External validation of the Personality Inventory for Children: Comment on Lachar, Gdowski, and Snyder.

Comments on the D. Lachar et al (see record 1984-19420-001) evidence of external validity for Personality Inventory for Children (PIC), which is based on correlations of PIC scales with dimension scores derived from factor analyses of behavioral ratings. It is argued that due to considerable item overlap between PIC scales and behavior rating forms, correlations may be an indication of rater reliability rather than one of construct validity. This problem is thought to be especially evident for rating forms completed by parents because parents also completed the PIC, and many items are similar in both content and wording. The problem is illustrated using the hostility/dyscontrol dimension derived from parent ratings. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Probing acid sites in MAPO-36 by solid state NMR

An ordering of magnesium is observed in the as-synthesized MAPO-36 molecular sieve. Upon calcination, part of the magnesium is removed from the sample and part occupies extraframework positions thus rendering a random distribution of magnesium in the lattice. The shoulder observed in the³¹P spectrum of the calcined sample is assigned to P(3Al, 1Mg) sites in conflict with the earlier assignment to P-OH groups. The bridging hydroxyl groups located at these sites are detected in the¹H MAS spectrum at 3.6 ppm. Further, MAPO-36 catalyzed acetone conversion to mesityloxide that cracked at elevated temperature to yield acetic acid and aliphatics.     

Quantitation of the human basal ganglia with positron emission tomography: a phantom study of the effect of contrast and axial positioning

The accurate measurement of the concentration of a radioisotope in small structures with positron emission tomography (PET) requires a correction for quantitation loss due to the partial volume effect and the effect of scattered radiation. To evaluate errors associated with measures in the human basal ganglia (BG), a unilateral model of the BG has been inserted in a 20-cm cylinder. The recovery coefficient (RC=measured activity/true activity) for the BG phantom has been measured on a CTI tomograph with different background concentrations (contrast) and at different axial locations in the gantry. The BG was visualized on four or five slices, depending on its position in the gantry and on the contrast used. The RC was 0.75 with no background (contrast equal to 1.0). Increasing the relative radioactivity concentration in the background increased the RC from 0.75 to 2.00 when the contrast was -0.7 (BG相似文献   

Design of a braille writing tutor to combat illiteracy

Less than 3% of the 145 million blind people living in developing countries are literate (Helander, Prejudice and dignity: An introduction to community-based rehabilitation. New York: UNDP 1998). This low literacy rate is partly due to the lack of trained teachers and the challenges associated with learning to write braille on a traditional slate and stylus. These challenges include writing from right to left, writing mirrored images of letters, and receiving significantly delayed feedback. Extensive conversations with the Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind near Bangalore, India, revealed the need for a robust, low-power, low-cost braille writing tutor. We present an iterative and participatory process resulting in the creation and refinement of a prototype braille writing tutor system. This system uses a novel input device to capture a student’s activity on a slate using a stylus and uses a range of techniques to teach braille writing skills to both beginner and advanced students. We report on lessons learned from the implementation of this project and from a 6-week pilot study at Mathru, and outline future directions for improvement.

Hierarchical edge bundles: visualization of adjacency relations in hierarchical data

A compound graph is a frequently encountered type of data set. Relations are given between items, and a hierarchy is defined on the items as well. We present a new method for visualizing such compound graphs. Our approach is based on visually bundling the adjacency edges, i.e., non-hierarchical edges, together. We realize this as follows. We assume that the hierarchy is shown via a standard tree visualization method. Next, we bend each adjacency edge, modeled as a B-spline curve, toward the polyline defined by the path via the inclusion edges from one node to another. This hierarchical bundling reduces visual clutter and also visualizes implicit adjacency edges between parent nodes that are the result of explicit adjacency edges between their respective child nodes. Furthermore, hierarchical edge bundling is a generic method which can be used in conjunction with existing tree visualization techniques. We illustrate our technique by providing example visualizations and discuss the results based on an informal evaluation provided by potential users of such visualizations     

Supporting the design of data integration requirements during the development of data warehouses: a communication theory-based approach

Data warehouses (DW) form the backbone of data integration that is necessary for analytical applications, and play important roles in the information technology landscape of many industries. We introduce an approach for addressing the fundamental problem of semantic heterogeneity in the design of data integration requirements during DW development. In contrast to ontology-driven or schema-matching approaches, which propose the automatic resolution of differences ex-post, our approach addresses the core problem of data integration requirements: understanding and resolving different contextual meanings of data fields. We ground the approach firmly in communication theory and build on practices from agile software development. Besides providing relevant insights for the design of data integration requirements, our findings point to communication theory as a sound underlying foundation for a design theory of information systems development.     

Stable Synthetic Bacteriochlorins for Photodynamic Therapy: Role of Dicyano Peripheral Groups,Central Metal Substitution (2H,Zn, Pd), and Cremophor EL Delivery

A series of four stable synthetic bacteriochlorins was tested in vitro in HeLa cells for their potential in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The parent bacteriochlorin (BC), dicyano derivative (NC)₂BC and corresponding zinc chelate (NC)₂BC–Zn and palladium chelate (NC)₂BC–Pd were studied. Direct dilution of a solution of bacteriochlorin in an organic solvent (N,N‐dimethylacetamide) into serum‐containing medium was compared with the dilution of bacteriochlorin in Cremophor EL (CrEL; polyoxyethylene glycerol triricinoleate) micelles into the same medium. CrEL generally reduced aggregation (as indicated by absorption and fluorescence) and increased activity up to tenfold (depending on bacteriochlorin), although it decreased cellular uptake. The order of PDT activity against HeLa human cancer cells after 24 h incubation and illumination with 10 J cm^?2 of near‐infrared (NIR) light is (NC)₂BC–Pd (LD₅₀=25 nM ) > (NC)₂BC > (NC)₂BC–Zn ≈ BC. Subcellular localization was determined to be in the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and lysosomes, depending on the bacteriochlorin. (NC)₂BC–Pd showed PDT‐mediated damage to mitochondria and lysosomes, and the greatest production of hydroxyl radicals as determined using a hydroxyphenylfluorescein probe. The incorporation of cyano substituents provides an excellent motif for the enhancement of the photoactivity and photostability of bacteriochlorins as PDT photosensitizers.     

Decision support in pre-hospital stroke care operations: A case of using simulation to improve eligibility of acute stroke patients for thrombolysis treatment

Stroke is the third most common cause of death and the sixth most common cause of disability worldwide. Treating acute ischemic stroke with thrombolytic therapy within 4.5 hours from symptom onset is effective in improving patient outcomes. The time from stroke onset to arrival to hospital has been identified as the single most important issue in determining patients' eligibility for stroke thrombolysis. There is a need for simultaneous systemic evaluation of multi-factorial interventions in pre-hospital acute care systems, aimed at increasing patients' eligibility for stroke thrombolysis. In this paper an OR solution is proposed in the form of a simulation model that provides clear measure of the relative benefit of alternative potential interventions, demonstrating how OR modeling can be used for providing decision support in pre-hospital stroke care operations and contributing to health OR literature.     

Nonminimal Kane's Equations of Motion for Multibody Dynamical Systems Subject to Nonlinear Nonholonomic Constraints

Nonholonomic constraint equations that are nonlinear in velocities are incorporated with Kane's dynamical equations by utilizing the acceleration form of constraints, resulting in Kane's nonminimal equations of motion, i.e. the equations that involve the full set of generalized accelerations. Together with the kinematical differential equations, these equations form a state-space model that is full-order, separated in the derivatives of the states, and involves no Lagrange multipliers. The method is illustrated by using it to obtain nonminimal equations of motion for the classical Appell–Hamel problem when the constraints are modeled as nonlinear in the velocities. It is shown that this fictitious nonlinearity has a predominant effect on the numerical stability of the dynamical equations, and hence it is possible to use it for improving the accuracy of simulations. Another issue is the dynamics of constraint violations caused by integration errors due to enforcing a differentiated form of the constraint equations. To solve this problem, the acceleration form of the constraint equations is augmented with constraint stabilization terms before using it with the dynamical equations. The procedure is illustrated by stabilizing the constraint equations for a holonomically constrained particle in the gravitational field.