Development and initial validation of the Music Mood-Regulation Scale (MMRS)

This study designed a measure to assess the perceived effectiveness of music as a strategy to regulate mood among a sport and exercise population. A strategy of assessing and comparing the integrity of competing hypotheses to explain the underlying factor structure of the scale was used. A 21-item Music Mood-Regulation Scale (MMRS) was developed to assess the extent to which participants used music to alter the mood states of anger, calmness, depression, fatigue, happiness, tension, and vigor. Volunteer sport and exercise participants (N = 1,279) rated the perceived effectiveness of music to regulate each MMRS item on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the integrity of four competing models, and results lend support to a correlated 7-factor structure for the MMRS (RCFI = .94; RMSEA = .06). Cronbach alpha coefficients were in the range of 0.74 – 0.88 thus demonstrating the internal reliability of scales. It is suggested that the MMRS shows promising degrees of validity. Future research should assess the extent to which individuals can develop the ability to use music as a strategy to regulate mood in situations in which disturbed mood might be detrimental to performance

The Effects of Lullaby Education on Infant Vocal Development

Background to the research or performance/installation Singing development in infants is characterised by increasingly sophisticated interactions with environmental and maternal sounds (Welch, 2006). The earliest vocal behaviour is crying, with infants displaying an increase in vowel-like sounds and babbling in the early months. There is existing evidence to suggest that the development of this early language development is positively related to the amount of time devoted daily to singing by mothers. Interdisciplinary issues This paper presents findings from a structured postnatal intervention programme aimed at teaching new mothers lullabies and nursery songs. The paper presents important practical and theoretical findings beneficial to parents, early years practitioners, health visitors, and community musicians. The issue/hypothesis under investigation The purpose of the present study was to examine whether a structured programme to encourage parental singing had a positive impact on infant vocal development. This paper adopted a mixed- methods approach to examine the interaction of maternal and infant vocal play on the subsequent development of early vocal and language activity. The primary hypothesis advanced is that a structured short course in lullaby and nursery singing will facilitate the initiation of early vocal development in babies. Findings/description Findings from the present study supported the hypothesis, demonstrating that such intervention programmes were able to positively benefit early infant vocal development, and facilitate mother and baby communication and interaction. Qualitative find ings also supported the use of lullaby singing in facilitating maternal bonding, a factor which mothers with post-natal depression found to be particularly helpful. Conclusions/future directions The first year of life is characterised by increasingly diverse vocal activity. Findings from the present study support the use of such an intervention programme. The present study has examined a small pilot of such a programme, although further studies ar e required to examine the possibility of such programmes being made available to a larger number of new mothe

The Influence of Mechanical Properties Associated with Exercise Equipment Padding on Maximizing Performance and Minimizing Potential Soft-Tissue Injury when Performing High-Intensity Weight Lifting Exercises

The intention of this study is the measurement of mechanical properties such as resilience and compressibility associated with exercise equipment padding in order to determine the ability to minimize potential soft-tissue injuries while performing high-intensity weight lifting exercises. ASTM standards were used to test the resilience and compressibility of five different exercise equipment padding specimens. The specimens consisted of standard bench press foam, composite foam, polyethylene foam, a single yoga mat foam, and double yoga mat foam. The resilience and compressibility are tested to determine the amount of deformation each sample can experience and the level of energy returned back to the user while performing high-intensity weight lifting exercises. To obtain the data for the resilience test a testing-rig was first designed and assembled for the specific needs of testing exercise equipment padding according to ASTM Standard D3574-17. Three tests were performed on each sample, noting the percentage of rebound, and the mean value for each specific specimen was calculated as the final value. A second round of testing occurred on the same specimens using a one-and-a-half-inch piece of plywood under the specimen. The testing revealed the standard bench press foam to have the highest resilience at 37.8%, and the polyethylene foam to have the lowest resilience at 8%. The second round of testing also showed the standard bench press foam to have the highest resilience at 33.2% and the polyethylene foam to have the lowest at 5.2%

Rehabilitation Therapy in Older Acute Heart Failure Patients (REHAB-HF) trial: Design and rationale.

BACKGROUND: Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a leading cause of hospitalization in older persons in the United States. Reduced physical function and frailty are major determinants of adverse outcomes in older patients with hospitalized ADHF. However, these are not addressed by current heart failure (HF) management strategies and there has been little study of exercise training in older, frail HF patients with recent ADHF. HYPOTHESIS: Targeting physical frailty with a multi-domain structured physical rehabilitation intervention will improve physical function and reduce adverse outcomes among older patients experiencing a HF hospitalization. STUDY DESIGN: REHAB-HF is a multi-center clinical trial in which 360 patients ≥60 years hospitalized with ADHF will be randomized either to a novel 12-week multi-domain physical rehabilitation intervention or to attention control. The goal of the intervention is to improve balance, mobility, strength and endurance utilizing reproducible, targeted exercises administered by a multi-disciplinary team with specific milestones for progression. The primary study aim is to assess the efficacy of the REHAB-HF intervention on physical function measured by total Short Physical Performance Battery score. The secondary outcome is 6-month all-cause rehospitalization. Additional outcome measures include quality of life and costs. CONCLUSIONS: REHAB-HF is the first randomized trial of a physical function intervention in older patients with hospitalized ADHF designed to determine if addressing deficits in balance, mobility, strength and endurance improves physical function and reduces rehospitalizations. It will address key evidence gaps concerning the role of physical rehabilitation in the care of older patients, those with ADHF, frailty, and multiple comorbidities

Development of Recreational use Patterns at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, 1963-1965

Three major occurrences in recent years have emphasized a need for new data concerning reservoir-based recreation patterns. These occurrences were: (1) the increased rate of construction of new, large reservoirs by federal agencies; (2) the increasing demand for recreation space and fishing water; and (3) the establishment of large national recreation areas around federal reservoirs

Cation- and vacancy-ordering in Li_xCoO_2

Using a combination of first-principles total energies, a cluster expansion technique, and Monte Carlo simulations, we have studied the Li/Co ordering in LiCoO_2 and Li-vacancy/Co ordering in CoO_2. We find: (i) A ground state search of the space of substitutional cation configurations yields the (layered) CuPt structure as the lowest-energy state in the octahedral system LiCoO_2 (and CoO_2), in agreement with the experimentally observed phase. (ii) Finite temperature calculations predict that the solid-state order- disorder transitions for LiCoO_2 and CoO_2 occur at temperatures (~5100 K and ~4400 K, respectively) much higher than melting, thus making these transitions experimentally inaccessible. (iii) The energy of the reaction E(LiCoO_2) - E(CoO_2) - E(Li) gives the average battery voltage V of a Li_xCoO_2/Li cell. Searching the space of configurations for large average voltages, we find that CuPt (a monolayer superlattice) has a high voltage (V=3.78 V), but that this could be increased by cation randomization (V=3.99 V), partial disordering (V=3.86 V), or by forming a 2-layer Li_2Co_2O_4 superlattice along (V=4.90 V).Comment: 12 Pages, RevTeX galley format, 5 figures embedded using epsf Phys. Rev. B (in press, 1998

The Role of Symbolic Gesturing in Family Communication

Background to the research or performance/installation Research examining the impact of symbolic gesturing has predominantly focused on the effects of such programmes on the cognitive development and language acquisition of the infant, with experience of using symbolic gesturing indicating faster language acquisition and higher IQ. Interdisciplinary issues Extending understanding of the value of symbolic gesturing is of both practical and theoretical significance to early years practitioners, psychologists, linguists and musicians. The issue/hypothesis under investigation The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of symbolic gesturing, focusing particularly on the development of communication models between siblings. Among the hypotheses advanced, this study proposed that symbolic gesturing would enable young children, in this instance siblings, to more successfully initiate communication and episodes of interaction. Findings/Description Participants included 93 infants divided into three groups, one group of 'signing infants' with older 'signing' siblings, a group of 'signing infants' with no siblings, and a control group of infants / siblings who had not participated in any signing programme . Analyses indicated that infants in the symbolic gesturing group participated in joint sibling interaction more frequently. In addition, infants in the same group initiated sibling communication significantly mo re often, with evidence of spontaneous gesturing being used between siblings. Conclusions/future directions The pattern of results supports the hypothesis that symbolic gesturing may make a position contribution to the development of communication within the family unit, in particular in the development of both siblings language and communication skills

Attitude Control Subsystem for the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite

This paper provides an overview of the on-orbit operation of the Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) for the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). The three ACTS control axes are defined, including the means for sensing attitude and determining the pointing errors. The desired pointing requirements for various modes of control as well as the disturbance torques that oppose the control are identified. Finally, the hardware actuators and control loops utilized to reduce the attitude error are described

Developing and Evaluating Teamwork Skills using an Interprofessional Simulated Discharge Planning Meeting

Purpose: The Clinical Discharge Scenario (CDS) provides students the opportunity to work as an interprofessional team in a simulated scenario. Evaluating student competence in teamwork skills provides insight into their ability to work as effective team members. Background: A literature review reveals the majority of tools assessing student learning in interprofessional education (IPE) measure satisfaction, attitudes and knowledge (Abu-Rish et al., 2012). Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model proposes a hierarchy of changes as a result of training (Kirkpatrick, 1979). At the highest level is transfer of learning to change behavior. Assessment of IPE influenced behavior change is limited (Abu-Rish et al., 2012). Description of Intervention: Interprofessional student teams participate in a simulated discharge planning meeting with an elder female patient and her adult daughter (standardized patients). Student teams develop a discharge plan for the patient. Teamwork is assessed via Team Observation checklists (Herge, et al, 2015) completed by faculty observers and standardized patients. Students debrief with faculty and standardized patients and complete a posttest identifying one thing they learned from the experience. Results: Three years of data spring 2014-2016 was analyzed. Preliminary results indicate students were rated as above average on team skills. Thematic analysis of the posttest revealed 7 themes: communication, client centered care, meeting structure, IPE teams, family/caregiver, student experience and difficult patient. Conclusion: The CDS is an effective way for students to practice teamwork skills in a simulated environment. Evaluating student behavior in this setting provides data regarding student ability to apply learning and demonstrate teamwork skills. Relevance to Interprofessional Education: The Institute of Medicine report (IOM, 2015) calls for greater measurement of IPE impact on practice and behavior change. Simulated patient encounters provide students the opportunity to practice teamwork skills and faculty to measure student teamwork skills as related to IPE. Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session participants will: Recognize the value of simulated learning activities in interprofessional education. Describe the learning outcomes of an interprofessional simulated team activity. Identify ways to evaluate performance as an outcome of interprofessional education in their own educational/clinical setting. References: 1. Abu-Rish, E., Kim, S., Choe, L., Varpio, L., Malik, E., White, A. A. & Thigpen, A. (2012). Current trends in interprofessional education of health sciences students: A literature review. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 26(6):444-451. 2. Kirkpatrick, D. L., (1979). Techniques for evaluating training programs. Training and Development Journal. 33(6):178-192. 3. Herge, E. A., Hsieh, C., Waddell-Terry, T. & Keats, P. (2015). A simulated clinical skills scenario to teach interprofessional teamwork to health profession students. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development. 2:27-34. doi:10.4137/JMECD.S18928 4. Institute of Medicine (2015). Measuring the impact of interprofessional education on collaboration and patient outcomes. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press