Doing less but getting more: Improving forced-choice measures with IRT.

Multidimensional forced-choice (MFC) questionnaires typically show good validities and are resistant to impression management effects. However, they yield ipsative data, which distorts scale relationships and makes comparisons between people problematic. Depressed reliability estimates also led developers to create tests of potentially excessive length. We apply an IRT Preference Model to make more efficient use of information in existing MFC questionnaires. OPQ32i used for selection and assessment internationally is examined using this approach. The latent scores recovered from a much reduced number of MFC items are superior to the full test?s ipsative scores, and comparable to unbiased normative scores

The effect of polypropylene fibres within concrete with regard to fire performance in structures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of various polypropylene fibre additions (types and volume) to concrete with regard to explosive spalling when subject to high temperatures similar to those experienced in building or tunnel fires. Design/methodology/approach – Medium strength concrete was manufactured with varying proportions of polypropylene fibres. Plain control samples were used to determine the original concrete strength and this was used as a benchmark following high temperature heat tests to evaluate the surface condition and final compressive strength. A pilot study was used to determine an appropriate heat source for the test. This was three Bunsen burners, however sufficient heat could not be generated within 150mm concrete cubes and the concrete was shown to be a significant insulator and fire protection for structural members. The concrete test cubes were tested in a saturated condition which may reflect conditions where concrete is used in an external environment and thus is subject to soaking. Findings – One hundred and fifty millimetre concrete cubes with and without fibres were placed into a furnace at 1,000°C. Explosive spalling was shown to be reduced with the use of polypropylene fibres but the final compressive strength of concrete was significantly reduced and had little residual structural value after a two hour period of heating. Research limitations/implications – As the concrete tested was saturated, this condition provided a worst case scenario with regards to the build up of hydrostatic and vapour pressure within the cube. A range of percentage moisture contents would produce a more evenly balanced view of the effects of fibres in concrete. A single grade of concrete was used for the test. As the permeability of concrete influences the rate at which steam can escape from the interior of a saturated concrete cube, testing a range of concrete strengths would show this aspect of material performance with regard to spalling and final residual strength. Further research is recommended with regard to moisture contents, strengths of concrete and a range of temperatures

Building Bridges Toward Science Careers for Youth with Disabilities

Several researchers have addressed the issue of accommodating students with disabilities in college science classrooms (Brazier, Parry, & Fischbach, 2000; Womble & Walker, 2001). However, little research has focused on the types of accommodations and supports needed for students with disabilities at the college level (Stodden, 2000). This brief outlines results of research conducted by the Bridges Project funded by the National Science Foundation Program for Persons with Disabilities. The major goals of the project were (a) to create a model facilitating greater access for students with disabilities to postsecondary education and careers in science and technology, and (b) to investigate issues related to the transition from high school to college for students with disabilities

Colon-Targeted Oral Drug Delivery Systems: Design Trends and Approaches

Colon-specific drug delivery systems (CDDS) are desirable for the treatment of a range of local diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pancreatitis, and colonic cancer. In addition, the colon can be a potential site for the systemic absorption of several drugs to treat non-colonic conditions. Drugs such as proteins and peptides that are known to degrade in the extreme gastric pH, if delivered to the colon intact, can be systemically absorbed by colonic mucosa. In order to achieve effective therapeutic outcomes, it is imperative that the designed delivery system specifically targets the drugs into the colon. Several formulation approaches have been explored in the development colon-targeted drug delivery systems. These approaches involve the use of formulation components that interact with one or more aspects of gastrointestinal (GI) physiology, such as the difference in the pH along the GI tract, the presence of colonic microflora, and enzymes, to achieve colon targeting. This article highlights the factors influencing colon-specific drug delivery and colonic bioavailability, and the limitations associated with CDDS. Further, the review provides a systematic discussion of various conventional, as well as relatively newer formulation approaches/technologies currently being utilized for the development of CDDS

Measuring attitude towards personal data for adaptive cybersecurity

Purpose: This paper presents an initial development of a Personal Data Attitude (PDA) measurement instrument based on established psychometric principles. The aim of the research was to develop a reliable measurement scale for quantifying and comparing attitudes towards personal data that can be incorporated into cybersecurity behavioral research models. Such a scale has become necessary for understanding individuals’ attitudes towards specific sets of data as more technologies are being designed to harvest, collate, share and analyze personal data. Design/methodology/approach: An initial set of 34 five-point Likert style items were developed with 8 sub-scales and administered to participants online. The data collected were subjected to Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis and some MANOVA. The results are consistent with multi-dimensionality of attitude theories and suggest the adopted methodology for the study is appropriate for future research with a more representative sample. Findings: Factor analysis of 247 responses identified 6 constructs of individuals’ attitude towards personal data: Protective Behavior, Privacy Concerns, Cost-Benefit, Awareness, Responsibility and Security. This paper illustrates how the PDA scale can be a useful guide for information security research and design by briefly discussing the factor structure of the PDA and related results. Originality/value: This study addresses a genuine gap in the research by taking the first step towards establishing empirical evidence for dimensions underlying personal data attitudes. It also adds a significant benchmark to a growing body of literature on understanding and modelling computer users’ security behaviors

Simple and objective prediction of survival in patients with lung cancer: staging the host systemic inflammatory response

Background. Prediction of survival in patients diagnosed with lung cancer remains problematical. The aim of the present study was to examine the clinical utility of an established objective marker of the systemic inflammatory response, the Glasgow Prognostic Score, as the basis of risk stratification in patients with lung cancer. Methods. Between 2005 and 2008 all newly diagnosed lung cancer patients coming through the multidisciplinary meetings (MDTs) of four Scottish centres were included in the study. The details of 882 patients with a confirmed new diagnosis of any subtype or stage of lung cancer were collected prospectively. Results. The median survival was 5.6 months (IQR 4.8–6.5). Survival analysis was undertaken in three separate groups based on mGPS score. In the mGPS 0 group the most highly predictive factors were performance status, weight loss, stage of NSCLC, and palliative treatment offered. In the mGPS 1 group performance status, stage of NSCLC, and radical treatment offered were significant. In the mGPS 2 group only performance status and weight loss were statistically significant. Discussion. This present study confirms previous work supporting the use of mGPS in predicting cancer survival; however, it goes further by showing how it might be used to provide more objective risk stratification in patients diagnosed with lung cancer

Cardiac and Skeletal Muscle Lipotoxicity in a Rat Model of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

poster abstractPatients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)experience shift from aerobic to anaerobic respiration in cardiac and skeletal muscle myocytes. This shift can be identified histologically by an increased presence of the glucose transporter Glut 1 in the tissue, indicating increased reliance on cytoplasmic glycolysis. Previous studies have demonstrated that in patients with diabetes, an increase in Glut 1 is accompanied by an increase in fat storage in the cell. Excessive myocyte fat storage may contribute to tissue and systemic inflammation and has therefore been termed ‘lipotoxicity’. This study tested the hypothesis in a PAH rat model that an increase in cardiac and skeletal muscle Glut 1 abundance would be associated with an increase in fat storage in the cell. Oil Red O staining was performed to assay for lipotoxicity in cryosections of right ventricle and soleus muscle tissue, imaged using brightfield microscopy. The experiment was conducted using tissue from a moderately severe PAH phenotype produced by monocrotaline(60 mg/kg) injection, as well as from saline injected control animals. Lipids have been observed in the first few samples tested with Oil Red O staining, and results are still pending as a larger sample size is currently being collected

Coherence-Preserving Quantum Bits

Real quantum systems couple to their environment and lose their intrinsic quantum nature through the process known as decoherence. Here we present a method for minimizing decoherence by making it energetically unfavorable. We present a Hamiltonian made up solely of two-body interactions between four two-level systems (qubits) which has a two-fold degenerate ground state. This degenerate ground state has the property that any decoherence process acting on an individual physical qubit must supply energy from the bath to the system. Quantum information can be encoded into the degeneracy of the ground state and such coherence-preserving qubits will then be robust to local decoherence at low bath temperatures. We show how this quantum information can be universally manipulated and indicate how this approach may be applied to a quantum dot quantum computer.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur