False positive results in a neuroblastoma screening programme

One hundred eighty healthy subjects (90 men, 90 women; age range: 55 to 80 years) with no known cardiovascular disease were studied by ultrasonography. In each, the following measurements were obtained: the caliber and length of the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava, and the caliber of the common iliac arteries and veins. The mean length of the inferior vena cava was found to be 95.2 mm, its mean caliber 18.4 mm. The mean length of the aorta was 83.1 mm, and its mean caliber was 15.9 mm. The mean caliber of the common iliac veins was 9.7 mm, while that of the common iliac arteries was 8.8 mm. There was a statistically significant relationship between vessel caliber and subject age; furthermore, the vessel caliber of the male subjects was found to be larger than that of the females by a statistically significant margin. There was also a statistically significant correlation between subject height and the length of the two major vessels; however, no statistically significant correlations were noted between the measured parameters and body weight. In comparison with the values reported in the standard textbooks and by contemporary cadaveric studies, our measurements of mean aortic and vena caval calibers were significantly lower. When the two side were compared, a statistically significant difference was noted only in the iliac arteries, where the right was larger than the left.     

Integrated Management Curriculum for Civil Engineers and Architects

While it is commonly thought worldwide that the education and training of architects and civil engineers require different patterns of learning, the writers of this paper opine that the teaching and learning of management subjects for both groups should be combined. Architecture and civil engineering faculties have many aspects in common, but, even when residing in the same faculty, the two disciplines rarely integrate successfully. This paper examines integration issues at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where, over a period of 4 years, partial integration of architects and civil engineers in management subjects has been tested. The paper discusses the problems of devising a curriculum designed to satisfy both architecture and civil engineering undergraduate degree courses. Within the paper, discussion focuses on the outline for an integrated curriculum, the problems of timing, and logistics, and will report on some student experiences. Comment is also included on administrative issues, class size, relative merits of saving resources versus consequential inconvenience, the problems of making assumptions about relative prior knowledge, and expectations of students. Discussion of the various system changes that need to be put in place before such a liaison can be totally successful is presented. The paper provides valuable insight into the workings of two university faculties at the University of Auckland, which will allow parallels with other universities worldwide to be made.     

Meanings of political participation among Black and White women: Political identity and social responsibility.

This study examined the correlates of midlife political participation among 64 Black and 107 White women of the college classes of 1967–1973. Compared with White women, Black women scored higher on political participation, generativity, power discontent, and politicization. Factor analysis of personality and political attitude variables yielded three factors labeled Political Identity, Power Discontent, and Social Responsibility. Adult political participation was regressed on level of student activism and index scores of political identity, power discontent, and social responsibility. For both racial groups, social responsibility was associated with midlife political participation. For White women, political identity was also related; for Black women, student activism bore a significant relationship. The findings suggest that Black and White women's historical and political contexts imbued their political activities with different meanings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are cognitive errors of underestimation predictive or reflective of depressive symptoms in children: a longitudinal study

Children in Grades 3-8 participated in a longitudinal study of the relation between negative self-evaluation errors and symptoms of depression. Children's self-perceived competence in 5 domains (academic, social, athletic, appearance, and conduct) was compared with teachers' and peers' perceptions. Children's tendency to underestimate their competencies predicted increases in depression scores in only 1 of 6 grade levels. Children's depression scores predicted increases in the underestimation of self-competence over time in all grade levels. Gender differences and developmental differences in the cognitive errors associated with depression scores also emerged. Contrary to A. T. Beck's (1963, 1972) model, negative self-distortions appear to be more reflective than predictive of depression in children.     

Use of an ordered cosmid library to deduce the genomic organization of Mycobacterium leprae

In an attempt to unify the genetic and biological research on Mycobacterium leprae, the aetiological agent of leprosy, a cosmid library was constructed and then ordered by a combination of fingerprinting and hybridization techniques. The genome of M. leprae is represented by four contigs of overlapping clones which, together, account for nearly 2.8Mb of DNA. Several arguments suggest that the gaps between the contigs are small in size and that virtually complete coverage of the chromosome has been obtained. All of the cloned M. leprae genes have been positioned on the contig maps together with the 29 copies of the dispersed repetitive element, RLEP. These have been classified into four groups on the basis of differences in their organization. Several key housekeeping genes were identified and mapped by hybridization with heterologous probes, and the current genome map of this uncultivable pathogen comprises 72 loci.     

Disentangling the prospective relations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms.

In a four-wave, cohort-longitudinal design with a community sample of 515 children and adolescents (grades 2 through 9), this study examined the longitudinal structure of and prospective interrelations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms. Multigroup structural equation modeling generated four major findings. First, the longitudinal structures of maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms consist of a single time-invariant factor and a series of time-varying factors. Second, evidence supported a model in which depressive symptoms predicted negative cognitions but not the reverse. Third, the time-invariant components of cognition and depression were highly correlated. Fourth, the strength of the depression-to-cognition relation increased with age. Implications regarding the mechanisms underlying clinical interventions with depressed children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mixed-Mode Fracture of Hybrid Material Bonded Interfaces under Four-Point Bending

A combined analytical and experimental approach is presented to characterize mixed-mode fracture of hybrid material bonded interfaces under four-point bending load, and closed-form solutions of compliance and energy release rate (ERR) of the mixed-mode fracture specimens are provided. The transverse shear deformations in each sublayer of bimaterial bonded beams are included by modeling the specimen as individual Timoshenko beams, and the effect of interface crack-tip deformation on the compliance and ERR are taken into account by applying the interface deformable bilayer beam theory (flexible-joint model). The higher accuracy of the present analytical solutions for both the compliance and ERR of mixed-mode fracture specimens is manifested by comparing them with the solutions predicted by the conventional beam theory (CBT) and finite-element analysis (FEA). As an application example, the fracture of wood–fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) bonded interface is experimentally evaluated by using mixed-mode fracture specimens [i.e., four-point asymmetric end-notched flexure (4-AENF) and four-point mixed-mode bending (4-MMB)], and the corresponding values of critical ERRs are obtained. Comparisons of the compliance rate change and the resulting critical ERR based on the CBT, the present theoretical model, and FEA demonstrate that the crack-tip deformation plays an important role in accurately characterizing the mixed-mode fracture toughness of hybrid material bonded interfaces under four-point bending load.     

Integrated operation of diagnostic and control systems

In fusion research the ability to generate and sustain high performance fusion plasmas gains more and more importance. Optimal combinations of magnetic shape, temperature and density profiles as well as the confinement time are identified as advanced regimes. Safe operation in such regimes will be crucial for the success of ITER and later fusion reactors. The operational space, on the other hand, is characterized by nonlinear dependencies between plasma parameters. Various MHD limits must be avoided in order to minimize the risk of a disruption.Sophisticated feedback control schemes help to tackle this challenge. But these in turn require detailed information on plasma state in time to allow proper reaction. Control system and diagnostic systems therefore must establish a symbiotic relationship to carry out such schemes. Today, all major fusion devices implement such a concept.An implementation of such a concept with sustained integration is presented using the example of ASDEX Upgrade. It covers data communication via a real-time network, synchronization mechanisms for data-driven algorithm execution as well as operational aspects and exception handling for failure detection and recovery. A modular distributed software framework offers standardized user algorithm interfaces, automated workflow procedures and the application of various computer and network hardware components. Designed with a special focus on reliability, robustness and flexibility, it is a sound base for exploring ITER-relevant plasma regimes and control strategies.