Revisions of the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) for its Application in Warmer Climatic Zones,with Particular Reference to Peninsular Florida

The initial version (v1) of the Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) was adapted from the Weed Risk Assessment of Pheloung, Williams, and Halloy to assess the potential invasiveness of nonnative freshwater fishes in the United Kingdom. Published applications of FISK v1 have been primarily in temperate‐zone countries (Belgium, Belarus, and Japan), so the specificity of this screening tool to that climatic zone was not noted until attempts were made to apply it in peninsular Florida. To remedy this shortcoming, the questions and guidance notes of FISK v1 were reviewed and revised to improve clarity and extend its applicability to broader climatic regions, resulting in changes to 36 of the 49 questions. In addition, upgrades were made to the software architecture of FISK to improve overall computational speed as well as graphical user interface flexibility and friendliness. We demonstrate the process of screening a fish species using FISK v2 in a realistic management scenario by assessing the Barcoo grunter Scortum barcoo (Terapontidae), a species whose management concerns are related to its potential use for aquaponics in Florida. The FISK v2 screening of Barcoo grunter placed the species into the lower range of medium risk (score = 5), suggesting it is a permissible species for use in Florida under current nonnative species regulations. Screening of the Barcoo grunter illustrates the usefulness of FISK v2 as a proactive tool serving to inform risk management decisions, but the low level of confidence associated with the assessment highlighted a dearth of critical information on this species.     

Understanding Normative Growth and Development in Aging

No abstract available for this article.     

Community-Based Long Term Care

Through the Living at Home Program (LAHP) 20 communities across the United States have developed cooperative networks involving multiple health and social services providers. The LAHP networks have sought to increase access to care, reduce duplication of services, and identify and fill service gaps. The LAHP national evaluation is examining the inter-organizational linkages that have been implemented by the networks and the characteristics of 1500 clients enrolled for care. Preliminary findings at the midpoint of the evaluation indicate that the networks have moved from a reliance on informal communication and coordination mechanisms at baseline to the use of more formal structural mechanisms over time. Despite the lack of formal targeting criteria, the networks have enrolled a quite frail elderly population. Future analyses will examine variability across the networks in client targeting and service utilization, In order to shed light on the need for utilization review of community based long term care.     

The classification accuracy of four problem gambling assessment instruments in population research

Improved methodology was used to re-examine the weak correspondence between problem and pathological gamblers identified in population surveys and subsequent classification of these individuals in clinical interviews. The SOGS-R, the CPGI, the NODS and the Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure (PPGM), as well as questions about gambling participation and expenditures, were administered to a total of 7272 adults. Two clinicians then assessed each person's status, based on comprehensive written profiles derived from these questionnaire responses. Instrument classification was then compared to clinical classification. All four instruments correctly classified most non-problem gamblers (i.e. had good to excellent sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive power). However, the PPGM was the only instrument with good classification of problem gamblers (i.e. excellent sensitivity and positive predictive power). The CPGI and SOGS-R had weak positive predictive power and the NODS had only adequate sensitivity and positive predictive power. Improvement in the classification accuracy of the CPGI occurred when a 5+ cut-off was used and when a 4+ cut-off was used with the SOGS. In general, the classification accuracy of the NODS, SOGS and CPGI is better than prior research suggested but overall accuracy is still modest. With adjusted cut-offs, all three instruments are reasonably congruent with clinical ratings.     

Detection of interactions in experiments on large numbers of factors

One of the main advantages of factorial experiments is the information that they can offer on interactions. When there are many factors to be studied, some or all of this information is often sacrificed to keep the size of an experiment economically feasible. Two strategies for group screening are presented for a large number of factors, over two stages of experimentation, with particular emphasis on the detection of interactions. One approach estimates only main effects at the first stage (classical group screening), whereas the other new method (interaction group screening) estimates both main effects and key two-factor interactions at the first stage. Three criteria are used to guide the choice of screening technique, and also the size of the groups of factors for study in the first-stage experiment. The criteria seek to minimize the expected total number of observations in the experiment, the probability that the size of the experiment exceeds a prespecified target and the proportion of active individual factorial effects which are not detected. To implement these criteria, results are derived on the relationship between the grouped and individual factorial effects, and the probability distributions of the numbers of grouped factors whose main effects or interactions are declared active at the first stage. Examples are used to illustrate the methodology, and some issues and open questions for the practical implementation of the results are discussed.     

Marginally oversaturated designs

A special class of supersaturated design, called marginally over saturated design (MOSD), in which the number of variables under investigation (k) is only slightly larger than the number of experimental runs (n), is presented. Several optimality criteria for supersaturated designs are discussed. It is shown that the resolution rank criterion is most appropriate for screening situations. The construction method builds on two major theorems which provide an efficient way to evaluate resolution rank. Examples are given for the cases n=8, 12, 16, and 20. Potential extensions for future work are discussed.     

Some new factor screening designs using the search linear model

Factor screening designs for searching two and three effective factors using the search linear model are discussed. The construction of such factor screening designs involved finding a fraction with small number of treatments of a 2^m factorial experiment having the property P_2t (no 2t columns are linearly dependent) for t=2 and 3. A ‘Packing Problem’ is introduced in this connection. A complete solution of the problem in one case and partial solutions for the other cases are presented. Many practically useful new designs are listed.     

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Radon Screening Programs in Reducing Lung Cancer Mortality

The present study was aimed at assessing the health consequences of the presence of radon in Quebec homes and the possible impact of various screening programs on lung cancer mortality. Lung cancer risk due to this radioactive gas was estimated according to the cancer risk model developed by the Sixth Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations. Objective data on residential radon exposure, population mobility, and tobacco use in the study population were integrated into a Monte‐Carlo‐type model. Participation rates to radon screening programs were estimated from published data. According to the model used, approximately 10% of deaths due to lung cancer are attributable to residential radon exposure on a yearly basis in Quebec. In the long term, the promotion of a universal screening program would prevent less than one death/year on a province‐wide scale (0.8 case; IC 99%: –3.6 to 5.2 cases/year), for an overall reduction of 0.19% in radon‐related mortality. Reductions in mortality due to radon by (1) the implementation of a targeted screening program in the region with the highest concentrations, (2) the promotion of screening on a local basis with financial support, or (3) the realization of systematic investigations in primary and secondary schools would increase to 1%, 14%, and 16.4%, respectively, in the each of the populations targeted by these scenarios. Other than the battle against tobacco use, radon screening in public buildings thus currently appears as the most promising screening policy for reducing radon‐related lung cancer.     

The clinical performance and cost-effectiveness of two psychosocial assessment models in maternity care: The Perinatal Integrated Psychosocial Assessment study

ProblemAlthough perinatal universal depression and psychosocial assessment is recommended in Australia, its clinical performance and cost-effectiveness remain uncertain.AimTo compare the performance and cost-effectiveness of two models of psychosocial assessment: Usual-Care and Perinatal Integrated Psychosocial Assessment (PIPA).MethodsWomen attending their first antenatal visit were prospectively recruited to this cohort study. Endorsement of significant depressive symptoms or psychosocial risk generated an ‘at-risk’ flag identifying those needing referral to the Triage Committee. Based on its detailed algorithm, a higher threshold of risk was required to trigger the ‘at-risk’ flag for PIPA than for Usual-Care. Each model’s performance was evaluated using the midwife’s agreement with the ‘at-risk’ flag as the reference standard. Cost-effectiveness was limited to the identification of True Positive and False Positive cases. Staffing costs associated with administering each screening model were quantified using a bottom-up time-in-motion approach.FindingsBoth models performed well at identifying ‘at-risk’ women (sensitivity: Usual-Care 0.82 versus PIPA 0.78). However, the PIPA model was more effective at eliminating False Positives and correctly identifying ‘at-risk’ women (Positive Predictive Value: PIPA 0.69 versus Usual Care 0.41). PIPA was associated with small incremental savings for both True Positives detected and False Positives averted.DiscussionOverall PIPA performed better than Usual-Care as a psychosocial screening model and was a cost-saving and relatively effective approach for detecting True Positives and averting False Positives. These initial findings warrant evaluation of longer-term costs and outcomes of women identified by the models as ‘at-risk’ and ‘not at-risk’ of perinatal psychosocial morbidity.     

The Development of a Screening Tool for the Adult Children of Alcoholics Traits (STACAT)

In order to develop a valid tool for screening the traits of adult children of alcoholics (ACOA), this study focused on finding common characteristics among ACOA and developing a tool based on those characteristics. An item pool was generated targeting three distinct characteristics discussed in the alcohol literature related to ACOA, and the items were reviewed by a panel of experts. Using data from the sample, a confirmatory factor analysis, t -test and correlation analysis were conducted to gather various validity evidences for the screening tool. Cronbach's coefficient alpha test was used to check the internal consistency of the tool. The evidence of the reliability and validity for the ACOA traits screening tool provide the social work practice with an empirically validated method of measuring these traits in the children of alcoholics.