Risk factors associated with recidivism among extrafamilial child molesters.

This study examined the predictive efficacy of 10 rationally derived, archivally coded variables for assessing reoffense risk among extrafamilial child molesters. Follow-up data on 111 child molesters who were discharged from the Massachusetts Treatment Center between 1960 and 1984 were used. Degree of sexual preoccupation with children, paraphilias, and number of prior sexual offenses predicted sexual recidivism. Juvenile and adult antisocial behavior, paraphilias, and low amount of contact with children predicted nonsexual victim-involved and violent recidivism. Area under the receiver-operating characteristic curves in all three analyses indicated discrimination that was substantially better than chance, ranging from .73 to .79. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smart help for operator performance

Our emphasis in this paper has been on the knowledge-based and cognitive issues pertinent for improved interactions between workers and manufacturing computer systems. We believe that these techniques are as necessary and applicable to manufacturing as to any other vocation, especially as the difference in collar color of shop people becomes less noticeable in their increasing role as knowledge workers.     

Esters of hydroxystearic acids as primary low-temperature plasticizers for a vinyl chloride—Vinyl acetate copolymer

Summary Thirty-one acyloxy or aryloxy esters prepared from hydroxystearic acids have been evaluated as plasticizers for a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer (95∶5). Many of them were found to be primary plasticizers, having outstanding low-temperature performance when employed at the 35% level. Formulations with these compounds compared quite favorably in tensile properties with those containing the di-2-ethylhexyl esters of phthalic, sebacic, azelaic, and adipic acids. Volatility losses were similar to those of the four di-2-ethylhexyl esters. The loss of plasticizer through migration was equal to or less than that from compositions containing the esters of sebacic, azelaic, and adipic acids but was greater than that of the phthalate ester. A mechanistic scheme of plasticizer-polymer interaction has been presented, proposing that the rate of diffusion of plasticizer through the polymer mass is a controlling factor in both good low-temperature performance and the resulting high migration losses. Methyl esters, some aromatic esters, and esters containing three or more polar centers have improved permanence but show a more rapid change in torsional modulus as the temperature is lowered during the determination of the Clash-Berg stiffening temperature. Eastern Utilization Research and Development Division, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture.     

客厅电脑，一定要小！——7款小型HTPC机箱实战客厅电脑

给客厅里的大屏幕平板电视机搭配一台电脑是许多玩家的愿望。既然如此,《微型计算机》就收集了本年度最具代表性的7款小型HTPC机箱并进行了测试和体验,看看谁更适合安装客厅电脑。     

Approximate regular expression pattern matching with concave gap penalties

Given a sequenceA of lengthM and a regular expressionR of lengthP, an approximate regular expression pattern-matching algorithm computes the score of the optimal alignment betweenA and one of the sequencesB exactly matched byR. An alignment between sequencesA=a₁a₂ ... a_M andB=b₁b₂... b_N is a list of ordered pairs, (i₁,j₁), (i₂j₂), ..., (i_t,j_tt) such that i_k < i_k+1 and j_k < j_k+1. In this case the alignmentaligns symbols a_ik and b_jk, and leaves blocks of unaligned symbols, orgaps, between them. A scoring schemeS associates costs for each aligned symbol pair and each gap. The alignment's score is the sum of the associated costs, and an optimal alignment is one of minimal score. There are a variety of schemes for scoring alignments. In a concave gap penalty scoring schemeS={, w}, a function (a, b) gives the score of each aligned pair of symbolsa andb, and aconcave function w(k) gives the score of a gap of lengthk. A function w is concave if and only if it has the property that, for allk > 1, w(k + 1) –w(k) w(k) –w(k –1). In this paper we present an O(MP(logM + log² P)) algorithm for approximate regular expression matching for an arbitrary and any concavew. This work was supported in part by the National Institute of Health under Grant RO1 LM04960.     

Casper: space exploration through continuous planning

The most interesting places can often be the most dangerous ones, and space exploration is no exception. The dynamic surfaces of comets, the turbulent atmospheres of the gas giants, and the hypothesized subsurface ocean of Europa all call for exploration, and are all very risky for on-site robotic explorers. The Casper (continuous activity, scheduling, planning, execution, and replanning) software system provides critical reasoning capabilities to robotic explorers. To show how it works, we first describe Casper's internal workings and then look at the Three Corner Sat and the Autonomous Sciencecraft Constellation missions, highlighting Casper's contributions to each.     

The early detection of colorectal cancer

A review of the American Cancer Society's statistics for colorectal cancer indicates that there has been little improvements in the survival rate for this disease in the past 25 years. Although there have been advances in surgical techniques, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, the key to improved survival rates is earlier diagnosis. A significant percentage of patients continues to present with regional or distal metastasis at the time of their initial diagnosis. Both proctosigmoidoscopy and guaiac impregnated filter slide paper methods have been productive in diagnosing this disease at an earlier stage. The "Hemoccult" test, however, is inexpensive, can be used on a routine basis, is easier for patients to perform themselves, and is aesthetically pleasing. It represents a significant cost savings compared to proctosigmoidoscopy and should be advocated for routine use in all patients over 40 years of age. Although there continues to be a role for local and regional mass screening programs, significant improvements in colorectal survival rates cannot be expected until routine application of this type of screening is practiced.