The Rhetorical Burden of Expert Witnesses

When judges and juries hear from expert witnesses, what exactly do they expect to hear? In other words, as an audience what purpose do they have for the communication? Just what rhetorical burden is the expert expected to bear? The theme of our paper is that the Frye and Daubert rules that dominate legal argument about the use of expert witnesses are both flawed. Neither shows adequate respect either for what Billig calls the argumentative aspect of social life or the inescapable hermeneutic and perspectival problems highlighted by the rhetoric-of-the-human-sciences movement

From Random to Regular: Variation in the Patterning of Retinal Mosaics

The various types of retinal neurons are each positioned at their respective depths within the retina where they are believed to be assembled as orderly mosaics, in which like-type neurons minimize proximity to one another. Two common statistical analyses for assessing the spatial properties of retinal mosaics include the nearest neighbor analysis, from which an index of their "regularity" is commonly calculated, and the density recovery profile derived from auto-correlation analysis, revealing the presence of an exclusion zone indicative of anti-clustering. While each of the spatial statistics derived from these analyses, the regularity index and the effective radius, can be useful in characterizing such properties of orderly retinal mosaics, they are rarely sufficient for conveying the natural variation in the self-spacing behavior of different types of retinal neurons and the extent to which that behavior generates uniform intercellular spacing across the mosaic. We consider the strengths and limitations of different spatial statistical analyses for assessing the patterning in retinal mosaics, highlighting a number of misconceptions and their frequent misuse. Rather than being diagnostic criteria for determining simply whether a population is "regular", they should be treated as descriptive statistics that convey variation in the factors that influence neuronal positioning. We subsequently apply multiple spatial statistics to the analysis of eight different mosaics in the mouse retina, demonstrating conspicuous variability in the degree of patterning present, from essentially random to notably regular. This variability in patterning has both a developmental as well as a functional significance, reflecting the rules governing the positioning of different types of neurons as the architecture of the retina is assembled (abstract truncated).Comment: 11 Figure

Concept definition study for recovery of tumbling satellites. Volume 2: Supporting research and technology report

A number of areas of research and laboratory experiments were identified which could lead to development of a cost efficient remote, disable satellite recovery system. Estimates were planned of disabled satellite motion. A concept is defined as a Tumbling Satellite Recovery kit which includes a modular system, composed of a number of subsystem mechanisms that can be readily integrated into varying combinations. This would enable the user to quickly configure a tailored remote, disabled satellite recovery kit to meet a broad spectrum of potential scenarios. The capability was determined of U.S. Earth based satellite tracking facilities to adequately determine the orientation and motion rates of disabled satellites

Vascular changes in diabetic retinopathy-a longitudinal study in the Nile rat.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes and is a major cause of blindness, but an understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease has been hampered by a lack of accurate animal models. Here, we explore the dynamics of retinal cellular changes in the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), a carbohydrate-sensitive model for type 2 diabetes. The early retinal changes in diabetic Nile rats included increased acellular capillaries and loss of pericytes that correlated linearly with the duration of diabetes. These vascular changes occurred in the presence of microglial infiltration but in the absence of retinal ganglion cell loss. After a prolonged duration of diabetes, the Nile rat also exhibits a spectrum of retinal lesions commonly seen in the human condition including vascular leakage, capillary non-perfusion, and neovascularization. Our longitudinal study documents a range and progression of retinal lesions in the diabetic Nile rat remarkably similar to those observed in human diabetic retinopathy, and suggests that this model will be valuable in identifying new therapeutic strategies

Target structure independent 7Li⃗^7\vec{Li} elastic scattering at low momentum transfers

Analyzing powers and cross sections for the elastic scattering of polarized 7Li by targets of 6Li, 7Li and 12C are shown to depend only on the properties of the projectile for momentum transfers of less than 1.0 fm-1. The result of a detailed analysis of the experimental data within the framework of the coupled channels model with ground state reorientation and transitions to the excited states of the projectile and targets included in the coupling schemes are presented. This work suggests that nuclear properties of weakly-bound nuclei can be tested by elastic scattering experiments, independent of the target used, if data are acquired for momentum transfers less than ~1.0 fm-1.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted in Phys. Lett.

Structure of unbound neutron-rich 9^{9}He studied using single-neutron transfer

The 8He(d,p) reaction was studied in inverse kinematics at 15.4A MeV using the MUST2 Si-CsI array in order to shed light on the level structure of 9He. The well known 16O(d,p)17O reaction, performed here in reverse kinematics, was used as a test to validate the experimental methods. The 9He missing mass spectrum was deduced from the kinetic energies and emission angles of the recoiling protons. Several structures were observed above the neutron-emission threshold and the angular distributions were used to deduce the multipolarity of the transitions. This work confirms that the ground state of 9He is located very close to the neutron threshold of 8He and supports the occurrence of parity inversion in 9He.Comment: Exp\'erience GANIL/SPIRAL1/MUST

Simultaneous Optical Model Analyses of Elastic Scattering, Breakup, and Fusion Cross Section Data for the 6^{6}He + 209^{209}Bi System at Near-Coulomb-Barrier Energies

Based on an approach recently proposed by us, simultaneous $\chi^{2}$-analyses are performed for elastic scattering, direct reaction (DR) and fusion cross sections data for the $^{6}$He+$^{209}$Bi system at near-Coulomb-barrier energies to determine the parameters of the polarization potential consisting of DR and fusion parts. We show that the data are well reproduced by the resultant potential, which also satisfies the proper dispersion relation. A discussion is given of the nature of the threshold anomaly seen in the potential

Comprehensive molecular characterisation of epilepsy-associated glioneuronal tumours

Glioneuronal tumours are an important cause of treatment-resistant epilepsy. Subtypes of tumour are often poorly discriminated by histological features and may be difficult to diagnose due to a lack of robust diagnostic tools. This is illustrated by marked variability in the reported frequencies across different epilepsy surgical series. To address this, we used DNA methylation arrays and RNA sequencing to assay the methylation and expression profiles within a large cohort of glioneuronal tumours. By adopting a class discovery approach, we were able to identify two distinct groups of glioneuronal tumour, which only partially corresponded to the existing histological classification. Furthermore, by additional molecular analyses, we were able to identify pathogenic mutations in BRAF and FGFR1, specific to each group, in a high proportion of cases. Finally, by interrogating our expression data, we were able to show that each molecular group possessed expression phenotypes suggesting different cellular differentiation: astrocytic in one group and oligodendroglial in the second. Informed by this, we were able to identify CCND1, CSPG4, and PDGFRA as immunohistochemical targets which could distinguish between molecular groups. Our data suggest that the current histological classification of glioneuronal tumours does not adequately represent their underlying biology. Instead, we show that there are two molecular groups within glioneuronal tumours. The first of these displays astrocytic differentiation and is driven by BRAF mutations, while the second displays oligodendroglial differentiation and is driven by FGFR1 mutations

Anakinra in the treatment of protracted paradoxical inflammatory reactions in HIV-associated tuberculosis in the United Kingdom : a report of two cases

Paradoxical reactions, including immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), are common in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB). Paradoxical reactions may confer substantial morbidity and mortality, especially in cases of central nervous system (CNS) TB, or through protracted usage of corticosteroids. No high-quality evidence is available to guide management in this scenario. Interleukin-1-mediated inflammation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of TB–IRIS. We describe two cases where anakinra (human recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist) was used as steroid-sparing therapy for life-threatening protracted paradoxical inflammation in HIV-associated TB. In the first case of disseminated TB with lymphadenitis, protracted TB–IRIS led to amyloid A amyloidosis and nephrotic syndrome. In the second case of disseminated TB with cerebral tuberculomata, paradoxical inflammation caused unstable tuberculomata leading to profound neuro-disability. In both cases, paradoxical inflammation persisted for over a year. Protracted high-dose corticosteroid use led to adverse events yet failed to control inflammatory pathology. In both patients, anakinra successfully controlled paradoxical inflammation and facilitated withdrawal of corticosteroid therapy. Following anakinra therapy, nephrotic syndrome and neuro-disability resolved, respectively. Anakinra therapy for protracted paradoxical inflammation in HIV-associated TB may be a viable therapeutic option and warrants further research