The enhanced cognitive interview: expressions of uncertainty, motivation and its relation with report accuracy

The Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI) is one of the most widely studied and used methods to interview witnesses. However, ECI research has mainly focused on increasing report size and somewhat overlooked how to improve and evaluate report accuracy. No study evaluated if witnesses’ spontaneous expressions of uncertainty are accurate metacognitive judgments, nor if witnesses’ motivation during the interview affects report accuracy. This study examined how witnesses’ judgments of recall ‘uncertainty’ and their motivation perception could relate to report accuracy. Forty-four psychology students watched a mock robbery video recording and were interviewed 48 hours later with either the Portuguese version of the ECI or a Structured Interview (SI). Afterward, participants’ motivation was assessed and items of information were classified as ‘certainties’ or ‘uncertainties’. Results suggest that our ECI protocol was effective, since participants interviewed with the ECI produced more information without compromising accuracy. ‘Uncertainties’ were less accurate than ‘certainties’, and their exclusion raised overall, ECI, and SI, accuracy. More motivated participants had better recall accuracy. Accounting for witnesses’ motivation and spontaneous verbal expressions of uncertainty may be effective and time-saving procedures to increase accuracy. These are key points that professionals and researchers should consider

Nonadiabatic Pauli susceptibility in fullerene compounds

Pauli paramagnetic susceptibility $\chi$ is unaffected by the electron-phonon interaction in the Migdal-Eliashberg context. Fullerene compounds however do not fulfill the adiabatic assumption of Migdal's theorem and nonadiabatic effects are expected to be relevant in these materials. In this paper we investigate the Pauli spin susceptibility in nonadiabatic regime by following a conserving approach based on Ward's identity. We find that a sizable renormalization of $\chi$ due to electron-phonon coupling appears when nonadiabatic effects are taken into account. The intrinsic dependence of $\chi$ on the electron-phonon interaction gives rise to a finite and negative isotope effect which could be experimentally detected in fullerides. In addition, we find an enhancement of the spin susceptibility with temperature increasing, in agreement with the temperature dependence of $\chi$ observed in fullerene compounds. The role of electronic correlation is also discussed.Comment: Revtex, 10 pages, 8 figures include

3dID: a low-power, low-cost hand motion capture device

This paper presents a novel input device design for capturing gestures. The system is based on commodity components and combines accelerometers, gyroscopes and bend sensors. It is a low-power, low-cost hand device, characterized by extreme wearability thanks to wireless communication support and small form-factor. It can be used as a stand-alone platform or combined with other wireless sensor nodes in a body area network. The system has been tested as input interface for moving a virtual three-dimensional hand in real-time

Totally Laparoscopic Right Colectomy: Theoretical and Practical Advantages over the Laparo-assisted Approach

Background: Because of its less evident advantages regarding patient recovery, the laparoscopic approach for right colectomy initially gained less popularity than for left colectomy. The improvement in intracorporeal anastomotic techniques and the consequent switch from a laparo-assisted (LA) to a totally laparoscopic (TL) intervention seems to have overcome the initial concerns, giving rise to widespread use of such a procedure. By comparing the LA and the TL approach, our study was aimed at verifying the possible advantages of the more recent technique, also focussing on some technical implications for the surgeon. Methods: We prospectively collected and matched data from 27 consecutive laparo -assisted right colectomies (LARC) and 28 consecutive totally laparoscopic procedures (TLRC). Clinical, biochemical, pathological and cosmetic parameters were examined. Operating times were recorded and fractioned, in order to evaluate the learning curve for the different phases of the procedure. Results: LA and TL groups were homogeneous for demographic and pathological features. We had no mortality, and surgical complication rates were similar (3.6% vs. 3.7%). The TLRC group presented a significantly shorter laparotomy (4.8 cm vs. 7.2 cm, p=0.002), while no significant difference was recorded for outcome parameters. Operating time for carrying out anastomosis (TA) was significantly longer for the TL group (55.6 min vs. 20.6 min, p<0.0001). A rapid decrease in TA throughout the series attests to a short learning curve for intracorporeal ileo-transverse anastomosis. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to demonstrate the possible clinical advantages of TLRC over the LA approach. The cosmetic benefit for patients along with the safety and the prospective usefulness for surgeons (practice in intracorporeal suturing techniques) would seem to justify an inclination towards this technical development