Adequate Effort Research Articles

Mathematics as a Career Desire: A Survey of Students among Mechi Multiple Campus

The purpose of this study was to find out how Mechi Multiple Campus students feel about mathematics as a career option. The study was conducted using a descriptive research approach. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain primary data from a random sample of 435 pupils. To arrive at a conclusion, the data was processed using the mean and standard deviation. The findings suggest that pupils were not interested in pursuing mathematics as a career. Students would rather pursue professions in disciplines other than math. They were also hesitant to spend adequate time, effort, and determination to improve their mathematic skills.

Meaningful Work: A Review, Synthesis and Research Agenda

Changes in work and workplaces in a pandemic-stricken world, has increased the importance of finding meaningfulness in work and changed the understanding of what is meaningful. Although prior literature has focused on conceptual and empirical foundations of meaningful work, they did not seem to have given adequate effort towards a cohesive understanding of meaningful work. This paper consolidates the literature on meaningful work by providing a comprehensive review of its definitions, antecedents, and consequences. We review more than sixty definitions of meaningful work and offer ten specific approaches, that is further categorized under three broad operationalization of the concept. Next, we review the antecedents and outcomes that have been widely studied in the literature. We conclude by proposing an agenda for future research by offering five specific potential areas followed by theoretical contribution, that is likely to extend our understanding of meaningful work to create a better world together.

Self Employment Motivation of National Youth Service Corp Members in Nigeria

The focus of this study was aimed at investigating effects of entrepreneurial skills acquisition on self-employment, as to redress the ills of unemployment in Nigeria. The study which was designed as a descriptive survey evaluated the mediating effects of psycho- social factors on the relationship between entrepreneurial skills acquisition and self-employment in Nigeria. Instrument for data collection was close ended questionnaire, which was designed with five options: strongly agree, agree, undecided, strongly disagree and disagree; in line with the five (5) points modified Likert scale. The instrument was tested for validity and reliability and found suitable for the study. The population of the study was Twenty-Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy Six (22,876), serving National Youth Corps members in South- East, Nigeria. Using Borg and Gall (1973) technique, sample size of Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Twelve (4412) was deduced, though the study was conducted using 4,400 copies of questionnaire that were received fully completed and usable. Data generated from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics: tables, frequencies, percentages, graphs, pie charts and histograms. Five distinct hypotheses were formulated to guide the study, and were tested using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression inferential statistics, with the help of e-view, version 9. All tests were carried out at significance level of 0.05 and 10% degree of freedom (df). The study revealed that entrepreneurial skills variables: business skills, technical skills and personal entrepreneurial skills have significant positive effects on self-employment in Nigeria. The study also established that psycho- social factors (self- motivation and social influence) have significant positive effect on self-employment in Nigeria. The research concluded that with adequate effort in motivating the students and enhanced positive social influence, entrepreneurial skills acquisition will encourage nascent entrepreneurship activities and stimulate existing entrepreneurs to high performance. Hence the study recommended, among others that tertiary institutions and other entrepreneurial training centres should enrich their curriculum with business skills, technical skills, personal entrepreneurial skills, and also planned activities that will motivate students and provide positive social influence, to ensure that entrepreneurial skills acquisition generates enterprise creation and reduce the problem of unemployment in Nigeria.

Justice and Faith: The Frank Murphy Story by Greg Zipes

Reviewed by: Justice and Faith: The Frank Murphy Story by Greg Zipes Florence Wagman Roisman Greg Zipes. Justice and Faith: The Frank Murphy Story. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2021. Pp. 352. Bibliography. Illustrations. Index. Notes. Paperback: $34.95. William Francis—Frank—Murphy was a Detroit trial judge, mayor of Detroit, governor of Michigan, governor-general of the Philippines, US [End Page 163] attorney general, and associate justice of the US Supreme Court. As a trial judge, he presided with notable fairness over the NAACP's most significant case of the 1920s—the prosecutions of Dr. Ossian Sweet, a Black physician, and his family and friends who were accused of murdering a White man who had been part of a mob that threatened the Sweets' occupancy of a home Sweet had purchased in a "white neighborhood." As mayor, Murphy opposed the Ku Klux Klan and sought to provide relief from the Great Depression; Zipes credits Murphy with helping to create the US Conference of Mayors and encouraging federal aid to cities. As governor, faced in the 1930s with autoworkers' sit-down strikes, he refused to use force against the strikers and instead "ordered the State Welfare Department to provide food to the striking workers . . . ." (154) Attorney General Murphy created the US Department of Justice's Civil Liberties Unit (later renamed the Civil Rights Division), continuing his lifelong support for positions urged by the NAACP and ACLU and spearheading important reforms in criminal procedure. Justice Murphy wrote important decisions with respect to labor law (choosing one such case, Thornhill v. Alabama, for his first majority opinion), as well as civil liberties, civil rights, and criminal justice. He early repudiated the "separate but equal" doctrine, introduced the word "racism" to US Supreme Court opinions, and authored one of the bravest—his dissent in Korematsu v. U.S., in which the majority shamefully upheld the internment of Japanese Americans in the United States. (The Supreme Court disavowed that decision in Trump v. Hawaii in 2018, not overruling it as Zipes says (259, 266), but stating that it "was gravely wrong the day it was decided [and] has been overruled in the court of history . . . ." Justice Murphy's dissent in Korematsu was cited in the 2018 dissent by Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg.) As in Korematsu, Murphy's separate opinions, concurring or dissenting, often sounded a "fiery moral tone." (295) Murphy's devout Catholicism, political ambition, and possible homosexuality amplify the complications of his life. Murphy brings great honor to Michigan, but despite his many accomplishments, he is almost unknown today. Zipes makes a significant contribution by bringing new attention to Murphy. Zipes's admiring, brief book offers an enticing introduction to this important but oft-neglected figure. The first pages of Zipes's concluding chapter (290-295) outline what he lauds in Murphy: "his desire to uplift the truly destitute" and "defend unpopular groups from attack." (290) Unfortunately, the book's brevity and Zipes's adulation sometimes produce misleading praise of Murphy where a more nuanced assessment [End Page 164] would be appropriate. Thus, to take one example, Zipes's reference to the 1932 "Hunger March" of unemployed Ford autoworkers suggests that the Detroit police adhered to Governor Murphy's intention that they not "intervene" (101) when the workers crossed into Dearborn and were viciously attacked by police there, but the earlier, fuller account by Sidney Fine shows that the Detroit police were at least peripherally involved and Murphy made "no adequate effort" to determine how they had behaved (Fine, The Detroit Years, 409). Similar instances appear elsewhere in the book. Moreover, the book is marred by errors that a distinguished university press should have prevented. One hopes that Zipes's book will lead readers to the seminal three-volume biography by Sidney Fine (1975, 1979, 1984). The University of Michigan Press would perform a public service by reprinting those volumes, including the second, which was published originally by the University of Chicago Press. Zipes had access to material not available to Fine; an objective, thorough, balanced updating of the Fine biography also would be most welcome. [End Page 165] Florence Wagman Roisman Robert H. McKinney School of Law Indiana University Copyright © 2022...

Informal Economy and Gender Inequality in Africa

The study investigates the relationship between gender inequality and the growth of the informal sector in Africa. Using Generalised Least Square Approach. it was discovered that gender inequality indices such as equality between males and females in getting jobs in the formal economy under the same or similar circumstances have a significant impact on the growth of the informal economy in the continent. The study concludes that if an adequate effort is not made to address the gender inequality in the continent, especially in formal employment that has forced many females to informal sector employment, the objective of achieving inclusive growth and development in the continent might not be realistic. The study, therefore, recommends that the United Nation and other international organizations should compensate the African women by giving the women at least 60 percent chance in all their employees as a way of increasing the economic and political power of the women in the continent.

Awareness on Heart Diseases among Bangladesh Army Personnel

Introduction: Heart diseases are global public health problem. In 2015, 14.31% of total death in Bangladesh was due to coronary heart disease. Moreover in 2016, 2(two) recruits and 1(one) officer of Bangladesh army encountered sudden death due to cardiac arrest. Objective: To ascertain the level of knowledge, awareness and health practice regarding the threat of cardiovascular diseases among Bangladesh Army personnel. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 242 members of Bangladesh Army in different training centers and school under Army training and doctrine command (ARTDOC), units of 19 infantry division, Battle group of ARTDOC and Head quarter (HQ) ARTDOC, from February to July 2017. Results: Among the respondents, 56.2%, 45% and 44.6% respectively mentioned tobacco smoking, obesity and sedentary life style are the causes of heart disease and 62%, 42%, 31%, 10% and 2% mentioned that chest pain, shortness of breathing, sweating, radiating pain in jaw and extremity and snoring-sleep apnea are the symptoms and signs of heart disease. Conclusion: From the study it was revealed that, majority of the respondents had poor level of knowledge on awareness of heart disease. Adequate effort may be taken to increase the awareness by expert professionals and social media. JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 16, No 2 (December) 2020: 47-50

“How do We Achieve it?” A Relational View of Service Quality Enhancement in High-involvement Service

Although the discourses on the consequences of attaining service quality are extensive, scholars did not seem to expend adequate effort in understanding the underlying mechanisms through which a service organization could enhance perceived quality. This apparent gap in the services marketing literature calls for a detailed process study to enable researchers and practitioners comprehend how relational approach could help service organizations to persuade the consumers over a period of time. Drawing on social influence theory (SIT), this paper shows how service quality is enhanced in high-involvement service contexts. Building on ethnographic memoir of a large-scale management consulting assignment, I show that consultants utilize Kelman’s (1958) social influence techniques of compliance, identification, and internalization to gradually increase the extent of cooperation from clients thereby improving their perceptions of service delivery. This study also reveals why a continuous, process-oriented, relational perspective is superior to examine the dynamic nature of consumers’ expectations and their perception of performance compared to discrete evaluations of service quality at different encounters. Through this paper I contribute to the service quality literature as well as to the SIT-related conversations.

Effects of land‐use on fruit bat distribution in different habitats along the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

AbstractTropical ecosystems are currently degrading at unprecedented speed, mostly due to rapid human population growth. This affects the associated biodiversity, which frequently results in damage to or loss of ecosystem functions. Due to high species richness and ecological diversity, bats are essential ecosystem elements. Our objective was to determine effects of land‐use categories on species abundance, richness and diversity of the guild of fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) on Mt. Kilimanjaro, a biodiversity hotspot in Tanzania. We surveyed five habitat types, including two natural habitats lower montane forest and savanna, and three disturbed habitats, coffee plantations, Chagga homegardens, and maize fields. We captured 629 frugivorous bats and (1) compared diversity and species abundance among the habitat types and (2) assessed factors driving the differences in guild structure along an elevational gradient. Species accumulation curves were asymptotic for all habitats, suggesting an adequate sampling effort. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling analysis indicated strong differentiation of fruit bat guilds among habitats. Highest species richness was recorded in lower montane forest and Chagga homegardens, which therefore represent habitats of high value for these bats. Nevertheless, even in the intensively used coffee plantations and maize fields we found a high abundance of bats from most species despite a low abundance of food resources. Our results suggest that bats do not perceive moderately sized plantations as a hostile matrix, but rather use them as flyways between fragments and patches of secondary vegetation. Further, we suggest that within plantations, trees likeFicusspp. increase bat activity.

A pilot study on the adequacy of the TOMM in detecting invalid performance in patients with substance use disorders

ABSTRACT Objective: The validity of neuropsychological test performance has scarcely been studied in patients with substance use disorders (SUD), despite the possibility that some SUD individuals may distort their performance for compensation seeking (e.g., work leave, permanent or total disability, or the designation of services such as sheltered housing). Thus, the aim of the present study is to determine: (i) the possible utility of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in detecting invalid test results among SUD patients, and (ii) the percentage of individuals that underperform the TOMM among SUD patients seeking compensation. Method: Seventy-seven patients (59 men and 18 women) with SUD in outpatient treatment with an age range between 20 and 59 years were divided into two groups: SUD patients without compensation seeking (n = 41), and SUD patients with compensation seeking (n = 36). Participants performed a neuropsychological assessment with measures of processing speed, working memory, inhibition, verbal memory, cognitive flexibility, and decision-making, that also included the TOMM. Results: Our results demonstrate that there were no significant differences on TOMM performance between the two groups. Only one participant underperformed the TOMM (1.3% of the sample). Results showed cognitive impairment in the sample, but no differences between the groups on the different neuropsychological measures. Conclusions: This constitutes the first study to explore the capacity of a forced-choice test to detect invalid test results in an SUD population. There was a high performance on the TOMM among the SUD participants of our study despite their cognitive impairment, indicating adequate effort in their neuropsychological test performance. Further, these findings suggest that the probability of showing invalid neuropsychological performance among SUD compensation seeking patients is much lower than what has been found in other populations, such as in mild brain injury patients.

Performance on the Memory Validity Profile in a mixed clinic-referred pediatric sample

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate performance on the Memory Validity Profile (MVP) in a mixed pediatric clinical population. Goal 1, assessing MVP pass rates, yielded a slightly higher pass rate (98.58%) compared to research on other performance validity tests (PVTs) in youth when using manual-based cutoffs and a slightly lower pass rate (84.40%) using an experimental cutoffs (PASS Total ≥31) similar to others’ research. Goal 2, determining if MVP performance was contingent on variables other than effort, yielded significant differences in age, sex, and intelligence (p < 0.05); but not parental education or occurrence/nonoccurrence of previous neurological issues, ADHD, or psychiatric disorders. Goal 3, investigating the agreement of an embedded PVT (Children and Adolescent Memory Profile [ChAMP] List Recognition [LR] subtest) with the MVP in classification of adequate vs. suboptimal effort, showed that the highest levels of consistency (81%) were achieved when experimental MVP and LR ss ≤5 cutoffs were utilized. In conclusion, the MVP is a useful tool in detecting suboptimal effort in children in a broad clinical sample and the ChAMP LR subtest adds to identification of suboptimal effort as an ePVT with the MVP. The established cutoffs stated in the MVP manual should be used, as these better identify suboptimal effort in children by age than experimental cutoffs (i.e., 31 and 32 PASS). The ChAMP LR cutoff should be ss ≤5, with MVP manual-based (75%) or experimental cutoffs (81%).

Design of Deployment Strategies to Monitor the Movement of Animals with Passive Electronic Devices.

Current animal monitoring systems have improved our knowledge of quantitative animal ecology. There are many electronic tracking technologies such as VHF/UHF telemetry, light-level geolocation, ARGOS satellite telemetry and GPS tracking. To reach the desired level of information retrieval requires the planning of adequate equipment effort and coverage, which depends on the properties of the system. We propose an equipment arrangement model consisting of a given number of receiver stations in a two-dimensional space in which the animals move according to a central place movement model. The objective is to characterize how the transmission of tracking data depends on the movement of the animals and the design of the equipment deployment: quantity and location of the receiver stations and their associated reception radius. We also implement the model using real trajectories of southern elephant seals and Australian sea lions publicly available online and tracked during the years 2010–2012. We characterize the data transmission based on different equipment configurations and we obtained analogous results to the theoretical model.

Salabat Khan Tomb: An under explored heritage site

The tomb of Salabat Khan was constructed in 1579A.D. on a hill called Shah Dongar (Salabat Khan II was a wazir of Murtuza Nizamshah and was an able administrator, planner, architect and water management expert). Later this tomb was also of strategic importance. It is currently a monument with ASI & is surrounded by land with private owners & the forestry department. At a height of about 3080 feet above sea level, located on top of a hill, it is 700 and 800 feet above the city of Ahmednagar. Surrounded by vegetation and giving a panoramic view of the city, it has a cool breeze flowing throughout the day. Attempts have been made in the past to promote this historic tourist spot but have been ineffective. In the absence of adequate consolidated effort of the administration, government machinery, political leadership and local citizenry it lies in neglect. This case study attempts to focus on marketing the peripherals along with the essentials in this destination tourism.

Admissible dissimilarity value (ADV) as a measure of subsampling reliability: case study North Sea cod (Gadus morhua)

The shape of the length frequency distribution (LFD) is an important input for stock assessments and one of the most important features in studies of fish population dynamics, providing estimates of growth parameters. In practice, oversampling may occur when sampling commercially important species. At times of more and more limited resources, the length sample size can be optimized at some stages of national or regional sampling programmes, without reducing the quality of stock assessments. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate a general distribution-free methodological approach for an optimization of sample size developed as an alternative to both analytical and bootstrap approaches. A novel framework to identify the reduced but still informative sample and to quantify the (dis) similarity between reduced and original samples is proposed. The identification procedure is based on the concept of reference subsample, which represents a theoretical minimal representative subsample that despite smaller sample size still preserves a reasonably precise LFD for certain species. The difference between the original sample and the reference subsample called admissible dissimilarity value (ADV) serves as the upper threshold and can be used to quantify the reliability of derived subsamples. Monte Carlo simulations were conducted to validate the approach under various LFD shapes. We illustrate in case studies how ADV can support to evaluate adequate sampling effort. The case studies focus on length samples from the German commercial vessels fishing for North Sea cod (Gadus morhua).

How adequate is measles surveillance in the United States? Investigations of measles-like illness, 2010–2017

ABSTRACT Given the availability of an effective and safe vaccine, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that global measles eradication is achievable, and measles elimination goals have since been established as interim steps toward eradication. As part of a strategy to maintain elimination, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO stipulate a minimum annual reporting rate of discarded non-measles cases of ≥2 per 100,000 population, in order to ensure sensitive surveillance and adequate investigative effort. With its effective vaccination program, the United States in 2000 was among the first countries to verify elimination, although subsequently, it has not routinely reported discarded rates. We estimated MLI investigation rates among insured individuals during 2010–2017, using data from the MarketScan® databases. We defined “MLI investigations” as measles serologic testing within 5 days following diagnostic codes for measles-compatible symptoms and conditions. We provide a rationale for pre-specifying three subgroups for analysis: children aged ≤15 years; males aged 16–22 years excluding data from summer months; and males aged ≥23 years. MLI investigation rates ranged from 6.6─26.4 per 100,000, remaining stable over time except during the 2015 measles outbreaks when rates increased, particularly among young children. In addition to high vaccine uptake, measles elimination requires ongoing vigilance by clinicians and high-quality, case-based surveillance. Estimated rates of MLI investigations in this U.S. population suggesting that the quality of measles surveillance is sufficiently sensitive to detect endemic measles circulation if it were to be occurring.

P13. ACDF fusion rates

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a common procedure for the treatment of cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy. PURPOSE Multilevel ACDFs are often used to address multi-level cervical stenosis. The purpose of this study is to provide a chronological, level-specific characterization of fusion order and fusion rates. Such information will be useful when advising patients preoperatively and adequately assessing their post-operative arthrodesis. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Three-level ACDF cases from March 2016 to October 2019 were reviewed. In total, 57 cases were selected with the following fusion locations: one fusion at C2-5, eight at C3-6, 43 at C4-7, and three at C5-T1. Radiographic measurements were taken at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. Due to incomplete follow-up, we report outcomes for 50, 39, and 23 patients at 6-weeks, 6- months, and 1-year postoperative time points, respectively. PATIENT SAMPLE The studied cohort consisted of 26 males and 29 females with an average age of 59.1 (±9.6) years. OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcomes measured were fusion rates. Radiographic measurements were performed at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. Fusion criteria are further described in the “methods” section. METHODS Flexion and extension lateral radiographs were obtained for enrolled patients. The junior author independently measured distances between spinous processes at all levels with anterior plating in addition to the immediate noninstrumented cranial level and the immediate non-instrumented caudal level. All measurements were performed with at least 1.5x magnification. Fusion criteria for all levels consisted of £1mm of movement on flexion and extension with an absence of a radiolucent gap between graft and endplate. Additionally, there has to be at least 4mm movement at the non-fusion levels to ensure adequate patient effort with neck flexion/extension. RESULTS At 6 weeks postoperatively, the following fusion rates were observed: 5/50 (17.9%) were fused at the top level; 14/50 (28%) were fused at the middle level, and 3/50 (6%) were fused at the bottom level. At 6 months postoperatively, the following fusion rates were observed: 19/39 (48.7%) patients were fused at the top level, 19/39 (48.7%) were fused at the middle level, and 2/39 (5.1%) were fused at the bottom level. Lastly, at 1 year postoperatively, we observed the following fusion rates: 18/23 (78.3%) were fused at the top level, 23/23 (100%) were fused at the middle level, and 5/23 (21.7%) were fused at the bottom level. Complete bony fusion at all three levels was observed in 5/23 (21.7%) patients at 1 year postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS The preliminary data suggest that the bottom level has highest risk for pseudarthrosis after 3-level ACDF, and the middle level has the highest fusion rate (100%) at 1 year postoperatively. Dr. Lee A. Tan is the co-senior author on this abstract. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.

A-225 The Rey Dot Counting Test as a Tool for Detecting Suboptimal Performance in Athlete Baseline Testing

Abstract Objective The limitations of Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT)‘s embedded validity measures (EVMs) are well-documented, as estimates suggest up to 35% of invalid baseline performances go undetected (Gaudet &amp; Weyandt, 2017). Few studies have examined standalone performance validity tests (PVT) as a supplement to ImPACT’s EVMs (Gaudet &amp; Weyandt, 2017). Method College athletes (n = 1,213) were administered a preseason baseline assessment that included ImPACT and the Rey Dot Counting Test (DCT), a standalone PVT, among other measures. Results Sixty-nine athletes (5.69&amp;#37;) met criteria for suboptimal effort on either ImPACT or the DCT. The DCT detected more cases of suboptimal effort (n = 50) than ImPACT (n = 21). A χ2 test of independence detected significant disagreement between the two measures, as only 2 individuals produced suboptimal effort on both (χ2(2) = 1.568, p = .210). Despite this disagreement, there were significant differences between the suboptimal effort DCT group and the adequate effort DCT group across all four ImPACT neurocognitive domains (U = 19225.000, p &amp;lt; .001; U = 17859.000, p &amp;lt; .001; U = 13854.000, p &amp;lt; .001; U = 17850.500, p &amp;lt; .001). Conclusions The DCT appears to detect suboptimal effort otherwise undetected by ImPACT’s EVMs.

A-222 Efficacy of D–KEFS Trail Making Test Conditions 1–5 Using Age-Corrected Scaled Score Cutoffs as Embedded Validity Indicators in a Sample of Youth Athletes

Abstract Objective Embedded validity indicators (EVI) assist in the evaluation of performance validity across a neuropsychological battery without increasing the time or cognitive demand on patients during testing. Erdodi et al. (2018) evaluated Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D–KEFS) Trail Making Test Conditions 1–5 (TMT1–5) as EVIs in adults using age-corrected scaled score (ACSS) cutoffs, demonstrating adequate specificity but inadequate sensitivity. This study assessed the TMT1–5 as EVIs in children using a specificity threshold of &amp;gt; .89 (Boone, 2013). Method Youth athletes (n = 134, M age = 12.2) completed a two-hour neuropsychological battery that included TMT1–5 and TOMM during a larger sport-related concussion clinical research evaluation. Specificity, sensitivity, and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated for TMT1–5 using ACSS cutoffs to predict TOMM Trial 2 (TOMM2) pass/fail performance. Results When predicting TOMM2 (cutoff.89) and inadequate sensitivity (.00), with TMT3 and TMT4 having the highest AUC (.81 and .74, respectively). The following ACSS cutoffs met the specificity threshold (&amp;gt;.89): TMT1 ACSS &amp;lt; 7, TMT2 &amp;lt; 9, TMT3 &amp;lt; 6, TMT4 &amp;lt; 7, and TMT5.79, we increased sensitivity for TMT1–3 (.33). Conclusion D–KEFS TMT1–5 achieved excellent specificity (&amp;gt;.89) when predicting TOMM2 performance but demonstrated inadequate sensitivity. Lowering the specificity threshold slightly still yielded low sensitivity. These data suggest that D–KEFS TMT3 and TMT4 were most effective at detecting adequate effort, but should be supported with other validity measures when assessing performance validity across a neuropsychological battery.

Neurophysiological evidence for emotion regulation impairment in schizophrenia: The role of visual attention and cognitive effort.

Prior research indicates that individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) display emotion regulation abnormalities that are critically linked to increased symptom severity and poor functional outcome. However, processes contributing to the aberrant implementation of various strategies are unclear. The current study took a multimodal approach to identifying mechanisms underlying the impaired implementation of 2 strategies: reappraisal and distraction. Participants included 25 individuals with SZ and 25 healthy controls (CN) who completed separate event-related potential and eye-tracking/pupil dilation tasks. On each task, participants were required to either passively view unpleasant or neutral stimuli or reduce negative affect using reappraisal or distraction emotion regulation strategies. The late positive potential (LPP) event related potential component was used as an objective neurophysiological indicator of emotion regulation effectiveness. Eye tracking and pupil dilation were used to determine whether the implementation of reappraisal and distraction were associated with abnormal patterns of visual attention and reduced cognitive effort, respectively. Results indicated that CN could effectively decrease the amplitude of the LPP for both reappraisal and distraction compared with unpleasant passive viewing; however, individuals with SZ showed comparable LPP amplitude among conditions, indicating a failure to effectively implement these strategies. In CN, successful down-regulation of negative affect was associated with different patterns of visual attention across regulation strategies. During reappraisal, there was an increase in fixations to arousing scene regions, whereas distraction was associated with reduced attention to arousing interest areas. In contrast, individuals with SZ made fewer fixations to arousing interest areas during reappraisal and more fixations to arousing interest areas during distraction. Furthermore, pupil dilation results suggested that individuals with SZ failed to exert adequate effort while implementing reappraisal. Collectively, these findings suggest that individuals with SZ are ineffective at implementing reappraisal and distraction; dysfunctional patterns of visual attention and low cognitive effort may contribute to these difficulties. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The Rey Dot Counting Test as a Tool for Detecting Suboptimal Performance in Athlete Baseline Testing

The limitations of Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT)'s embedded validity measures (EVMs) are well-documented, as estimates suggest up to 35% of invalid baseline performances go undetected. Few studies have examined standalone performance validity tests (PVT) as a supplement to ImPACT's EVMs. College athletes (n=1,213) were administered a preseason baseline assessment that included ImPACT and the Rey Dot Counting Test (DCT), a standalone PVT, among other measures. Sixty-nine athletes (5.69%) met criteria for suboptimal effort on either ImPACT or the DCT. The DCT detected more cases of suboptimal effort (n=50) than ImPACT (n=21). A χ2 test of independence detected significant disagreement between the two measures, as only two individuals produced suboptimal effort on both (χ2(2)=1.568, p=.210). Despite this disagreement, there were significant differences between the suboptimal effort DCT group and the adequate effort DCT group across all four ImPACT neurocognitive domains (U=19,225.000, p<.001; U=17,859.000, p<.001; U=13,854.000, p<.001; U=17,850.500, p<.001). The DCT appears to detect suboptimal effort otherwise undetected by ImPACT's EVMs.

Thermal failure of a second rotor stage in heavy duty gas turbine

The impulse mode of operation and the supply of various types of fuels causes frequent failures even in the heavy duty gas turbines. The paper presents the ravages of second rotor stage failure in a gas turbine. The excessive thermal elongation rise caused by fuel change was indicated as the main cause. We applied nonlinear numerical analysis, preceded by thermodynamic calculations of the turbine and visual inspection of the effects of failure. Simulations were performed on undamaged blade geometry under load resulting from combustion: nominal fuel and the changed fuel. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrated a 70 °C increase in temperature using the changed fuel. The blade tip displacements demonstrated the possibility of abrasion. The amount of displacement of the tip of the turbine blade with increasing pressure or increasing rotational speed do not pose as great a threat, as does the increase in the temperature. To maintain long-term and safe operation of a gas turbine, it is necessary to strictly observe the manufacturer's guidelines regarding fuel composition. If during the operation of a gas turbine it is likely that it can be powered by various types of fuels, then the structure should have adequate effort reserves and working tolerances.