cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiuser Detection and Diversity Combining for Wireless CDMA Systems

Multipath fading presents a major limitation for the performance of wireless CDMA systems. Multipath propagation alone enhances multiple-access interference, while fading on propagation paths induces near-far problem. Multiuser detection has the capability of eliminating near-far problem and providing a capacity increase in CDMA systems, while diversity reception combats the fading effects of the channel. We investigate multiuser receivers which combine explicit antenna diversity, RAKE multi-path diversity and multipath decorrelating detection. Both coherent reception with maximal-ratio combining and differentially coherent reception with equal-gain combining are analyzed. The results demonstrate significant performance improvement over the conventional RAKE techniques. In the case of limited receiver complexity antenna diversity is shown to be effective in reducing residual multiple-access interference.
An exploratory study of IV metoclopramide+diphenhydramine for acute post-traumatic headache

Abstract Background Headache is a frequent complaint among the 1.4 million patients who present to US emergency departments (ED) annually following trauma to the head. There are no evidence-based treatments of acute post-traumatic headache. Methods This was an ED-based, prospective study of intravenous (IV) metoclopramide 20 mg + diphenhydramine 25 mg for acute post-traumatic headache. Patients who presented to our EDs with a moderate or severe headache meeting international criteria were enrolled and followed by telephone 2 and 7 days later. The primary outcome was “sustained headache relief” (headache level less than “moderate” in the ED, no additional headache medication, and no relapse to headache worse than “mild”).We also gathered data on associated symptomotology using the validated Post Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS). Results 21 patients were enrolled. Twelve of 20 (60%) patients with available follow-up data reported sustained headache relief. All but one of the 21 enrolled patients (95%) reported improvement of headache to no worse than mild. Seven of 19 (37%) patients with available data reported moderate or severe headache during the 48 h after ED discharge. One week later, 5/19 patients reported experiencing headaches “frequently” or “always”. The mean Post Concussion Symptom Score improved from 47.5 (SD 29.4) before treatment to 10.9 (SD 14.8) at the time of ED discharge and 11.4 (SD 21.4) at one week after treatment. Conclusion IV metoclopramide 20 mg + diphenhydramine 25 mg is an effective and well-tolerated medication regimen for patients presenting to the ED with acute post-traumatic headache, though 1/3 of patients report headache relapse after ED discharge and 1/4 of patients report persistent headaches one week later.
Abstract 15792: Reprogramming of Fibroblasts Into Induced Cardiac Progenitor Cells With the CRISPR-dCas9 System

Background and Objective: Currently available regenerative clinical therapies for myocardial infarction could benefit from additional resources of cardiac lineage cells. Although the CRISPR-dCas9 s...
Abuse of Property Right Without Political Foundations: A Response to Katz

In an article recently published in the Yale Law Journal, Larissa Katz defends a heterodox principle of abuse of property right pursuant to which an owner abuses her rights with respect to a thing she owns if she makes an otherwise permitted decision about how to use that thing just in order to harm others, either out of spite, or for leverage. Katz grounds that principle in a novel theory of the political foundations of the institution of property ownership. This essay argues that Katz’s political theory is implausible, but that this should not doom her preferred principle of abuse of property right. Further, the essay bolsters Katz’s abuse principle by showing how it, or close analogues, helps resolve both the paradox of blackmail and the puzzle of unconstitutional conditions.
Theoretical analysis of N2O to N2 conversion during the catalytic decomposition of NO by Cu-zeolites

Catalytic reactions of N2O in Cu-exchanged silica zeolites (ZSM-5) have been investigated theoretically using first-principles density functional theory (DFT). We consider four possible reaction paths for the production of N2, including (i) ZCu+N2O→ZCuO+N2, (ii) ZCuO+N2O→ZCuO2+N2, (iii) ZCu+NO+N2O→ZCuNO2+N2 and (iv) ZCu+NO2+N2O→ZCuNO3+N2 (“Z” refers to zeolites). Reactions (i) and (iii) are found to be the most favorable, whereas reactions (ii) and (iv) have much larger barriers. The implication for N2O reactions in non-selective reduction of NO by CO is also discussed.
Evaluating the relationship between deposition and layer quality in large-scale additive manufacturing of concrete

Scaling up additive manufacturing (AM) for automated building construction requires expertise from different fields of knowledge, including architecture, material science, engineering, and manufact...
The impact of a multilevel childhood obesity prevention intervention on healthful food acquisition, preparation, and fruit and vegetable consumption on African-American adult caregivers.

Objective To evaluate the secondary impact of a multilevel, child-focused, obesity intervention on food-related behaviours (acquisition, preparation, fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption) on youths' primary caregivers. Design B'More Healthy Communities for Kids (BHCK) group-randomized controlled trial promoted access to healthy foods and food-related behaviours through wholesaler and small store strategies, peer mentor-led nutrition education aimed at youths, and social media and text messaging targeting their adult caregivers. Measures included caregivers' (n 516) self-reported household food acquisition frequency for FV, snacks and grocery items over 30 d, and usual FV consumption in a sub-sample of 226 caregivers via the NCI FV Screener. Hierarchical models assessed average treatment effects (ATE). Treatment-on-the-treated-effect (TTE) analyses evaluated correlation between behavioural change and exposure to BHCK. Exposure scores at post-assessment were based on self-reported viewing of BHCK materials and participating in activities. Setting Thirty Baltimore City low-income neighbourhoods, USA.ParticipantsAdult caregivers of youths aged 9-15 years. Results Of caregivers, 90·89 % were female; mean age 39·31 (sd 9·31) years. Baseline mean (sd) intake (servings/d) was 1·30 (1·69) fruits and 1·35 (1·05) vegetables. In ATE, no significant intervention effect was found on caregivers' food-related behaviours. In TTE, each point increase in BHCK exposure score (range: 0-6·9) increased caregivers' daily fruit consumption by 0·2 servings (0·24 (se 0·11); 95 % CI 0·04, 0·47). Caregivers reporting greater social media exposure tripled their daily fruit intake (3·16 (se 0·92); 95 % CI 1·33, 4·99) and increased their frequency of unhealthy food purchasing v. baseline. Conclusions Child-focused community-based nutrition interventions may also benefit family members' fruit intake. Child-focused interventions should involve adult caregivers and intervention effects on family members should be assessed. Future multilevel studies should consider using social media to improve reach and engage caregiver participants.
The Origins of UN Peacebuilding (II): The Liberal Democratic Peace in the UN Milieu

This chapter continues to trace the process through which a particular meaning of peacebuilding was constructed and became common currency in and around the UN in the early 1990s. It contends that once a simplified discourse about the relationship between liberal democracy and peace gained foothold within the highest levels of decision making in the Secretariat, purposive political individuals, especially the then Secretary-General, started to build upon this simplified discourse to advance a clear political agenda to support electoral processes and promote democracies in societies affected by armed conflict as a mean to achieving peace. Based on the research of UN archives previously unavailable to the public, as well as first-hand interviews with key Secretariat officials at that time, the chapter reveals that, throughout this process, a simplified and politicised version of theories about the liberal democratic peace emerged and provided meaning to the use of ‘peacebuilding’ in the political agenda of purposive individuals in the UN milieu.
A Walking Intervention Supplemented With Mobile Health Technology in Low-Active Urban African American Women With Asthma: Proof-of-Concept Study

Background: Physical inactivity is associated with worse asthma outcomes. African American women experience disparities in both physical inactivity and asthma relative to their white counterparts. We conducted a modified evidence-based walking intervention supplemented with mobile health (mHealth) technologies to increase physical activity (PA). Objective: This study aimed to assess the preliminary feasibility of a 7-week walking intervention modified for African American women with asthma. Methods: African American women with suboptimally controlled asthma were identified from a health system serving low-income minorities. At a baseline data collection visit, participants performed spirometry and incremental shuttle walk test, completed questionnaires, and were given an accelerometer to wear for 1 week. The intervention comprised an informational study manual and 3 in-person group sessions over 7 weeks, led by a nurse interventionist, in a community setting. The supplemental mHealth tools included a wearable activity tracker device (Fitbit Charge HR) and one-way text messages related to PA and asthma 3 times per week. A secure Web-based research platform, iCardia, was used to obtain Fitbit data in real time (wear time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA] and sedentary time) and send text messages. The feasibility of the intervention was assessed in the domains of recruitment capability, acceptability (adherence, retention, engagement, text messaging, acceptability, complaints, and concerns), and preliminary outcome effects on PA behavior (change in steps, duration, and intensity). Results: We approached 22 women, of whom 10 were eligible; 7 consented, enrolled and completed the study. Group session attendance was 71% (5/7), 86% (6/7), and 86% (6/7), respectively, across the 3 sessions. All participants completed evaluations at each group session. The women reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the program (eg, location, time, and materials). None of them had concerns about using, charging, or syncing the Fitbit device and app. Participants wore their Fitbit device for at least 10 hours per day in 44 out of the 49 intervention days. There was an increase in Fitbit-measured MVPA from week 1 (19 min/week, SD 14 min/week) to the last week of intervention (22 min/week, SD 12 min/week; Cohen d=0.24, 95% CI 0.1 to 6.4). A slight decrease in step count was observed from week 1 (8926 steps/day, SD 2156 steps/day) to the last week of intervention (8517 steps/day, SD 1612 steps/day; Cohen d=−0.21, 95% CI −876.9 to 58.9). Conclusions: The initial feasibility results of a 7-week community-based walking intervention tailored for African American women with asthma and supplemented with mHealth tools are promising. Modifications to recruitment, retention, and the intervention itself are needed. These findings support the need to conduct a further modified pilot trial to collect additional data on feasibility and estimate the efficacy of the intervention on asthma and PA outcomes.
From droplets to waves: periodic instability patterns in highly viscous microfluidic flows

We experimentally study the transition from droplet to wave regimes in microfluidic liquid–liquid multiphase flows having large differences in viscosity. A unified approach based on periodic pattern analysis is employed to study relationships between dispersed and separated flow regimes, including dripping, jetting, capillary waves, inertial waves and core–annular flows over a wide range of flow rates and viscosity contrasts. We examine the morphology and dynamics of each flow regime based on wavelength, frequency and velocity of repeating unit cells to elucidate their connections and to develop predictive capabilities based on dimensionless control parameters. We demonstrate in particular that pattern selection is contingent upon the propagation velocity of droplets and waves at the transition. We also investigate microfluidic wave breaking phenomena with the formation of ligaments and droplets from wave crests in both capillary and inertial wave regimes. This work expands conventional multiphase flow regimes observed in microchannels and shows new routes to disperse highly viscous materials using interfacial waves dynamics in confined microsystems.
Reversal of the Warburg effect in breast cancer cells by a novel agent.

e13566 Background: It is well known that most cancer cells display a Warburg effect, a state of active glycolysis with lactate production under aerobic conditions. NF-κB has been shown to play a ro...
Application of Postprocessing to Watershed-Scale Subseasonal Climate Forecasts over the Contiguous United States

AbstractSubseasonal to seasonal (S2S) climate forecasting has become a central component of climate services aimed at improving water management. In some cases, operational S2S climate predictions ...
Veterans Health and Well-Being—Collaborative Research Approaches: Toward Veteran Community Engagement:

Veteran community engagement is an evolving discipline informed by traditional community-based participatory research, veteran studies, and veterans themselves. This Special Issue suggests that res...
A quality improvement approach to reduce opioids prescribed at a pediatric institution

Introduction: The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic and the pediatric population is vulnerable to prescription opioid misuse and overdose. There is a mismatch between the amount of opioids needed to treat pediatric acute pain and leftover opioids account for a substantial source available for unintentional overdose by young children and misuse among adolescents. It is imperative that providers seek to decrease the amount of excess opioids prescribed, while still providing adequate pain control. A quality improvement approach was taken at our pediatric institution to decrease excess opioid prescribing. …
Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian Republicanism, and the Commonwealth

In this chapter we learn that republicanism was key to the vexed debates at the definitive 1949 London Conference which pivoted on the need for, and the terms of, expansion of the post-colonial Commonwealth. Nehru repudiated the idea of sovereign kingship, a conception underpinning the conservative 1935 Government of India Act. Gandhian and socialist versions of republicanism fed into Nehru’s critique and his insistence in 1946 that ‘a free India can be nothing but a republic’. Similar sentiments were expressed by Irish and Afrikaner nationalists—with different consequences. But, whereas Ireland chose to leave the Commonwealth in 1949, followed by South Africa in 1961, Nehru skilfully used the prospect of continuing Indian association with the Commonwealth to transform it from within. For Jan Smuts and other loyal representatives of the old Commonwealth, the loosening of ties to the monarchy was a matter of concern and regret. Yet, for Purushotham, following Nicholas Mansergh, it was because of—rather than in spite of—the fact of a republican India that the idea of the Commonwealth ‘achieved its most spectacular triumph’, namely, as a symbolic association of equals that could be redescribed as a vindication of liberal internationalism. Purushotham concludes that Nehru’s ambiguous ‘gift’ to the British was the Commonwealth’s persistence as an expanded international community which allowed decolonising Britain ‘to claim that they were living up to their own ideals’.
From the Lorentz Transformation Group in Pseudo-Euclidean Spaces to Bi-gyrogroups

‎The Lorentz transformation of order $(m=1,n)$‎, ‎$ninNb$‎, ‎is the well-known ‎Lorentz transformation of special relativity theory‎. ‎It is a transformation of time-space coordinates of the ‎pseudo-Euclidean space $Rb^{m=1,n}$ of one time dimension and ‎$n$ space dimensions ($n=3$ in physical applications)‎. ‎A Lorentz transformation without rotations is called a {it boost}‎. ‎Commonly‎, ‎the special relativistic boost is ‎parametrized by a relativistically admissible velocity parameter $vb$‎, ‎$vbinRcn$‎, ‎whose domain is the $c$-ball $Rcn$ of all ‎relativistically admissible velocities‎, ‎$Rcn={vbinRn:|vb| 0$ is an arbitrarily fixed ‎positive constant that represents the vacuum speed of light‎. ‎The study of the Lorentz transformation composition law in terms of ‎parameter composition reveals that the group structure of the ‎Lorentz transformation of order $(m=1,n)$ induces a gyrogroup and ‎a gyrovector space structure that regulate ‎the parameter space $Rcn$‎. ‎The gyrogroup and gyrovector space structure ‎of the ball $Rcn$‎, ‎in turn‎, ‎form the algebraic setting for the Beltrami-Klein ball model ‎of hyperbolic geometry‎, ‎which underlies the ball $Rcn$‎. ‎The aim of this article is to extend the study of the ‎Lorentz transformation of order $(m,n)$ from $m=1$ and $nge1$ to ‎all $m,ninNb$‎, ‎obtaining algebraic structures called ‎a {it bi-gyrogroup} and a {it bi-gyrovector space}‎. ‎A bi-gyrogroup is ‎a gyrogroup each gyration of which is a pair of ‎a left gyration and a right gyration‎. ‎A bi-gyrovector space is constructed from a bi-gyrocommutative bi-gyrogroup ‎that admits a scalar multiplication‎.
Clinical and Organizational Ethics: Challenges to Methodology and Practice

The day-to-day work of clinical ethics consultants and healthcare ethics committees can easily become overly routine. Too much routine, however, comes with a risk that morally important practices will be reduced to mere bureaucratic formalities, while practitioners become desensitized to ethically significant distinctions between cases. Clinical ethics consultation and organizational ethics must be set within the broader social and cultural context of the healthcare environment. This practice requires looking beyond mere legal compliance and the routinely false assumption that there are unambiguous ethical norms that easily govern clinical ethics and hospital policy formation. Together the essays in this issue of HEC Forum challenge readers to rethink taken-for-granted assumptions regarding patient care, physician obligation, clinical ethics consultation, and organizational ethics.
A Pneumatological Description of Sacrifice for Mitigating Idolatry

The nature of eucharistic sacrifice has been an ongoing point of contention between the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Drawing from the pneumatology and sacramental theology of Thom...
Clustering microbiome data using mixtures of logistic normal multinomial models

Discrete data such as counts of microbiome taxa resulting from next-generation sequencing are routinely encountered in bioinformatics. Taxa count data in microbiome studies are typically high-dimensional, over-dispersed, and can only reveal relative abundance therefore being treated as compositional. Analyzing compositional data presents many challenges because they are restricted on a simplex. In a logistic normal multinomial model, the relative abundance is mapped from a simplex to a latent variable that exists on the real Euclidean space using the additive log-ratio transformation. While a logistic normal multinomial approach brings in flexibility for modeling the data, it comes with a heavy computational cost as the parameter estimation typically relies on Bayesian techniques. In this paper, we develop a novel mixture of logistic normal multinomial models for clustering microbiome data. Additionally, we utilize an efficient framework for parameter estimation using variational Gaussian approximations (VGA). Adopting a variational Gaussian approximation for the posterior of the latent variable reduces the computational overhead substantially. The proposed method is illustrated on simulated and real datasets.
Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy: Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll, eds. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press, 2019. x and 422 pp., photos. $99.99 cloth (ISBN 978-1-946684-78-3); $28.99 paper (ISBN 978-1-946684-79-0); $28.99 electronic (ISBN 978-1-946684-80-6).

In 2018 I authored a book review essay in the AAG Review of Books that addressed three books about white people who felt dispossessed, let down, and discriminated against by their own government an...
Modeling the Global Price of Oil 2003-2018: Unintended Consequences of U.S. Quantitative Easing

During the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009, the price of crude oil dropped markedly from about $140 per barrel in June 2008 to about $40 in early 2009. As Quantitative Easing allowed the U.S. economy to stabilize and return to slow growth, oil prices increased and averaged about $100 during 2010-13. Then in June 2014, they plunged dramatically to about $40. This paper makes an original contribution that explains the volatile behavior of global crude prices during the 2003-2018 period that includes the Global Financial Crisis. We propose a financial model that focuses on U.S. Quantitative Easing as the signature monetary policy tool to provide liquidity and restore economic growth. This model describes the price of oil as depending on six inputs: Federal Assets accumulated during the period of Quantitative Easing, the 10 Year Treasury Note, the price of copper, the Trade Weighted dollar, the S&P 500 Index and the U.S. High Yield Rate for Bonds rated CCC or below. Making use of 771 overlapping 52-week regressions to capture short run dynamics we find that Quantitative Easing was statistically significant only during 2009-10, while the U.S. High Yield Rate played a significant role explaining oil price changes, both during the crisis and also during the 2014-2017 period. The significance of the U.S. High Yield Rate is expected to continue in the future.
Rab11 endosomes coordinate centrosome number and movement following mitotic exit

SUMMARY The last stage of cell division involves two daughter cells remaining interconnected by a cytokinetic bridge that is cleaved in a process called abscission. During pre-abscission, we identified that the centrosome moves in a Rab11-dependent manner towards the cytokinetic bridge in human cells grown in culture and in an in vivo vertebrate model, Danio rerio (zebrafish). Rab11-endosomes are dynamically organized in a Rab11-GTP dependent manner at the centrosome during pre-abscission and this organization is required for the centrosome protein, pericentrin, to be enriched at the centrosome. Using zebrafish embryos, we found that reduction in pericentrin expression or optogenetically disrupting Rab11-endosome function inhibited centrosome movement towards the cytokinetic bridge and abscission resulting in daughter cells prone to being binucleated and/or having supernumerary centrosomes. These studies suggest that Rab11-endosomes contribute to centrosome function during pre-abscission by regulating pericentrin organization resulting in appropriate centrosome movement towards the cytokinetic bridge and subsequent abscission.
Limited-angle TOF-PET for intraoperative surgical applications: latest results

Intraoperative Gamma probes and near infrared probes are the current gold standard modalities for sentinel lymph node identification and tumor removal in cancer patients. However, they do not meet with <5% false negative rates (FNR) requirement, a key metric suggested by American Society of Clinical Oncology. We are aiming to reduce FNR by using time of flight (TOF) PET detector technology in limited angle geometry by using only two detector heads in coincidence where one small-area detector is placed above the patient and the other with larger-area right under the patient bed. To explore the capabilities of this concept we used two Hamamatsu TOF PET detector modules (C13500-4075YC-12) featuring a 12×12 array of 4.14×4.14×20 mm3 LYSO:Ce crystal pixels with 4.2 mm pitch one-one coupled with MPPC pixels. Detector coincidence timing resolution (CTR) was 271 ps. We 3D printed a lesion phantom containing spheres with 2–10 mm in diameter representing lymph nodes and placed the phantom inside a 10-litre background water phantom. Experimental results show that with sub-minute data acquisition, 6 mm diameter spheres can be identified in the image when a lesion phantom with sphere to background activity ratio of 10:1 is used. With the encouraging results we further simulated detectors with different parameters to investigate the effect of detector depth of interaction, CTR, and pixel dimension on lesion detectability. The results show that 6 mm diameter with 60 seconds acquisition are resolved in 25 cm deep background water phantom with 10:1 activity ratio. As expected, the image quality improves as the CTR improves and with decreasing background water phantom depth. In 12 and 5 cm deep water phantom, 4 mm diameter spheres can be resolved both with 100 and 200 ps CTR. With the results presented here we conclude limited angle TOF PET is a major step forward for intraoperative applications in that improved lesion detectability is beyond what the conventional gamma- and NIR-based probes could achieve.
Simultaneous fMRI and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry bridges evoked oxygen and neurotransmitter dynamics across spatiotemporal scales.

Abstract The vascular contributions of neurotransmitters to the hemodynamic response are gaining more attention in neuroimaging studies, as many neurotransmitters are vasomodulatory. To date, well-established electrochemical techniques that detect neurotransmission in high magnetic field environments are limited. Here, we propose an experimental setting enabling simultaneous fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) and blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic imaging (BOLD fMRI) to measure both local tissue oxygen and dopamine responses, and global BOLD changes, respectively. By using MR-compatible materials and the proposed data acquisition schemes, FSCV detected physiological analyte concentrations with high temporal resolution and spatial specificity inside of a 9.4 T MRI bore. We found that tissue oxygen and BOLD correlate strongly, and brain regions that encode dopamine amplitude differences can be identified via modeling simultaneously acquired dopamine FSCV and BOLD fMRI time-courses. This technique provides complementary neurochemical and hemodynamic information and expands the scope of studying the influence of local neurotransmitter release over the entire brain.
A Self Reflection

In this research, I attempted to reveal and understand the social, cultural and educational attitudes faced by the parents of children with disabilities in the state of Kerala, India. This investigation identified several different attitudes towards disability that encumber the daily lives of parents and their children with disabilities.
Dwell Fatigue Design Criteria

Many engineering components operate under steady state conditions for a period of time after the peak loads had been achieved. The time during which the loads are near constant is considered dwell time. Materials exhibit sensitivity to dwell times differently to the tension and compression loads and continue to challenge engineers designing such systems. New dwell sensitivity maps proposed in this paper showing the dwell sensitivity behavior of materials in low cycle fatigue (LCF) where life is determined by the development of plastic/inelastic strains and long crack growth (LCG) which is also known as high cycle fatigue life of components. While dwell sensitivity in LCF was significant in lower ranges of strains, higher strains and dwell time did not lower fatigue life as highly as it was under lower strains. LCF dwell sensitivity was predicted with the use of strength ratio, dynamic balance between the hardening and softening, and dwell time damage parameter. Each of these characteristic features predicted dwell sensitivity.
Grayscale Image Hiding Based on Modulus Function and Greedy Method

A novel LSB-based image-hiding scheme that embeds secret data into the grayscale cover image is proposed in this paper. Several LSB-based image hiding schemes such as simple LSB substitution technique, optimal LSB substitution technique, greedy LSB substitution technique, modulus LSB substitution technique had been proposed. To provide good image quality of the stego-image while requiring a low computational cost, the greedy method and modulus function are employed in the proposed scheme. According to the results, the proposed scheme provides better image quality of stego-image than the comparative schemes while consuming a low computational cost.
The Declining Exchange Rate: Impact On The U.S. Economy 2000-2009

Using a simplified Klein/Fair structural model of the U.S. economy, estimated using 1960 – 2000 data, the paper finds that the 12.9% dollar decline 2000-2009 had a positive effect on exports, but mildly negative effects for domestically produced investment and consumer goods. It is shown that the negative effects occurred because the negative income effects of rising import prices offset the more positive effects of substitution toward domestic goods. The estimated overall negative effect on the GDP is modest: 1.7% over the nine years, or about a fifth of a percent per year. It is estimated this decline in the dollar reduced the trade deficit $140.7 billion. This decline is estimated to have increased U.S. net asset position by an $88.6 billion. This paper updates R.P.I. Economics Department Working Paper #905 to include effects of exchange rate changes during 2009.
Kinematics of a class of hybrid robotic mechanisms with parallel and series modules

The position and velocity kinematics for a class of 6 d.o.f. hybrid robotic mechanisms is studied. The specific class of hybrid manipulators features a 3 d.o.f. in-series actuated module mounted on a moving platform of another 3 d.o.f. in-parallel actuated manipulator. In both position and velocity case, constraint compatibility conditions necessary for the 3 d.o.f. in-parallel actuated module have been identified first. Then the constraint equations have further been used to "decouple" the variables between serial and parallel modules. Two examples (one for position and one for velocity kinematics) are shown to verify the feasibility of the proposed methods. It is demonstrated that closed form solutions can be reached in the position case under some assumptions, whereas one can always obtain closed form solution in the velocity case. >
Protein and Antibody Functionalization Using Continuous Flow Microreactor Technology

Interest in the field of antibody—drug conjugates (ADCs) has grown exponentially over the past decade. As the product pipeline grows, there is increasing need for robust chemistries which allow selective and efficient functionalization of the antibody cores for introduction of appropriate linkers and spacer groups. Under conventional bioconjugation conditions, product heterogeneity often results, and the drug-to-antibody ratios (DAR) are inconsistent. Based on our experience in protein derivatization, we have investigated the potential for continuous-flow microreactor technology to expedite and facilitate such processes. We demonstrate its potential using reagent proteins and the chimeric monoclonal antibody infliximab (Remicade™).
Die gerichtliche Kontrolle der öffentlichen Behörden

Die in diesem Kapitel abzuhandelnde Materie gehort zu den wichtigsten unserer Darstellung. Ihre Erfassung mus recht eigentlich als ein Schlussel zum Verstandnis der politischen Zivilisation Englands gelten, welche die Staatsautoritat mit der Burgerfreiheit auszusohnen mit Erfolg bestrebt ist.
Inactivation of mouse alpha-globin gene by homologous recombination: mouse model of hemoglobin H disease

We have disrupted the 5' locus of the duplicated adult alpha-globin genes by gene targeting in the mouse embryonic stem cells and created mice with alpha-thalassemia syndromes. The heterozygous knockout mice (.alpha/alpha alpha) are asymptomatic like the silent carriers in humans whereas the homozygous knockout mice (.alpha/.alpha) show hemolytic anemia. Mice with three dysfunctional alpha-globin genes generated by breeding the 5' alpha-globin knockouts (.alpha/alpha alpha) and the deletion type alpha-thalassemia mice (../alpha alpha) produce severe hemoglobin H disease and they die in utero. These results indicate that the 5' alpha-globin gene is the predominant locus in mice, and suggest that it is even more dominant than its human homologue.
Asymmetrical Muscle Activity During Feeding in the Gar, Lepisosteus Oculatus

Prey capture in the spotted gar, Lepisosteus oculatus , was studied by high-speed cinematography synchronized with electromyographic recordings of cranial muscle activity. Muscle activity patterns were recorded during each of the three major phases of feeding: the initial strike at the prey, manipulation of the prey following capture, and swallowing. With one exception, the obliquus superioris, all muscles at the strike are active in a bilaterally symmetrical pattern. During the manipulation phase two distinct muscle activity patterns occur: one is characterized by symmetrical activity in the epaxial muscles and obliquus inferioris, the other by complete asymmetry between the right and left sternohyoideus, obliquus superioris, and epaxial muscles. Low-amplitude manipulatory movements are characterized by activity in one side of the sternohyoideus only, all other muscles being generally inactive. The adductor mandibulae and obliquus inferioris are always active symmetrically. Asymmetrical activity in the sternohyoideus, epaxial muscles, and obliquus superioris correlates with lateral head movements during feeding and acts to rotate prey into the preferred orientation for swallowing. The pattern of asymmetrical activity between right and left side muscles is discussed in relation to previous studies of feeding which utilized only unilateral muscle recordings.
Immobilized Derivatives of Leucine Aminopeptidase and Aminopeptidase M: APPLICATIONS IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY

Abstract Leucine aminopeptidase and aminopeptidase M have been covalently bound to an arylamine derivative of porous glass. The bound forms of both enzymes retain 100% of their activities at saturating levels of substrate (leucine p-nitroanilide). For the hydrolysis at pH 7.3 and 25° κcat values for bound and free leucine aminopeptidase are 46 ± 5 s-1 and 46 ± 2 s-1, respectively; for aminopeptidase M (pH 7.5 and 25°) κcat values are 23 ± 2 s-1 and 21 ± 0.4 s-1, respectively. Although the Michaelis constants for both enzymes increase on binding, the pH and temperature dependencies of the bound enzymes remain unchanged. These data suggest that the environments and conformations of the enzymes are not significantly changed after coupling to the solid support. The apparent decrease in the binding of substrate could be explained by a decrease in the effective diffusion coefficient of the substrate. Both insoluble enzymes are active against polypeptide substrates. After treatment for removal of contaminating endopeptidases, the immobilized derivatives of leucine aminopeptidase and aminopeptidase M were used successfully in NH2-terminal sequence determination. The bound aminopeptidase M appears to be the better of the two for this purpose. Both bound enzymes will catalyze the hydrolysis of the aminoethylated A and B chains of insulin nearly to completion (≥87% recovery of free amino acids in all cases). These digests are carried out at pH values near neutrality in a volatile buffer with no activating metal. Immobilized pronase (Royer, G. P., and Green, G. M. (1971) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 44, 426) was used in concert with bound leucine aminopeptidase and bound aminopeptidase M for the hydrolysis of β-lactoglobulin. In both cases the recovery of free amino acids was 93%. These bound enzymes should be quite useful in amino acid composition determinations when acid-labile residues such as tryptophan, glutamine, asparagine, or certain "affinity labeled" side chains are present.
The energetics of osmotic regulation in ureotelic and hypoosmotic fishes

The major mechanisms of urea turnover and of active ion transport in osmoregula- tory organs are reviewed. Using published values for the molecular flow through these systems it is possible to estimate the energetic cost of osmotic regulation in hyporegulating marine teleosts and in ureotelic elasmobranchs. Oxygen consumption dedicated to osmotic regulation in the flounder (Platichthys flesus) is about 7 ml kg−1 hr−1 and in the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) 6 ml kg−1 hr−1 For a dogfish (Scyliorhynus canicular) it was 5 ml kg−1 hr−1 and for the skate (Raja erinacea) 5 or 11 ml kg−1 hr−1 based on two values for urea loss by the fish. Both groups of fish used 10–15% of their standard metabolism for osmotic regulation. There are a number of uncertainties that may require modification of these values. It is not known whether TMAO lost by ureotelic regulators is replaced by ingestion or by synthesis. If by synthesis, the cost of regulation would be higher than calculated. Even more serious is the uncertainty regarding the use of organic osmolytes to maintain equilibrium between cells and blood. This strategy almost certainly requires some energy input, but there is insufficient information to permit its quantitative estimation, so the factor was omitted from the calculation. Among hyporegulators the sole unknown is whether the esophagus may absorb some of the ingested salt by diffusion. If so, it would decrease the energy expended in the intestinal tract and lower the total cost of regulation. The conclusion, based on known factors for the species examined, is that both modes are about equally efficient. If it becomes possible to factor in the unknowns it may be that hyporegulation is slightly more economical than ureosmotic. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Female reproductive state influences the auditory midbrain response

Female behavioral responses to sensory stimuli can be highly variable across the reproductive cycle. Female green treefrogs (Hyla cinerea) use the male vocal signal to locate and choose a mate. Gravid females approach a vocalizing male to mate but do not approach if they have recently mated. Such differences in behavioral response may be due in part to shifts in the neural representation of auditory information in the brain. In this study, we investigated the influence of female reproductive state on neural responses in the auditory midbrain to both communication signals (advertisement calls) and non-communication sounds (band limited noise bursts). Recently mated females exhibited significantly reduced response strengths compared to females not recently mated. Reduced response strengths in post-mated females were in response to both noise bursts and male advertisement calls but were limited to the lower frequency range corresponding to the amphibian papilla of the peripheral auditory system. Our results therefore show that the ability of social signals to stimulate the auditory system differs in females depending on their reproductive state, and that the differential effect on low versus high spectral sensitivities may influence the way the two spectral peaks of male advertisement calls are represented.
Optimization of toughness and strength in multiphase intermetallics

Abstract We have examined the effects of a fine dispersion of precipitates in the matrix phase of two multiphase NiAl-based alloys on strength and toughness. The first system is a directionally solidified Ni–30Fe–23Al alloy composed of a B2 matrix reinforced with a ductile fcc-based second phase. Spinodal decomposition leads to fine-scale bcc precipitates within the B2 phase, resulting in a 50% increase in room-temperature strength, but with reduced ductility and toughness compared to similar alloys without the strengthening precipitates. The increase in strength limits matrix plasticity prior to cleavage crack initiation, but some slip transfer still occurs from the fcc-based phase to the (B2+bcc) matrix. A mixed dendritic and lamellar microstructure also contributes to lower toughness. The second system is a directionally solidified NiAl–31Cr–3Mo eutectic composed of a B2-NiAl matrix reinforced with a Cr(Mo) phase. Small additions of Hf and Si to this material result in the precipitation of a fine cuboidal G-phase in the NiAl matrix. Reduced toughness in this modified alloy relative to unalloyed NiAl–Cr(Mo) is attributed to the lack of plasticity in the precipitate-strengthened matrix and partial loss of the aligned lamellar microstructure by Hf and Si alloying. Observations of the deformation and fracture mechanisms in these alloys are used as a basis to discuss microstructural design of multiphase intermetallics with optimized strength and toughness.
Monte Carlo Simulations of Reaction Kinetics for Ethane Hydrogenolysis over Pt

A Monte Carlo (MC) molecular model, with parameters derived from density functional theory calculations, is used to describe experimental data for the rate of ethane hydrogenolysis for a Pt/SiO2 catalyst over a wide range of conditions. The surface concentrations of the most abundant stable species (hydrogen atoms, ethylidyne species, and di-σ-bonded ethylene) are simulated with a MC grandcanonical ensemble, and the rate of ethane hydrogenolysis is calculated by simulating surface concentrations for three types of transition state complexes for C−C bond cleavage. The simulation shows that larger repulsive interactions between adsorbed C2Hx and H species lead to more negative reaction orders with respect to the hydrogen pressure. The results of the MC simulation indicate that the reaction proceeds primarily through C−C bond cleavage in adsorbed C2H5 species, with smaller contributions from adsorbed CHCH3 and CHCH2 species. The MC results suggest that although the most abundant surface hydrocarbon species h...
Development and Characterization of High Bandwidth Micro-Actuator

This paper describes an experimental study conducted at the Advanced Aero Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL) on the design and development of actuator systems capable of producing high bandwidth, high momentum microjet arrays for active flow control applications. Using a simple geometry of a cavity with arrays of micro nozzles at the bottom end along with a primary source jet, highly unsteady microjets were produced in a frequency range of 6–60 kHz. The unsteady microjets, which are supersonic, have a mean velocity in the range of 300–400 m/sec with an unsteady component between 50–100 m/sec. Such actuators show considerable promise for flow control applications, especially in the supersonic domain. Notable characteristics of this design are its simplicity and the flexibility in controlling the frequency and amplitude suitable for the application of interest. The influence of feedback loop driven shear layer instability and other possible resonant mechanisms on the micro-actuator frequency response are outlined in the present paper. The location of cavity orifice within the Region of Instability (ROI), which is found to be the pressure recovery region of first shock cell of the source jet, plays a very important role in the output frequency and amplitude of the actuator. The length of the actuator cavity is another parameter that strongly influences the frequency of the actuator output. By using high resolution Micro-Schlieren images it was found that the frequency variation with Nozzle Pressure Ratio (NPR) is related to the shock cell properties of primary jet. As a result of this study, we have a better understanding of the geometric and flow parameters governing the unsteady properties of the actuator flow; an understanding that will be used to specifically tailor actuator design for various applications.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Pigment patterns: fish in stripes and spots

The analysis of zebrafish pigment pattern development suggests a model for the genes and cell populations required to make an adult pigment pattern and provides a useful starting point for identifying the mechanisms underlying pigment pattern evolution across species.A recent approach has used interspecific hybrids. When zebrafish are crossed to other danios (Figure 1Figure 1), the resulting pigment patterns typically resemble that of zebrafish more than the other species, suggesting that pigment pattern genes in other species often are recessive to those of zebrafish. This has allowed for interspecific complementation tests to determine whether genes identified as zebrafish pigment pattern mutants might contribute to differences between taxa. For example, hybrids between wild-type zebrafish and D. albolineatus form stripes like zebrafish, whereas hybrids between fms mutant zebrafish and D. albolineatus lack stripes, like D. albolineatus, identifying fms as a candidate gene for stripe elaboration in zebrafish, or stripe loss in D. albolineatus.Danio pigment patterns offer an outstanding opportunity for integrative studies that link genetic and cellular mechanisms to behavior, ecology, and natural selection in the wild. In the future, identification of additional genes and cell behaviors required for pigment pattern formation in zebrafish will provide valuable resources and testable hypotheses for dissecting the evolution of neural crest derivatives in danios and vertebrates more generally.
The use of microtechniques in the teaching of chemistry

It was pointed out that although small scale experimentation, micromethods, and microtechniques were considered for teaching even at elementary level over 100 years ago, their adoption has been very slow, and to a very large extent they have remained in the realm of the specialist. Though it may appear strange at first sight that there should be reluctance to experiment with methods of teaching science, an area of knowledge whose very heart is continuous experimentation, a small amount of reflection will show that teaching methods are a part of the sum total of the complex called “culture” which changes only slowly over a period of centuries. There is a definite trend towards the adoption of these methods for teaching chemistry not only at the college level, but also at the intermediate educational level, not alone because of the saving of time and materials but also because micromethods impart superior disciplines.
Lentiviral Diseases of Sheep and Goats: Chronic Pneumonia Leukoencephalomyelitis and Arthritis

This review describes the pathogenesis of a slowly progressive disease complex caused by naturally occurring nononcogenic retroviruses in sheep and goats. In nature, infections are usually clinically silent, but disease may manifest itself after prolonged incubation periods. Clinically, this is seen as dyspnea, progressive paralysis, and/or progressive arthritis. In all organs the basic lesion is inflammatory with infiltration and proliferation of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and macrophages. Other organ-specific pathologic changes such as primary demyelination in the central nervous system and degeneration of cartilaginous structures in joints accompany inflammation. The viruses infect tissue-specific macrophage populations in vivo. Viral replication in these cells is restricted to minimal levels but continues indefinitely in the animal as a result of either failure to induce specific neutralizing antibodies or antigenic drift when neutralizing antibodies develop. Consistent low-grade viral replication sets the pace for disease by providing continuous antigenic stimulation for the inflammatory cellular immune response or antibodies that localize in the target tissues. These cells and immune complexes may have adverse effects on indigenous cell populations.