Hyperventilation complaints in music performance anxiety among classical music students.

Objective: Despite the importance of respiration and hyperventilation in anxiety disorders, research on breathing disturbances associated with hyperventilation is rare in the field of music performance anxiety (MPA, also known as stage fright). The only comparable study in this area reported a positive correlation between negative feelings of MPA and hyperventilation complaints during performance. The goals of this study were (a) to extend these previous findings to the period before performance, (b) to test whether a positive correlation also exists between hyperventilation complaints and the experience of stage fright as a problem, (c) to investigate instrument-specific symptom reporting, and (d) to confirm gender differences in negative feelings of MPA and hyperventilation complaints reported in other studies. Methods: We assessed 169 university students of classical music with a questionnaire comprising: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for negative feelings of MPA, the Nijmegen Questionnaire for hyperventilation complaints, and a single item for the experience of stage fright as a problem. Results: We found a significant positive correlation between hyperventilation complaints and negative feelings of MPA before performance and a significant positive correlation between hyperventilation complaints and the experience of stage fright as a problem. Wind musicians/singers reported a significantly higher frequency of respiratory symptoms than other musicians. Furthermore, women scored significantly higher on hyperventilation complaints and negative feelings of MPA. Conclusion: These results further the findings of previous reports by suggesting that breathing disturbances associated with hyperventilation may play a role in MPA prior to going on stage. Experimental studies are needed to confirm whether hyperventilation complaints associated with negative feelings of MPA manifest themselves at the physiological level. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cardio respiratory activity in high-anxious vs. low-anxious professional music students before and during performance

Questionnaire studies indicate that high-anxious musicians may suffer from hyperventilation symptoms before and/or during performance. Reported symptoms include amongst others shortness of breath, fast or deep breathing, dizziness and thumping heart. However, no study has yet tested if these self-reported symptoms reflect actual cardio respiratory changes. Disturbances in breathing patterns and hyperventilation may contribute to the often observed poorer performance of anxious musicians under stressful performance situations. The main goal of this study is to determine if music performance anxiety is manifest physiologically in specific correlates of cardio respiratory activity. We studied 74 professional music students divided into two groups (i.e. high-anxious and lowanxious) based on their self-reported performance anxiety in three distinct situations: baseline, private performance (without audience), public performance (with audience). We measured a) breathing patterns, end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2, a good non-invasive estimator for hyperventilation), ECG and b) self-perceived emotions and self-perceived physiological activation. The poster will concentrate on the preliminary results of this study. The focus will be a) on differences between high-anxious and low-anxious musicians regarding breaths per minute and heart rate and b) on the response coherence between self-perceived palpitations and actual heart rate.

Mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical characterisation of white and coloured Iberian marbles in the context of the provenancing of some artefacts from Thamusida (Kenitra, Morocco)

A multi-analytical study has been carried out on a collection of white and coloured Iberian marbles. A total of 135 marble specimens were collected in Spain and Portugal from the Betic chain (Alhaurin de la Torre, Mijas, Macael), Ossa Morena (Alconera, Almaden de la Plata and Viana do Alentejo), and the Estremoz Anticline (Bencatel, Borba and Estremoz) areas. X-ray diffractometry and carbon and oxygen stable isotope analysis were carried out on these samples; 38 samples were also investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results provide a set of diagnostic parameters that allow discriminating the sampled marble quarries. The carbonate minerals composition is distinctive for the Mijas and Alhaurin de la Torre marbles; the isotopic analysis allows discriminating also between these two dolomitic marble quarries. The Ossa Morena and Estremoz Anticline marbles share a similar stable isotope composition; the accessory mineral content, the maximum grain size (MGS) and the fabric are particularly useful in the distinction between them. In the framework of archaeometric provenance studies on Thamusida (Kenitra, Morocco) Roman marble artefacts, a specific comparison between this new Iberian database and archaeological findings has been carried out. The hypothesis of commercial exchanges between the Iberian regions and Roman Morocco is supported by the results of the provenance study, which suggested the Almaden de la Plata and Mijas quarries as possible sources of raw materials for the production of archaeological artefacts.

Clinicopathologic and molecular analysis of a choroidal pigmented schwannoma in the context of a PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome.

PURPOSE: To report the first case of choroidal schwannoma in a patient affected by PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) and investigate the molecular involvement of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and neurofibromin 2 (NF2) genes in this rare intraocular tumor. DESIGN: Observational case report. PARTICIPANT: A 10-year-old girl diagnosed with PHTS. METHODS: The enucleated specimen underwent histologic, immunohistochemical, and transmission electronic microscopy. The expression of PTEN and NF2 and their protein products were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Somatic mutations of PTEN and NF2, as well as allelic loss, were investigated by direct sequencing of DNA extracted from the tumor. PTEN epigenetic silencing was investigated by pyrosequencing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histopathologic and molecular characterization of a choroidal pigmented schwannoma. RESULTS: Histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic analysis demonstrated features consistent with a pigmented cellular schwannoma of the choroid. We found no loss of heterozygosity at the genomic level for the PTEN germline mutation and no promoter hypermethylation or other somatic intragenic mutations. However, we observed an approximate 40% reduction of PTEN expression at both the mRNA and the protein level, indicating that the tumor was nonetheless functionally deficient for PTEN. Although DNA sequencing of NF2 failed to identify any pathologic variants, its expression was abolished within the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first description of a pigmented choroidal schwannoma in the context of a PHTS. This rare tumor showed a unique combination of reduction of PTEN and absence of NF2 expression.

AssociationViewer: a scalable and integrated software tool for visualization of large-scale variation data in genomic context.

SUMMARY: We present a tool designed for visualization of large-scale genetic and genomic data exemplified by results from genome-wide association studies. This software provides an integrated framework to facilitate the interpretation of SNP association studies in genomic context. Gene annotations can be retrieved from Ensembl, linkage disequilibrium data downloaded from HapMap and custom data imported in BED or WIG format. AssociationViewer integrates functionalities that enable the aggregation or intersection of data tracks. It implements an efficient cache system and allows the display of several, very large-scale genomic datasets. AVAILABILITY: The Java code for AssociationViewer is distributed under the GNU General Public Licence and has been tested on Microsoft Windows XP, MacOSX and GNU/Linux operating systems. It is available from the SourceForge repository. This also includes Java webstart, documentation and example datafiles.

'Toxic' and 'Nontoxic': confirming critical terminology concepts and context for clear communication

If 'the dose makes the poison', and if the context of an exposure to a hazard shapes the risk as much as the innate character of the hazard itself, then what is 'toxic' and what is 'nontoxic'? This article is intended to help readers and communicators: anticipate that concepts such as 'toxic' and 'nontoxic' may have different meanings to different stakeholders in different contexts of general use, commerce, science, and the law; recognize specific situations in which terms and related information could potentially be misperceived or misinterpreted; evaluate the relevance, reliability, and other attributes of information for a given situation; control actions, assumptions, interpretations, conclusions, and decisions to avoid flaws and achieve a desired outcome; and confirm that the desired outcome has been achieved. To meet those objectives, we provide some examples of differing toxicology terminology concepts and contexts; a comprehensive decision-making framework for understanding and managing risk; along with a communication and education message and audience-planning matrix to support the involvement of all relevant stakeholders; a set of CLEAR-communication assessment criteria for use by both readers and communicators; example flaws in decision-making; a suite of three tools to assign relevance vs reliability, align know vs show, and refine perception vs reality aspects of information; and four steps to foster effective community involvement and support. The framework and supporting process are generally applicable to meeting any objective.

Psychophysiological activation during preparation, performance, and recovery in high- and low-anxious music students

The present study provides a comprehensive view of (a) the time dynamics of the psychophysiological responding in performing music students (n = 66) before, during, and after a private and a public performance and (b) the moderating effect of music performance anxiety (MPA). Heart rate (HR), minute ventilation (VE), and all affective and somatic self-report variables increased in the public session compared to the private session. Furthermore, the activation of all variables was stronger during the performances than before or after. Differences between phases were larger in the public than in the private session for HR, VE, total breath duration, anxiety, and trembling. Furthermore, while higher MPA scores were associated with higher scores and with larger changes between sessions and phases for self-reports, this association was less coherent for physiological variables. Finally, self-reported intra-individual performance improvements or deteriorations were not associated with MPA. This study makes a novel contribution by showing how the presence of an audience influences low- and high-anxious musicians' psychophysiological responding before, during and after performing. Overall, the findings are more consistent with models of anxiety that emphasize the importance of cognitive rather than physiological factors in MPA.

The Mont-Mort metapelites: Variscan metamorphism and geodynamic context (Brianconnais basement, Western Alps, Switzerland)

The Mont-Mort metapelites are one of the best preserved relies of the Variscan unit in the Brianconnais basement. These micaschists crystallized during a poly-phase metamorphic cycle, under amphibolite facies conditions. Mineral parageneses and geothermobarometric calculations indicate a two-stage evolution. Stage (1) (550-600 degrees C and 5-8 kbar) is documented by assemblages of zoned garnet, staurolite, kyanite(?), biotite, muscovite, quartz and pla gioclase. Stage (2) (550-600 degrees C and 2 kbar) is illustrated by assemblages of andalusite, sillimanite, muscovite, biotite. This metamorphic evolution is characterized by a nearly isothermal decompression path, terminating with the formation of andalusite-bearing veins. U-Pb monazite dates at 330 Ma and Ar-40/Ar-39 muscovite dates at 290-310 Ma (without substantial evidence of argon resetting) point to Variscan metamorphism and yield an estimate of the time interval between the thermal peak and the retrogression stage within this part of the Brianconnais basement. Restoring the Brianconnais and other Alpine basement units within an existing geodynamic model of Cordillera construction and destruction, it is possible to understand better the transition from a medium pressure/high temperature regime (collision with a peak metamorphism around 330 Ma) to low-P/high-T conditions (decompression in an extensional regime) with high geothermal gradient, as recorded by the successive Variscan parageneses within the Mont-Mort metapelites.

Context- and Prosody-Driven ERP Markers for Dialog Focus Perception in Children.

The development of language proficiency extends late into childhood and includes not only producing or comprehending sounds, words and sentences, but likewise larger utterances spanning beyond sentence borders like dialogs. Dialogs consist of information units whose value constantly varies within a verbal exchange. While information is focused when introduced for the first time or corrected in order to alter the knowledge state of communication partners, the same information turns into shared knowledge during the further course of a verbal exchange. In many languages, prosodic means are used by speakers to highlight the informational value of information foci. Our study investigated the developmental pattern of event-related potentials (ERPs) in three age groups (12, 8 and 5 years) when perceiving two information focus types (news and corrections) embedded in short question-answer dialogs. The information foci contained in the answer sentences were either adequately marked by prosodic means or not. In so doing, we questioned to what extent children depend on prosodic means to recognize information foci or whether contextual means as provided by dialog questions are sufficient to guide focus processing.Only 12-year-olds yield prosody-independent ERPs when encountering new and corrective information foci, resembling previous findings in adults. Focus processing in the 8-year-olds relied upon prosodic highlighting, and differing ERP responses as a function of focus type were observed. In the 5-year-olds, merely prosody-driven ERP responses were apparent, but no distinctive ERP indicating information focus recognition. Our findings reveal substantial alterations in information focus perception throughout childhood that are likely related to long-lasting maturational changes during brain development.