cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fast cycling in a non-isothermal monolithic lean NOx trap using H2 as reductant: Experiments and modeling

Abstract A combined experimental and modeling study of fast cycling NOx storage and reduction with H 2 for emissions control of lean burn gasoline and diesel vehicles is conducted to provide mechanistic insight and detailed understanding to Toyota’s Di-Air technology. Experiments reveal NOx conversion enhancement over a model Pt/Rh/BaO/CeO 2 /Al 2 O 3 lean NOx trap (LNT) catalyst for cycle times less than 10 s (fast cycling) compared to the longer cycle times typical of conventional NSR. Increased cycle frequency results in the increase (decrease) of the cycle-averaged NOx conversion (NH 3 selectivity) over a wide temperature range. The more frequent storage and regeneration of fast cycling increases the utilization of stored NOx capacity by decreasing NOx breakthrough during the lean phase. The decreased NH 3 selectivity is in part a result of a combination of increased efficiency of the NH 3 oxidation by oxygen stored on the ceria component and of the adsorption of NH 3 on the support. A global kinetic model incorporated into a non-isothermal 1-D monolith reactor model is effective in capturing most of the experimental trends. Quantitative agreement requires treatment of the extent of mixing of the lean and rich feeds upstream of the reactor, as well as of mixing of the product stream in the downstream FTIR cell. The predicted axial temperature profile shows a front-monolith temperature rise as high as twice that measured in the middle-monolith under slower cycling. Under faster cycling a predicted 100 °C front-monolith temperature rise contrasts to a measured near-constant middle-monolith temperature. Non-isothermal effects are especially important when catalyst temperatures exceed 450 °C, which lowers the NOx storage capacity, resulting in an increased amount of slipped NOx during early lean phase.
Chest Pain Profiles

Troponins are protein molecules that are part of cardiac and skeletal muscle. Smooth muscle cells do not contain troponins. Three types of troponins exist—troponin I, troponin T, and troponin C. Each subunit has a unique function: Troponin T binds the troponin components to tropomyosin, troponin I inhibits the interaction of myosin with actin, and troponin C contains the binding sites for Ca2+ that helps initiate contraction. Raised troponin levels indicate cardiac muscle cell injury and/or death as the molecule is released into the blood upon injury to the heart. Troponins will begin to increase following MI within 3 h. There are numerous causes of troponin elevation other than myocardial infarction.
Detection of Biomarkers of Periodontal Disease in Human Saliva Using Stabilized, Vertical Flow Immunoassays

We report methods for stabilizing cellulose-based immunoassays and using this platform to analyze human saliva. Stabilization treatments of immunoassays for matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-8 and -9, biomarkers of periodontal disease, were conducted and compared, revealing that anti-MMP-8 and -9 capture antibodies could be stabilized with the addition of a 5% trehalose solution to the test zones, followed by drying in a vacuum oven. After stabilization, the paper devices retained equivalent binding activity to that of freshly prepared tests for 14 days—a time frame that enables US-based clinical testing of this diagnostic assay. A saliva pretreatment method was developed to remove viscous elements without reducing the concentration or binding activity of dissolved proteins. Immunoassays were stored in ziplock bags containing desiccant, and used to detect nanomolar concentrations of MMP-9 in human saliva across the relevant clinical concentration range. These methods and findings facilitate rapid, affordabl...
Ultrastructure of sickled deer erythrocytes. II. The matchstick cell.

The matchstick cell is a unique form of sickled deer erythrocytes which is related to a specific β2-chain type in the white-tailed deer. Like the typical crescent form of sickled cell, it is an in vitro phenomenon which is induced by high pH and POO2 and reverses to the usual discoid form with deoxygenation and lowering of the pH. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a precise intracellular structure with polymerization of the hemoglobin into long filaments which were aligned in one axis of the cell, so that they appeared as long rods at relatively low magnification. A second feature, which contrasts to typical sickle forms of deer or man, is an absence of any type of microtubular structure. This suggests a different mode of intermolecular bonding related to primary structural variations of the β-chains which are associated with the matchstick cells and with typical sickle cells. Elucidation of the various structural differences between these β-chains may give additional clues to the mechanism of hemoglobin aggregation in the human sickle cell.
From a National Monument to a National Disgrace

For healing the land and human relationships to land are a step toward healing a troubled relationship, borne of a history, which is painful for native people and shameful for settlers. Protection ...
Every Object Tells a Story

Most work within the computational event modeling community has tended to focus on the interpretation and ordering of events that are associated with verbs and event nominals in linguistic expressions. What is often overlooked in the construction of a global interpretation of a narrative is the role contributed by the objects participating in these structures, and the latent events and activities conventionally associated with them. Recently, the analysis of visual images has also enriched the scope of how events can be identified, by anchoring both linguistic expressions and ontological labels to segments, subregions, and properties of images. By semantically grounding event descriptions in their visualization, the importance of object-based attributes becomes more apparent. In this position paper, we look at the narrative structure of objects: that is, how objects reference events through their intrinsic attributes, such as affordances, purposes, and functions. We argue that, not only do objects encode conventionalized events, but that when they are composed within specific habitats, the ensemble can be viewed as modeling coherent event sequences, thereby enriching the global interpretation of the evolving narrative being constructed.
Shopper Deal Seeking Across Channels: An Updated View

Today’s shoppers have a wide-range of shopping outlets available, including in-store, online, and mobile channels and the availability of deals and discounts across these channels is changing rapid...
A perspective on catalysis in solid acids

Solid Bronsted acids continue to be important for a large number of catalytic processes, and it is important to have reliable methods to characterize both the site concentrations and strengths. Solid Bronsted acids are very different from homogeneous acids and attempts to equate the two should be discouraged. Some of the most commonly used techniques for measuring site densities and strengths, such as NH3 TPD, are unreliable. Site densities can be determined from TPR measurements of alkylamines or IR measurements of adsorbed pyridine but determining site strengths remains a challenge. Reaction rates are the most reliable means for defining site strengths; however, the presence of co-catalysts (in the case of alkane activation), adsorption geometry, surface coverage, and diffusion can all influence rates and product selectivities, so that higher reaction rates do not always imply “stronger” sites.
A Study on Container Vulnerability Exploit Detection

Containers have become increasingly popular for deploying applications in cloud computing infrastructures. However, recent studies have shown that containers are prone to various security attacks. In this paper, we conduct a study on the effectiveness of various vulnerability detection schemes for containers. Specifically, we implement and evaluate a set of static and dynamic vulnerability attack detection schemes using 28 real world vulnerability exploits that widely exist in docker images. Our results show that the static vulnerability scanning scheme only detects 3 out of 28 tested vulnerabilities and dynamic anomaly detection schemes detect 22 vulnerability exploits. Combining static and dynamic schemes can further improve the detection rate to 86% (i.e., 24 out of 28 exploits). We also observe that the dynamic anomaly detection scheme can achieve more than 20 seconds lead time (i.e., a time window before attacks succeed) for a group of commonly seen attacks in containers that try to gain a shell and execute arbitrary code.
IAFDSS: Intelligent Agent-Assisted Fuzzy Decision Support System for Diffusion-Based Molecular Nano Communication Networks

Although the cooperative transmission techniques have been developed for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in recent years to improve the network transmission rate, delay and the bit error rate (BER) performance, the unique characteristics of the molecular communication (MC), such as implementing in nano-to-micro scale, the dynamic environment and the various network topology, make it extremely necessary to reconsider the implementation and analysis of the cooperative relay transmission. In this paper, we analyze and investigate the molecular communication network consisting of single transmitter and receiver nanomachines with the same type of carrier molecule. This communication takes place over an intelligent agent that aggregates the sensed data and simplify the complexity of the relaying algorithms to assist our communication channel, in which intermediate agent do not attempt to decode the information. This paper will improve the IADSS architecture to support the cooperative decision process by utilizing an intelligent agent in combination with pulse energy ratio and the sense-and-release technique. Furthermore, the inter-symbol interference (ISI) problem and reception noise are considered. The results illustrate that IAFDSS scheme is the powerful technique in improving the BER performance up to 10dB SNR gain compared to the state-of-the-art relaying schemes. As a result, this scheme can be substantially reduced the complexity of the receiver’s threshold-based detection strategy. Finally, experimental results show that the MC throughput of the entire network is greatly increased by exploiting the benefit of the cooperative intelligent agent with the sense-and-release technique.
Transport, Interfaces, and Modeling in Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells: Final Technical Report, 11 February 2002 - 30 September 2006

Results for a-Si characteristics/modeling; photocarrier drift mobilities in a-Si;H, ..mu..c-Si:H, CIGS; hole-conducting polymers as p-layer for a-Si and c-Si; IR spectra of p/i and n/i interfaces in a-Si.
Metrics extracted from a single wearable sensor during sit-stand transitions relate to mobility impairment and fall risk in people with multiple sclerosis.

Abstract Background Approximately half of the 2.3 million people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) will fall in any three-month period. Currently clinicians rely on self-report measures or simple functional assessments, administered at discrete time points, to assess fall risk. Wearable inertial sensors are a promising technology for increasing the sensitivity of clinical assessments to accurately predict fall risk, but current accelerometer-based approaches are limited. Research question Will metrics derived from wearable accelerometers during a 30-second chair stand test (30CST) correlate with clinical measures of disease severity, balance confidence and fatigue in PwMS, and can these metrics be used to accurately discriminate fallers from non-fallers? Methods Thirty-eight PwMS (21 fallers) completed self-report outcome measures then performed the 30CST while triaxial acceleration data were collected from inertial sensors adhered to the thigh and chest. Accelerometer metrics were derived for the sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transitions and relationships with clinical metrics were assessed. Finally, the metrics were used to develop a logistic regression model to classify fall status. Results Accelerometer-derived metrics were significantly associated with multiple clinical metrics that capture disease severity, balance confidence and fatigue. Performance of a logistic regression for classifying fall status was enhanced by including accelerometer features (accuracy 74%, AUC 0.78) compared to the standard of care (accuracy 68%, AUC 0.74) or patient reported outcomes (accuracy 71%, AUC 0.75). Significance Accelerometer derived metrics were associated with clinically relevant measures of disease severity, fatigue and balance confidence during a balance challenging task. Inertial sensors could feasibly be utilized to enhance the accuracy of functional assessments to identify fall risk in PwMS. Simplicity of these accelerometer-based metrics could facilitate deployment for community-based monitoring.
Smart Weather Forecasting Using Machine Learning: A Case Study in Tennessee.

Traditionally, weather predictions are performed with the help of large complex models of physics, which utilize different atmospheric conditions over a long period of time. These conditions are often unstable because of perturbations of the weather system, causing the models to provide inaccurate forecasts. The models are generally run on hundreds of nodes in a large High Performance Computing (HPC) environment which consumes a large amount of energy. In this paper, we present a weather prediction technique that utilizes historical data from multiple weather stations to train simple machine learning models, which can provide usable forecasts about certain weather conditions for the near future within a very short period of time. The models can be run on much less resource intensive environments. The evaluation results show that the accuracy of the models is good enough to be used alongside the current state-of-the-art techniques. Furthermore, we show that it is beneficial to leverage the weather station data from multiple neighboring areas over the data of only the area for which weather forecasting is being performed.
Chromosome Segmentation via Data Simulation and Shape Learning

Karyotyping, consisting of single chromosome segmentation and classification, is widely used in the cytogenetic analysis for chromosome abnormality detection. Many studies have reported automatic chromosome classification with high accuracy. Nevertheless, they usually require manual chromosome segmentation beforehand. There are two critical issues in automatic chromosome segmentation: 1) scarce annotated images for model training, and 2) multiple region combinations to form single chromosomes. In this study, two simulation strategies are proposed for training data argumentation to alleviate data scarcity. Besides, we present an optimization-based shape learning method to evaluate the shape of formed single chromosomes, which achieve the global minimum loss when segmented regions are correctly combined. Experiments on a public dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The data simulation strategy has significantly increased the segmentation results by 15.8% and 46.3% of the Dice coefficient on non-overlapped and overlapped regions. Moreover, the proposed optimization-based method separates overlapped chromosomes with an accuracy of 96.2%.
Akut-symptomatische Anfälle infolge von Autoimmunenzephalitiden und autoimmun-assoziierte Epilepsien: Konzeptionelle Definitionen

Anfalle sind eine bekannte und haufige Manifestation autoimmuner Erkrankungen der grauen Substanz des ZNS. Aber nicht alle Anfallsleiden autoimmuner Ursache konnen als autoimmune oder immunvermittelte Epilepsien angesprochen werden. Die Autoimmunity/Inflammation Task Force der Internationalen Liga gegen Epilepsie hat kurzlich konzeptionelle Definitionen fur 2 diagnostische Hauptentitaten vorgeschlagen: 1) akut-symptomatische Anfalle infolge von Autoimmunenzephalitiden (meist mit Antikorpern gegen Antigene auf neuralen Oberflachen) und 2) autoimmun-assoziierte Epilepsien (oft mit Antikorpern gegen intrazellulare neurale Antigene), bei denen eine dauerhafte Neigung zu epileptischen Anfallen besteht. Diese Unterscheidung ist relevant fur Pathophysiologie, Therapie, Prognose und soziale Konsequenzen fur den betroffenen Patienten.
Training a computer-aided polyp detection system to detect sessile serrated adenomas using public domain colonoscopy videos

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major public health burden worldwide, and colonoscopy is the most commonly used CRC screening tool. Still, there is variability in adenoma detection rate (ADR) among endoscopists. Recent studies have reported improved ADR using deep learning models trained on videos curated largely from private in-house datasets. Few have focused on the detection of sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs), which are the most challenging target clinically. Methods We identified 23 colonoscopy videos available in the public domain and for which pathology data were provided, totaling 390 minutes of footage. Expert endoscopists annotated segments of video with adenomatous polyps, from which we captured 509 polyp-positive and 6,875 polyp-free frames. Via data augmentation, we generated 15,270 adenomatous polyp-positive images, of which 2,310 were SSAs, and 20,625 polyp-negative images. We used the CNN AlexNet and fine-tuned its parameters using 90 % of the images, before testing its performance on the remaining 10 % of images unseen by the model. Results We trained the model on 32,305 images and tested performance on 3,590 images with the same proportion of SSA, non-SSA polyp-positive, and polyp-negative images. The overall accuracy of the model was 0.86, with a sensitivity of 0.73 and a specificity of 0.96. Positive predictive value was 0.93 and negative predictive value was 0.96. The area under the curve was 0.94. SSAs were detected in 93 % of SSA-positive images. Conclusions Using a relatively small set of publicly-available colonoscopy data, we obtained sizable training and validation sets of endoscopic images using data augmentation, and achieved an excellent performance in adenomatous polyp detection.
Data privacy and political distrust: corporate ‘pro liars,’ ‘gridlocked Congress,’ and the Twitter issue public around the US privacy legislation

This study explores how emerging US data privacy regulations are discussed at state and federal levels, examining Twitter discourse around Senate public hearings on data privacy and public forums o...
Selecting single cell clustering parameter values using subsampling-based robustness metrics.

Generating and analysing single-cell data has become a widespread approach to examine tissue heterogeneity, and numerous algorithms exist for clustering these datasets to identify putative cell types with shared transcriptomic signatures. However, many of these clustering workflows rely on user-tuned parameter values, tailored to each dataset, to identify a set of biologically relevant clusters. Whereas users often develop their own intuition as to the optimal range of parameters for clustering on each data set, the lack of systematic approaches to identify this range can be daunting to new users of any given workflow. In addition, an optimal parameter set does not guarantee that all clusters are equally well-resolved, given the heterogeneity in transcriptomic signatures in most biological systems. Here, we illustrate a subsampling-based approach (chooseR) that simultaneously guides parameter selection and characterizes cluster robustness. Through bootstrapped iterative clustering across a range of parameters, chooseR was used to select parameter values for two distinct clustering workflows (Seurat and scVI). In each case, chooseR identified parameters that produced biologically relevant clusters from both well-characterized (human PBMC) and complex (mouse spinal cord) datasets. Moreover, it provided a simple “robustness score” for each of these clusters, facilitating the assessment of cluster quality. chooseR is a simple, conceptually understandable tool that can be used flexibly across clustering algorithms, workflows, and datasets to guide clustering parameter selection and characterize cluster robustness.
Development of potency, breadth and resilience to viral escape mutations in SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies

Antibodies elicited in response to infection undergo somatic mutation in germinal centers that can result in higher affinity for the cognate antigen. To determine the effects of somatic mutation on the properties of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific antibodies, we analyzed six independent antibody lineages. As well as increased neutralization potency, antibody evolution changed pathways for acquisition of resistance and, in some cases, restricted the range of neutralization escape options. For some antibodies, maturation apparently imposed a requirement for multiple spike mutations to enable escape. For certain antibody lineages, maturation enabled neutralization of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and heterologous sarbecoviruses. Antibody-antigen structures revealed that these properties resulted from substitutions that allowed additional variability at the interface with the RBD. These findings suggest that increasing antibody diversity through prolonged or repeated antigen exposure may improve protection against diversifying SARS-CoV-2 populations, and perhaps against other pandemic threat coronaviruses.
Body mass and the epidemic of chronic inflammation in early mid-adulthood.

Abstract Objectives Chronic inflammation is a potentially important mechanism through which social inequalities may contribute to health inequalities over the life course. Excess body fat contributes to chronic inflammation, and younger adults in the US have come of age during a pronounced secular increase in body mass index (BMI). We aim to document levels of chronic inflammation in a nationally representative sample of 33-to-44 year-old adults in the US, and to describe associations with BMI, race/ethnicity, and education. Methods High sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured in Wave V (2016–18) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, with complete data available for 4349 participants. Sex-stratified weighted regression models were implemented to investigate CRP in association with education, race/ethnicity, and BMI. Results Geometric mean CRP was 1.9 mg/L, and 35.4% of the sample had CRP >3 mg/L. Females had significantly higher CRP than males. Body mass index was a strong positive predictor of CRP, and education level was negatively associated with CRP. Associations between education and CRP were substantially attenuated after adjusting for BMI. High risk CRP increased linearly with BMI even among the obese: 87.0 percent of females and 74.1 percent of males with class 3 obesity (BMI ≥40) were predicted to have high risk CRP > 3 mg/L. Conclusions The obesity epidemic is producing an epidemic of chronic inflammation in early mid-adulthood in the US. Strong associations between BMI and chronic inflammation portend high risk for future disease—and inequitable distribution of disease—as the cohort ages.
Recoverability Landscape of Tree Structured Markov Random Fields under Symmetric Noise

We study the problem of learning tree-structured Markov random fields (MRF) on discrete random variables with common support when the observations are corrupted by a $k$-ary symmetric noise channel with unknown probability of error. For Ising models (support size = 2), past work has shown that graph structure can only be recovered up to the leaf clusters (a leaf node, its parent, and its siblings form a leaf cluster) and exact recovery is impossible. No prior work has addressed the setting of support size of 3 or more, and indeed this setting is far richer. As we show, when the support size is 3 or more, the structure of the leaf clusters may be partially or fully identifiable. We provide a precise characterization of this phenomenon and show that the extent of recoverability is dictated by the joint PMF of the random variables. In particular, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for exact recoverability. Furthermore, we present a polynomial time, sample efficient algorithm that recovers the exact tree when this is possible, or up to the unidentifiability as promised by our characterization, when full recoverability is impossible. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of our algorithm experimentally.
Expertise

This paper offers a sizeable menu of approaches to what it means to be an expert. Is it a matter of reputation within a community, or a matter of what one knows independently of reputation? An initial proposal characterizes expertise in dispositional terms—an ability to help other people (especially laypersons) get answers to difficult questions or execute difficult tasks. What cognitive states, however, ground these abilities? Do the grounds consist in “veritistic” (truth-linked) states or in terms of evidence or justifiedness? To what extent is expertise a matter of superior knowledge or other factors? Some authors seek to debunk the notion of expertise entirely. The present approach resists this stance, but doesn’t dispute the variability and fluidness of the concept. Even more challenging is the problem of how laypersons can determine who is the superior expert, especially when experts disagree.
Hierarchical Representations and Explicit Memory: Learning Effective Navigation Policies on 3D Scene Graphs using Graph Neural Networks.

Representations are crucial for a robot to learn effective navigation policies. Recent work has shown that mid-level perceptual abstractions, such as depth estimates or 2D semantic segmentation, lead to more effective policies when provided as observations in place of raw sensor data (e.g., RGB images). However, such policies must still learn latent three-dimensional scene properties from mid-level abstractions. In contrast, high-level, hierarchical representations such as 3D scene graphs explicitly provide a scene's geometry, topology, and semantics, making them compelling representations for navigation. In this work, we present a reinforcement learning framework that leverages high-level hierarchical representations to learn navigation policies. Towards this goal, we propose a graph neural network architecture and show how to embed a 3D scene graph into an agent-centric feature space, which enables the robot to learn policies for low-level action in an end-to-end manner. For each node in the scene graph, our method uses features that capture occupancy and semantic content, while explicitly retaining memory of the robot trajectory. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method against commonly used visuomotor policies in a challenging object search task. These experiments and supporting ablation studies show that our method leads to more effective object search behaviors, exhibits improved long-term memory, and successfully leverages hierarchical information to guide its navigation objectives.
A Nested Antenna Approach for a Quad-Band Dual Polarization Antenna Element

This paper demonstrates a quad-band antenna design that will provide four frequency bands of operation with positive realized gain across 4.0-40.0 GHz. Simulated positive realized gain is the criteria used to define the bandwidth of each individual band. For applications where impedance match and total antenna efficiency are paramount, this paper shows that a positive realized gain does not necessarily correspond to a good impedance match over all of these frequency bands.
The modern court and the reprisal of Lochner in election law and campaign finance

iii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER II: COMPETITION OVER INTERPRETATION 4 A. John Hart Ely 10 B. Ronald Dworkin 13 C. Cass R. Sunstein 20 CHAPTER III: THE PROGRESSION OF THE COURT 28 CHAPTER IV: THE MODERN COURT AND ITS POWER 40 A. Bush v. Gore 41 B. Shelby County v. Holder 45 C. Citizens United/McCutcheon v. FEC 58 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 70
A cytoplasmic nickel-iron hydrogenase with high specific activity from Desulfovibriomultispirans sp. N., a new species of sulfate reducing baterium

A hydrogenase from a new species of sulfate reducing bacterium has been isolated and characterized. In contrast to other hydrogenases isolated from Desulfovibrio, this enzyme is found in the cytoplasmic fraction rather than in the periplasm. The specific activity of the enzyme, as measured in the hydrogen evolution assay, is twice as high as the specific activity of the hydrogenase from D. gigas. It also differentiates itself from the periplasmic Desulfovibrio hydrogenases by being more active in the hydrogen evolution rather than in the hydrogen uptake assay. The enzyme was shown to contain 0.9 atoms of nickel, 11 atoms of iron and 10 atoms of labile sulfide per mole of enzyme. It exhibits an unusually low intensity of the g = 2.31 nickel EPR signal in the isolated enzyme but shows a normal intensity for the g = 2.19 nickel EPR signal when reduced under hydrogen.
Post-Crawford: Time to Liberalize the Substantive Admissibility of a Testifying Witness's Prior Consistent Statements

The United States Supreme Court's 1995 decision in Tome v. United States has read Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(B) to prevent the prosecution's offering a child abuse victim's prior consistent statements as substantive evidence. As a result of that decision, the statements will also be inadmissible even for the limited purpose of helping to evaluate the credibility of a child, if there is a serious risk that the out-of-court statements would be used on the issue of guilt or innocence. Moreover, after the Court's March 2004 decision in Crawford v. Washington, which redesigned the landscape of Confrontation Clause analysis, other avenues of substantive admissibility for the child's prior statements - the excited utterance hearsay exception, the residual "catch-all" hearsay exception, or the states' "tender years" hearsay exception - are all in jeopardy unless the child testifies at trial and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement. The combination of Tome and Crawford has been a "one-two punch" for child abuse prosecutions.Post-Crawford is the ideal time to revive and refine Judge Bullock's proposal that Rule 801(d)(1)(B) should be amended. The amendment should permit the substantive use (subject to the court's exercise of discretion under Rule 403) of all of a witness's prior consistent statements that would be helpful to the fact-finder in assessing the credibility of the witness's trial testimony given whatever method of impeachment of the witness had occurred. That test, like the test of helpfulness of lay or expert opinion evidence under Rules 701 and 702, ought to be a flexible one; there should be no hard and fast rule requiring that an admissible prior consistent statement precede an alleged impeaching fact.
Estimation of Bundle Sheath Cell Conductance in C4 Species and O2 Insensitivity of Photosynthesis

Low conductance to CO2 of bundle sheath cells is required in C4 photosynthesis to maintain high [CO2] at the site of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). Elevated [CO2] allows high CO2 assimilation rates by this enzyme and prevents Rubisco oxygenase activity and O2 inhibition of carboxylation. Bundle sheath conductance to CO2 was estimated by chemically inhibiting phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and calculating the slope of the linear response of leaf CO2 uptake to [CO2]. The inhibitor 3,3-dichloro-2-dihydroxyphosphinoylmethyl-2-propenoate was supplied to detached leaves of Panicum maximum, Panicum miliaceum, and Sorghum bicolor at 4 mM. Uptake of CO2 was measured at 210 mL L-1 O2 over the CO2 concentration range of 0.34 to 28 mL L-1. Without the inhibitor, CO2 uptake increased steeply at low [CO2] and saturated at about 1 mL L-1. After inhibition, CO2 uptake was a linear function of [CO2] over much of the range tested. The slope of this CO2 response, taken as bundle sheath conductance, was 2.35, 1.96, and 1.13 mmol m-2 s-1 for P. maximum, P. miliaceum, and S. bicolor, respectively, on a leaf area basis. Conductance based on bundle sheath area was 0.76, 0.93, and 0.54 mmol m-2 s-1, respectively. Uptake of CO2 by leaves of P. maximum supplied with the inhibitor was not affected by reduction of [O2] from 210 to 20 mL L-1 over the range of [CO2] used. Because [CO2] in bundle sheath cells of inhibited leaves is likely to be much lower than ambient, the lack of O2 sensitivity of CO2 uptake cannot be ascribed to lack of O2 reaction with ribulose bisphosphate and is probably due to the low conductance of bundle sheath cells, especially at low ambient [CO2]. The likely result of reducing [O2] from 210 to 20 mL L-1 is to stimulate carboxylation of ribulose bisphosphate, thus further reducing [CO2] in bundle sheath cells and increasing CO2 diffusion to these cells from the mesophyll. However, the increase in diffusion is greatly limited by low conductance of the bundle sheath cell walls. Calculations based on estimated bundle sheath conductance show that changes in bundle sheath [CO2] of 0.085 to 0.5 mL L-1, which might be associated with reduced [O2], would have a negligible effect on CO2 uptake.
The China Factor: How Beijing Figures In The Emerging Indo-U.S. Alliance

George W. Bush assumed the presidency in 2001 with the intention of deepening the relationship with democratic India. Though they are multiethnic democracies, the two countries had failed to develop much of a relationship for the better part of 50 years. The incoming Bush administration’s primary rationale was that a stronger India was in American interests because the U.S. needed a democratic counterweight to communist China. After the September 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. and the December 12, 2001, attack on the Indian Parliament, combating a common enemy – radical Islamic terrorism – supplanted China containment as the principle rationale to strengthen the relationship.
Time pattern of vitamin B12Co60 urinary excretion in man after oral administration and parenteral flushing.

Serial urine collections in a number of patients with pernicious anemia given 2 µg B12Co60 orally followed in two hours by 1000 µg nonradioactive vitamin B12 showed little urinary radioactivity at any time. When these tests were repeated together with a potent oral dose of intrinsic factor concentrate, there was little activity during the first four hours. Peak excretion rates occurred most commonly between 6 and 12 hours after ingestion of radioactive B12, sometimes even later. The time of peak excretion was fairly characteristic for the individual. Secondary peaks occasionally occurred, and only slight radioactivity usually remained after 24 hours. It is postulated that the delayed peak is related to the time it takes for B12 to be transported in the intestine to the point of absorption or to the duration of the intracellular metabolic processes of absorption. For most purposes the use of fractional urinary collections is not necessary.
Intrathecal NSAIDS attenuate inflammation-induced neuropeptide release from rat spinal cord slices

Inflammation enhances release of neuropeptides from sensory nerve terminals in the spinal cord, and this may contribute to the development of hyperalgesia. In a similar manner, proinflammatory prostaglandins also augment peptide release from sensory neurons. To ascertain whether the inflammation-induced increase in peptide release from spinal cord slices is mediated by production of these eicosanoids, we examined whether intrathecal administration of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) could attenuate the effects of inflammation. Unilateral injection of 150 μl of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the hindpaw of adult Sprague–Dawley rats resulted in a lower threshold for paw withdrawal (hyperalgesia) on 1, 4, and 5 days after injection. Five days after the induction of inflammation, capsaicin-evoked release of immunoreactive substance P (iSP) and immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related peptide (iCGRP) was increased approximately 2-fold in slices of cord tissue from the side ipsilateral to CFA injection, compared to spinal cord slices from the non-inflamed side. Intrathecal administration of 1 μl/h of 10 nmol/μl solution of the NSAID, ketorolac, for 1 day prior to and throughout the inflammation significantly attenuated the inflammation-induced increase in capsaicin-evoked release of both peptides without altering release in cord tissue from the non-inflamed side. Systemic administration of the same amount of ketorolac did not attenuate the effect of inflammation on peptide release. Intrathecal administration of 16 nmol/h (S)-ibuprofen, before and throughout the inflammation, also significantly attenuated the increase in evoked neuropeptide release associated with inflammation, whereas (R)-ibuprofen was ineffective. These results suggest that inhibition of cyclooxygenase at the level of the spinal cord attenuates the augmentation of neuropeptide release induced by peripheral inflammation, and provide further evidence for an action of prostaglandins at central terminals of sensory neurons during inflammation.
Are Genetic Algorithms Function Optimizers

Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have received a great deal of attention regarding their poten­ tial as optimization techniques for complex functions. The level of interest and success in this area has led to a number of improvements to GA-based function optimizers and a good deal of progress in characterizing the kinds of functions that are easy/hard for GAs to optim­ ize. With all this activity, there has been a natural tendency to equate GAs with function optimization. However, the motivating context of Holland's initial GA work was the design and implementation of robust adaptive systems. In this paper we argue that a proper under­ standing of GAs in this broader adaptive systems context is a necessary prerequisite for understanding their potential application to any problem domain. We then use these insights to better understand the strengths and limitations of GAs as function optimizers.
Sorption Cryogenic Refrigeration — Status and Future

This paper describes sorption refrigeration development, which represents a relatively new breakthrough in cryogenic cooling. Sorption refrigerators have virtually no wear-related moving parts, have negligible vibration, and offer extremely long life (at least ten years). In sorption compressors, low pressure gas is physically adsorbed or chemically absorbed to cooled solids. When heated an additional 100°C to 200°C the gas becomes greatly pressurized and is desorbed, i.e., vented, from the solids. Precooling and expansion of the gas causes partial liquefaction, thus providing net cooling. Recent testing at JPL includes a 1000-hour life test of a hydrogen chemisorption refrigerator (14K–30K), a feasibility test of a nitrogen physisorption refrigerator (100K–200K) and a demonstration test of an oxygen chemisorption compressor (for 55K–90K). Although first stage sorption refrigeration systems require more power than mechanical systems, multiple-stage sorption systems are at least three times more efficient and at least ten times lighter than mechanical refrigerators for 7K–10K cooling (SH2 vacuum sublimation onto hydrides). Due to the high reliability, long-life, light-weight, low vibration characteristics of sorption refrigeration, it is presently being considered for many spacecraft applications and may eventually have many ground applications as well.
Studies on the biochemical basis of mutation VI. Selection and characterization of a new bacteriophage T4 mutator DNA polymerase.

Abstract A new mutant of bacteriophage T4 has been isolated by a procedure which was designed to select for mutants with high spontaneous reversion rates. This mutant, M19, induces a defective DNA polymerase which has a degraded specificity and makes errors by inserting the incorrect nucleotide more frequently than the wild-type enzyme. In addition to M19, several other T4 polymerase amber and temperature-sensitive mutants have been located on a linear, fine-scale map. The mutants which most strongly affect mutation rates are found in two clusters at 25% and 80% of the gene. These two domains may represent the active site(s) of the polymerase and exonuclease activities.
Design approaches to boundary controllers

Boundary control is a large-signal tool for the design and analysis of switching power converters. This paper focuses on design techniques for self-oscillating DC-DC converters that can be used to optimize the transient response to specific disturbances and ensure large signal stability. Incorporation of integral feedback for steady state error correction is covered as well as methods for implementing constant switching frequencies.
Friendship and Happiness in Navajos (Bik’éí Diné Baa’ Hózhó)

Friendship and happiness research on Indigenous People of the USA, including Navajos, are scarce as most of the scholarship orients on negative elements of their lives. This chapter aims to address this gap by taking a broad approach in investigating the available scholarship on the topic as it applies to the Navajo. This is accomplished by reviewing some of the classic works on Navajos, exploring the historical record (treaty language), and Navajo biographies in order to extract what has been written about friendship and happiness among Navajos. Additionally, an analysis of Navajo lifeways, including discussion on socio-cultural elements of Navajo life such as traditional epistemology, philosophy, and language provides the traditional Navajo perspective on friendship and happiness. Although, the Navajo worldview emphasizes familial relationships, examples of friendship in social and ceremonial life are discussed. Then, the findings on the limited amount of scholarship are reported, showing that friendship primarily demonstrates an adverse effect in the lives of Navajos. Finally, the chapter concludes by considering the effect of social changes and by stating the need for empirical studies to directly examine the impact of friendship on the happiness of the Navajo.
Near-Surface Density Currents Observed in the Southeast Pacific Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer*

AbstractDensity currents (i.e., cold pools or outflows) beneath marine stratocumulus clouds are characterized using 30 days of ship-based observations obtained during the 2008 Variability of American Monsoon Systems (VAMOS) Ocean–Cloud–Atmosphere–Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx) in the southeast Pacific. An air density increase criterion applied to the Improved Meteorological (IMET) sensor data identified 71 density current front, core (peak density), and tail (dissipating) zones. The similarity in speeds of the mean density current propagation speed (1.8 m s−1) and the mean cloud-level advection relative to the surface layer wind (1.9 m s−1) allowed drizzle cells to deposit elongated density currents in their wakes. Scanning Doppler lidar captured prefrontal updrafts with a mean intensity of 0.91 m s−1 and an average vertical extent of 800 m. Updrafts were often surmounted by low-lying shelf clouds not connected to the overlying stratocumulus cloud. The observed density currents were 5–10 time...
Chaos to complexity: leveling the playing field for measuring value in primary care

Rationale, aims and objectives Develop a risk-stratification model that clusters primary care patients with similar co-morbidities and social determinants and ranks ‘within-practice’ clusters of complex patients based on likelihood of hospital and emergency department (ED) utilization. Methods A retrospective cohort analysis was performed on 10 408 adults who received their primary care at the Medical University of South Carolina University Internal Medicine clinic. A two-part generalized linear regression model was used to fit a predictive model for ED and hospital utilization. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering was used to identify patient subgroups with similar co-morbidities. Results Factors associated with increased risk of utilization included specific disease clusters {e.g. renal disease cluster [rate ratio, RR = 5.47; 95% confidence interval (CI; 4.54, 6.59) P < 0.0001]}, low clinic visit adherence [RR = 0.33; 95% CI (0.28, 0.39) P < 0.0001] and census measure of high poverty rate [RR = 1.20; 95% CI (1.11, 1.28) P < 0.0001]. In the cluster model, a stable group of four clusters remained regardless of the number of additional clusters forced into the model. Although the largest number of high-utilization patients (top 20%) was in the multiple chronic condition cluster (1110 out of 4728), the largest proportion of high-utilization patients was in the renal disease cluster (67%). Conclusions Risk stratification enhanced with disease clustering organizes a primary care population into groups of similarly complex patients so that care coordination efforts can be focused and value of care can be maximized.
Inelastic Response of a Woven Carbon/Copper Composite— Part II: Micromechanics Model

Part II of this paper presents a detailed development of an efficient micromechanics model for woven metal matrix composites (MMCs). The approach was to employ Aboudi's (1995) three-dimensional generalized method of cells (GMC-3D) as a global model, and to embed Aboudi's (1987) original method of cells within GMC-3D as a local model. Inelastic deformation is modeled on the local level, in the original method of cells. For this reason the field quantities must be passed between the local and global models continuously, as opposed to using the local model once simply to determine local effective properties. This process is computationally intensive, and GMC-3D, in its original form, is not adequately efficient to analyze refined composite geometries. Hence, GMC-3D was reformulated using mixed concentration equations rather than traditional strain concentration equations, improving the model's computational efficiency considerably. The model is now capable of readily analyzing the thermomechanical behavior o...
REM and NREM sleep reports: comparison of word frequencies by cognitive classes.

The difference between Sleep Stages 1 REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non REM) in reported dreaming is compared to several word frequency measures of characteristics of sleep mentation reports. Total Recall Frequency (total word frequency minus pauses, fillers, corrections, repetitions and commentary) discriminated REM from NREM with approximately the same strength as did global ratings of Dreaming. Although incremental repeated measures multivariate tests showed that each contributed some unique variance to the REM/NREM criterion, the unique portions were trivial in size. Frequencies of words that describe speech and visual imagery during sleep accounted for smaller portions of the REM/NREM variance. To the extent that a simple word frequency recall measure accounts for the same variance that such complex measures as dreaming and imagery share with REM/NREM, we may conclude that judges of Dreaming implicitly rely on a dimension similar to the Total Recall Freq. It is proposed that the cognitive difference between REM and NREM is essentially one of attention and memory. Given the high perceptual thresholds of REM sleep, the events attended to and stored in memory are necessarily unrelated to the surrounding environment and therefore differ from waking thought.
A single-parameter equation for isothermal vapor-liquid equilibrium correlations

The Wilson equation is modified so that it contains only one adjustable constant per binary system. In describing binary behavior the new equation is inferior to the original Wilson but superior to the Van Laar equation. In developing ternary behavior from binary data, the new equation seems to be comparable to the original Wilson but definitely superior to the Van Laar equation. Binary and ternary vapor-liquid equilibrium behavior has been successfully predicted from one γ° value per binary only.