Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The immunoprotective Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 2 is encoded by a polymorphic multigene family

An Anaplasma marginale Florida msp-2 gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of multiple msp-2 gene copies that were widely distributed throughout the chromosomes of all three strains examined. Genomic polymorphism among copies was greatest in the 5' end of msp-2 but also occurred in 3' regions. The presence of gene-copy-specific epitopes was indicated by the reactivity of the cloned msp-2 copy with some, but not all, monoclonal antibodies that bound native MSP-2. Multiple antigenically distinct MSP-2 molecules were expressed within strains and were coexpressed by individual A. marginale organisms. These results suggest that expression of polymorphic msp-2 gene copies is responsible for the significant percentages of A. marginale organisms within strains that do not react with individual anti-MSP-2 monoclonal antibodies. Sequence analysis revealed highly significant MSP-2 homology with two rickettsial surface proteins, A. marginale MSP-4 and Cowdria ruminantium MAP-1. Immunization with MSP-4 has been shown to induce protective immunity in a manner similar to that of immunization with MSP-2. These findings support the hypothesis that A. marginale surface proteins are targets of protective immune responses but are antigenically polymorphic.
HandTutor™ enhanced hand rehabilitation after stroke--a pilot study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This study assessed the potential therapeutic benefi t of using HandTutor™ in combination with traditional rehabilitation in a post-stroke sub-acute population. The study compares an experimental group receiving traditional therapy combined with HandTutorTM treatment, against a control group receiving only traditional therapy. METHOD An assessor-blinded, randomized controlled pilot trial, was conducted in the Reuth rehabilitation unit in Israel. Thirty-one stroke patients in the sub-acute phase, were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (experimental or control) in sets of three. The experimental group (n = 16) underwent a hand rehabilitation programme using the HandTutorTM combined with traditional therapy. The control group (n = 15) received only traditional therapy. The treatment schedules for both groups were of similar duration and frequency. Improvements were evaluated using three indicators: 1) The Brunnström-Fugl-Meyer (FM) test, 2) the Box and Blocks (B&B) test and 3) improvement parameters as determined by the HandTutorTM software. RESULTS Following 15 consecutive treatment sessions, a signifi cant improvement was observed within the experimental group (95% confi dence intervals) compared with the control group: B&B p = 0.015; FM p = 0.041, HandTutor™ performance accuracy on x axis and performance accuracy on y axis p < 0.0003. CONCLUSION The results from this pilot study support further investigation of the use of the HandTutorTM in combination with traditional occupational therapy and physiotherapy during post stroke hand function rehabilitation.
Northwest U.S. Agriculture in a Changing Climate: Collaboratively Defined Research and Extension Priorities

In order for agricultural systems to successfully mitigate and adapt to climate change there is a need to coordinate and prioritize next steps for research and extension. This includes focusing on “win-win” management practices that simultaneously provide short-term benefits to farmers and improve the sustainability and resiliency of agricultural systems with respect to climate change. In the Northwest U.S., a collaborative process has been used to engage individuals spanning the research-practice continuum. This collaborative approach was utilized at a 2016 workshop titled “Agriculture in a Changing Climate,” that included a broad range of participants including university faculty and students, crop and livestock producers, and individuals representing state, tribal and federal government agencies, industry, nonprofit organizations, and conservation districts. The Northwest U.S. encompasses a range of agro-ecological systems and diverse geographic and climatic contexts. Regional research and science communication efforts for climate change and agriculture have a strong history of engaging diverse stakeholders. These features of the Northwest U.S. provide a foundation for the collaborative research and extension prioritization presented here. We focus on identifying research and extension actions that can be taken over the next five years in four areas identified as important areas by conference organizers and participants: (1) cropping systems, (2) livestock systems, (3) decision support systems to support consideration of climate change in agricultural management decisions; and (4) partnerships among researchers and stakeholders. We couple insights from the workshop and a review of current literature to articulate current scientific understanding, and priorities recommended by workshop participants that target existing knowledge gaps, challenges, and opportunities. Priorities defined at the Agriculture in a Changing Climate workshop highlight the need for ongoing investment in interdisciplinary research integrating social, economic and biophysical sciences, strategic collaborations, and knowledge sharing to develop actionable science that can support informed decision-making in the agriculture sector as the climate changes.
Act ions That Make You Change Your Mind

In this paper we study the dynamics of belief from an agentoriented, semantics-based point of view. In a formal framework used to specify and to analyze rational agents, we define actions that model three well-known changes of belief, viz. expansions, contractions and revisions. We define both the opportunity for and the result of these belief-changing actions. To define the semantics of the contraction action we introduce selection functions. These functions pick out a set of states that is to be added to the set of doxastic alternatives of an agent, thereby contracting its set of beliefs. The action that models belief revisions is defined as the sequential composition of a contraction and an expansion in a way suggested by the Levi-identity. We show that these belief-changing actions are defined in an intuitively acceptable, reasonable way by proving that the AGM postulates for belief changes are validated. 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n The formalization of rational agents is a topic of continuing interest in Artificial Intelligence. Research on this subject has held the limelight ever since the pioneering work of Moore [13] in which knowledge and actions are considered. Over the years important contributions have been made on both informational atti tudes like knowledge and belief [4], and motivational attitudes like commitments and obligations [2]. In our research [5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12] we defined a theorist logic for rational agents, i.e., a logic that is used to specify, and to analyze the behavior of rational agents. Thus far, we have concentrated on informational attitudes and aspects of action. In the basic framework [5], the knowledge, belief and abilities of agents, as well as the opportunities for and the results of their actions are formalized. In this framework it can for instance be modelled that an agent knows that some action is correct to bring about some state of affairs since it knows that performing the action will lead to the state of affairs, and that it believes that an action is feasible in the sense that the agent believes that it is able to perform the action. The aim of this paper is a formalization of belief-changing actions in the framework sketched above. By executing belief-changing actions agents modify their set of beliefs. As such, these actions build a bridge between informational atti tudes and the action level. We consider three kinds of belief-changing actions: expansions, contractions and revisions. Through an expansion an agent adds a formula to its set of beliefs regardless of whether the resulting set is consistent, by performing a contraction some formula is retracted from its set of beliefs, and executing revisions adds some formula to its belief set in a consistent way. In
TheAssociation Between Environmental Perspective and Knowledge andConcernWith Species Diversity

As communities continue to engage in debate surrounding land use and preservation, insight into stakeholder knowledge and concern with local species becomes increasingly important. This project explores the association between individual knowledge=concern with species diversity as related to environmental perspective, measured through the New Ecological Paradigm scale. We aim to understand whether concern with local species diversity is associated with species-specific knowledge and=or ecocentric outlooks more generally. Results from a mail survey in Boulder, CO reveal that individuals with ecocentric perspectives place greater priority on species preservation relative to those with anthropocentric perspectives, regardless of species knowledge. These results imply that to engage local publics in issues of biodiversity, outreach should not simply provide background specific to local species, but also demonstrate the significance of ecological integrity and biological diversity more broadly.
The development of selective attention under distracting conditions.

ZUKIER, HENRY, and HAGEN, JOHN WILLIAM. The Development of Selective Attention under Distracting Conditions. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 870-873. Developmental changes in children's selective attention to task-relevant and task-irrelevant information with and without distraction were studied. 60 children at each of 2 age levels (8 and 11 years old) performed a serial position recall task either in a control condition or under visual or auditory distraction. Children were tested for recall of task-relevant and task-irrelevant information. In a second series, the procedure was repeated, and now children were set for the incidental information as well. Performance on the central task was better for the older than for the younger children in the control condition only, especially at the primacy positions. When a distractor was introduced, no age differences in performance occurred. Recall of incidental information improved on the second trial at both age levels but more so for the older children. Distractors enhanced recall of incidental information at both age levels and produced differential effects as a function of their mode of presentation. The results indicated that older children make greater use than do younger children of strategies that enable them to (a) focus on the relevant features of the task at the expense of extraneous information and (b) deploy their selective attention with greater efficiency and flexibility. The findings also suggest that distractors have specific effects on performance that interact with age as well as task.
A hypermedia authoring tool for augmented and virtual reality

Most existing hypermedia authoring systems are intended for use on desktop computers. These systems are typically designed for the creation of 2D documents and therefore employ 2D authoring mechanisms. In contrast, authoring systems for nontraditional multimedia/hypermedia experiences for 3D virtual or augmented worlds focus mainly on creating separate media objects and embedding them within the user's surroundings. As a result, linking these media objects to create 3D hypermedia is a tedious manual task. To address this issue, we present an authoring tool for creating and editing linked 3D hypermedia narratives that are interwoven with a wearable computer user's surrounding environment. Our system is designed for use by authors who are not programmers, and allows them to preview their results on a desktop workstation, as well as with an augmented or virtual reality system.
Contests with Ambiguity

The paper examines the effect of ambiguity on contests where multiple parties expend resources to win a prize. We develop a model where contenders perceive ambiguity about their opponents' strategies and determine how perceptions of ambiguity and attitudes to ambiguity affect equilibrium choice. The paper also investigates how equilibrium under ambiguity is related to behavior where contenders have expected utility preferences. Our model can explain experimental results such as overbidding and overspreading relative to Nash predictions.
Substantive Areas of Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Aim: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed to describe the substantive clinical areas of clinical nurse specialist (CNS) practice. Background: There is lack of understanding about the role of CNSs. Debates over blending CNS and nurse practitioner roles are common, as are questions and uncertainties about new models of advanced practice nursing endorsed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. To better understand the role of the CNSs and plan for new models of advanced practice nursing, it is important to know what CNSs say about the nature of their work and examine research related to CNS practice. Method: The following databases were searched using the terms clinical nurse specialist or advanced nursing practice: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, PsychInfo, Academic Search Premier, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, PapersFirst, and ProceedingsFirst. Criteria for inclusion in the sample were determined a priori. Data were extracted from each article and abstract using thematic content analysis. Findings: The final sample included anecdotal articles (n = 753), research articles (n = 277), dissertation/thesis abstracts (n = 62), and abstracts from presentations (n = 181). Three substantive areas of CNS clinical practice emerged: manage the care of complex and vulnerable populations, educate and support interdisciplinary staff, and facilitate change and innovation within healthcare systems. Conclusions: There is a clear conceptual basis for CNS practice, which is substantiated in the literature. Clinical nurse specialists must continue to define this scope of practice to organizations, administrators, healthcare professionals, and consumers.
The Persuasive Effectiveness of the Peer Appeal and a Communicator's First-Hand Experience

A tape-recorded interview in which a woman gave a favorable evaluation of the intrauterine device was created in eight versions which effected a factorial variation in (a) the degree of age similarity between the interviewee and the subjects (peer, nonpeer), (b) the type of experience (primary, secondary) that the interviewee had had with the IUD, and (c) the interviewee's level of medical expertise (expert, nonexpert). Aside from these variations, all evaluative and factual aspects of the interview were identical in the eight versions. Male and female college students were exposed to one of the eight versions, purportedly in connection with an experiment on communication styles. In a later, supposedly unrelated questionnaire, subjects who had been exposed to the peer communicator rated themselves as significantly more likely to choose the IUD as a contraceptive method than subjects exposed to the nonpeer. Also, there was a tendency for subjects hearing a source who had used the IUD herself to rate the IUD as more effective than subjects hearing a source with secondary experience only, with the difference between these groups approaching significance. Expertise of the source did not exert a significant effect on any of the ratings.
The processing of ambiguous sentences by first and second language learners of English

This study investigates the way adult second language (L2) learners of English resolve relative clause attachment ambiguities in sentences such as The dean liked the secretary of the professor who was reading a letter. Two groups of advanced L2 learners of English with Greek or German as their first language participated in a set of off-line and on-line tasks. The results indicate that the L2 learners do not process ambiguous sentences of this type in the same way as adult native speakers of English do. Although the learners' disambiguation preferences were influenced by lexical–semantic properties of the preposition linking the two potential antecedent noun phrases (of vs. with), there was no evidence that they applied any phrase structure–based ambiguity resolution strategies of the kind that have been claimed to influence sentence processing in monolingual adults. The L2 learners' performance also differs markedly from the results obtained from 6- to 7-year-old monolingual English children in a parallel auditory study, in that the children's attachment preferences were not affected by the type of preposition at all. We argue that children, monolingual adults, and adult L2 learners differ in the extent to which they are guided by phrase structure and lexical–semantic information during sentence processing.
Reply: Posterior cingulate hypometabolism in early Alzheimer's disease: what is the contribution of local atrophy versus disconnection?

Sir, The start point for this correspondence, indeed its principal justification, comes from the use of the word ‘solely’ in the paper by Garden et al. (2009) (final paragraph in the Discussion section). While this sentence has been correctly quoted it is also the case that this sentence was unwittingly ambiguous and the authors of the letter have read it in a way that was not intended. The purpose of that sentence was to raise the logical possibility that extrinsic pathology might solely drive the …
Flora: A Testbed for Evaluating the Potential Impact of Proposed Systems on Population Wellbeing

We present Flora, a testbed that supports multidimensional fitness and resource modeling. Its main features are evaluation metrics related to population wellbeing, scalable representation of resource diversity, and composability of sociotechnical test scenarios through the TDI framework. We ran simulations to illustrate Flora's use in modeling the effects of using information infrastructures with different component systems. We analyzed the impact of hoarders in the absence of accounting systems, compared the performance of different decentralized currency systems in terms of accounting design features, and modeled the potential impact of reputation systems in deterring detrimental socioeconomic behavior. Among findings were the importance of having resource diversity as well as resources that each could target different fitness dimension needs; the inherent robustness of accounting systems that allow organizations to set budgets independently of centrally issued currency; and the greater effectiveness of buyer-screening compared to seller-screening as a means for influencing malevolent socioeconomic actors.
HOUSEHOLD ENERGY, INDOOR AIR POLLUTION, AND HEALTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Knowledge Base for Effective Interventions

▪ Abstract Globally, almost three billion people rely on biomass (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and dung) and coal as their primary source of domestic energy. Exposure to indoor air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels is an important cause of disease and mortality in developing countries. Despite recent advances in estimating the health impacts of indoor smoke, there are limited studies targeted toward the design and implementation of effective intervention programs. We review the current knowledge of the relationship between indoor air pollution and disease, and of the assessment of interventions for reducing exposure and disease. This review takes an environmental health perspective and considers the details of both exposure and health effects that are needed for successful intervention strategies. In particular, we summarize the emerging understanding of the central role of household energy technology and day-to-day household activities in determining exposure to indoor smoke. We also identif.
Context-sensitive model learning for lung nodule detection

Nodule detection in chest radiographs is a main component of current Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems. The problem is usually approached as a supervised classification task of candidate nodule segments. To this end, a discriminative model is learnt from predefined set of features. A key concern with this approach is the fact that some normal tissues are also imaged and these regions can overlap with the lung tissue as to hide the nodules. These overlaps may reduce the discriminative ability of extracted features and increase the number of false positives accordingly. In this study, we offer to learn distinct models for bone and normal tissue regions following to the segmentation of ribs, which are often the major reason for false positives. Thus, the nodule candidates in bone and normal tissue regions can be assessed in context-sensitive way. The experiments on a common benchmark set determine that the proposed approach can significantly rescue the false positives while preserving the sensitivity of detections.
Material-driven fibronectin assembly for high-efficiency presentation of growth factors

Researchers develop a simple technique to enhance the activity of growth factors during tissue healing. Growth factors (GFs) are powerful signaling molecules with the potential to drive regenerative strategies, including bone repair and vascularization. However, GFs are typically delivered in soluble format at supraphysiological doses because of rapid clearance and limited therapeutic impact. These high doses have serious side effects and are expensive. Although it is well established that GF interactions with extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin control GF presentation and activity, a translation-ready approach to unlocking GF potential has not been realized. We demonstrate a simple, robust, and controlled material-based approach to enhance the activity of GFs during tissue healing. The underlying mechanism is based on spontaneous fibrillar organization of fibronectin driven by adsorption onto the polymer poly(ethyl acrylate). Fibrillar fibronectin on this polymer, but not a globular conformation obtained on control polymers, promotes synergistic presentation of integrin-binding sites and bound bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), which enhances mesenchymal stem cell osteogenesis in vitro and drives full regeneration of a nonhealing bone defect in vivo at low GF concentrations. This simple and translatable technology could unlock the full regenerative potential of GF therapies while improving safety and cost-effectiveness.
Pre-Conception Care of Diabetes, Congenital Malformations, and Spontaneous Abortions

As noted by many previous reviewers (1-4), major congenital malformations remain the leading cause of mortality and serious morbidity in infants of mothers with established diabetes (IDM). In addition to the associated human suffering, the malformations are very expensive in both shortand long-term health care costs. The purpose of this technical review is to provide the detailed background to the American Diabetes Association's Position Statement on clinical guidelines for pre-conception care of women with diabetes (5-7a). The review is organized to discuss several related topics.