Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Unreliable
Terms modified by Unreliable Selected AbstractsDiscrepancies in Reported Levels of International Wildlife TradeCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2005ARTHUR G. BLUNDELL aduanas; CITES; especies en peligro; programa de aranceles armonizados Abstract:,The international wildlife trade is a principal cause of biodiversity loss, involving hundreds of millions of plants and animals each year, yet wildlife trade records are notoriously unreliable. We assessed the precision of wildlife trade reports for the United States, the world's largest consumer of endangered wildlife, by comparing data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) with U.S. Customs data. For both U.S. imports and exports, CITES and Customs reported substantially different trade volumes for all taxa in all years. Discrepancies ranged from a CITES-reported volume 376% greater than that reported by Customs (live coral imports, 2000) to a Customs' report 5202% greater than CITES (conch exports, 2000). These widely divergent data suggest widespread inaccuracies that may distort the perceived risk of targeted wildlife exploitation, leading to misallocation of management resources and less effective conservation strategies. Conservation scientists and practitioners should reexamine assumptions regarding the significance of the international wildlife trade. Resumen:,El comercio internacional de vida silvestre es una causa principal de la pérdida de biodiversidad, ya que involucra a cientos de millones de plantas y animales cada año; no obstante eso, los registros del comercio son notoriamente poco confiables. Evaluamos la precisión de los registros de comercio de vida silvestre de Estados Unidos, el mayor consumidor de vida silvestre en peligro en el mundo, mediante la comparación de datos del Convenio Internacional para el Comercio de Especies de Flora y Fauna Silvestre en Peligro (CITES) con datos de la Aduana de E.U.A. Tanto para importaciones como exportaciones, CITES y Aduana reportaron volúmenes de comercio de todos los taxa sustancialmente diferentes en todos los años. Las discrepancias abarcaron desde un volumen reportado por CITES 376% más grande que el reportado por la Aduana (importaciones de coral vivo, 2000) hasta un reporte de la Aduana 5202% mayor que el de CITES (exportaciones de caracol, 2000). Estos datos ampliamente divergentes sugieren imprecisiones generalizadas que pueden distorsionar el riesgo percibido por la explotación de vida silvestre, lo que conducirá a la incorrecta asignación de recursos para la gestión y a estrategias de conservación menos efectivas. Los científicos y profesionales de la conservación deberían reexaminar sus suposiciones respecto al significado del comercio internacional de vida silvestre. [source] FS09.1 Diacetylmorphine (heroin) allergyCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 3 2004Aliet J Hogen Esch Since heroin is delivered to a selected group of drug addicts under supervision of nurses in the Netherlands, we reported about several nurses who presented with work-related eczema and positive patch tests to heroin. To investigate the prevalence of heroin contact allergy among all workers in this heroin delivery project, a study was started using questionnaires. Altogether 31 nurses reported work-related complaints out of 100 who returned questionnaires. Besides reports of eczema, mainly of eyelids (probably airborne) and hands, there were mucosal and respiratory complaints. Patch tests were performed in 25 nurses with complaints; in 9 of them a heroin contact allergy could be confirmed. In 6 out of these 9 nurses this was combined with mucosal or respiratory complaints. There were also 6 nurses with mucosal or respiratory complaints without a contact allergy. Contact dermatitis from opioids, such as morphine and codeine, has been documented among opioid industry workers, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and in patients. In conclusion heroin appears to be a potent contact allergen, causing contact dermatitis. Mucosal and respiratory complaints however, cannot be explained by this contact allergy; they might be caused by a type-1-allergy to heroin, or by a direct histamine liberating effect. Opioids are known histamine liberators causing urticaria, rhinitis and anaphylactoid reactions; therefore intracutaneous tests with heroin are unreliable. In an ongoing research project it will be attempted to detect specific IgE to heroin in the 12 workers with mucosal or respiratory complaints; within the next few months results will be available. [source] Psychology brings justice: the science of forensic psychology,CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2003Gisli H. Gudjonsson Professor of Forensic Psychology In this paper the focus is on one aspect of forensic psychology: the development of psychological instruments, a social psychological model and assessment procedures for evaluating the credibility of witnesses and police detainees during interviewing. Clinically grounded case work and research has impacted on police interviewing and practice, the admissibility of expert psychological testimony and the outcome of cases of miscarriage of justice. After describing the research that laid the foundations for advancement of scientific knowledge in this area, a brief review is presented of 22 high-profile murder cases where convictions based on confession evidence have been quashed on appeal between 1989 and 2001, often primarily on the basis of psychological evidence. The review of the cases demonstrates that psychological research and expert testimony in cases of disputed confessions have had a profound influence on the practice and ruling of the Court of Appeal for England and Wales and the British House of Lords. The cases presented in this paper show that it is wrong to assume that only persons with learning disability or those who are mentally ill make unreliable or false confessions. Personality factors, such as suggestibility, compliance, high trait anxiety and antisocial personality traits, are often important in rendering a confession unreliable. Future research needs to focus more on the role of personality factors in rendering the evidence of witnesses and suspects potentially unreliable. Copyright © 2003 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Criminal cognitions and personality: what does the PICTS really measure?CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2000Dr Vincent Egan Introduction The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) is a measure of the criminal cognitions and thinking styles that maintain offending. The scale comprises 8 a priori thinking styles and two validation scales, the validation scales having been found to be unreliable. Owing to the large amount of apparently shared variance in the original validation study, this data matrix needs re-analysis. Results from the PICTS were examined in relation to general measures of individual differences, in order to link the PICTS to the broader literature on the characteristics of offenders. Method The original PICTS data-matrix was re-analysed using a more parsimonious method of analysis. The PICYS was also given to 54 detained, mentally disordered offenders along with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS), the Attention Deficit Scales for Adults (ADSA) and, as a measure of general intelligence, the Standard Progressive Matrices. Results Principal components analysis suggested that the PICTS really comprised two factors: a lack of thoughtfulness (i.e. lack of attention to one's experience), and wilful hostility, with the first factor being most well defined. Intelligence was not associated with any factor of criminal thinking style. High scores on the ADSA and Disinhibition and Boredom Susceptibility subscales of the SSS were associated with much greater endorsement of criminal sentiments; high Neuroticism, low Extroversion, and low Agreeableness were slightly lower correlates. Discussion The issues involved in criminogenic cognitions need clarification and to be linked to the broader literature on cognitive distortions and personality. Interventions targeted at dismantling impulsive destructive behaviour, whether it be thoughtlessness or wilful hostility, may be effected by increasing thinking skills, so breaking down the cognitions that maintain criminal behaviour. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] NON-GYNAECOLOGICAL CYTOLOGY: THE CLINICIAN'S VIEWCYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2006I. Penman There is increased recognition of the importance of accurate staging of malignancies of the GI tract and lung, greater use of neoadjuvant therapies and more protocol-driven management. This is particularly important where regional lymph node involvement significantly impacts on curability. Multidetector CT and PET scanning have resulted in greater detection of potential abnormalities which, if positive for malignancy, would change management. There is also a greater recognition that many enlarged nodes may be inflammatory and that size criteria alone are unreliable in determining involvement. In other situations, especially pancreatic masses, not all represent carcinoma as focal chronic pancreatitis, autoimmune pancreatitis etc can catch out the unwary. A preoperative tissue diagnosis is essential and even if unresectable, oncologists are increasingly reluctant to initiate chemotherapy or enroll patients into trials without this. The approach to obtaining tissue is often hampered by the small size or relative inaccessibility of lesions by percutaneous approaches. As such novel techniques such as endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided FNA have been developed. A 120cm needle is passed through the instrument and, under real-time visualisation, through the gastrointestinal wall to sample adjacent lymph nodes or masses. Multiple studies have demonstrated the safety and performance of this technique. In oesophageal cancer, confirmation of node positivity by has a major negative influence on curative resection rates and will often lead to a decision to use neoadjuvant chemotherapy or a non-operative approach. Sampling of lymph nodes at the true coeliac axis upstages the patient to M1a status (stage IV) disease and makes the patient incurable. In NSCLC, subcarinal lymph nodes are frequently present but may be inflammatory. If positive these represent N2 (stage IIIA) disease and in most centres again makes the patient inoperable. Access to these lymph nodes would otherwise require mediastinosocopy whereas this can be done simply, safely and quickly by EUS. Overall the sensitivity for EUS , FNA of mediastinal or upper abdominal lymph nodes is 83,90% with an accuracy of 80,90%. In pancreatic cancer performance is less good but pooled analysis of published studies indicates a sensitivity of 85% and accuracy of 88%. In a recent spin-off from EUS, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) instruments have been developed and the ability to sample anterior mediastinal nodes has been demonstrated. It is likely that this EBUS , FNA technique will become increasingly utilised and may replace mediastinoscopy. The development of techniques such as EUS and EBUS to allow FNA sampling of lesions has increased the role of non-gynaecological cytology significantly in recent years. Cytology therefore remains important for a broad range of specialties and there is ongoing need for careful and close co-operation between cytologists and clinicians in these specialties. References:, 1. Williams DB, Sahai AV, Aabakken L, Penman ID, van Velse A, Webb J et al. Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy: a large single centre experience. Gut. 1999; 44: 720,6. 2. Silvestri GA, Hoffman BJ, Bhutani MS et al. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Ann Thorac Surg 1996; 61: 1441,6. 3. Rintoul RC, Skwarski KM, Murchison JT, Wallace WA, Walker WS, Penman ID. Endobronchial and endoscopic ultrasound real-time fine-needle aspiration staging of the mediastinum ). Eur Resp J 2005; 25: 1,6. [source] Measuring kinaesthetic sensitivity in typically developing childrenDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 9 2009KRISTEN PICKETT MS This study presents a method to quantify a child's sensitivity to passive limb motion, which is an important aspect of kinaesthesia not easily examined clinically. Psychophysical detection thresholds to passive forearm motion were determined in a group of 20 typically developing pre-adolescent children (mean age 12y 6mo, SD 10mo, range 11,13y) and a group of 10 healthy adults (mean age 29y 10mo, SD 10y 7mo, range 18,50y). A newly designed passive motion apparatus was used to measure the time to detection of forearm motion and the errors in determining movement direction. Results showed that limb motion sensitivity became increasingly variable below 0.3°/s in children and adults. In comparison with adults, movement detection times in the pediatric group were increased by between 4% and 108% for the range of tested velocities (0.075,1.35°/s). At 0.075°/s, 5% of the children, but 50% of the adults, made no directional error, indicating that motion perception became unreliable at such low velocity in both groups. The findings demonstrate that sensitivity to passive forearm motion in children should be tested at a range between 0.075 and 0.3°/s. They further suggest that passive motion sensitivity may not be fully developed in pre-adolescent children. [source] Characterization and comparison of health-related utility in people with diabetes with various single and multiple vascular complicationsDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 10 2006C. Ll. Abstract Aims To characterize and compare health-related utility in a large cohort of patients treated in hospital with diabetes and with single and multiple comorbidities. Methods The study was conducted in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, UK. Health-related utility was measured using the EQ5Dindex, a standardized instrument for measuring health outcome. Patients from the Health Outcomes Data Repository (HODaR) were surveyed by postal questionnaire 6 weeks post discharge for in-patients and during clinics for patients attending as out-patients between January 2002 and July 2005. Patients with diabetes were identified by a previous history of in-patient admission with diabetes or as an out-patient with diabetes recorded as a coexisting diagnosis. Results, We identified 4502 patients with diabetes. Mean ages were 65.4 and 64.2 years for males and females, respectively. Of these, 2003 (45%) had no recorded vascular complication. Overall, the EQ5Dindex was 0.584 (sd 0.325) for males and 0.533 (sd 0.351) for females. For those without any vascular complications the mean EQ5Dindex was 0.735 (sd 0.288). In a general linear model, the presence of single and multiple complications had a detrimental impact on the EQ5Dindex. Conclusion The results of this study provide an indication of the true impact of diabetes in terms of health-related utility. There was a decrease in the mean EQ5Dindex for those with vascular complications. Economic models of diabetes that have used additive or multiplicative methods to assess utility in individuals with several complications may be unreliable, and direct measurements, such as this, are recommended. [source] Global factors shaping the future of food aid: the implications for WFPDISASTERS, Issue 2007Daniel Maxwell Food aid is a key component of a humanitarian response but its use in other programming contexts is subject to numerous criticisms. Even in humanitarian emergencies food aid is often late, unreliable and out of proportion to other elements of the response. Three major factors will shape the future of food aid. First, mechanisms of food aid governance are being reviewed and may undergo major changes,particularly the Food Aid Convention now that hopes have diminished for an Agreement on Agriculture at the World Trade Organisation. The second significant factor is donor agency trends. Overall levels of food aid have dropped fairly steadily in recent decades and there are several discernible trends in resource allocation, procurement and the use of food aid. The third factor is an emerging body of best practice that will define acceptable standards of food aid programming in the future. [source] A case study of publication bias in an influential series of reviews of drug educationDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 5 2007JIM McCAMBRIDGE Abstract There has been remarkably little demonstration of the deleterious impact of publication bias within addiction science or indeed in wider healthcare policy and practice. An account is provided here of how publication bias was identified in relation to a series of drug education reviews which have been very influential on subsequent research, policy and practice. Later data analyses unpublished by the same review team demonstrated earlier findings to be unreliable. These later findings were not published. The policy context in which evidence on drug education in schools is produced is considered and the need for unbiased evidence is emphasised. A broadened conception of publication bias is proposed which takes account of the environment in which publication decision-making occurs. It is suggested that this is particularly necessary for subjects with such direct policy relevance as the effectiveness of drug education in schools. [source] Comparison of Proximal Isovelocity Surface Area Method and Pressure Half Time Method for Evaluation of Mitral Valve Area in Patients Undergoing Balloon Mitral ValvotomyECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Issue 9 2005Thottuvelil Narayanan Sunil Roy M.D. Background: The pressure half time (PHT) method is unreliable for measurement of mitral valve area (MVA) immediately after valvotomy. The proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) method has been used to derive mitral valve area in patients with mitral stenosis. The aim of our study was to compare PISA method and PHT method in patients undergoing percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy (BMV). Methods: The PISA was recorded from the apex and MVA was calculated using continuity equation by the formula 2,r2 Vr/Vm, where 2,r2 is the hemispheric isovelocity area, Vr is the velocity at the radial distance "r" from the orifice, and Vm is the peak velocity. A plain angle correction factor (,)/180 was used to correct the inlet angle subtended by leaflet tunnel as a result of leaflet doming. Results: MVA calculated using PISA method (r = 0.5217, P < 0.0001, SE = 0.016) and PHT (r = 0.6652, P < 0.0001, SE = 0.017) correlated well with 2D method in patients with mitral stenosis before BMV. After BMV, MVA by PISA method correlated well with 2D planimetry (r = 0.5803, P < 0.0001, SE = 0.053) but PHT showed poor correlation (r = 0.1334, P = 0.199, SE = 0.036). The variability of measurement of MVA was most marked with PHT method in the post-BMV period. Conclusion: The PISA method correlates well with 2D planimetry in patients with mitral stenosis before and after BMV and is superior to the PHT method in the post-BMV period where the latter may be unreliable. [source] Contrasting spatial and temporal global change impacts on butterfly species richness during the 20th centuryECOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2006Peter White Regional patterns of species richness are often explained by models using temperature or measures habitat suitability. Generally, species richness is positively associated with temperature, and negatively associated with habitat degradation. While these models have been well tested across spatial scales, they have rarely been tested on a temporal scale , in part due to the difficulty in ascertaining accurate historical data at an appropriate resolution. In this study, we compared the results of temporal and spatial models, each incorporating two predictors of species richness: temperature, and human population density (as a surrogate of human-related habitat impacts). We found that the change in species richness from the early to late part of the 20th century was positively correlated with temperature change, and negatively correlated with human population density change. When we compared these results to two spatial models using contemporary and historic data, the spatial effects of temperature on butterfly richness were similar to its temporal effects, while the effect of human population density through time is the opposite of its spatial effect. More generally, the assumption that spatial patterns are equivalent to temporal ones when applying macroecological data to global change is clearly unreliable. [source] A REAPPRAISAL OF BATEMAN'S CLASSIC STUDY OF INTRASEXUAL SELECTIONEVOLUTION, Issue 11 2007Brian F. Snyder Bateman's (1948) study showing greater variances in number of mates and reproductive success in male than female Drosophila melanogaster is a foundational paper in sexual selection. Here we show for the first time that his methods had flaws, including the elimination of genetic variance, sampling biases, miscalculations of fitness variances, statistical pseudo-replication, and selective presentation of data. We conclude that Bateman's results are unreliable, his conclusions are questionable, and his observed variances are similar to those expected under random mating. Despite our analysis, we do not intend this article as a criticism of Bateman; he accomplished his work without modern computational tools, and his approach was groundbreaking emphasizing the significance of fitness variance for sexual selection. However, this reanalysis has implications for what counts as evidence for sexual selection and we believe that our concerns should be of interest to contemporary students of sexual selection. We call for repetitions of Bateman's study using modern statistical and molecular methods. [source] EVOLUTION OF COLORFUL DISPLAYEVOLUTION, Issue 3 2007Gerald Borgia How the displays of bowerbirds have evolved has attracted widespread interest. Endler et al. (2005) analyzed color use in display in a subset of bowerbird species and generalized their results to all bowerbirds. Here we discuss problems with their analysis that calls into question their conclusions. For example, they state that bowerbirds do not use decorations that match their background, but this is not supported by their results. They reconstruct historical patterns of sexual dimorphism in plumage display using questionable methodology. The high lability of these display traits makes these reconstructions unreliable and, using accepted methods and acknowledging the lability problem, we were unable to support their conclusions. Their claim that plumage differences between sympatric species are due to character displacement is not supported by the available data. Their focus is on visual contrast as the cause for display color and we offer additional hypotheses that may contribute to explaining color use. We support studies of spectral analysis of display traits but urge greater care in using this information to reach conclusions about how colorful displays have evolved. [source] Tensile and compressive damage coupling for fully-reversed bending fatigue of fibre-reinforced compositesFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 6 2002W. Van Paepegem ABSTRACT Due to their high specific stiffness and strength, fibre-reinforced composite materials are winning through in a wide range of applications in automotive, naval and aerospace industry. Their design for fatigue is a complicated problem and a large research effort is being spent on it today. However there is still a need for extensive experimental testing or large safety factors to be adopted, because numerical simulations of the fatigue damage behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites are often found to be unreliable. This is due to the limited applicability of the theoretical models developed so far, compared to the complex multi-axial fatigue loadings that composite components often have to sustain in in-service loading conditions. In this paper a new phenomenological fatigue model is presented. It is basically a residual stiffness model, but through an appropriate choice of the stress measure, the residual strength and thus final failure can be predicted as well. Two coupled growth rate equations for tensile and compressive damage describe the damage growth under tension,compression loading conditions and provide a much more general approach than the use of the stress ratio R. The model has been applied to fully-reversed bending of plain woven glass/epoxy specimens. Stress redistributions and the three stages of stiffness degradation (sharp initial decline , gradual deterioration , final failure) could be simulated satisfactorily. [source] Low-cost J-R curve estimation based on CVN upper shelf energyFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 8 2001K. Wallin J-R curve testing is costly and difficult. The results may also sometimes be unreliable. For less demanding structures, J-R curve testing is therefore not practical. The only way to introduce tearing instability analysis for such cases is to estimate the J-R curves indirectly from some simpler test. The Charpy-V notch test provides information about the energy needed to fracture a small specimen in half. On the upper shelf this energy relates to ductile fracture resistance and it is possible to correlate it to the J-R curve. Here, 112 multispecimen J-R curves from a wide variety of materials were analysed and a simple power-law-based description of the J-R curves was correlated to the CVNUS energy. This new correlation corresponds essentially to a 5% lower bound and conforms well with the earlier correlations, regardless of the definition of the ductile fracture toughness parameter. [source] Iron-mediated suppression of bloom-forming cyanobacteria by oxine in a eutrophic lakeFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010LEWIS A. MOLOT Summary 1. Published studies show that cyanobacteria have higher Fe requirements than eukaryotic algae. To test whether Fe availability can affect formation of a cyanobacterial bloom, a strong Fe chelator, oxine (8-hydroxyquinoline, C9H7NO), was added to enclosures in eutrophic Lake 227 in the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) (northwestern Ontario). 2. Aphanizomenon schindlerii growth was suppressed, and growth of eukaryotic chlorophytes significantly promoted in enclosures to which oxine had been added. Significant eukaryotic growth did not occur in enclosures treated with ammonium, suggesting that N supplied by degradation of oxine was not responsible for eukaryotic success in the oxine enclosures. 3. In situ Fe2+ measurements were unreliable because of interference from high concentrations of dissolved organic compounds. However, oxine rapidly promoted oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ in deionised water, suggesting that rapid removal of Fe2+ also occurred in the oxine-treated enclosures. 4. In batch cultures, 10 ,m Fe and 10 ,m oxine (a 1 : 1 ratio) completely inhibited the growth of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp. and Anabaena flos-aquae and the chlorophytes Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Scenedesmus quadricauda. Increasing Fe 10-fold to 100 ,m Fe completely and partially reversed oxine inhibition in the two chlorophytes but could not overcome inhibition of the cyanobacteria, indicating that inhibition was Fe-mediated at least in the eukaryotes. Since oxine binds Fe3+ in a 1 : 3 ratio (Fe : oxine), inhibition at a 1 : 1 ratio indicates that not all of the Fe is bound, and a mechanism involving Fe other than chelation was at least partly responsible for inhibition. 5. Collectively, the enclosure and laboratory results suggest that the outcome of competition between cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae in the oxine-treated enclosures in Lake 227 was likely a result of decreased availability of Fe, especially Fe2+. 6. The results suggest that remediation methods that dramatically restrict the supply rate of Fe2+ could reduce the relative abundance of cyanobacteria in eutrophic systems. [source] A critique of the World Health Organisation's evaluation of health system performanceHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 5 2003Jeff Richardson Abstract The World Health Organisation's (WHO) approach to the measurement of health system efficiency is briefly described. Four arguments are then presented. First, equity of finance should not be a criterion for the evaluation of a health system and, more generally, the same objectives and importance weights should not be imposed upon all countries. Secondly, the numerical value of the importance weights do not reflect their true importance in the country rankings. Thirdly, the model for combining the different objectives into a single index of system performance is problematical and alternative models are shown to alter system rankings. The WHO statistical analysis is replicated and used to support the fourth argument which is that, contrary to the author's assertion, their methods cannot separate true inefficiency from random error. The procedure is also subject to omitted variable bias. The econometric model for all countries has very poor predictive power for the subset of OECD countries and it is outperformed by two simpler algorithms. Country rankings based upon the model are correspondingly unreliable. It is concluded that, despite these problems, the study is a landmark in the evolution of system evaluation, but one which requires significant revision. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Transient elastography is unreliable for detection of cirrhosis in patients with acute liver damage,HEPATOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Ze-Zhou Song M.S. No abstract is available for this article. [source] Quantification of sequence exchange events between PMS2 and PMS2CL provides a basis for improved mutation scanning of lynch syndrome patients,HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 5 2010Heleen M. van der Klift Abstract Heterozygous mutations in PMS2 are involved in Lynch syndrome, whereas biallelic mutations are found in Constitutional mismatch repair-deficiency syndrome patients. Mutation detection is complicated by the occurrence of sequence exchange events between the duplicated regions of PMS2 and PMS2CL. We investigated the frequency of such events with a nonspecific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategy, coamplifying both PMS2 and PMS2CL sequences. This allowed us to score ratios between gene and pseudogene-specific nucleotides at 29 PSV sites from exon 11 to the end of the gene. We found sequence transfer at all investigated PSVs from intron 12 to the 3, end of the gene in 4 to 52% of DNA samples. Overall, sequence exchange between PMS2 and PMS2CL was observed in 69% (83/120) of individuals. We demonstrate that mutation scanning with PMS2 -specific PCR primers and MLPA probes, designed on PSVs, in the 3, duplicated region is unreliable, and present an RNA-based mutation detection strategy to improve reliability. Using this strategy, we found 19 different putative pathogenic PMS2 mutations. Four of these (21%) are lying in the region with frequent sequence transfer and are missed or called incorrectly as homozygous with several PSV-based mutation detection methods. Hum Mutat 31:578,587, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Accuracy of the Justy II Apex locator in determining working length in simulated horizontal and vertical fracturesINTERNATIONAL ENDODONTIC JOURNAL, Issue 3 2004M. Azabal Abstract Aim, To study the effectiveness of an electronic apex locator (EAL; Justy II; Yoshida Dentcraft, Tokyo, Japan) in locating simulated horizontal and vertical fractures in single roots. Methodology, An EAL was used to measure the distance within the canal of horizontal (n = 31) and vertical (n = 31) fractures, created with a disk in single-rooted teeth. Accuracy of the EAL was evaluated by comparing the measurements with those made using a size 10 file. Data were analysed with the non-parametric Passing and Bablok method. Results, For simulated horizontal fractures, the EAL measured exactly the same length as a size 10 file, without constant or proportional errors. In vertical simulated fractures, the EAL measured (on average) with a constant error of 7.5 mm shorter than the size 10 file; the difference had a wide confidence interval (,72.3 to 2.6 mm). Conclusions, In this laboratory study, the Justy II EAL was able to determine accurately the position of simulated horizontal fractures, but was unreliable when measuring simulated vertical fractures. [source] A least square extrapolation method for the a posteriori error estimate of the incompressible Navier Stokes problemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 1 2005M. Garbey Abstract A posteriori error estimators are fundamental tools for providing confidence in the numerical computation of PDEs. To date, the main theories of a posteriori estimators have been developed largely in the finite element framework, for either linear elliptic operators or non-linear PDEs in the absence of disparate length scales. On the other hand, there is a strong interest in using grid refinement combined with Richardson extrapolation to produce CFD solutions with improved accuracy and, therefore, a posteriori error estimates. But in practice, the effective order of a numerical method often depends on space location and is not uniform, rendering the Richardson extrapolation method unreliable. We have recently introduced (Garbey, 13th International Conference on Domain Decomposition, Barcelona, 2002; 379,386; Garbey and Shyy, J. Comput. Phys. 2003; 186:1,23) a new method which estimates the order of convergence of a computation as the solution of a least square minimization problem on the residual. This method, called least square extrapolation, introduces a framework facilitating multi-level extrapolation, improves accuracy and provides a posteriori error estimate. This method can accommodate different grid arrangements. The goal of this paper is to investigate the power and limits of this method via incompressible Navier Stokes flow computations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Analysis and selection criteria of BSIM4 flicker noise simulation modelsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIRCUIT THEORY AND APPLICATIONS, Issue 7 2008T. Noulis Abstract CMOS transistors' noise performance is mainly dominated by flicker (1/f) noise. BSIM4.X MOSFET simulation model develops two distinct models, SPICE-Flicker and BSIM-Flicker, to calculate flicker noise. In this paper, these two models are analytically examined and compared to noise measurements, using an NMOS and a PMOS device fabricated in 0.6µm process by Austria Mikro Systeme (AMS). MOSFET 1/f noise measurements and the respective simulations were obtained under various bias conditions, as to study which flicker noise model is the optimum in each operating region. Measurement temperature was constant at 295,K. Comparisons suggest that in an NMOS transistor operating in the triode or saturation region, BSIM-Flicker model is accurate and therefore preferable. In a PMOS transistor, the most suitable model to describe its 1/f noise performance in the linear regime is also BSIM-Flicker, whereas SPICE-Flicker is more preferable in saturation. In NMOS transistors, the selected model provides a great accurate description of flicker noise, contrary to PMOS transistors, where simulation models appear to be quite unreliable and need further improvement. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] DXA scanning in women over 50 years with distal forearm fracture shows osteoporosis is infrequent until age 65 yearsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 3 2008H. Lashin Summary Aims:, Women with distal forearm fracture (DFF) may have low bone mineral density (BMD) and merit Dual Energy Xray (DXA) scanning. However patient age at fracture and the database for ,healthy' subjects may influence how many have osteoporosis and require DXA scans. Osteoporosis prevalence in DFF patients by age was investigated using local or nHanes III databases for BMD. Methods:, A total of 186 women over 50 years consecutively referred with DFF over 1 year were audited without exclusion criteria. BMD of L2,4 and femoral neck (Hologic QDR4500A) was measured and T - and Z -scores calculated from a local database or nHanes III. Results:, Of 90 patients aged 50,64 years, 21.1% had femoral neck T -score < ,2.5 and 7.7% < ,3.0 (local) and 8.8% and 4.4% respectively (nHanes III). Patients aged 65,74 years (n = 61) included 19.7% with T -score < ,2.5 (nHanes III = 10%). 41.2% (nHanes III = 28.6%) of patients > 75 years had femoral neck osteoporosis. Including patients with spine T < ,2.5 increased the proportion to 31.1% (50,64 years) and 34.4% (65,74 years) with no extra over 75 years. Weight predicted low BMD ineffectively (area under ROC = 70%). Conclusion:, Osteoporosis is infrequent in women with DFF below 65 years. As fracture prevention treatment yields significant fracture reduction only in patients with T -score < ,2.5, DXA scanning below 65 years is not justified. After 65 years scanning is justified at all ages, as even in the elderly patients osteoporosis is present in < 50% of patients with DFF. Using nHanes III limits the number of DFF patients warranting treatment. Low body weight is unreliable for identifying osteoporosis. [source] Review article: Basic steps in adapting response surface methodology as mathematical modelling for bioprocess optimisation in the food systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 9 2010Titus U. Nwabueze Summary Techniques involving choosing process combinations for optimisation without due consideration for relevant experimental designs is scientifically unreliable and irreproducible. Mathematical modelling, of which response surface methodology (RSM) is one, provides a precise map leading to successful optimisation. This paper identified key process variables, building the model and searching the solution through multivariate regression analysis, interpretation of resulting polynomial equations and response surface/contour plots as basic steps in adapting the central composite design to achieve process optimisation. It also gave information on appropriate RSM software packages and choice of order in RSM model and data economy in reducing the factorial experiments from large number parameter combinations to a far less number without losing any information including quadratic and interaction (if present) effects. It is expected that this paper will afford many food scientists and researchers the opportunity for adapting RSM as a mathematical model for achieving bioprocess optimisation in food systems. [source] Haemoglobin Etobicoke, an incidental finding in an Irish diabeticINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2003D. A. O'Brien Summary It is well recognized that haemoglobin variants can be detected during the measurement of HbA1c by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A number of variants have been reported as compromising the quantification of HbA1c, a marker used in the assessment of glycaemic control in diabetes. We describe a case of haemoglobin Etobicoke, a rare alpha chain variant detected in an Irish diabetic during HbA1c analysis. Its identity was confirmed using a series of investigations. These included haemoglobin electrophoresis at alkaline and acid pH, isoelectric focusing and globin chain electrophoresis. Ultimately mass spectrometry isolated the mutation at position alpha 84 (F5). Haemoglobin Etobicoke, first described in Canada in 1969 has not previously been detected on HbA1c analysis. In the presence of this rare variant, HbA1c, a standard method using HPLC to assess glycaemic control in diabetes is unreliable and alternatives such as fructosamine need to be considered. HbA1c measured by automated HPLC will effectively screen populations where haemoglobin variants were not previously known. Precise identity of these variants when they are detected is crucial to the reliable interpretation of HbA1c analyses. [source] Robustness analysis of flexible structures: practical algorithmsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 8 2003Gilles Ferreres Abstract When analysing the robustness properties of a flexible system, the classical solution, which consists of computing lower and upper bounds of the structured singular value (s.s.v.) at each point of a frequency gridding, appears unreliable. This paper describes two algorithms, based on the same technical result: the first one directly computes an upper bound of the maximal s.s.v. over a frequency interval, while the second one eliminates frequency intervals, inside which the s.s.v. is guaranteed to be below a given value. Various strategies are then proposed, which combine these two techniques, and also integrate methods for computing a lower bound of the s.s.v. The computational efficiency of the scheme is illustrated on a real-world application, namely a telescope mock-up which is significant of a high order flexible system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Partition-based algorithm for estimating transportation network reliability with dependent link failuresJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 3 2008Agachai Sumalee Evaluating the reliability of a transportation network often involves an intensive simulation exercise to randomly generate and evaluate different possible network states. This paper proposes an algorithm to approximate the network reliability which minimizes the use of such simulation procedure. The algorithm will dissect and classify the network states into reliable, unreliable, and un-determined partitions. By postulating the monotone property of the reliability function, each reliable and/or unreliable state can be used to determine a number of other reliable and/or unreliable states without evaluating all of them with an equilibrium assignment procedure. The paper also proposes the cause-based failure framework for representing dependent link degradation probabilities. The algorithm and framework proposed are tested with a medium size test network to illustrate the performance of the algorithm. [source] A study of the effect of isothiazolones on the performance and characteristics of a laboratory-scale rotating biological contactorJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2001L. Laopaiboon Aims: To study the effect of the isothiazolone biocide (Kathon WT) on the performance of laboratory-scale rotating biological contactors (RBCs) and their component biofilms. Methods and Results: Biofilms were established on the RBCs and then exposed to 0·7,15 p.p.m. isothiazolones. Young, 1-week-old, biofilms were found to attain treatment efficiency equal to that of mature, 2-month-old, biofilms. Isothiazolone concentrations at 3 p.p.m. and above caused a progressive decline in treatment efficiency and 15 p.p.m. isothiazolones inhibited all microbial activity and resulted in the death of the biofilms. Bio-oxidation and the biodegradation of isothiazolones within the biofilms ontinued unhindered at concentrations which caused the total inhibition of planktonic bacteria. Conclusions: There was at least a 10-fold difference in susceptibility of planktonic and biofilm bacteria to isothiazolones. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) test was shown to be a reliable tool for investigating the efficiency of wastewater treatment units when the influent contains isothiazolones, while the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was unreliable due to the inhibition of bio-oxidation by the biocide. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results show that RBCs can be used to treat effluents containing isothiazolones at concentrations up to 1·5 p.p.m. [source] Ambivalent Sexism and Misogynistic Rap Music: Does Exposure to Eminem Increase Sexism?,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 12 2007Michael D. Cobb We evaluate the oft-repeated but typically untested claim that rap music encourages sexism. We randomly assigned participants to 1 of 3 conditions: no music, misogynistic rap music, and nonmisogynistic rap music. The first study (treated as a pilot; N = 232) weakly demonstrated the differential impact of exposure on male and female participants, but our measures of sexism were unreliable. We then conducted a second study (N = 175) employing well-validated (and more subtle) measures taken from the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). While we replicated the weak differential impact of participants' sex, we also find that sexism increased after listening to nonmisogynistic rap music, especially among males. Implications for the debate about labeling and censoring rap music are discussed. [source] Assessment of theoretical methods for the calculation of methyl cation affinitiesJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2008Y. Wei Abstract The methyl cation affinity (MCA; 298 K) of a variety of neutral and anionic bases has been examined computationally with a wide variety of theoretical methods. These include high-level composite procedures such as W1, G3, G3B3, and G2, conventional ab initio methods such as CCSD(T) and MP2, as well as a selection of density functional theory (DFT) methods. Experimental results for a variety of small model systems are well reproduced with practically all these methods, and the performance of DFT based methods are far superior in comparison to their MP2 analogs for these small models. For larger model, systems including motifs frequently encountered in organocatalysts, the performance deteriorates somewhat for DFT methods, while it improves significantly for MP2, rendering the former methods unreliable for common organic bases. Thus, MP2 calculations performed in combination with basis sets such as 6-31+G(2d, p) or larger, appear to offer a practical and reliable approach to compute MCAs of organic bases. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2008 [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||