Prime suspect: An examination of factors that aggravate and counteract confirmation bias in criminal investigations.

Confirmation bias is the tendency to bolster a hypothesis by seeking consistent evidence while minimizing inconsistent evidence. In criminal investigations, preferring hypothesis-consistent information could undermine accuracy by leading investigators to disregard evidence that challenges their theory of a case. Two studies examine factors that influence confirmation bias in criminal investigations. In Study 1 (N = 108), participants who articulated a hypothesis early in their review of a mock police file showed bias in seeking and interpreting evidence to favor that hypothesis. In Study 2 (N = 109), participants who considered why their hypothesis might be wrong showed less bias, but those who generated additional hypotheses did not. Implications for improving accuracy of investigations and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early Pregnancy Biomarkers in Pre-Eclampsia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Pre-eclampsia (PE) complicates 2%–8% of all pregnancies and is an important cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. In order to reduce these complications and to develop possible treatment modalities, it is important to identify women at risk of developing PE. The use of biomarkers in early pregnancy would allow appropriate stratification into high and low risk pregnancies for the purpose of defining surveillance in pregnancy and to administer interventions. We used formal methods for a systematic review and meta-analyses to assess the accuracy of all biomarkers that have been evaluated so far during the first and early second trimester of pregnancy to predict PE. We found low predictive values using individual biomarkers which included a disintegrin and metalloprotease 12 (ADAM-12), inhibin-A, pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), placental growth factor (PlGF) and placental protein 13 (PP-13). The pooled sensitivity of all single biomarkers was 0.40 (95% CI 0.39–0.41) at a false positive rate of 10%. The area under the Summary of Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (SROC) was 0.786 (SE 0.02). When a combination model was used, the predictive value improved to an area under the SROC of 0.893 (SE 0.03). In conclusion, although there are multiple potential biomarkers for PE their efficacy has been inconsistent and comparisons are difficult because of heterogeneity between different studies. Therefore, there is an urgent need for high quality, large-scale multicentre research in biomarkers for PE so that the best predictive marker(s) can be identified in order to improve the management of women destined to develop PE.     

Chronic Effects of a High Sucrose Diet on Murine Gastrointestinal Nutrient Sensor Gene and Protein Expression Levels and Lipid Metabolism

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) plays a key role in regulating nutrient metabolism and appetite responses. This study aimed to identify changes in the GIT that are important in the development of diet related obesity and diabetes. GIT samples were obtained from C57BL/6J male mice chronically fed a control diet or a high sucrose diet (HSD) and analysed for changes in gene, protein and metabolite levels. In HSD mice, GIT expression levels of fat oxidation genes were reduced, and increased de novo lipogenesis was evident in ileum. Gene expression levels of the putative sugar sensor, slc5a4a and slc5a4b, and fat sensor, cd36, were downregulated in the small intestines of HSD mice. In HSD mice, there was also evidence of bacterial overgrowth and a lipopolysaccharide activated inflammatory pathway involving inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). In Caco-2 cells, sucrose significantly increased the expression levels of the nos2, iNOS and nitric oxide (NO) gas levels. In conclusion, sucrose fed induced obesity/diabetes is associated with changes in GI macronutrient sensing, appetite regulation and nutrient metabolism and intestinal microflora. These may be important drivers, and thus therapeutic targets, of diet-related metabolic disease.     

Effect of exposure in vitro to ethanol and hypoxia on gamma-aminobutyric acid efflux in the hippocampus of the fetal and adult guinea-pig

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of acute direct exposure to ethanol, hypoxia or ethanol plus hypoxia on K+-stimulated gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) efflux (neuronal release minus uptake) in the hippocampus of the near-term fetal and adult guinea-pig. Transverse hippocampal slices were studied in a static-interface system. Exposure in vitro to ethanol or hypoxia involved 10-min incubation with 50 mM ethanol or 10-min incubation in a 95% N2/5% CO2 environment. GABA was quantitated by HPLC. Ethanol did not alter K+-stimulated GABA efflux; hypoxia augmented K+-stimulated GABA efflux three-fold in the near-term fetus and seven-fold in the adult; concurrent exposure to ethanol did not alter the effect of hypoxia. The data demonstrate that, for acute direct exposure to hypoxia and/or ethanol, only hypoxia increases K+-stimulated GABA efflux, the magnitude of which is dependent on the extent of development of the GABA system.     

Term-end exam scheduling at United States Military Academy/West Point

Scheduling term-end exams (TEE) at the United States Military Academy in West Point is unlike any other exam timetabling problem we know of. Exam timetabling normally produces a conflict-free timetable covering a reasonably long exam period, where every exam is scheduled exactly once for all the students enrolled in the corresponding class. The situation is quite different at West Point. There are hundreds of exams to schedule over such a short time period that there is simply no feasible solution. The challenge is then to allow something that is not even considered elsewhere, that is, creating multiple sessions of some exams, scheduled at different times within the exam period, to allow each student to take all exams he/she must take. The overall objective is to find a feasible exam schedule with a minimum number of such duplicate exams.     

Phenology and species diversity in a Lake Huron ichthyoplankton community: Ecological implications of invasive species dominance

Ichthyoplankton communities are dynamic and vary spatiotemporally based on factors such as wind, water currents, and phenology. Nonetheless, ichthyoplankton are an indicator of spawning success in fish populations and examining their community diversity and composition can serve to provide information on ecosystem integrity. Although some ichthyoplankton species may be transient, understanding their distribution in space and time provides information on species composition, abundance, and habitat use during critical early life stages. We sampled the spring-summer ichthyoplankton community during 2008 and 2009 in northern Lake Huron to determine species succession, abundance, and species diversity along physical and environmental gradients. Seasonal succession of species was similar during both years, indicating well-defined patterns in spawning by northern Lake Huron fish populations. Invasive alewife, rainbow smelt, and round goby were the dominant species during both years, with native stickleback species also abundant. Shannon Entropy (H′) increased with increasing water temperature until late summer when H′ declined. H′ decreased with increasing bottom depth and distance to tributary mouth indicating the important ecological role of these habitat features during early life stages. Although ichthyoplankton diversity was comparable to or higher than that reported for other areas of the Great Lakes, the prominence of invasive species in our study is reflective of the disturbed state of the Lake Huron fish community, despite large reductions in invasive planktivorous fish since 2004. Continued monitoring of ichthyoplankton communities will be important for measuring the impacts of species invasions or other ecosystem stressors on fish community structure in the Great Lakes.     

Revisited: Comparison of two techniques to establish maximum acceptable forces of dynamic pushing for male industrial workers

The purpose of this experiment was to replicate a previous psychophysical experiment [Ciriello, V.M., McGorry, R.W., Martin, S.E., Bezverkny, I.B., 1999b. Maximum acceptable forces of dynamic pushing: comparison of two techniques. Ergonomics 42, 32–39] which investigated maximum acceptable initial and sustained forces while performing a 7.6 m pushing task at a frequency of 1 min⁻¹ on a magnetic particle brake treadmill versus pushing on a high-inertia pushcart. Fourteen male industrial workers performed both a 40-min treadmill pushing task and a 2-h pushcart task, with a unique water loading system, in the context of a larger experiment. During pushing, the subjects were asked to select a workload they could sustain for 8 h without “straining themselves or without becoming unusually tired, weakened, overheated or out of breath.” The results revealed that similar to the previous study maximum acceptable sustained forces of pushing determined on the high inertia cart were significantly higher (21%) than the forces determined from the magnetic particle brake treadmill. These results were countered by an 18% decrease in maximum acceptable forces for the criterion magnetic particle brake treadmill task, perhaps due to secular changes in the industrial population. Based on the present findings, it is concluded that the existing pushing data [Snook, S.H., Ciriello, V.M., 1991. The design of manual tasks: revised tables of maximum acceptable weights and forces. Ergonomics 34, 1197–1213] still provides an accurate estimate of maximal acceptable forces for this pushing distance and frequency.

Relevance to industry

Jobs are often redesigned to eliminate lifting and to include carts for transporting loads. Our database on maximum acceptable forces of pushing on a magnetic particle braked treadmill has been used as a tool to design manual handling tasks. This article links the existing database with actual cart pushing.