The ability of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory--Third Edition to detect malingering.

This study investigated the ability of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory--Third Edition (MCMI-III) to discriminate students malingering psychopathology (n=106) from bona fide psychiatric inpatients (n=202). Students were randomly assigned to a fake-bad or an honest-responding condition. Analyses investigated the ability of the modifier indices to discriminate fake-bad group participants from the psychiatric inpatients. Scale X raw cutoff score >178 yielded a positive predictive power (PPP) of 0.0, a negative predictive power (NPP) of 63.1, and a hit rate of 63.1%. Optimal cutoff scores were developed. Scale X Base Rate (BR) >84 provided a PPP of 55.6, an NPP of 72.1, and a hit rate of 65.2%. Scale Y BR     

T cell responsiveness correlates differentially with antibody isotype levels in clinical and asymptomatic filariasis

To establish the relationships among T and B cell responses, active infection, and clinical manifestations in lymphatic filariasis, filarial-specific lymphocyte proliferation, IgG antibody isotypes, and IgE levels were determined in an exposed population: 31 asymptomatic amicrofilaremics, 43 microfilaremics, 12 symptomatic amicrofilaremics, and 52 elephantiasis patients. Lymphocyte proliferation was higher in elephantiasis patients and asymptomatic amicrofilaremics than in microfilaremics (P < .004). A proportion of asymptomatic amicrofilaremics (32%), elephantiasis patients (37%), and symptomatic amicrofilaremics (58%) showed antigen-specific lymphocyte unresponsiveness, and lymphocyte proliferation to filarial antigens correlated negatively with specific IgG4 levels (rho = -0.315, P < .001). As elevated specific IgG4 is an indicator of active infection, it is argued that active infection may result in lymphocyte hyporesponsiveness irrespective of clinical category. Of those with elevated specific IgE levels and high T cell proliferative responses, 70% had elephantiasis, suggesting these factors have a role in pathology. However, the existence of a proportion of elephantiasis patients with low anti-filarial IgE and T cell unresponsiveness to filarial antigens suggests that elephantiasis can be caused by distinct processes.     

Learning Temperature Dynamics on Agar-Based Phantom Tissue Surface During Single Point CO $$_2$$ 2 Laser Exposure

Neural Processing Letters - This paper presents an approach to determine a model of superficial tissue temperature dynamics during continuous wave CO $$_2$$ laser irradiation. The main contribution...     

Task-Space Modular Dynamics for Dual-Arms Expressed through a Relative Jacobian

This paper presents modular dynamics for dual-arms, expressed in terms of the kinematics and dynamics of each of the stand-alone manipulators. The two arms are controlled as a single manipulator in the task space that is relative to the two end-effectors of the dual-arm robot. A modular relative Jacobian, derived from a previous work, is used which is expressed in terms of the stand-alone manipulator Jacobians. The task space inertia is expressed in terms of the Jacobians and dynamics of each of the stand-alone manipulators. When manipulators are combined and controlled as a single manipulator, as in the case of dual-arms, our proposed approach will not require an entirely new dynamics model for the resulting combined manipulator. But one will use the existing Jacobians and dynamics model for each of the stand-alone manipulators to come up with the dynamics model of the combined manipulator. A dual-arm KUKA is used in the experimental implementation.     

Synthesis, characterization, and properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(1,4-butylene succinate) block copolymers

Reactive blending at 290 °C of a series of mixtures of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(1,4-butylene succinate) (PBS) led to the formation of block PET/PBS copolyesters. The block lengths of the resulting copolymers decreased with the severity of the treatment. Copolyesters with PET/PBS molar compositions of 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, and 50/50 were prepared by this method and their composition and microstructure were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, respectively. The T_g, T_m, and crystallinity of the copolymers decreased as the content in PBS and the degree of randomness increased. The elastic modulus and tensile strength of the copolymers decreased with the content of PBS, whereas, on the contrary, the elongation at break increased. The PET/PBS copolymers exhibited a pronounced hydrolytic degradability, which increased with the content in 1,4-butylene succinic units. Hydrolysis mainly occurred on the aliphatic ester groups.     

Detecting improvement using Shewhart attribute control charts when the lower control limit is zero

In this paper, we present a method to monitor count data so as to be able to detect improvement when the counts are low enough to cause the lower limit to be zero. The method, which is proposed as an add-on to the conventional Shewhart control chart, consists in counting the number of samples in which zero defectives or zero defects per unit occur and signaling an increase in quality if k-in-a-row or 2-in-t samples have zero counts of defectives or zero defects per unit. This method enjoys some similarities to the very popular Shewhart control chart in that it is easy to design, understand and use. It is flexible, robust, and, like the Shewhart chart, yields detection frequencies that are optimal for very large shifts and good for other shifts. Some comparisons with traditional CUSUM charts are provided. Figures enabling Shewhart control chart users to easily design low-side add-on control charts are given for c and np charts.     

An investigation into formatting and layout errors produced by blind word-processor users and an evaluation of prototype error prevention and correction techniques

This paper presents the results of an investigation into tools to support blind authors in the creation and checking of word processed documents. Eighty-nine documents produced by 14 blind authors are analyzed to determine and classify common types of layout and formatting errors. Based on the survey result, two prototype tools were developed to assist blind authors in the creation of documents: a letter creation wizard, which is used before the document is produced; and a format/layout checker that detects errors and presents them to the author after the document has been created. The results of a limited evaluation of the tools by 11 blind computer users are presented. A survey of word processor usage by these users is also presented and indicates that: authors have concerns about the appearance of the documents that they produce; many blind authors fail to use word processor tools such as spell checkers, grammar checkers and templates; and a significant number of blind people rely on sighted help for document creation or checking. The paper concludes that document formatting and layout is a problem for blind authors and that tools should be able to assist.     

Solution of a Well-Field Design Problem with Implicit Filtering

Problems involving the management of groundwater resources occur routinely, and management decisions based upon optimization approaches offer the potential to save substantial amounts of money. However, this class of application is notoriously difficult to solve due to non-convex objective functions with multiple local minima and both nonlinear models and nonlinear constraints. We solve a subset of community test problems from this application field using MODFLOW, a standard groundwater flow model, and IFFCO, an implicit filtering algorithm that was designed to solve problems similar to those of focus in this work. While sampling methods have received only scant attention in the groundwater optimization literature, we show encouraging results that suggest they are deserving of more widespread consideration for this class of problems. In keeping with our objectives for the community problems, we have packaged the approaches used in this work to facilitate additional work on these problems by others and the application of implicit filtering to other problems in this field. We provide the data for our formulation and solution on the web.     

Comparative study on the heat transfer performance of micro-grooved anodized thermosyphon with R134a,R600a and R717 for low-temperature applications

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - A comparative heat transfer performance of an internally grooved anodized thermosyphon with eco-friendly refrigerants is presented in this study....     

Spatial practice,conceived space and lived space: Hong Kong’s ‘Piers saga’ through the Lefebvrian lens

By applying the Lefebvrian lens, this paper tries to understand why unlike previous similar cases, the latest removal of the Star Ferry and Queen’s Pier was so controversial. To Lefebvre, embedded in ‘spatial practices’ that ‘secrete’ a place are two contradicting spaces: ‘conceived spaces’ produced by planners to create exchange values and ‘lived spaces’ appropriated by citizens for use values. Applying Lefebvre’s framework to examine the ‘Piers saga’, it is found that the pre‐Second World War (WWII) piers were ‘conceived’ by spatial practices of a colonial and racially segregated trading enclave. The public space in the commercial heart that housed the previous generations of piers was not accessible to the Chinese community, thus denying them opportunities to appropriate them and turn them into ‘lived’ spaces. It was only after WWII when the Government carried out further reclamation to meet the needs of an industrializing economy that inclusive public spaces were conceived in the commercial heart, enabling the general public to ‘appropriate’ them as ‘lived’ space. When the Government planned to remove this very first ‘lived’ space in the political and economic heart of the city to conceive further reclamation for the restructuring economy, the more enlightened citizens were determined to defend it.