Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance.

Addresses issues related to partial measurement invariance using a tutorial approach based on the {lisrel} confirmatory factor analytic model. Specifically, we demonstrate procedures for (a) using "sensitivity analyses" to establish stable and substantively well-fitting baseline models, (b) determining partially invariant measurement parameters, and (c) testing for the invariance of factor covariance and mean structures, given partial measurement invariance. We also show, explicitly, the transformation of parameters from an all-X to an all-Y model specification, for purposes of testing mean structures. These procedures are illustrated with multidimensional self-concept data from low (n?=?248) and high (n?=?582) academically tracked high school adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential diagnosis of attention deficit and conduct disorders using conditional probabilities.

Attention deficit and conduct disorders require an important yet often difficult differential diagnosis. Prior efforts to determine which symptoms are optimal for making this differential diagnosis have been limited by a reliance on statistics that do not supply the probability of the disorders given a symptom's presence (positive predictive power) or the probability that the disorder is not present given the absence of the symptom (negative predictive power). This investigation examined the utility of these latter statistics in the differential diagnosis of childhood attention deficit and conduct disorders. The data consisted of symptoms from a standardized maternal psychiatric interview collected for a sample of 76 clinic-referred boys. Results indicated that some symptoms are optimal as inclusion criteria, some as exclusion criteria, some as neither, and some as both. Furthermore, some symptoms that have been traditionally associated with the diagnosis of one disorder were actually found to be more useful in the diagnosis of the other disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The dismantling of our health system: Strategies for the survival of psychological practice": A reply to Cummings.

Comments on the original article, The dismantling of our health system: Strategies for the survival of psychological practice by Nicholas A. Cummings (see record 1986-22651-001). In response to this article, the current author says "no, no, no!" He believes that "survival with this degree of compromise amounts to doing anything for a buck." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and histopathological aspects of 113 necrotizing malignant melanomas of the choroid. 1. Clinical and histological features of necrotizing choroidal melanomas

BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis may reflect a destructive immune reaction. Systematic and statistically significant comparative clinico-histopathologic studies have not yet been reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 113 necrotizing choroidal melanomas (NCM) recruited from 701 enucleated globes 1967-1988 were resectioned, stained and compared to 100 choroidal melanomas without necrosis (CM), and data of 74 patients with a follow-up of more than 10 years were evaluated. RESULTS: Statistically significant characteristics of NCM were: patient age < 60 yrs. for NCM 27.4%, CM 46%; patient age in men for NCM was 64 yrs on average (CM: 58 yrs.), in women for NCM 67 yrs. (CM: 59 yrs.). Time elapsed between first symptoms and enucleation was < 12 months in 15.9% of NCM (89% for CM), and > 12 months in 23.9% of NCM (11% in CM). Mixed or epitheloid cell tumors was seen in 54.9% of NCM and 49% of CM, spindle cell tumors in 36.3% of NCM and 51% in CM. Advanced tumor stages T3 and T4 were present in 45.1% resp. 36.3% of NCM compared to 37% resp. 16% in CM. Scleral invasion was documented in 67.3% of NCM and 37% of CM, extrascleral dissemination in 43% of NCM and 16% of CM. Secondary glaucomas were seen in 62.2% of NCM and 6% CM, a penetration through Bruch's membrane in 61.0% of NCM and 46% of CM. Intratumoral hemorrhage was noted in 68.14% of NCM and 24% of CM, extratumoral bleeding in 23.9% of NCM and 0% CM. Inflammatory reactions in tumors were observed in 96.7% of NCM harboring > 30% necrosis compared to 5% in CM, and extratumoral in 94.5% of NCM and 0% of CM. Intraocular extratumoral necrosis was seen in 23.9% of NCM and 0% of CM. There were no significant differences in the degree of pigmentation of the 90.3% pigmented NCM or of the 94% pigmented CM, neither in the tumor localization, being constantly behind the equator in 87% of cases. Survival of patients with NCM patients was 5 years and 9 months on average (5-year mortality rate 41.9%), and 74.3% were deceased from metastatic spread. CONCLUSIONS: Significant clinical and histopathological differences between necrotizing and non-necrotizing malignant melanomas of the choroid can be identified. The inflammatory reaction of NCM must be further elucidated, particularly with respect to the nature of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.     

Effect of exercise on the plasma nonesterified fatty acid composition of dogs and goats: Species with different aerobic capacities and diets

The goals of this study were to determine: (i) whether mammals mobilize particular nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) preferentially during locomotion, (ii) if differences in aerobic capacity or diet can affect the pattern of NEFA mobilization and (iii) which individual NEFA are most representative of total NEFA concentration changes, to use them as tracers for turnover studies. Individual NEFA were measured in trained dogs and goats (VO₂max dog/VO₂max goat=2.2; where VO₂max=max-imal oxygen consumption) during treadmill exercise at 40 and 60% VO₂max. Important interspecies differences in individual NEFA concentrations could be attributed to differences in aerobic capacity. The more aerobic species (dog) had much higher plasma NEFA concentrations for all but one NEFA (18∶0), when compared with the low-aerobic species (goat). In addition, exercise caused a large increase in concentration of individual NEFA in the dogs, with the largest increases seen in 18∶1 (150% above resting values) and 16∶0 (60% increase), but it had no effect in goats. Therefore, the aerobic species has a much higher ability for mobilizing and transporting NEFA in plasma than its low-aerobic counterpart. Two NEFA accounted for more than half total plasma NEFA in both species, 18∶1 (about 35% total NEFA) and 16∶0 (20%). Calculation of variability in percent composition reveals that oleate and palmitate also closely reflect changes in total NEFA and are therefore the most appropriate tracers forin vivo kinetic studies in exercising mammals. Differences in diet and digestion physiology explained some differences in the plasma NEFA composition of the two species; this was reflected in the percent contributions of individual fatty acids to total NEFA: in dogs 18∶1>16∶0>18∶2>18∶0, while in goats 18∶1>16∶0>18∶0>18∶2. Also, only goats had 18∶3 (6% total NEFA), a fatty acid of plant origin, while only dogs had 16∶1 (7% total NEFA). Overall, however, the plasma NEFA composition of goats did not exactly reflect that of their diet due to preabsorptive modification of unsaturated fatty acids, while in dogs there was a good correlation between dietary and plasma NEFA.     

Bonding to aged surfaces: A thermally-aged epoxy

It is common experience that aged surfaces are often difficult to bond to. We report an examination of bonding to thermally-aged epoxy surfaces, using as the adhesive the same epoxy as that of the aged surface. The cured and postcured epoxy was aged at 200 ° C, with the ageing time varying from 2 to 8 h. The fracture energy of the bond line was measured by mode I cleavage under conditions of relatively slow crack growth. The bondline fracture energy was found to decrease logarithmically with ageing time. The fracture energies for bonds to surfaces aged for 2, 4, and 8 h at 200 ° C were 0.077, 0.059, and 0.050 kJ M^–2, respectively. These compare to 0.13 kJ M^–2 for a bond to an unaged surface and 0.21 kJ m^–2 for bulk fracture. Fracture surfaces resulting from both slow and rapid fracture were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Fracture features different from those arising from bulk fracture were found. Areas with good adhesion occurred amidst fields of featureless fracture surface; the frequency and size of these areas decreased with increased ageing time. Evidence of plastic deformation was found, always occurring on the new side of the bond: ridges parallel with crack propagation at high crack speeds and subsurface undulations perpendicular to crack propagation at low speeds. The bond has the effect of channelling the crack along the bondline, but fracture does not always remain exactly at the interface. Fracture often occurred a relatively constant distance away from the interface, suggesting that the presence of the interface was felt for some distance.     

Generalized Eigenvalue Decomposition Applied to Estimation of Spatial rPPG Distribution of Skin

Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision - Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) has been at the forefront recently, thanks to its capacity in estimating non-contact physiological parameters such as...     

Coverage-biased random exploration of large models and application to testing

This paper presents several randomised algorithms for generating paths in large models according to a given coverage criterion. Using methods for counting combinatorial structures, these algorithms can efficiently explore very large models, based on a graphical representation by an automaton or by a product of several automata. This new approach can be applied to random exploration in order to optimise path coverage and can be generalised to take into account other coverage criteria, via the definition of a notion of randomised coverage satisfaction. Our main contributions are a method for drawing paths uniformly at random in composed models, i.e. models that are given as products of automata, first without and then with synchronisation; a new efficient approach to draw paths at random taking into account some other coverage criterion. Experimental results show promising agreement with theoretical predictions and significant improvement over previous randomised approaches. This work opens new perspectives for future studies of statistical testing and model checking, mainly to fight the combinatorial explosion problem.     

The influence of stacking fault energy on ductile fracture micromorphology

The influence of stacking fault energy on microvoid coalescence in pure materials has been studied. It was shown that as a material's stacking fault energy (SFE) decreased, the extent of microvoid coalescence that occurred during ductile fracture also decreased. The decrease of microvoid coalescence in low SFE materials was attributed to a hindrance in the development of dislocation cells associated with the restricted motion of dislocations. In pure materials, microvoids are believed to initiate and grow along dislocation cell walls formed during deformation. As such, the absence or scarcity of cells in lower SFE materials limits the formation of these voids during ductile fracture.