New subscales for the MMPI-2 Social Introversion (Si) scale.

The development of three new content-homogeneous subscales for the revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher et al, 1989) Social Introversion (Si) scale designed to replace the K. Serkownek (1975) subscales, which were not included in the revised MMPI, is described. The subscales, termed Shyness/Self-Consciousness, Social Avoidance, and Self/Other Alienation, were developed with data provided by college students (515 men and 797 women). Data analyses with this and the MMPI-2 normative sample demonstrated that the new subscales independently contribute to the assessment of nearly 90% of the variance in the full Si scale, that they display both convergent and divergent validity, and that these attributes generalize beyond the sample with which they were developed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Propane conversion over zeolite catalysts: Comments on the role of Ga

The activation of propane using zeolite H-Y and Ga³⁺ exchanged zeolite Y indicates that in the presence of Ga³⁺ the mechanism of propane activation is changed from a cracking pathway to a dehydrogenation pathway. The presence of both Ga³⁺ and H⁺ are required to achieve this effect.     

Application of degradation kinetics to the rheology of poly(hydroxyalkanoates)

The time‐dependent rheological behavior of a series of 3‐hydroxybuytrate‐based semicrystalline copolymers is employed to determine the expected rheological curves that would be generated in the absence of any polymer degradation. Both dynamic frequency sweep and shear rate sweep experiments were analyzed. A model for the degradation kinetics, coupled with standard rheological relationships, was employed to extrapolate the measured sweeps to predicted curves at time zero, prior to degradation. The model is broadly applicable over a wide range of frequencies or shear rates, and generates a single degradation rate constant k for each polymer studied. A similar, although ad hoc, procedure was applied to the dynamic storage and loss moduli. The model provides a method for determining the rheological behavior of degrading polymers over a time interval, typically found in processing applications. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:1794–1802, 2006     

Exceptionally high seizure threshold: ECT device limitations

Numerous studies have confirmed the distinct biological behavior of two subsets of prostate cancer diagnosed incidentally after either transurethral resection (TURP) or open prostatectomy for presumed benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Focal, low-grade lesions are associated with a low risk for clinical progression and are designated as stage T1a or A1. These cases have traditionally been managed conservatively with close clinical observation. In contrast, multifocal, high-volume, or high-grade tumors are associated with a more aggressive clinical course and are designated as stage T1b or A2. Early definitive intervention is usually advocated for these latter patients. Therefore, accurate pathological assignment to either stage T1a or T1b is crucial for selection of appropriate management options. A variety of methods for staging patients with incidentally detected prostate cancer have been proposed, including detailed histological analysis, repeat TURP or transurethral biopsy, serial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) analysis, and imaging with either transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) or magnetic resonance (MRI) techniques. This article critically examines the clinical utility of these staging modalities for patients with incidentally detected prostate cancer.     

Intraperitoneal rupture of ectopic varices--a rare complication of portal hypertension

A 50 year old man presented with sudden abdominal pain, abdominal distension and shock. At emergency laparotomy a large amount of blood was found in the peritoneal cavity. There was micronodular cirrhosis of the liver and the spleen was enlarged. The bleeding was traced to distended veins in the right paracolic gutter which were oversewn and the abdomen closed. A coagulopathy was diagnosed and treatment including high dose aprotinin commenced. However, he continued to bleed and at a second laparotomy the area of previous haemorrhage was packed. Further deterioration continued until death 12 hours later. Intraperitoneal haemorrhage from ectopic varices is a rare occurrence. There is a high mortality rate usually due to an advanced coagulopathy. This is the first report of aprotinin being used in an attempt to treat this. On the basis of this report aprotinin would not seem to be of benefit for this condition.     

Benchmarking of electricity networks: Practical problems with its use for regulation

Benchmarking is a technique derived for management purposes, intended to identify outliers in any population as possible problems for resolution. Several regulatory agencies have tried to use benchmarking to define the degree of inefficiency of regulated companies, by reference to some target or frontier. This paper identifies the main problem inherent in trying to adapt a management technique to a regulatory purpose – namely that it requires the exercise of subjective judgements. The resulting lack of predictability and objectivity is not conducive to the provision of efficient regulatory incentives.This paper explains where subjective judgement enters into regulatory applications of benchmarking, which is not always apparent. The choice of model and selection of data sets are two obvious areas, but the main problem arises over the assumption that any costs not explained by the model must be due to inefficiency. Such assumptions are simply unsupported by evidence and lead to cost targets (or cost reduction targets defined over several years) that are little better than subjective guesses. There are other, superior ways to set cost reduction targets, based on long-term trends in total factor productivity for the regulated sector, which are used in the US and in other countries. However, some regulators feel obliged to use benchmarking and the paper concludes with recommendations as to how benchmarking should support further and more objective investigations into the costs of regulated utilities.     

New energy transfer dyes for DNA sequencing

We have synthesized a set of four energy transfer dyes and demonstrated their use in automated DNA sequencing. The donor dyes are the 5- or 6-carboxy isomers of 4'-aminomethylfluorescein and the acceptor dyes are a novel set of four 4,7-dichloro-substituted rhodamine dyes which have narrower emission spectra than the standard, unsubstituted rhodamines. A rigid amino acid linker, 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid, was used to separate the dyes. The brightness of each dye in an automated sequencing instrument equipped with a dual line argon ion laser (488 and 514 nm excitation) was 2-2.5 times greater than the standard dye-primers with a 2 times reduction in multicomponent noise. The overall improvement in signal-to-noise was 4- to 5-fold. The utility of the new dye set was demonstrated by sequencing of a BAC DNA with an 80 kb insert. Measurement of the extinction coefficients and the relative quantum yields of the dichlororhodamine components of the energy transfer dyes showed their values were reduced by 20-25% compared with the dichlororhodamine dyes alone.     

An object design framework for structural engineering

Object-oriented principles have introduced several useful concepts for developing complex software systems. As a result, several methodologies have been suggested for the overall design of software systems based on these concepts. Methodologies and frameworks for designing objects that are to be part of the software systems are currently lacking. This paper proposes anobject design framework andmethodology, which utilizes the object-oriented concepts, for planning, organizing and designing structural engineering design objects. Design objects in an integrated structural engineering system are complex and often related to each other in various different ways. The paper also identifies several important relationships among structural engineering design objects. These relationships serve as communication channels through wich design objects send messages to and receive responses from each other. Several examples, drawn from reinforced concrete structures, will be presented to demonstrate the object design methodology and to illustrate how the framework is effective in reducing the complexity of design objects in an integrated structural engineering system.