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At least 1,315 records · Page 73Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Psychological profiling of sexual murders: an empirical model.

Psychological profiling represents the investigative technique of analyzing crime behaviors for the identification of probable offender characteristics. Profiling has progressively been incorporated into police procedures despite a surprising lack of empirical research to support its validity. Indeed, in the study of sexual murder for the purpose of profiling, very few quantitative, academically reviewed studies exist. This article reports on the results of a 4-year study into Australian sexual murders for the development of psychological profiling. The study involved 85 cases of sexual murder sampled from all Australian police jurisdictions. The statistical procedure of multidimensional scaling was employed. This analysis produced a five-cluster model of sexual murder behavior. First, a central cluster of behaviors was identified that represents common behaviors to all patterns of sexual murder. Next, four distinct outlying patterns--predator, fury, perversion, and rape--were identified that each demonstrated distinct offense styles. Further analysis of these patterns also identified distinct offender characteristics that allow for the use of empirically robust offender profiles in future sexual murder investigations.

Australia↗
PubMed2003

Visual versus narrative case material: the impact on criminal psychological profiling.

Although some literature has emerged to examine the validity and constituent skills required for psychological profiling, little research has scrutinized how the technique works. This study examined the effects of case material on profiling proficiency. This was accomplished by alternating the case material available to participants in a profiling exercise. Groups of participants were presented with either a full case package, only narrative or visual case material, narrative material with a written description of the visual material, or a control condition where no case material was provided. All participants then completed a profiling exercise designed to measure the accuracy of their predictions. The results found that profiling proficiency is influenced by the amount of case material available, with optimal proficiency likely achieved by the presence of all forms of material. A trend was also observed where participants supplied with only the narrative case materials surpassed those with visual materials.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Profiles of rural nurses' use of personal protective equipment: a cluster analysis.

This study examined the relationship between profiles of rural registered nurses' levels of compliance with the use of personal protective equipment and HIV-related attitudes. Survey data were collected from 395 practicing registered nurses in nine rural counties in New York and Pennsylvania. Cluster analysis grouped respondents according to their use of protective equipment by patient HIV status. Seven profiles were identified from the resulting 13 clusters. Profiles were named according to the characteristics of the protective equipment usage that were most evident in each profile. Usage levels included minimal users, appropriate users, anticipatory users, glove users, discriminate users, maximal users, and optimal users. Of these, three were classified as compliant, one as undercompliant, and three as overcompliant. Selective compliance (changing usage in response to patients' HIV status) was characteristic of five profiles. Knowledge that patients were HIV-positive accounted for overcompliance and selective compliance and was related to nurses' HIV attitudes. Undercompliance was related to care of patients who were HIV-negative or unknown. Rural nurses' use of personal protective equipment is not homogenous but discrete and idiosyncratic. This analysis expands current knowledge and redefines nursing practice of standard precautions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Dehydroepiandrosterone alters Zucker rat soleus and cardiac muscle lipid profiles.

High levels of serum free fatty acids (FFA) and lower proportions of polyunsaturated (PU) FAs, specifically arachidonic acid (AA), are common in obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Dehydrepiandrosterone (DHEA) decreases body fat content, dietary fat consumption, and insulin levels in obese Zucker rats (ZR), a genetic model of human youth onset obesity and type 2 diabetes. This study was conducted to investigate DHEA's effects on lean and obese ZR serum FFA levels and total lipid (TL) FA profiles in heart and soleus muscle. We postulated that DHEA alters serum FFA levels and tissue TL FA profiles of obese ZR so that they resemble the levels and profiles of lean ZR. If so, DHEA may directly or indirectly alter tissue lipids, FFA flux, and perhaps lower IR in obese ZR. Lean and obese male ZR were divided into six groups with 10 animals in each: obese ad libitum control, obese pair-fed, obese DHEA, lean ad libitum control, lean pair-fed, and lean DHEA. All animals had ad libitum access to a diet whose calories were 50% fat, 30% carbohydrate, and 20% protein. Only the diets of the DHEA treatment groups were supplemented with 0.6% DHEA. Pair-fed groups were given the average number of calories per day consumed by their corresponding DHEA group, and ad libitum groups had 24-h access to the DHEA-free diet. Serum FFA levels and heart and soleus TL FA profiles were measured. Serum FFA levels were higher in obese (approximately 1 mmol/L) compared to lean (approximately 0.6 mmol/L) ZR, regardless of group. In hearts, monounsaturated (MU) FA were greater and PU FA were proportionally lower in obese compared to the lean rats. In soleus, saturated and MU FA were greater and PU FA were proportionally lower in the obese compared to the lean rats. DHEA groups displayed significantly increased proportions of TL AA and decreased oleic acid in both muscle types. Mechanisms by which DHEA alters TL FA profiles are a reflection of changes occurring within specific lipid fractions such as FFA, phospholipid, and triglyceride. This study provides initial insights into DHEA's lipid altering effects.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2003

Determination of size distribution of elliptical microvessels from size distribution measurement of their section profiles.

In transmission electron microscopy, microvessels (MVs) are studied as profiles on ultrathin sections. To determine MV sizes from measurements made on MV profiles, an assumption must be made about MV shape, a circular cylinder being used to approximate the latter on limited lengths. However, this model is irrelevant in case MVs have some flatness. The elliptical cylinder model is preferable, although relationships between the cylinder profile (two-dimensional; 2D) and its true (three-dimensional; 3D) sizes are not yet known. We have obtained the 2D/3D functions that express the relationships between such profile sizes as the minor radius (Y), major radius (X), axial ratio (X/Y), area (S), and perimeter (P) on the one hand, and the corresponding MV sizes (Y(0), X(0), X(0)/Y(0), S(0), and P(0)) on the other. The 2D/3D functions make it possible to derive elliptical MV sizes from section profile size distributions, probability density functions (PDFs) for the latter being determined. We have applied the 2D/3D functions in studying axial ratios of thyroid hemocapillaries. A factual X/Y frequency histogram has been constructed and fitted by theoretical X/Y PDFs plotted for different sets of capillary sizes. The thyroid capillaries have been revealed to be clustered, 72.7% of them having X(0)/Y(0) approximately 1.6, 17.6%, X(0)/Y(0) approximately 1.0, and 9.7%, X(0)/Y(0) approximately 3.2. The proposed technique is instrumental in precise modeling of microcirculatory network geometry.

Blood Vessels↗
PubMed2004

The EEG profile of patients with uncontrolled vs. controlled seizures.

The goal of this study was to provide an EEG profile of patients (150) with uncontrolled (U) seizures, in contrast with those (150) with controlled (C) attacks. In the U group 804 EEGs were done and in the C group 674 were performed, all with both waking and sleep recordings; the range of EEG records on a given patient was 2-23. The number of spikes and the amount of abnormal slowing was quantified in each record. Two different peaks of age were evident, appearing at 10-19 yrs and 40-49 yrs. The number of patients with a spike discharge on the first EEG was 64% in the C and 92% in the U group with an increasing incidence to 83% (C) and 100% (U) in later records. If spikes were absent in the first EEG in the C group, the majority showed only rare discharges later. The spike profile of the U patient initially was that 1/2 showed a typical number of spikes and nearly 1/2 many or very many spikes. Over time a decrease was seen in those with many-very many discharges, resulting in an increase with a typical number. Still later, a reversal occurred in the U patients with an increasing number with many or very many spikes. The slow wave profile of the U patient was that 2/3 showed some abnormal slow waves on the first record, increasing to 100% in later records. The increase was from delta, not theta activity. The spike profile of the C patient was that a typical number of spikes was seen at first in nearly 1/2, but only a small minority showed many-very many discharges. The slow wave profile for the C patient was that theta, not delta waves, increased in time. The (median) time between a unilateral spike discharge to a bilateral discharge was 4-5 yrs, and the U group much more often than the C group showed this change to bilateral spikes. The time between unilateral to bilateral slow waves varied between 4-9 yrs.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2004

Accurate and robust phylogeny estimation based on profile distances: a study of the Chlorophyceae (Chlorophyta).

BACKGROUND: In phylogenetic analysis we face the problem that several subclade topologies are known or easily inferred and well supported by bootstrap analysis, but basal branching patterns cannot be unambiguously estimated by the usual methods (maximum parsimony (MP), neighbor-joining (NJ), or maximum likelihood (ML)), nor are they well supported. We represent each subclade by a sequence profile and estimate evolutionary distances between profiles to obtain a matrix of distances between subclades. RESULTS: Our estimator of profile distances generalizes the maximum likelihood estimator of sequence distances. The basal branching pattern can be estimated by any distance-based method, such as neighbor-joining. Our method (profile neighbor-joining, PNJ) then inherits the accuracy and robustness of profiles and the time efficiency of neighbor-joining. CONCLUSIONS: Phylogenetic analysis of Chlorophyceae with traditional methods (MP, NJ, ML and MrBayes) reveals seven well supported subclades, but the methods disagree on the basal branching pattern. The tree reconstructed by our method is better supported and can be confirmed by known morphological characters. Moreover the accuracy is significantly improved as shown by parametric bootstrap.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Functional profiling of mercuric reductase (mer A) genes in biofilm communities of a technical scale biocatalyzer.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial mercury resistance is based on enzymatic reduction of ionic mercury to elemental mercury and has recently been demonstrated to be applicable for industrial wastewater clean-up. The long-term monitoring of such biocatalyser systems requires a cultivation independent functional community profiling method targeting the key enzyme of the process, the merA gene coding for the mercuric reductase. We report on the development of a profiling method for merA and its application to monitor changes in the functional diversity of the biofilm community of a technical scale biocatalyzer over 8 months of on-site operation. RESULTS: Based on an alignment of 30 merA sequences from Gram negative bacteria, conserved primers were designed for amplification of merA fragments with an optimized PCR protocol. The resulting amplicons of approximately 280 bp were separated by thermogradient gelelectrophoresis (TGGE), resulting in strain specific fingerprints for mercury resistant Gram negative isolates with different merA sequences. The merA profiling of the biofilm community from a technical biocatalyzer showed persistence of some and loss of other inoculum strains as well as the appearance of new bands, resulting in an overall increase of the functional diversity of the biofilm community. One predominant new band of the merA community profile was also detected in a biocatalyzer effluent isolate, which was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The isolated strain showed lower mercury reduction rates in liquid culture than the inoculum strains but was apparently highly competitive in the biofilm environment of the biocatalyzer where moderate mercury levels were prevailing. CONCLUSIONS: The merA profiling technique allowed to monitor the ongoing selection for better adapted strains during the operation of a biocatalyzer and to direct their subsequent isolation. In such a way, a predominant mercury reducing Ps. aeruginosa strain was identified by its unique mercuric reductase gene.

Biofilms↗
PubMed2003

Genetic variability in MCF-7 sublines: evidence of rapid genomic and RNA expression profile modifications.

BACKGROUND: Both phenotypic and cytogenetic variability have been reported for clones of breast carcinoma cell lines but have not been comprehensively studied. Despite this, cell lines such as MCF-7 cells are extensively used as model systems. METHODS: In this work we documented, using CGH and RNA expression profiles, the genetic variability at the genomic and RNA expression levels of MCF-7 cells of different origins. Eight MCF-7 sublines collected from different sources were studied as well as 3 subclones isolated from one of the sublines by limit dilution. RESULTS: MCF-7 sublines showed important differences in copy number alteration (CNA) profiles. Overall numbers of events ranged from 28 to 41. Involved chromosomal regions varied greatly from a subline to another. A total of 62 chromosomal regions were affected by either gains or losses in the 11 sublines studied. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of CGH profiles using maximum parsimony in order to reconstruct the putative filiation of the 11 MCF-7 sublines. The phylogenetic tree obtained showed that the MCF-7 clade was characterized by a restricted set of 8 CNAs and that the most divergent subline occupied the position closest to the common ancestor. Expression profiles of 8 MCF-7 sublines were analyzed along with those of 19 unrelated breast cancer cell lines using home made cDNA arrays comprising 720 genes. Hierarchical clustering analysis of the expression data showed that 7/8 MCF-7 sublines were grouped forming a cluster while the remaining subline clustered with unrelated breast cancer cell lines. These data thus showed that MCF-7 sublines differed at both the genomic and phenotypic levels. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of CGH profiles of the parent subline and its three subclones supported the heteroclonal nature of MCF-7 cells. This strongly suggested that the genetic plasticity of MCF-7 cells was related to their intrinsic capacity to generate clonal heterogeneity. We propose that MCF-7, and possibly the breast tumor it was derived from, evolved in a node like pattern, rather than according to a linear progression model. Due to their capacity to undergo rapid genetic changes MCF-7 cells could represent an interesting model for genetic evolution of breast tumors.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2005

Distinctive serum protein profiles involving abundant proteins in lung cancer patients based upon antibody microarray analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cancer serum protein profiling by mass spectrometry has uncovered mass profiles that are potentially diagnostic for several common types of cancer. However, direct mass spectrometric profiling has a limited dynamic range and difficulties in providing the identification of the distinctive proteins. We hypothesized that distinctive profiles may result from the differential expression of relatively abundant serum proteins associated with the host response. METHODS: Eighty-four antibodies, targeting a wide range of serum proteins, were spotted onto nitrocellulose-coated microscope slides. The abundances of the corresponding proteins were measured in 80 serum samples, from 24 newly diagnosed subjects with lung cancer, 24 healthy controls, and 32 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Two-color rolling-circle amplification was used to measure protein abundance. RESULTS: Seven of the 84 antibodies gave a significant difference (p < 0.01) for the lung cancer patients as compared to healthy controls, as well as compared to COPD patients. Proteins that exhibited higher abundances in the lung cancer samples relative to the control samples included C-reactive protein (CRP; a 13.3 fold increase), serum amyloid A (SAA; a 2.0 fold increase), mucin 1 and alpha-1-antitrypsin (1.4 fold increases). The increased expression levels of CRP and SAA were validated by Western blot analysis. Leave-one-out cross-validation was used to construct Diagonal Linear Discriminant Analysis (DLDA) classifiers. At a cutoff where all 56 of the non-tumor samples were correctly classified, 15/24 lung tumor patient sera were correctly classified. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a distinctive serum protein profile involving abundant proteins may be observed in lung cancer patients relative to healthy subjects or patients with chronic disease and may have utility as part of strategies for detecting lung cancer.

Antibodies↗
PubMed2006

Exopolysaccharide-associated protein sorting in environmental organisms: the PEP-CTERM/EpsH system. Application of a novel phylogenetic profiling heuristic.

BACKGROUND: Protein translocation to the proper cellular destination may be guided by various classes of sorting signals recognizable in the primary sequence. Detection in some genomes, but not others, may reveal sorting system components by comparison of the phylogenetic profile of the class of sorting signal to that of various protein families. RESULTS: We describe a short C-terminal homology domain, sporadically distributed in bacteria, with several key characteristics of protein sorting signals. The domain includes a near-invariant motif Pro-Glu-Pro (PEP). This possible recognition or processing site is followed by a predicted transmembrane helix and a cluster rich in basic amino acids. We designate this domain PEP-CTERM. It tends to occur multiple times in a genome if it occurs at all, with a median count of eight instances; Verrucomicrobium spinosum has sixty-five. PEP-CTERM-containing proteins generally contain an N-terminal signal peptide and exhibit high diversity and little homology to known proteins. All bacteria with PEP-CTERM have both an outer membrane and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production genes. By a simple heuristic for screening phylogenetic profiles in the absence of pre-formed protein families, we discovered that a homolog of the membrane protein EpsH (exopolysaccharide locus protein H) occurs in a species when PEP-CTERM domains are found. The EpsH family contains invariant residues consistent with a transpeptidase function. Most PEP-CTERM proteins are encoded by single-gene operons preceded by large intergenic regions. In the Proteobacteria, most of these upstream regions share a DNA sequence, a probable cis-regulatory site that contains a sigma-54 binding motif. The phylogenetic profile for this DNA sequence exactly matches that of three proteins: a sigma-54-interacting response regulator (PrsR), a transmembrane histidine kinase (PrsK), and a TPR protein (PrsT). CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that PEP-CTERM and EpsH form a protein export sorting system, analogous to the LPXTG/sortase system of Gram-positive bacteria, and correlated to EPS expression. It occurs preferentially in bacteria from sediments, soils, and biofilms. The novel method that led to these findings, partial phylogenetic profiling, requires neither global sequence clustering nor arbitrary similarity cutoffs and appears to be a rapid, effective alternative to other profiling methods.

Amino Acid Motifs↗
PubMed2006

Tailor-made composite functions as tools in model choice: the case of sigmoidal vs bi-linear growth profiles.

BACKGROUND: Roots are the classical model system to study the organization and dynamics of organ growth zones. Profiles of the velocity of root elements relative to the apex have generally been considered to be sigmoidal. However, recent high-resolution measurements have yielded bi-linear profiles, suggesting that sigmoidal profiles may be artifacts caused by insufficient spatio-temporal resolution. The decision whether an empirical velocity profile follows a sigmoidal or bi-linear distribution has consequences for the interpretation of the underlying biological processes. However, distinguishing between sigmoidal and bi-linear curves is notoriously problematic. A mathematical function that can describe both types of curve equally well would allow them to be distinguished by automated curve-fitting. RESULTS: On the basis of the mathematical requirements defined, we created a composite function and tested it by fitting it to sigmoidal and bi-linear models with different noise levels (Monte-Carlo datasets) and to three experimental datasets from roots of Gypsophila elegans, Aurinia saxatilis, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Fits of the function proved robust with respect to noise and yielded statistically sound results if care was taken to identify reasonable initial coefficient values to start the automated fitting procedure. Descriptions of experimental datasets were significantly better than those provided by the Richards function, the most flexible of the classical growth equations, even in cases in which the data followed a smooth sigmoidal distribution. CONCLUSION: Fits of the composite function introduced here provide an independent criterion for distinguishing sigmoidal and bi-linear growth profiles, but without forcing a dichotomous decision, as intermediate solutions are possible. Our function thus facilitates an unbiased, multiple-working hypothesis approach. While our discussion focusses on kinematic growth analysis, this and similar tailor-made functions will be useful tools wherever models of steadily or abruptly changing dependencies between empirical parameters are to be compared.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Endocrine profiles, haematology and pregnancy outcomes of late pregnant Holstein dairy heifers sired by bulls giving a high or low incidence of stillbirth.

The high incidence of stillbirth in Swedish Holstein heifers has increased continuously during the last 15 years to an average of 11% today. The pathological reasons behind the increased incidence of stillbirth are unknown. The present experiment was undertaken to investigate possible causes of stillbirth and to study possible physiological markers for predicting stillbirth. Twenty Swedish Holstein dairy heifers sired by bulls with breeding values for a high risk of stillbirth (n = 12) (experimental group) and a low risk of stillbirth (n = 8) (control group, group B) were selected based on information in the Swedish AI-data base. The experimental group consisted of 2 subgroups of heifers (groups A1 and A2) inseminated with 2 different bulls with 3.5% and 9% higher stillbirth rates than the average, and the control group consisted of heifers pregnant with 5 different bulls with 0%-6% lower stillbirth rates than the average. The bull used for group A1 had also calving difficulties due to large calves as compared to the bull in group A2 showing no calving difficulties. The heifers were supervised from 6-7 months of pregnancy up to birth, and the pregnancies and parturitions were compared between groups regarding hormonal levels, haematology, placental characteristics and calf viability. In group A1, 1 stillborn, 1 weak and 4 normal calves were recorded. In group A2, 2 stillborn and 4 normal calves were registered. All animals in the control group gave birth to a normal living calf without any assistance. The weak calf showed deviating profiles of body temperature, saturated oxygen and heart rates, compared with the normal living calves. No differences of the placentome thickness, measured in vivo by ultrasonography were seen between the groups. The number of leukocytes and differential cell counts in groups A1 and A2 followed the profiles found in the control group. In group A1, a slight decrease of oestrone sulphate (E1SO4) levels was found in the animal delivering a stillborn calf from the first 24-h blood sampling at 6 weeks to the second at 3 weeks prior to delivery, while the levels of E1SO4 at both periods in the animal delivering a weak calf followed the profile in animals delivering a normal living calf. During late pregnancy and at the time of parturition, the levels of E1SO4 and PAGs in animals delivering a stillborn or weak calf (from group A1) followed the normal profiles found in animals delivering a normal living calf. In group A2, low levels of E1SO4 and pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs) over 24 h at both 3 and 6 weeks prior to parturition (< 1.5 nmol/L) were recorded in animals delivering a stillborn calf. During late pregnancy and parturition, the levels of E1SO4 and PAGs were slightly lower during 30-50 days prior to delivery and increased with a lower magnitude at the time of parturition. In conclusion, our results indicate that the aetiology behind stillbirth varies depending on the AI-bulls used and is associated with dystocia or low viability of the calves. Deviating profiles of oestrone sulphate (E1SO4) and pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs) in animals delivering a stillborn calf not caused by dystocia were observed, suggesting placental dysfunction as a possible factor. The finding suggests that the analyses of E1SO4 and PAGs could be used for monitoring foetal well-being in animals with a high risk of stillbirth at term.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Serum protein profile in systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis differentiates response versus nonresponse to therapy.

Systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) is a disease of unknown etiology with an unpredictable response to treatment. We examined two groups of patients to determine whether there are serum protein profiles reflective of active disease and predictive of response to therapy. The first group (n = 8) responded to conventional therapy. The second group (n = 15) responded to an experimental antibody to the IL-6 receptor (MRA). Paired sera from each patient were analyzed before and after treatment, using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS). Despite the small number of patients, highly significant and consistent differences were observed before and after response to therapy in all patients. Of 282 spectral peaks identified, 23 had mean signal intensities significantly different (P < 0.001) before treatment and after response to treatment. The majority of these differences were observed regardless of whether patients responded to conventional therapy or to MRA. These peaks represent potential biomarkers of active disease. One such peak was identified as serum amyloid A, a known acute-phase reactant in SJIA, validating the SELDI-TOF MS platform as a useful technology in this context. Finally, profiles from serum samples obtained at the time of active disease were compared between the two patient groups. Nine peaks had mean signal intensities significantly different (P < 0.001) between active disease in patients who responded to conventional therapy and in patients who failed to respond, suggesting a possible profile predictive of response. Collectively, these data demonstrate the presence of serum proteomic profiles in SJIA that are reflective of active disease and suggest the feasibility of using the SELDI-TOF MS platform used as a tool for proteomic profiling and discovery of novel biomarkers in autoimmune diseases.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMed1991

Subtle-obvious scales of the MMPI: indicators of profile validity in a psychiatric population.

This study explored the usefulness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Subtle-Obvious scales as profile validity indicators with a inpatient psychiatric population. Some 292 MMPI profiles were utilized and divided into overreporters, underreporters, and standard reporters, based on their Subtle-Obvious scale scores. Reporting style was shown to be unrelated to actual patient pathology because of the lack of relationship between reporting style and diagnostic categorization according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) Axis I and II. Comparisons of MMPI profiles of the three groups revealed that overreporters endorsed more pathology on the MMPI clinical scales than did either underreporters or standard reporters. The same pattern of response style was demonstrated by subjects on another objective measure, the Beck Depression Inventory, whereas on a projective measure, the Rorschach Inkblot Test, there were no differences between groups. These findings suggest that clinicians may want to utilize the Subtle-Obvious scales to gain information about MMPI profile validity. Specifically, profiles of patients identified as overreporters should be interpreted with caution so as to not overstate their level of pathology.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1995

The impact of changing from the MMPI to the MMPI-2 on profile configurations.

Fifty-three individuals under court review at a forensic unit of a state hospital were administered both the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) and the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) within an interval of a few days. The test-retest stability of the raw scores from each administration was determined by computing Pearson product-moment correlations for both the individual scales in the profile and for the pattern of scores on the two instruments for each subject. The stability of the T-score patterns was analyzed by means of total codes of the pairs of profiles, tabulations of the two-point high-point combinations, and correlations of the T-score profiles of each subject on the two instruments. The raw scores from the two administrations were highly stable on retest. The patterns of the raw scores for each subject were also very stable. However, when the raw scores were transformed into T-scores on their respective norms, the patterning was often drastically different, indicating that the bases for clinical interpretation derived from the MMPI and the MMPI-2 profiles were sufficiently at variance to require different conclusions. Until the correlate base of the MMPI-2 is better established, it is recommended that two separate profiles be drawn, one from the original norms and the other from the restandardized norms, and that each be interpreted separately to determine their differences and similarities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Comparability of MMPI and MMPI-2 profile patterns: Ben-Porath and Tellegen's inappropriate invocation of Mahalanobis's D2 function.

Ben-Porath and Tellegen (1995) claimed that the data in the article by Humphrey and Dahlstrom (1995) were improperly analyzed by means of Q correlations between raw scores earned by the individuals in the forensic sample to establish pattern comparability between the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989), which were then contrasted with Q correlations between the corresponding T-score patterns. Ben-Porath and Tellegen (1995) contended that the Q correlation is affected by random factors and that a generalized distance function, D2, is the only legitimate index of profile comparability. Data are presented here to show that the Q correlation serves as a reliable index of pattern comparability, relatively unaffected by differences in profile elevation. The Mahalanobis (1936) D2 index is too heavily weighted with differences in profile elevation serve as the proper index of equivalence in profile patterning. The findings in the Humphrey and Dahlstrom (1995) article were based on appropriate data-analytic procedures because the primary concern is their investigation was the extent to which the patterns of T-score profiles from the original MMPI and the MMPI-2 are comparable when the raw-score patterns are virtually identical.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Evaluating the similarity of MMPI-2 and MMPI profiles: reply to Dahlstrom and Humphrey.

We review issues that have arisen in exchanges with Dahlstrom and Humphrey (Dahlstrom & Humphrey, 1996; Humphrey & Dahlstrom, 1995) about assessing the comparability of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the MMPI. We point out the limitations of Q correlations (without contending that D(2) is "the only legitimate function of profile comparability," as Dahlstrom and Humphrey, 1996, p. 350, claim we do), and explain why Dahlstrom and Humphrey's (1996) new Q-correlational results, correctly interpreted, are consistent with our own previous observations and conclusions. We stress again the importance of both overall profile elevation and profile "definition" in making code-type assignments. Nonrestrictive code types ignore these profile characteristics, and their use needlessly lowers MMPI-2/MMPI code-type congruences and raises the incidence of profile misinterpretations. Our recommendation of well-defined MMPI-2 code types stands.

Comment↗