and the possibility of adding observational assessments for studies measuring function in social settings to better capture change

Influence of music therapy on coping skills and anger management in forensic psychiatric patients: An exploratory study

The effect of music therapy on anger management and coping skills is an innovative subject in the field of forensic psychiatry. This study explores the following research question: Can music therapy treatment contribute to positive changes in coping skills, anger management, and dysfunctional behavior of forensic psychiatric patients? To investigate this question, first a literature review is offered on music therapy and anger management in forensic psychiatry. Then, an explorative study is presented. In the study, a pre- and post-test design was used with a random assignment of patients to either treatment or control condition. Fourteen participants’ complete datasets were collected. All participants received “treatment as usual.” Nine of the participants received a standardized, music therapy anger management program; the five controls received, unplanned, an aggression management program. Results suggested that anger management skills improved for all participants. The improvement of positive coping skills and diminishing of avoidance as a coping skill were measured to show greater changes in music therapy participants. When controlling for the exact number of treatment hours, the outcomes suggested that music therapy might accelerate the process of behavioral changes

Brain Networks for Integrative Rhythm Formation

Performance of externally paced rhythmic movements requires brain and behavioral integration of sensory stimuli with motor commands. The underlying brain mechanisms to elaborate beat-synchronized rhythm and polyrhythms that musicians readily perform may differ. Given known roles in perceiving time and repetitive movements, we hypothesized that basal ganglia and cerebellar structures would have greater activation for polyrhythms than for on-the-beat rhythms.Using functional MRI methods, we investigated brain networks for performing rhythmic movements paced by auditory cues. Musically trained participants performed rhythmic movements at 2 and 3 Hz either at a 1:1 on-the-beat or with a 3:2 or a 2:3 stimulus-movement structure. Due to their prior musical experience, participants performed the 3:2 or 2:3 rhythmic movements automatically. Both the isorhythmic 1:1 and the polyrhythmic 3:2 or 2:3 movements yielded the expected activation in contralateral primary motor cortex and related motor areas and ipsilateral cerebellum. Direct comparison of functional MRI signals obtained during 3:2 or 2:3 and on-the-beat rhythms indicated activation differences bilaterally in the supplementary motor area, ipsilaterally in the supramarginal gyrus and caudate-putamen and contralaterally in the cerebellum.The activated brain areas suggest the existence of an interconnected brain network specific for complex sensory-motor rhythmic integration that might have specificity for elaboration of musical abilities

Questioning Classic Patient Classification Techniques in Gait Rehabilitation: Insights from Wearable Haptic Technology

Classifying stroke survivors based on their walking abilities is an important part of the gait rehabilitation process. It can act as powerful indicator of function and prognosis in both the early days after a stroke and long after a survivor receives rehabilitation. This classification often relies solely on walking speed; a quick and easy measure, with only a stopwatch needed. However, walking speed may not be the most accurate way of judging individual’s walking ability. Advances in technology mean we are now in a position where ubiquitous and wearable technologies can be used to elicit much richer measures to characterise gait. In this paper we present a case study from one of our studies, where within a homogenous group of stroke survivors (based on walking speed classification) important differences in individual results and the way they responded to rhythmic haptic cueing were identified during the piloting of a novel gait rehabilitation technique

Auditory feedback decreases timing variability for discontinuous and continuous motor tasks in autistic adults

IntroductionAutistic individuals demonstrate greater variability and timing error in their motor performance than neurotypical individuals, likely due at least in part to atypical cerebellar characteristics and connectivity. These motor difficulties may differentially affect discrete as opposed to continuous movements in autistic individuals. Augmented auditory feedback has the potential to aid motor timing and variability due to intact auditory-motor pathways in autism and high sensitivity in autistic individuals to auditory stimuli.MethodsThis experiment investigated whether there were differences in timing accuracy and variability in autistic adults as a function of task (discontinuous vs. continuous movements) and condition (augmented auditory feedback vs. no auditory feedback) in a synchronization-continuation paradigm. Ten autistic young adults aged 17–27 years of age completed the within-subjects study that involved drawing circles at 800 milliseconds intervals on a touch screen. In the discontinuous task, participants traced a series of discrete circles and paused at the top of each circle for at least 60 milliseconds. In the continuous task, participants traced the circles without pausing. Participants traced circles in either a non-auditory condition, or an auditory condition in which they heard a tone each time that they completed a circle drawing.ResultsParticipants had significantly better timing accuracy on the continuous timing task as opposed to the discontinuous task. Timing consistency was significantly higher for tasks performed with auditory feedback.DiscussionThis research reveals that motor difficulties in autistic individuals affect discrete timing tasks more than continuous tasks, and provides evidence that augmented auditory feedback may be able to mitigate some of the timing variability present in autistic persons’ movements. These results provide support for future investigation on the use of music-based therapies involving auditory feedback to address motor dysfunction in autistic individuals