Diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of tendency oriented perimetry in glaucoma

PURPOSE. To evaluate the diagnostic capability of tendency oriented perimetry (TOP) in glaucoma. METHODS. A): The diagnostic accuracy of mean defect (MD), square-root of the loss variance (sLV), and number of pathologic points (NPP) was calculated in 295 normal and 414 glaucoma eyes (179 early, 112 moderate, and 123 advanced) examined with TOP. B): Threshold fluctuation (F) and its relationship with the loss variance (LV) was measured in 34 normal and 33 glaucoma eyes (mean MD=3 dB; SD=3.9) for TOP and for full-threshold perimetry (FT). C): Twenty-eight eyes with stable glaucoma (mean MD=9.5 dB; SD=7.2) were examined six times to quantify LV error. D): TOP and FT were tested with the simulation program PeriSim using different behavior models. RESULTS. A): The best diagnostic index in early glaucoma (MD

Reproducibility of optic disk topographic measurements with the Topcon ImageNet and the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph

Objective: To compare the reproducibility of optic disk measurements provided by an image analyzer and a scanning laser tomograph. Methods: Ten images of the same eye of 10 normal volunteers were taken with the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph and with the Topcon ImageNet. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV) were used to evaluate the reproducibility of the measurements. Results: Eleven parameters were analyzed with the Topcon ImageNet. Six parameters (55%) had ICC greater than 90%. Four parameters (36%) had CV less than 10%. Twelve parameters were evaluated with the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph. Nine parameters (75%) had ICC over 90%. Nine parameters (75%) had CV less than 10%. Conclusion: Both systems provided reproducible data. The optic disk parameters provided by the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph had a better reproducibility than those obtained from the Topcon ImageNet.

Relations Between Political Violence and Child Adjustment: a four-wave test of the role of emotional insecurity about community

This study further explored the impact of sectarian violence and children's emotional insecurity about community on child maladjustment using a 4-wave longitudinal design. The study included 999 mother-child dyads in Belfast, Northern Ireland (482 boys, 517 girls). Across the 4 waves, child mean age was 12.19 (SD = 1.82), 13.24 (SD = 1.83), 13.61 (SD = 1.99), and 14.66 years (SD = 1.96), respectively. Building on previous studies of the role of emotional insecurity in child adjustment, the current study examines within-person change in emotional insecurity using latent growth curve analyses. The results showed that children's trajectories of emotional insecurity about community were related to risk for developing conduct and emotion problems. These findings controlled for earlier adjustment problems, age, and gender, and took into account the time-varying nature of experience with sectarian violence. Discussion considers the implications for children's emotional insecurity about community for relations between political violence and children's adjustment, including the significance of trajectories of emotional insecurity over time.

Validation of Next Generation Sequencing Technologies in Comparison to Current Diagnostic Gold Standards for BRAF, EGFR and KRAS Mutational Analysis

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) has the potential of becoming an important tool in clinical diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making in oncology owing to its enhanced sensitivity in DNA mutation detection, fast-turnaround of samples in comparison to current gold standard methods and the potential to sequence a large number of cancer-driving genes at the one time. We aim to test the diagnostic accuracy of current NGS technology in the analysis of mutations that represent current standard-of-care, and its reliability to generate concomitant information on other key genes in human oncogenesis. Thirteen clinical samples (8 lung adenocarcinomas, 3 colon carcinomas and 2 malignant melanomas) already genotyped for EGFR, KRAS and BRAF mutations by current standard-of-care methods (Sanger Sequencing and q-PCR), were analysed for detection of mutations in the same three genes using two NGS platforms and an additional 43 genes with one of these platforms. The results were analysed using closed platform-specific proprietary bioinformatics software as well as open third party applications. Our results indicate that the existing format of the NGS technology performed well in detecting the clinically relevant mutations stated above but may not be reliable for a broader unsupervised analysis of the wider genome in its current design. Our study represents a diagnostically lead validation of the major strengths and weaknesses of this technology before consideration for diagnostic use.

Human resource management practices in the multinational company: A test of system, societal, and dominance effects

Does the use of HRM practices by multinational companies (MNCs) reflect their national origins or are practices similar regardless of context? To the extent that practices are similar, is there any evidence of global best standards? The authors use the system, societal, and dominance framework to address these questions through analysis of 1,100 MNC subsidiaries in Canada, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. They argue that this framework offers a richer account than alternatives such as varieties of capitalism. The study moves beyond previous research by differentiating between system effects at the global level and dominance effects arising from the diffusion of practices from a dominant economy. It shows that both effects are present, as are some differences at the societal level. Results suggest that MNCs configure their HRM practices in response to all three forces rather than to some uniform global best practices or to their national institutional contexts.

Evaluation of a substructured soft Real-time Hybrid Test for performing Seismic analysis of complex structural systems

The hybrid test method is a relatively recently developed dynamic testing technique that uses numerical modelling combined with simultaneous physical testing. The concept of substructuring allows the critical or highly nonlinear part of the structure that is difficult to numerically model with accuracy to be physically tested whilst the remainder of the structure, that has a more predictable response, is numerically modelled. In this paper, a substructured soft-real time hybrid test is evaluated as an accurate means of performing seismic tests of complex structures. The structure analysed is a three-storey, two-by-one bay concentrically braced frame (CBF) steel structure subjected to seismic excitation. A ground storey braced frame substructure whose response is critical to the overall response of the structure is tested, whilst the remainder of the structure is numerically modelled. OpenSees is used for numerical modelling and OpenFresco is used for the communication between the test equipment and numerical model. A novel approach using OpenFresco to define the complex numerical substructure of an X-braced frame within a hybrid test is also presented. The results of the hybrid tests are compared to purely numerical models using OpenSees and a simulated test using a combination of OpenSees and OpenFresco. The comparative results indicate that the test method provides an accurate and cost effective procedure for performing
full scale seismic tests of complex structural systems.

The sympathetic release test: a test used to assess thermoregulation and autonomic control of blood flow

When a subject is heated, the stimulation of temperature-sensitive nerve endings in the skin, and the raising of the central body temperature, results in the reflex release of sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone in the skin of the extremities, causing a measurable temperature increase at the site of release. In the sympathetic release test, the subject is gently heated by placing the feet and calves in a commercially available foot warming pouch or immersing the feet and calves in warm water and wrapping the subject in blankets. Skin blood flow is estimated from measurements of skin temperature in the fingers. Normally skin temperature of the fingers is 65-75 degrees F in cool conditions (environmental temperature: 59-68 degrees F) and rises to 85-95 degrees F during body heating. Deviations in this pattern may mean that there is abnormal sympathetic vasoconstrictor control of skin blood flow. Abnormal skin blood flow can substantially impair an individual's ability to thermoregulate and has important clinical implications. During whole body heating, the skin temperature from three different skin sites is monitored and oral temperature is monitored as an index of core temperature. Students determine the fingertip temperature at which the reflex release of sympathetic activity occurs and its maximal attainment, which reflects the vasodilating capacity of this cutaneous vascular bed. Students should interpret typical sample data for certain clinical conditions (Raynaud's disease, peripheral vascular disease, and postsympathectomy) and explain why there may be altered skin blood flow in these disorders.

Assessment of the effectiveness of the guard ring in obtaining a uni-directional flow in an in situ water permeability test

The non-destructive evaluation of the water permeability of concrete structures is a long standing challenge, principally due to the difficulty of achieving a uni-direction flow for computing the water permeability coefficient. The use of a guard ring (GR) was originally proposed for the in situ sorptivity test, but little information can be found for the water permeability test. In this study, the effect of a GR was carefully examined through the flow simulation, which was verified by carrying out experiments. It was observed that the GR can confine the flow near the surface, but cannot achieve a uni-directional flow across the whole depth of flow. To achieve a better performance, it is essential to consider the effects of the size of the inner seal and the GR and the significant interaction between these two. The analysis of the experimental data has indicated that the GR influences the flow for porous concretes, but there is no significant effect for dense concretes. Further investigation, validated using the flow-net theory, has shown a strong correlation between the water permeability coefficients obtained with the GR (K w-GR) and without it (K w-No GR), suggesting that one dimensional flow is not essential for interpreting data for site tests. Another practical issue was that more than 30 % of the tests with GR failed due to the difficulty of achieving a good seal between the inner and the outer chambers. Based on the work reported in this paper, a new water permeability test is proposed.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack Test-bed Investigating Cyber-security Vulnerabilities in Smart Grid SCADA Systems

The increased complexity and interconnectivity of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems in the Smart Grid has exposed them to a wide range of cyber-security issues, and there are a multitude of potential access points for cyber attackers. This paper presents a SCADA-specific cyber-security test-bed which contains SCADA software and communication infrastructure. This test-bed is used to investigate an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) spoofing based man-in-the-middle attack. Finally, the paper proposes a future work plan which focuses on applying intrusion detection and prevention technology to address cyber-security issues in SCADA systems.