Mobile laboratory for respiratory surveys in industry

This paper describes the design and performance of a self-contained mobile respiratory laboratory used for the carrying out of complex lung function tests in epidemiological studies of respiratory disease in industry. The laboratory is equipped to perform all conventional lung function tests other than those involving arterial puncture or radioactive isotopes. It has been shown to have a high level of employee acceptability and technical accuracy.     

The history of evaluation criteria for CAP surveys

I summarize the evolution of target-value assignment methods and laboratory performance assessment (evaluation) within the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Survey Programs and review the importance of, and longstanding interest in, medical relevance criteria in setting analytical goals.     

Questionnaire design and surveys

The authors report a case of septal panniculitis induced by atenolol in a patient with coronary artery disease. Several tender, erythematous, suppurated subcutaneous nodules appeared over the metacarpal-phalanx and interphalanx joints of both hands. Hematology indicated a transient inflammatory immunomediated disorder, with an increase of cytotoxic suppressor lymphocytes and presence of antinuclear antibodies. The dramatic inflammatory involvement of the subcutaneous connective tissue could have eventually progressed toward fibrosis, if atenolol had not been withdrawn. This raises the possibility that retroperitoneal fibrosis, a recognized adverse effect of beta blockers, may just represent the terminal phase of undetected connective tissue inflammation occurring in districts not easily explorable before overt manifestations of the disease. Since retroperitoneal fibrosis has already been associated with migratory panniculitis and described as mesenteric panniculitis, it is tempting to speculate that these manifestations originate from the same mechanisms.     

Employee opinion surveys.

Discusses the potential impact of employee opinion surveys, as demonstrated by the experiences of the San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitive questions in surveys.

Psychologists have worried about the distortions introduced into standardized personality measures by social desirability bias. Survey researchers have had similar concerns about the accuracy of survey reports about such topics as illicit drug use, abortion, and sexual behavior. The article reviews the research done by survey methodologists on reporting errors in surveys on sensitive topics, noting parallels and differences from the psychological literature on social desirability. The findings from the survey studies suggest that misreporting about sensitive topics is quite common and that it is largely situational. The extent of misreporting depends on whether the respondent has anything embarrassing to report and on design features of the survey. The survey evidence also indicates that misreporting on sensitive topics is a more or less motivated process in which respondents edit the information they report to avoid embarrassing themselves in the presence of an interviewer or to avoid repercussions from third parties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instruments for minimally invasive surgery: principles of ergonomic handles

Although the advantages of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) have been clearly established for the patient, the surgeon must cope with disadvantages caused by unergonomic instrument handles. Pressure areas and persisting nerve lesions have been described in the literature. The shape of the instrument handles has been identified as the reason for these disorders. To prevent these, it is necessary to use ergonomically designed handles for MIS instruments. Anatomic, physiologic, and ergonomic facts as well as the results of the authors' own experiences and tests are presented. On this basis, an ideal ergonomic working posture for the laparoscopic surgeon and an optimal grasp for manipulating the instruments' functional elements are recommended. To enable the surgeon to evaluate ergonomic handles for MIS instruments according to his own needs, 14 criteria for genuine "ergonomic handles" are established. On the basis of these criteria, deficiencies of handles currently available (ring and shank handles at an angle or with axial extension to the instrument shaft, and pistol handles) are discussed. Furthermore, new handles, developed by the authors according to the criteria for genuine ergonomic handles, are presented.     

Decision-making effects on compensation surveys: Implications for market wages.

Compensation specialists made 2 survey-sample decisions in a simulated wage survey. Policy-capturing analyses indicate that most specialists relied extensively on 2 of the available cues and consistently applied that policy across judgments. They were not able to accurately estimate their own decision-making policies, as demonstrated by the fact that rationally generated assessments of cue importance were significantly different from their actual policies. Finally, meta-analyses demonstrate that the variation in policies across decision makers could not be attributed to statistical artifacts or any moderators (e.g., salary-survey experience or industry) associated with the demographic data. Thus, different compensation specialists are likely to select a different sample of employers even for the same wage survey. Implications for the relevance of market wages obtained from surveys are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International Instruments on Housing Rights

Housing rights can act to guarantee minimum housing provision for poor and deprived persons, based on respect for human dignity. These rights are now established within many international public law instruments and treaties, as well as national constitutions, laws and curial jurisprudence. There is a growing corpus of law giving greater definition and clarification to state obligations, and the nature and extent of housing rights. Housing rights discourse is expanding from shelter and social housing toward embracing all elements of housing systems, including housing as property, housing finance, infrastructure, environmental, and regulation systems. But beyond regulation of these elements, can these housing rights be integrated into a template for the governance of overall housing systems in the new era of regulation of housing and finance markets?     

A Multisite Comparison of Actuarial Risk Instruments for Sex Offenders.

Four actuarial instruments for the prediction of violent and sexual reoffending (the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide [VRAG], Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide [SORAG], Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offender Recidivism [RRASOR], and Static-99) were evaluated in 4 samples of sex offenders (N = 396). Although all 4 instruments predicted violent (including sexual) recidivism and recidivism known to be sexually motivated, areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were consistently higher for the VRAG and the SORAG. The instruments performed better when there were fewer missing items and follow-up time was fixed, with an ROC area up to .84 for the VRAG, for example, under such favorable conditions. Predictive accuracy was higher for child molesters than for rapists, especially for the Static-99 and the RRASOR. Consistent with past research, survival analyses revealed that those offenders high in both psychopathy and sexual deviance were an especially high-risk group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

国外金属中气体分析仪器简述

本文叙述了80年代末期外国最新的金属中氧、氮,氢分析仪器,并详细介绍了各种型号仪器的性能与规格。     

Gradational adjectives in market surveys.

Out of a survey directed to 800 credit managers, usable responses were received from 69, giving in each case a risk rating (good, fair, poor) for 42 occupations, and a definition of "good," "fair," and "poor" in terms of percent of defaults. "… the adjectives were not found to have as much variation as one might expect, and surprisingly little overlap was found to exist between the areas over which these variations extended. The model points of the definition of g, f, and p in terms of percentage of default are well-defined irrespective of the basis on which the definitions are interpreted… (and)… combination of the respondents' replies yields over-all credit ratings for the various occupations, the order of which tends to be largely invariant of the method of combination used." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response bias in drug surveys.

Examined the problem of exaggerated reporting of drug use on a drug survey questionnaire by including a bogus drug in the survey. An extensive drug survey including questions about the bogus drug was administered to 628 high school students. Results indicate that the admitted users of the bogus drug (n = 24) were significantly different from the other Ss on almost every question concerning drug use (p     

A comparison of mail and telephone interview strategies for mental health surveys

The high cost of mental health surveys of the general population has sparked interest in less costly research methods. Two low-cost mental health survey strategies (mail and telephone) were compared in terms of cost, response rate and quality of data obtained. A total of 1,074 persons agreed to participate in the study as a sample, one-half by telephone and the other half by mail. They completed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule Self-Administered, a questionnaire designed to be self-administered, which was used to assess specific mental disorders and to evaluate risk factors. In addition, 239 respondents who were selected according to the presence or absence of specific diagnoses were reinterviewed face-to-face using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule as an external criterion. The telephone method yielded a better response rate (15% higher) and better control over answers (for example, less missing data). The mail strategy was less expensive and appeared to yield data of slightly better quality, particularly for respondents suffering from anxiety disorders.     

Obtaining written parent permission for school-based health surveys of urban young adolescents

The hmc operon of Desulfovibrio vulgaris subsp. vulgaris Hildenborough consists of six genes (hmcA to hmcF) that encode structural components of the high-molecular-mass cytochrome redox protein complex (the Hmc complex). Two genes (rrf1 and rrf2) encoding regulatory proteins are present downstream of hmcF. Expression of the hmc operon, monitored by incubating protein blots with HmcA-specific or HmcF-specific antibodies, was found to be highest when hydrogen was the sole electron donor for sulfate reduction. Use of lactate or pyruvate as electron donor reduced expression of the hmc operon. A mutant with a deletion of the rrf1 and rrf2 genes was generated with the sacB mutagenesis method. This mutant overexpressed the hmc operon approximately threefold. It grew more rapidly than the wild type when hydrogen was used as the electron donor for sulfate reduction, but more slowly than the wild type when lactate was used. The results indicate that a physiological function of the Hmc complex is in electron flow from hydrogen to sulfate. At least one redox carrier is shared competitively by the hydrogen and lactate oxidation pathways in D. vulgaris.     

A need for alertness to multivariate experimental findings in integrative surveys.

In reviewing the relevant research literature on a specific topic too many investigators include only those studies which are univariate in design to the exclusion of multivariate (correlational) studies. In addition to not presenting a complete coverage of the pertinent research literature, very frequently it happens that these neglected multivariate studies have already answered the question proposed for analysis in a univariate design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)