How intelligence interviewees mentally identify relevant information

This research explored how intelligence interviewees mentally identify the relevant information at their disposal. We theorized that interviewees estimate the interviewer's objectives based on how they frame any attempt to solicit information. Then interviewees organize the information they possess into item designations that pragmatically correspond to the perceived interviewer-objective. The more an interviewer specifies what they want to know, the more the interviewee will mentally designate information items corresponding with that objective. To examine the theory, we conducted two identical experiments wherein participants assumed the role of an informant with one of two dispositions. They were to be cooperative or resistant when undergoing an interview. The interviewer posed specific or ambiguous questions. In Study 1 (N = 210), interviewees identified applicable information items based on their interviewer's questions. And interviewees answered their interviewer's questions in Study 2 (N = 199). We aimed to demonstrate that question type influences mental designations and disposition affects disclosures. Disposition had a stronger influence on interviewees' disclosure than when reasoning about what the interviewer wants to know. But contrary to our expectations, mental designation preferences indicated that interviewees generally assume interviewers want to know complete details, irrespective of question specificity. We suggest avenues for future research

Osteomyelitis of the frontal bone

Osteomyelitis of the skull is a rare clinical presentation. It usually occurs as a complication of trauma or sinusitis. Its complications can be lifethreatening though the initial symptoms and signs are subtle. Early diagnosis and appropriate management to prevent CNS complications reduce morbidity and mortality significantly. Intracranial complications of sinusitis, focal infections and meningitis remain a great challenge. Mortality from complications is 20-40%. The prevalence of skull osteomyelitis is about 1.5% of all osteomyelitis

The Choice of Reinforcement and Its Impact on Project Cost: A Case study of mild steel and fabric reinforcements in road construction

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the choice of reinforcement and its impact on Construction cost in road construction. The objectives were as follows; to determine the initial cost of pavements constructed using fabric (mesh) reinforcement and mild steel rods respectively, to compare the differences in construction cost between pavements constructed using fabric reinforcement and mild steel rods, to determine the cost implications of using the two types of reinforcement in road construction. The use of fabric (mesh) reinforcement will result in potential savings of GH¢559,650.00 per kilometre which represents a savings of 41.826%.  Hence fabric (mesh) reinforcement is cheaper than mild steel rod in road construction Keywords: Roads, Highway, Reinforcement, Project

High Yield and Fabric Reinforcements Choices in Pavement Construction and their Impact on Construction Cost

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the choice of reinforcement and its impact on Construction Cost in road construction. The objectives were as follows; to determine the initial cost of pavements constructed using fabric (mesh) reinforcement and high yield steel rods respectively, to compare the differences in construction cost between pavements constructed using fabric reinforcement and high yield steel rods, to determine the cost implications of using the two types of reinforcement in road construction. The use of fabric (mesh) reinforcement will result in potential savings of GH¢669,000 per kilometre which represents a savings of 50.07%.  Hence fabric (mesh) reinforcement is cheaper than High yield steel (High tensile steel) in road construction. Keywords: Roads, Highway, Reinforcement, Project

Comparative Cost Analysis between Asphalt Pavement and Concrete Pavement in Road Construction: A Case study using Concrete grade 35

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the suitability of concrete grade 35 as an alternative pavement to as asphalt pavement in road construction.  The objective of the research is to carry out investment appraisal on road project undertaken using concrete pavement and asphalt pavement and to compare their lifecycle costs and their initial cost of construction. The findings were as follows; the initial cost of the asphalt pavement was cheaper than concrete pavement. In terms of lifecycle costs, concrete pavement is cheaper than asphalt pavement. Investment appraisal methods were in favour of the asphalt pavement, however the present worth was in favour of concrete pavement. This was due to the high maintenance costs of asphalt pavement. Keywords: Road, Highway, Investment Appraisal, Pavement

Causes of Death in Hospitalized HIV Patients in the Early Anti-Retroviral Therapy Era

Objective: To establish the cause(s) of death among persons with HIV and AIDS admitted to the Fevers Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in 2007 and to determine whether they were AIDS-relatedin the era of availability of HAARTMethod: Retrospective chart review of all deaths that occurred in the year 2007 among inpatients with HIV infection. Cause of Death (COD) was established with post mortem diagnosis, where not available ICD-10 was reviewed independently by two physicians experienced in HIV medicine and a consensus reached as to the most likely COD.Results: In the year under review, 215 (97%) of the 221 adult deaths studied were caused by AIDS and HIV-associated illnesses. Of these, 123 (55.7%) were due to an AIDS-defining illness as described in CDC Category 3 or WHO stage 4. Infections accounted for most of the deaths 158 (71.5%), many of them opportunistic 82 (51.8%). Tuberculosis was the commonest COD. Clinical diagnosis of TB was accurate in 54% of deaths, but was not validated by autopsy in 36% of deaths. There were few deaths (14.5%) in patients on HAART.Conclusion: In a developing country like Ghana where HAART was still not fully accessible, AIDS-related events remained the major causes of death in persons living with HIV. Total scale-up of the ART programme with continuous availability of antiretrovirals is therefore imperative to reduce deaths from AIDS and HIV associated illnesses. There is need for interventions for early diagnosis as well as reduction in late presentation and also better diagnostic tools for tuberculosis.Keywords Cause of death, HIV, AIDS, HAART, Ghana, Tuberculosi

The changing clinical pattern of endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Western Africa: Experience from a tertiary center in Ghana

Abstract Background Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is the most common childhood cancer in Ghana, where the endemic variant is the predominant subtype and historically presents as a highly chemo-sensitive jaw tumor. This study aimed to update the current epidemiological characteristics of childhood BL in our institution. Procedure Patient data for all children diagnosed with BL and seen at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital between January 2007 and December 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. Results BL was diagnosed in 173 children

Effects of cooperation on information disclosure in mock‐witness interviews

Purpose: Forensic interviewers often face witnesses who are unwilling to cooperate with the investigation. In this experimental study, we examined the extent to which cooperativeness instructions affect information disclosure in a witness investigative interview. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six participants watched a recorded mock-crime and were interviewed twice as mock-witnesses. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions instructing different levels of cooperativeness: Control (no instructions), Cooperation, No Cooperation, and No Cooperation plus Cooperation. The cooperativeness instructions aimed to influence how participants’ perceived the costs and benefits of cooperation. We predicted that Cooperation and No Cooperation instructions would increase and decrease information disclosure and accuracy, respectively. Results: We found decreased information disclosure and, to a lesser extent, accuracy in the No Cooperation and No Cooperation plus Cooperation conditions. In a second interview, the shift of instructions from No Cooperation to Cooperation led to a limited increase of information disclosure at no cost of accuracy. Cooperativeness instructions partially influenced the communication strategies participants used to disclose or withhold information. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the detrimental effects of uncooperativeness on information disclosure and, to a lesser extent, the accuracy of witness statements. We discuss the implications of a lack of witness cooperation and the importance of gaining witness cooperation to facilitate information disclosure in investigative interviews

Catheter manipulation analysis for objective performance and technical skills assessment in transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Purpose Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) demands precise and efficient handling of surgical instruments within the confines of the aortic anatomy. Operational performance and dexterous skills are critical for patient safety, and objective methods are assessed with a number of manipulation features, derived from the kinematic analysis of the catheter/guidewire in fluoroscopy video sequences. Methods A silicon phantom model of a type I aortic arch was used for this study. Twelve endovascular surgeons, divided into two experience groups, experts (n=6) and novices (n=6), performed cannulation of the aorta, representative of valve placement in TAVI. Each participant completed two TAVI experiments, one with conventional catheters and one with the Magellan robotic platform. Video sequences of the fluoroscopic monitor were recorded for procedural processing. A semi-automated tracking software provided the 2D coordinates of the catheter/guidewire tip. In addition, the aorta phantom was segmented in the videos and the shape of the entire catheter was manually annotated in a subset of the available video frames using crowdsourcing. The TAVI procedure was divided into two stages, and various metrics, representative of the catheter’s overall navigation as well as its relative movement to the vessel wall, were developed. Results Experts consistently exhibited lower values of procedure time and dimensionless jerk, and higher average speed and acceleration than novices. Robotic navigation resulted in increased average distance to the vessel wall in both groups, a surrogate measure of safety and reduced risk of embolisation. Discrimination of experience level and types of equipment was achieved with the generated motion features and established clustering algorithms. Conclusions Evaluation of surgical skills is possible through the analysis of the catheter/guidewire motion pattern. The use of robotic endovascular platforms seems to enable more precise and controlled catheter navigation