Optimization and validation of CEDIA drugs of abuse immunoassay tests in serum on Hitachi 912

Due to sensitive limits of detection of chromatographic methods and low limit values regarding the screening of drugs under the terms of impairment in safe driving (§ 24a StVG, Street Traffic Law in Germany), preliminary immunoassay (IA) tests should be able to detect also low concentrations of legal and illegal drugs in serum in forensic cases. False-negatives should be avoided, the rate of false-positive samples should be low due to cost and time. An optimization of IA cutoff values and a validation of the assay is required for each laboratory. In a retrospective study results for serum samples containing amphetamine, methylenedioxy derivatives, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, cocaine (metabolites), methadone and opiates obtained with CEDIA drugs of abuse reagents on a Hitachi 912 autoanalyzer were compared with quantitative results of chromatographic methods (gas or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS or LC/MS)). Firstly sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and overall misclassification rates were evaluated by contingency tables and compared to ROC-analyses and Youden-Indices. Secondly ideal cutoffs were statistically calculated on the basis of sensitivity and specificity as decisive statistical criteria with focus on a high sensitivity (low rates of false-negatives), i.e. using the Youden-Index. Immunoassay (IA) and confirmatory results were available for 3014 blood samples. Sensitivity was 90% or more for nearly all analytes: amphetamines (IA cutoff 9.5 ng/ml), methylenedioxy derivatives (IA cutoff 5.5 ng/ml), cannabinoids (IA cutoff 14.5 ng/ml), benzodiazepines (IA cutoff >0 ng/ml). Test of opiates showed a sensitivity of 86% for a IA cutoff value of >0 ng/ml. Values for specificity ranged between 33% (methadone, IA cutoff 10 ng/ml) and 90% (cocaine, IA cutoff 20 ng/ml). Lower cutoff values as recommended by ROC analyses were chosen for most tests to decrease the rate of false-negatives. Analyses enabled the definition of cutoff values with good values for sensitivity. Small rates of false-positives can be accepted in forensic cases.     

Evaluation of pediatric skull fracture imaging techniques

Radiologic imaging is crucial in the diagnosis of skull fracture, but there is some doubt as to whether different imaging modalities can accurately identify fractures present on a human skull. While studies have been performed to evaluate the efficacy of radiologic imaging at other anatomical locations, there have been no systematic studies comparing various CT techniques, including high resolution imaging with and without 3D reconstructions to conventional radiologic imaging in children, we investigated which imaging modalities: high-resolution CT scan with 3D projections, clinical-resolution CT scans or X-rays, best showed fracture occurrence in a pediatric human cadaver skull by having an expert pediatric radiologist examine radiologic images from fractured skulls. The skulls used were taken from pediatric cadavers ranging in age from 5 months to 16 years. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity for the imaging modalities using dissection findings as the gold standard. We found that high-resolution CT scans with 3D projections and conventional CT provided the most accurate fracture diagnosis (single-fracture sensitivity of 71%) followed by X-rays (single-fracture sensitivity of 63%). Linear fractures outsider the region of the sutures were more identifiable than diastatic fractures, though the incidence of false positives was greater for linear fractures. In the two cases where multiple fractures were present on the same anatomical skull location, the radiologist was less likely to identify the presence of additional fractures than a single fracture. Overall, the high-resolution and clinical-resolution CT scans had the similar accuracy for detecting skull fractures while the use of the X-ray was both less accurate and had a lower specificity.     

Parental warmth amplifies the negative effect of parental hostility on dating violence

Past research has documented the positive association between parental hostility and offspring involvement in intimate partner violence. Researchers, practitioners, and parents typically adopt the standpoint that parental warmth may counter these negative lessons. However, Straus and colleagues argue that parents foster IPV to the extent that they teach their child that verbal and physical aggression are a normal and legitimate component of loving relationships. A strict interpretation of social learning theory would suggest that these lessons are more, not less, likely to occur when parental hostility is interspersed with displays of affection. The present study tests this idea using data from 2,088 undergraduate students from a large university in the Southeast. Consistent with Straus' arguments, findings suggest that, rather than attenuating the negative effects of hostility, supportive interactions seem to amplify the probability that offspring will emulate aggressive behaviors in their own romantic relationships. The same is true for the effects of harsh parenting for women. It seems that the best way parents can avoid contributing to their child's chances of being in a violent dating relationship is to eschew family interaction involving verbal and physical aggression.     

The demand for transparency: An empirical note

By encouraging socially wasteful rent seeking and corruption, natural resources abundance might not be a blessing but a country’s curse. A recent attempt to impede these practices of corruption with theft is the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The purpose of this organization is to verify and fully publish company payments and government revenues from oil, gas, and mining. Using a probit estimation technique the paper analyses empirically the political and socio-economic factors which determine a country’s participation in EITI, which can be interpreted as revealed willingness to reform.     

Editorial

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Editorial

     

Perceived chances for promotion among women associate professors in computing: individual, departmental, and entrepreneurial factors

This article expands understanding of gender and advancement in academic science by going into a new dimension of inquiry: Focusing on women associate professors in computing, it assesses the relationship between perceived chances for promotion to full professor and indicators of entrepreneurship, as part of key sets of individual and departmental independent variables that are also addressed. Data from a national survey of women in academic computing indicate that time spent in entrepreneurial activity does not predict excellent/good (compared to fair/poor) chances for promotion perceived by these women faculty, nor does the quantity/quality of entrepreneurial activity that they report for their home units. Departmental reward structures reported as favoring entrepreneurial activity negatively predict perceived chances for promotion. Other key individual and departmental characteristics also predict chances for promotion: faculty members’ age, collaboration, family characteristics, departmental climate, and US (compared to Canadian) location. Findings from interviews with a small subset of respondents to the survey illuminate the survey findings on the role of entrepreneurial factors in perceived chances for advancement.