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SummaryNavigation locks are critical infrastructure components, and their closure for maintenance and repair can have significant impacts on the global economy. The current state of inspection and monitoring of lock components is generally to close the lock and perform a visual inspection. Whereas structural health monitoring of navigation locks is gaining acceptance, automation of the structural health monitoring process is lacking. This paper reports on efforts to develop an automated damage detection system for miter gates of navigation locks. The study focuses on using strain gage measurements to identify the redistribution of load throughout lock gates in the presence of damage. To eliminate the environmental variability in the data, a new damage-sensitive feature is introduced, termed here as "slope" and defined as the derivative of the strain with respect to the water levels in the lock chamber. The slopes form a new, stationary time series effectively purged of environmental effects. A principal component analysis, a method of analyzing multivariate, stationary time series, is then used to detect significant changes in the statistics of slopes as an indication of damage. To validate the approach, damage is simulated in a finite element model, and the resulting changes in strain from the finite element model are superimposed on the measured data. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach for detecting damage in navigational lock gates.

Many diseases affecting the RMS and VCS can be diagnosed and resolved endoscopically using a CFS approach with VCB fenestration, thus avoiding the need for osteoplastic sinus surgery and its associated risks and complications.

AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Andy Nyman, Clive Jeffries, Lorraine Rogai and staff at the 1996 and 1999 Fortean Times Conventions for their invaluable assistance during these experiments, and Caroline Watt for her comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. 2Belief in the paranormal and suggestion in the seance room AbstractIn Experiment One, participants took part in a fake seance. An actor suggested that a table was levitating when, in fact, it remained stationary. After the seance, approximately one third of participants incorrectly reported that the table had moved. Results also showed a significant relationship between the reported movement of the table and belief in the paranormal, with a greater percentage of Believers than Disbelievers, reporting that the table had moved. Experiment Two varied whether the suggestion was consistent, or inconsistent, with participants' belief in the paranormal. Results again showed that Believers were more susceptible to suggestion than Disbelievers, but only when the suggestion was consistent with their belief in the paranormal. Approximately one fifth of participants believed that the fake seances contained genuine paranormal phenomena. 3The method of the seance is precisely adapted to produce illusions and hallucinations, and it strains credulity to imagine that any trustworthy observations come from it.. Coover, The Case For and Against Psychical Belief, 1927. IntroductionFor over a century people have held seances in an attempt to contact the dead (see, e.g., Pearsall, 1972). In a typical seance, a group of people (referred to as 'sitters') sit around a table with a medium, turn out the lights, hold hands and attempt to communicate with the spirit world. In some seances, the medium appears to enter into a trance and delivers messages from the sitters' deceased friends and relatives. In another type of seance (referred to as 'physical seances'), objects that have been treated with luminous paint are placed in the centre of the table, and the spirits apparently cause these objects to levitate and move. Although physical seances were at their most popular during the Victorian period, groups of sitters and mediums still hold physical seances today, often reporting the same type of seemingly inexplicable phenomena that were described by eyewitnesses attending such events at the turn of the last century (see, e.g., Stemman, 1975: Solomon & Solomon, 1999.

This study sought to identify the extent to which claims about the probable characteristics of offenders in 'offender profiles' were based on substantive arguments. Because Toulmin's (1958) philosophy of argument has been demonstrated as a useful way of breaking down arguments into their constituent parts (Burleson, 1979) we examined the extent to which profiles contained grounds, warrants, backing and rebuttals to support or refute various claims about offenders. Twenty-one profiles, representing a range of 'profiling styles', were obtained from a variety of sources. All of these had been used in major criminal investigations either in the UK or internationally. Of the nearly 4,000 claims made, nearly 80% were unsubstantiated. That is, they contained no grounds, warrant, backing or rebuttal. Moreover, less than 31% of the claims were falsifiable. We argue that (a) this demonstrates the need for a careful, systematic evaluation of profiling advice (b) Toulmin's structure is one useful method for evaluating such material and for providing a possible framework for such advice.

The effect of adding cognitively demanding elements to the performance of a real-world motor task in which functional interference among the elements in performance existed was investigated across level of expertise. The primary task involved running as quickly as possible through a 15.25-m slalom course. Two secondary tasks were used, dribbling of a soccer ball and identification of geometric shapes projected on a screen located at the end of the slalom course. 4 novice, 5 intermediate, and 5 expert female soccer players served as subjects and performed three trials each of three experimental conditions: running through the slalom course, running through the slalom course while dribbling a soccer ball, and running through the slalom course while dribbling a soccer ball and identifying geometric shapes. Analysis of variance using a 3 (experimental condition) x 3 (level of expertise) design gave significant main effects and a significant interaction. The latter indicated that, although the addition of cognitively demanding elements caused a decrement in performance, the amount of decrement decreased as level of expertise increased. It was concluded that structural interference between elements of performance decreased the positive effect of automation of one element on dual task performance.

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A best evidence topic in neurosurgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was: In patients undergoing craniostomy for the evacuation of chronic subdural haematoma, does the use of two burr-holes compared to one burr-hole improve clinical outcomes? A total of 238 papers were identified using the reported search protocol. Four of these articles represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, date and country of publication, study type, patient group, outcomes and key results of these papers have been represented in a table. Three out of four studies showed that there was no significant difference in prevalence or rate of haematoma recurrence between two burr-hole craniostomy or one burr-hole craniostomy. Two studies demonstrated shorter hospital stay with two burr-hole craniostomy. Furthermore, one study showed increased rates of wound infection with one burr-hole craniostomy. Therefore, the clinical bottom line is that performing either two burr-hole craniostomy or one burr-hole craniostomy does not provide specific differences in patient outcome improvement following surgery for chronic subdural haematoma, however further research is required owing to the flawed methodology of existing studies.