cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stable RNA nanoparticles as potential new generation drugs for cancer therapy

Human genome sequencing revealed that only ~1.5% of the DNA sequence coded for proteins. More and more evidence has uncovered that a substantial part of the 98.5% so-called "junk" DNAs actually code for noncoding RNAs. Two milestones, chemical drugs and protein drugs, have already appeared in the history of drug development, and it is expected that the third milestone in drug development will be RNA drugs or drugs that target RNA. This review focuses on the development of RNA therapeutics for potential cancer treatment by applying RNA nanotechnology. A therapeutic RNA nanoparticle is unique in that its scaffold, ligand, and therapeutic component can all be composed of RNA. The special physicochemical properties lend to the delivery of siRNA, miRNA, ribozymes, or riboswitches; imaging using fluogenenic RNA; and targeting using RNA aptamers. With recent advances in solving the chemical, enzymatic, and thermodynamic stability issues, RNA nanoparticles have been found to be advantageous for in vivo applications due to their uniform nano-scale size, precise stoichiometry, polyvalent nature, low immunogenicity, low toxicity, and target specificity. In vivo animal studies have revealed that RNA nanoparticles can specifically target tumors with favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters without unwanted accumulation in normal organs. This review summarizes the key studies that have led to the detailed understanding of RNA nanoparticle formation as well as chemical and thermodynamic stability issue. The methods for RNA nanoparticle construction, and the current challenges in the clinical application of RNA nanotechnology, such as endosome trapping and production costs, are also discussed.
The Sun and the Heliosphere as an Integrated System

The heliosphere is a bay in the interstellar space around the Sun where the solar wind blows lustily and holds back the magnetic fields and plasma of the local interstellar cloud. According to recent measurements from the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the radius of this bay, which is where the solar wind ceases to be supersonic, is about 94 astronomical units (AU) (1 AU = distance from the Sun to Earth). Much of what happens at the outer edges of the heliosphere is determined by what happens on the Sun. Magnetic fields generated in the solar interior boil to the surface and emerge into the outer atmosphere, called the corona, where they destabilize and propel coronal mass ejections (CMEs) into the heliosphere. The corona is also the source of the solar wind.
Measuring information in right‐censored models

On utilise la theorie de la majorisation pour developper des mesures de l'information dans le modele censure aleatoirement lorsque les variables de duree de vie et de censurage sont discretes
Vitamin E supplementation prevents lung dysfunction and lipid peroxidation in nude mice exposed to side-stream cigarette smoke

Sidestream cigarette smoke (SSCS) is a major component of environmental tobacco smoke. The purpose of this study was to investigate development of lung injury and lipid peroxidation in the lung and liver of immunodeficient (Nude) mice exposed to a small amount of SSCS (a total 5 hours of exposure). The effects of vitamin E supplementation of the mice were also determined. SSCS increased pulmonary resistance and lipid peroxidation in these mice. Dietary vitamin E supplementation increased vitamin E levels in lung and liver. In addition, vitamin E attenuated SSCS-mediated pulmonary injury and lipid peroxidation. It appears that the enhanced resistance against SSCS-induced lung injury and lipid peroxidation may be primarily due to the increased antioxidant property of vitamin E in vitamin E-supplemented mice.
Holocene moraine chronology, Spitsbergen, Svalbard: lichenometric evidence for multiple Neoglacial advances in the Arctic

Late Holocene (Neoglacial) moraines occurring within 1 or 2 km of present glacier margins are prominent features in the forefields of Spitsbergen glaciers. 'Little Ice Age' moraines are typically the most extensive and best preserved; moraines of older Holocene advances are much less common. Where observed, older moraines occur as moraine remnants and provide irrefutable evidence of earlier Neoglacial advances. The fragmentary moraine record indicates two 'Little Ice Age' advances and two older Neoglacial advances.Lichenometry provides calibrated ages for periods of moraine stabilization. The oldest moraines stabilized by ca. 1500 years ago, and a second group of moraines stabilized by ca. 1000 years ago. 'Little Ice Age' moraines were deposited during two periods: an early group of moraines stabilized ca. 650 years ago and a later group during the last several centuries. The proposed moraine chronology compares well with other proxy climate records on Spitsbergen and with moraine records from areas borde...
Neural and cognitive characteristics of extraordinary altruists

Altruistic behavior improves the welfare of another individual while reducing the altruist’s welfare. Humans’ tendency to engage in altruistic behaviors is unevenly distributed across the population, and individual variation in altruistic tendencies may be genetically mediated. Although neural endophenotypes of heightened or extreme antisocial behavior tendencies have been identified in, for example, studies of psychopaths, little is known about the neural mechanisms that support heightened or extreme prosocial or altruistic tendencies. In this study, we used structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess a population of extraordinary altruists: altruistic kidney donors who volunteered to donate a kidney to a stranger. Such donations meet the most stringent definitions of altruism in that they represent an intentional behavior that incurs significant costs to the donor to benefit an anonymous, nonkin other. Functional imaging and behavioral tasks included face-emotion processing paradigms that reliably distinguish psychopathic individuals from controls. Here we show that extraordinary altruists can be distinguished from controls by their enhanced volume in right amygdala and enhanced responsiveness of this structure to fearful facial expressions, an effect that predicts superior perceptual sensitivity to these expressions. These results mirror the reduced amygdala volume and reduced responsiveness to fearful facial expressions observed in psychopathic individuals. Our results support the possibility of a neural basis for extraordinary altruism. We anticipate that these findings will expand the scope of research on biological mechanisms that promote altruistic behaviors to include neural mechanisms that support affective and social responsiveness.
Transit-time effects in optically pumped coupled three-level systems

A density-matrix calculation of the line shape for an optically pumped coupled three-level system subjected to two traveling wave-laser fields with Gaussian intensity profiles is presented to third-order in perturbation theory. A closed-form expression for the line shape in the extreme transit-time limit is obtained. The line shape of the narrow resonance (Raman-type processes) is found to be an exponential function of the detuning, with half-width at half maximum ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{\mathrm{HWHM}}^{(\mathrm{Hz})}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.98(\frac{u}{2\ensuremath{\pi}D})$ ($D$ is the intensity $\frac{1}{e}$ diameter and $u$ is the thermal speed). The saturation intensity is also modified by the transit rate ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{t}=\frac{\sqrt{2}u}{D}$ (rad/sec).
Analytical sensitivity of four commonly used hCG point of care devices.

Abstract Background Point of care (POC) hCG assays are often used to rule-out pregnancy and therefore diagnostic sensitivity, especially at low concentrations of hCG, is important. There are very few studies in the literature that seek to verify the claimed analytical sensitivity of hCG POC devices. Methods The analytical sensitivity of four commonly used hCG POC devices (Alere hCG Combo Cassette, ICON 20 hCG, OSOM hCG Combo Test, and Sure-Vue Serum/Urine hCG-STAT) was challenged using urine samples (n = 50) selected based on quantitative hCG concentrations. The majority of these specimens (n = 40) had an hCG concentration between 20 and 200 U/L. Each specimen/device combination was reviewed by three individuals. Statistical calculations were performed using Stata 12. Results The analytical sensitivity of the OSOM was significantly lower inferior than that of the other POC devices. There was no significant difference in the sensitivity of the Alere, ICON 20 and Sure-Vue devices. There was no significant difference in the individual interpretation of the hCG POC results. Conclusions All hCG POC devices evaluated in this study were susceptible to false negative results at low concentrations of urine hCG. Laboratorians and clinicians should be aware that there are limitations when using urine hCG POC devices to rule out early pregnancy.
First Report of Soybean Rust Caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi on Erythrina herbacea (Coral Bean).

Soybean rust (SBR), caused by the obligate fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi Syd. & P. Syd., was initially reported on soybean (Glycine max L.) in Louisiana in 2004 and has since been reported on soybean and/or kudzu (Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi) in 9 states in 2005, 15 states in 2006, and 19 states in 2007 (1). The host range of P. pachyrhizi includes plants that are all in the Fabaceae or legume family. Six plant species in the United States have been reported as hosts of P. pachyrhizi: soybean, kudzu, Florida beggarweed (Desmodium tortuosum (Sw) DC.), dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), lima bean (P. lunatus L.), and scarlet runner bean (P. coccineus L.) (4). On 17 April 2008, a rust disease was observed on a weedy legume host with red showy flowers that was growing with kudzu in an overgrown vacant lot in the understory of live oak trees (Quercus virginiana Mill.) in Citra, FL. The discovery was made during routine scouting of this Integrated Pest Management Pest Information Platform for Extension and Educ...
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Physical Educators

(2004). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Physical Educators. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 75, No. 2, pp. 47-52.
Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass: Technical Considerations

Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) uses a small anterior left thoracotomy incision and harvesting of the left internal mammary artery with an anastomosis performed to the left anterior descending artery without cardiopulmonary bypass. There is renewed interest in minimally invasive coronary surgery and hybrid revascularization. This article describes a standardized approach that has been consistently successful in our institution.
Time-dependent changes in hemocytes of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, and northern bay scallops, Argopecten irradians irradians, exposed to a cultured strain of Prorocentrum minimum

Juvenile oysters and scallops were exposed, under controlled laboratory conditions, to bloom concentrations of a cultured dinoflagellate with demonstrated lethal and sub-lethal, pathological effects upon these bivalves. Immune status of the mollusks was assessed periodically, using flow-cytometric hemocyte analyses for hematological characteristics and several hemocyte functions, during 7 days of continuous exposure. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to develop correlative profiles of immune status of affected and unaffected shellfish, and Multifactor Analysis of Variance using PCA results as the dependent variable was conducted to test effects of P. minimum and time of exposure, as well as interactions of these two factors, upon immune status. For both oysters and scallops, P. minimum exposure had a significant effect upon immune profile, and this effect was dependent upon duration of exposure. The most pronounced effects of 7-day exposure of both oysters and scallops were increases in granulocyte percentage and dead hemocytes, following an initial (1-day) boost in hyalinocyte number. Changes in hemocyte function attendant with shifts in hyalinocyte/granulocyte ratio were observed as well. This is the first report of which we are aware demonstrating immunological effects of a harmful alga upon the immune system of grazing mollusks. The finding that immune-system effects of this representative HAB are dependent upon duration of exposure has likely ecological relevance considering the growing consensus that the extent and severity of HAB’s are increasing worldwide.
The Role of School Health Instruction in Preventing Interpersonal Violence

The social and human costs of youth violence are staggering. Reducing violence among youth will require a multifaced approach, including educational strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of high risk behaviors associated with youth violence. This article examines the role of school health instruction in preventing interpersonal violence. Specifically, this article provides an overview of comprehensive school health education; suggests instructional content for violence prevention education; explores options for administering violence prevention education; discusses theoretical frameworks supporting education strategies; provides criteria for selecting violence prevention curricula and mateirals; examines possible limitations and barriers to violence prevention education; and provides recommendations for implementing programs. Though classroom health instruction should not be expected to solve problems associated with youth violence, prevention education needs to be delivered within the context of comprehensive school health education.
Development of a new test system to determine penetration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes through filtering facepiece respirators.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are currently used in numerous industrial and biomedical applications. Recent studies suggest that workers may be at risk of adverse health effects if they are exposed to CNTs. A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) survey of the carbonaceous nanomaterial industry found that 77% of the companies used respiratory protection. Elastomeric half-mask respirators and filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are commonly used. Although numerous respirator filtration studies have been done with surrogate engineered nanoparticles, such as sodium chloride, penetration data from engineered nanoparticles such as CNTs are lacking. The aims of this study were to develop a new CNT aerosol respirator testing system and to determine multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) penetration through FFRs. A custom-designed CNT aerosol respirator testing system (CNT-ARTS) was developed which was capable of producing a sufficient amount of airborne MWCNTs for testing of high efficiency FFRs. The size distribution of airborne MWCNTs was 20–10,000 nm, with 99% of the particles between 25 and 2840 nm. The count median diameter (CMD) was 209 nm with a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 1.98. This particle size range is similar to those found in some work environments (particles ≤6000 nm). The penetration of MWCNTs through six tested FFR models at two constant flow rates of 30 and 85 LPM was determined. Penetration at 85 LPM (0.58–2.04% for N95, 0.15–0.32% for N99, and 0.007–0.009% for P100 FFRs) was greater compared with the values at 30 LPM (0.28–1.79% for N95, 0.10–0.24% for N99, and 0.005–0.006% for P100 FFRs). The most penetrating particle size through all six tested FFR models was found to be in the range of 25–130 nm and 35–200 nm for the 30-LPM and 85-LPM flow rates, respectively.
An Innovative Program For Domestic Violence Victims: A University – Community Collaboration

The purpose of this study is to examine an innovative program for domestic violence (The Domestic Violence and Self-Sufficiency [DV & SS] Program at the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio). More specifically, the study evaluates the importance and appropriateness of the services this program offers enrolled and prospective student-parent welfare recipients at the university. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on the data collected by graduate student interns in social work. The study found that program services were appropriate and valued by a community partner who doubled the funding for staffing and added $25,000 in tuition assistance money. The study also found that women students not eligible for welfare receipt needed program services, and those students using welfare had barriers interconnected with domestic violence issues. Several recommendations are made that will enable caseworkers / counselors working in universities and in the larger community improve the services they provide domestic violence victims. Gender & Behaviour Vol.3 2005: 296-313
Language Processing/Word Processing: Written Expression, Computers and Learning Disabled Students.

queness, their coping strategies, their ability to elude precise definition; and yet, commonalities do emerge to form a composite picture of these students. That portrait depicts a child awkwardly grasping a pencil and much-used eraser, attempting to fulfill an assignment by writing words on paper. We might entitle this portrait "Personification of Frustration." As educators, we have added, albeit unwittingly, many of the brush strokes to create this portrait. By subscribing to the theories that children must first learn to read, spell, and punctuate properly before attempting to write, we have expended our energies on these neverperfected tasks until the children have reached the normally self-conscious stage of adolescence, missing--perhaps forever--sequential developmental written language experiences. Researchers who study language and composition skills of normally achieving students are recognizing that those students, as well as their learning disabled classmates, are being handicapped by our inattention or misdirected attention to written expression. Inspired by Graves (1979) and the procedure used in his Writing Process Laboratory, the English-teacher equivalents of revolutionaries are making a few converts among the nation's writing teachers. Nowhere is their presence more needed than in special education where we must compensate for years of neglect and where academic progress is usually only painstakingly achieved. Hypothesis Our consciousness-raising regarding written expression is occurring at a time when technology may aid us in remediating the written language of learning disabled students. By combining the process approach to writing with the word-processing capabilities of the microcomputer, we may enable our LD students to become proficient writers. Results of an experimental classroom intervention utilizing such a treatment design are encouraging. The proposed program is holistic, treating reading and language development, as well as written expression. Relationship Between Needs and Research When PL 94-142 became law in 1975, special educators were in general agreement with Myklebust's theories of hierarchical language development. That is, a child first had to understand spoken language, and then he spoke. He had to read, and then he wrote (Myklebust, 1965). As a result, we never got to the writing stage with LD students in elementary school. There were always isolated skills not yet mastered, words not yet read. Having spent years training processes (e.g., auditory memory, visual perception) and skills (e.g., punctuation, capitalization) with little effect, special educators are now listening to different voices, expressing different views. Mann, Goodman, and Wiederholt (1978) observed that lower performance measures at the secondary level can be explained by extensive exposure to remedial strategies, ignoring students' strengths. Hence we may actually cause disabilities in strength areas through neglect. Chomsky (1971) posited that the order of our
A rapid method for the purification of methanol dehydrogenase from Methylobacterium extorquens

Methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) is a water soluble quinoprotein that catalyzes the oxidation of methanol as an important carbon source in methylotrophic bacteria. A rapid method for the purification of MDH from Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 was developed using a single cation exchange chromatographic step, followed by ultrafiltration for final purification, enzyme concentration, and buffer exchange. MDH was obtained in an excellent overall yield with a final enzyme purity of greater than 97%. Storage at -80 degrees C in 20mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, showed only a negligible loss of enzyme activity after six months.
Geo-spatial Analysis of Truck Parking Needs

The availability of safe and convenient temporary parking facilities for commercial trucks is essential for both efficient truck transport and compliance with hours of service (HOS) regulations for drivers. With increasing volumes of trucks on the highways, adequate truck parking is becoming scarce. This study describes an online GIS survey instrument that is used for collecting the location information of areas with truck parking capacity shortages. To effectively analyze the sporadic and widely spread location data, this paper adopts an algorithm for location clustering and cluster ranking and proposes an alternative cluster visualization method along highways. This clustering concept recognizes that parking capacity shortages occur along highway segments. It is found that the most frequently experienced shortages are in the outskirts of major urban areas, reflecting the need of staging for next day delivery. These findings are consistent with observations by highway patrol.
Mechanical and microstructural response of Ti-24Al-11Nb as a function of temperature and strain rate

The effect of temperature and strain rate on the substructure evolution and mechanical response of Ti-24Al-11Nb has been investigated. Deformation in compression at both dynamic (103/s) and quasi-static strain rates (10−1/s and 10−3/s) was studied. Quasi-static tests were performed at room temperature (RT) and −196°C (LN2). Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar tests were conducted at RT, 200 and 700°C. The true stress/true strain response of Ti-24Al-11Nb depended on both the applied strain rate and, to a lesser extent, the test temperature; the rate of strain hardening increased with increasing strain rate. The flow stress of Ti-24Al-11Nb at 3% strain increased with decreasing temperature at both quasi-static and dynamic strain rates. The strain rate sensitivity was determined to be 0.014, a moderate value. TEM indicated that heterogeneous planar slip was predominant under all deformation conditions.
Release of noradrenaline and dopamine by nerve stimulation in the cat spleen perfused with 3H-dopamine

1. Recovery of (3)H-dopamine and (3)H-L-dopa infused intra-arterially at a constant rate of 20 ng/min into the cat spleen perfused with Krebs bicarbonate solution was 52.6+/-3.8% and 90.5+/-3.1% respectively. Recovery of (3)H-dopamine in spleens treated with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine was 67.7+/-6.7% and was not significantly different from untreated spleens.2. Release of (3)H-dopamine by nerve stimulation after an infusion of (3)H-dopamine resembled release of endogenous noradrenaline. Release of (3)H-L-dopa and (3)H-L-tyrosine after their infusion did not occur in any consistent manner by nerve stimulation.3. Preferential release of (3)H-noradrenaline formed from (3)H-dopamine was not observed during continuous nerve stimulation. Specific activity of released (3)H-noradrenaline remained constant during any single stimulation period with or without (3)H-dopamine infusion. Treating the cats with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine did not change the time course of (3)H-noradrenaline release.4. Output of noradrenaline expressed as a percentage of the first minute output in both normal and alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine treated spleens was not significantly different at various times during continuous nerve stimulation.5. Specific activity of released noradrenaline formed from (3)H-dopamine was always greater than the specific activity of the spleen in normal spleens and spleens treated with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine.6. It is concluded that newly synthesized or infused noradrenaline initially mixes with a more rapidly turning pool and only slowly with the entire tissue store. During continuous nerve stimulation there is no further preferential release of newly synthesized noradrenaline. Released noradrenaline truly represents the state of the releasable pool and will vary with the latter.
EUS-guided gold fiducial insertion for image-guided radiation therapy of pancreatic cancer: 50 successful cases without fluoroscopy

Background Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) accurately delivers a high dose of potentially tumoricidal radiation to its target while sparing adjacent healthy tissue. Application of IGRT to unresectable pancreatic cancer requires the use of fiducials to track the precise location of the tumor. Fiducial markers have been successfully placed endoscopically. Objective To determine the feasibility of EUS-guided gold fiducial placement for IGRT. Design Prospective case series. Setting Tertiary medical center. Patients Consecutively referred patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma for EUS–guided insertion of gold fiducials from December 2006 to February 2009. Interventions Under only EUS guidance, fiducial markers were deployed into or near the tumor by using a 19-gauge needle. In most cases, a sterile water injection technique was used to insert the fiducials. Fluoroscopy was not used in any case. Main Outcome Measurements Successful placement of an adequate number of fiducials to proceed with IGRT as determined by CT. Results Fifty-seven consecutive patients were included. Fifty cases (88%) were successful. Of the cases in which fiducial placement was attempted and follow-up was adequate, 94% (50 of 53) of cases were successful. Limitations Single-center, nonrandomized study. Conclusions EUS-guided fine-needle insertion was safe and effective in delivering gold fiducial markers for image-guided radiation therapy. Fluoroscopy was not required for successful fiducial placement.
Quantification of the Physical Demands for Servers in Restaurants

Serving staff are an integral part of restaurant establishments. Although over 2.2 million individuals are employed as wait staff in the US and experience a considerable number of musculoskeletal disorders each year, little is known about their work-related risk factors for MSDs. Using observational methods, a physical activity monitor, and surveys, this study quantified the physical demands experienced by servers over a shift. Twenty wait staff were evaluated for postures used during serving, tray weight, pain symptoms, and perceived workload. Results showed increases (upwards of 60%) in pain throughout their shift, substabtial time spent standing or walking (~75%), and potentially risky arm/wrist postures during serving, even though a majority of servers indicated lighter than normal workloads during the observation period. While further research is needed, this study provides a first glimpse at the physical demands experienced by wait staff.
Stability of chemical communicants of gender in guinea pig urine.

Male guinea pigs tested in a two-choice preference test spent significantly more time with female than male urine after the urines had been aged up to 40 days. When the animals were not able to contact the urine samples the investigation times were greatly attenuated. These results support the hypothesis that the chemical signals of gender found in guinea pig urine are of low volatility. They further indicate that signals persist for remarkably long periods, at least under laboratory conditions.
Patterns in cross market liquidity

Abstract Academic research on liquidity has generally focused on explaining what can be called within market liquidity. That is it seeks to explain things like why one stock is more liquid than another. But there has been considerably less attention to cross market liquidity: the issue of why some securities are more liquid than others. For example, stocks are apparently far more liquid than high yield bonds. Why? Why do some markets exist (orange juice for example) while others do not (potatoes for example)? This article lays out the current academic evidence regarding liquidity across assets and explains why current theories have trouble with one item or another. The challenge then is to produce an overarching theory that offers predictions that are closer to what the data seems to imply about cross market liquidity.
Optimization of organic solar cells with thin film Au as anode

Optical transmittance and conductivity for thin metallic films, such as Au, are two inversely related and extremely important parameters for its application in organic photovoltaics as the front electrode. We report our findings on how these parameters have been optimized to attain maximum possible efficiencies by fabricating organic solar cells with thin Au film anodes of differing optical transmittances and consequently due to scaling at the nanolevel, varying electrical conductivities. There was an extraordinary improvement in the overall solar cell efficiency (to the order of 49%) when the Au thin film transmittance was increased from 38% to 54%. Surface morphologies of these thin films also have an effect on the critical parameters including, Voc, Jsc and FF.
Stochastic optimal control as a theory of brain-machine interface operation

The closed-loop operation of brain-machine interfaces BMI provides a framework to study the mechanisms behind neural control through a restricted output channel, with emerging clinical applications to stroke, degenerative disease, and trauma. Despite significant empirically driven improvements in closed-loop BMI systems, a fundamental, experimentally validated theory of closed-loop BMI operation is lacking. Here we propose a compact model based on stochastic optimal control to describe the brain in skillfully operating canonical decoding algorithms. The model produces goal-directed BMI movements with sensory feedback and intrinsically noisy neural output signals. Various experimentally validated phenomena emerge naturally from this model, including performance deterioration with bin width, compensation of biased decoders, and shifts in tuning curves between arm control and BMI control. Analysis of the model provides insight into possible mechanisms underlying these behaviors, with testable predictions. Spike binning may erode performance in part from intrinsic control-dependent constraints, regardless of decoding accuracy. In compensating decoder bias, the brain may incur an energetic cost associated with action potential production. Tuning curve shifts, seen after the mastery of a BMI-based skill, may reflect the brain's implementation of a new closed-loop control policy. The direction and magnitude of tuning curve shifts may be altered by decoder structure, ensemble size, and the costs of closed-loop control. Looking forward, the model provides a framework for the design and simulated testing of an emerging class of BMI algorithms that seek to directly exploit the presence of a human in the loop.
The variability of patient preferences

Background Wide variation in procedure utilization suggests that surgical indications might not be rigorously defined. An alternative explanation is that surgical outcomes are valued differently across groups. When a patient, using the information provided by the surgeon, places high value on successful results or is indifferent to the costs of ineffective treatment, the treatment threshold is lower and more surgery will be chosen.
Interactions among Prolactin, Epidermal Growth Factor, and Proinsulin on the Growth and Morphology of the Pigeon Crop-Sac Mucosal Epithelium in Vivo*

The local pigeon crop-sac assay was used to test the direct effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and several other growth factors and hormones on the growth of mucosal epithelial cells in vivo. Insulin, relaxin, multiplication-stimulating activity, proinsulin, and platelet-derived or fibroblast growth factors had no direct stimulatory activity by themselves. Human insulin-like growth factor I and EGF caused dose-related stimulation, but were less effective than ovine (o) PRL. Insulin, platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and multiplication-stimulating activity did not affect the proliferative response to oPRL when injected along with the hormone. Proinsulin augmented the direct mitogenic action of oPRL, but not that of EGF. When EGF was injected locally with PRL no interaction occurred even though both hormones were independently mitogenic. A single sc injection of a high dose of oPRL (0.5 mg) given at a site distant from the crop-sac had no effect on the mucosal epithelial cells,...
Emerging Party Cleavages in the House of Representatives, 1962-1996

Income has the potential to divide people politically. Most attempts to assess the impact of income focus on individual-level analyses. Representatives, however, are elected in districts, which have varying compositions of constituents. To assess the connection between income and party in congressional elections, we need to focus on income composition of districts and how partisan outcomes are related to these variations. This analysis assesses that relationship and how it has changed in recent decades. The focus is on U.S. House districts from 1962 to 1996. The relationship of district income and party outcomes is then examined by region. Since 1962, income has emerged as a significant source of political divisions in the South and North, whereas the remainder of the country has not developed a relationship. Finally, we analyze the 1994 and 1996 Congressional elections, and find that the relationship of income to party continues to be significant, but the 1994 election attenuated the relationship.
Pityriasis rosea in Rochester, Minnesota, 1969 to 1978

A population-based epidemiologic study of pityrtasts rosea was developed for Rochester, MN, for a recent 10-year period Nine hundred thirty-nine patients with pityriasis rosea (340 male patients and 599 female patients) who resided within Rochester city limits at the time the diagnosis was made were included. The average annual incidence rate of this disease was 172 2 per 100,000 person-years (158 9 per 100,000, adjusted to the 1970 U S white population). Female patients predominated by a margin of 1 5 1 0. More than 75% of the patients were between the ages of 10 and 35 years, with a mean age of 22 7 years and a range of 10 months to 78 years. There was a recurrence of the illness to 1 8% of the patients after an average of 45 years of follow-up The highest rate was noted to 1972, following which there was a steady and significant decline in incidence. The incidence of the disease was significantly higher to the colder months than to the warmer season. Patients in twenty-one close-contact pairs experienced the disease at varying intervals. Recent past infections or history of atopy was noted to nearly one third of the cases.
The VP40 Protein of Marburg Virus Exhibits Impaired Budding and Increased Sensitivity to Human Tetherin following Mouse Adaptation

The Marburg virus VP40 protein is a viral matrix protein that spontaneously buds from cells. It also functions as an interferon (IFN) signaling antagonist by targeting Janus kinase 1 (JAK1). A previous study demonstrated that the VP40 protein of the Ravn strain of Marburg virus (Ravn virus [RAVV]) failed to block IFN signaling in mouse cells, whereas the mouse-adapted RAVV (maRAVV) VP40 acquired the ability to inhibit IFN responses in mouse cells. The increased IFN antagonist function of maRAVV VP40 mapped to residues 57 and 165, which were mutated during the mouse adaptation process. In the present study, we demonstrate that maRAVV VP40 lost the capacity to efficiently bud from human cell lines, despite the fact that both parental and maRAVV VP40s bud efficiently from mouse cell lines. The impaired budding in human cells corresponds with the appearance of protrusions on the surface of maRAVV VP40-expressing Huh7 cells and with an increased sensitivity of maRAVV VP40 to restriction by human tetherin but not mouse tetherin. However, transfer of the human tetherin cytoplasmic tail to mouse tetherin restored restriction of maRAVV VP40. Residues 57 and 165 were demonstrated to contribute to the failure of maRAVV VP40 to bud from human cells, and residue 57 was demonstrated to alter VP40 oligomerization, as assessed by coprecipitation assay, and to determine sensitivity to human tetherin. This suggests that RAVV VP40 acquired, during adaptation to mice, changes in its oligomerization potential that enhanced IFN antagonist function. However, this new capacity impaired RAVV VP40 budding from human cells. IMPORTANCE Filoviruses, which include Marburg viruses and Ebola viruses, are zoonotic pathogens that cause severe disease in humans and nonhuman primates but do not cause similar disease in wild-type laboratory strains of mice unless first adapted to these animals. Although mouse adaptation has been used as a method to develop small animal models of pathogenesis, the molecular determinants associated with filovirus mouse adaptation are poorly understood. Our study demonstrates how genetic changes that accrued during mouse adaptation of the Ravn strain of Marburg virus have impacted the budding function of the viral VP40 matrix protein. Strikingly, we find impairment of mouse-adapted VP40 budding function in human but not mouse cell lines, and we correlate the impairment with an increased sensitivity of VP40 to restriction by human but not mouse tetherin and with changes in VP40 oligomerization. These data suggest that there are functional costs associated with filovirus adaptation to new hosts and implicate tetherin as a filovirus host restriction factor.
Protease production by the ontjom fungus,Neurospora sitophila

The production of protease and mycelium byNeurospora sitophila cultured on solid and liquid potato dextrose media was studied. Maximal activity of protease extracted from 4-day-old cultures occurred at pH 6.5 when an unfractionated peanut (groundnut) protein substrate was used. The greatest protease activity and mycelium production occurred during the first day of the 4-day test period. Potato dextrose media containing more than 0.2 M NaCl resulted in decreased protease and mycelium production, while tapioca starch was without affect at concentrations up to 1.4%. Addition of up to 0.3 M sucrose to growth media greatly stimulated protease production and mycelial growth. Maximal proteolytic activity was observed in extracts from mycelium cultured in potato dextrose media adjusted from pH 6.0 to 7.5. Activity was greater when soluble peanut protein was used as a substrate, compared to unfractionated or globulin protein substrates.
The Smoking Cessation Process

Data suggest that the majority of individuals who stop smoking are successful without the assistance of a formal program. The following investigation explored this process of self-directed cessatio...
Detecting Tropical Forests' Responses to Global Climatic and Atmospheric Change: Current Challenges and a Way Forward

Because of tropical forests’ disproportionate importance for world biodiversity and for the global carbon cycle, we urgently need to understand any effects on these ecosystems from the ongoing changes in climate and atmosphere. This review, intended to complement existing data reviews on this topic, focuses on three major classes of challenges that we currently face when trying to detect and interpret directional changes in tropical forests. One is the very limited existing information on the historical context of study sites. Lasting effects from past climate, natural disturbances, and/or human activities could be significantly affecting current-day processes in tropical forests and need to be investigated for all active field sites. Second, while progress has been made in recent years on standardizing and refining research approaches, a number of methods- and data-limitations continue to affect efforts both to detect within-forest changes and to relate them to ongoing environmental change. Important outstanding needs are improved sampling designs, longer time-series of observations, filling key data gaps, and data access. Finally, forest responses to ongoing environmental change are complex. The effects of many simultaneously changing environmental factors are integrated by the plants, and their responses can involve significant lags, carryovers, and non-linearities. Specifying effects of individual environmental changes, however, is required for accurate ecosystem-process models and thus for projecting future impacts on these forests. After discussing these several types of challenges and ways to address them, I conclude with a priority agenda for this critical area of research.
Rawls' Kantian ideal and the viability of modern liberalism

Rawlsian liberalism is best understood and defended on the basis of a concrete but widely shared ideal of the person as a rational agent capable of normative self‐determination in the proper political and economic conditions. In Rawls’ recent works, this neo‐Kantian ideal of free moral personality is no longer understood as a requirement of rational or moral agency as such, but is a concrete historical ideal or meta‐value presupposed by the living tradition of liberal‐democratic judgment and practice, which reason can recover through a critical reflection upon this tradition. Read in this way, Rawls’ theory of social justice articulates a quite powerful, rational, concrete, historical, and social dimension of modern political identity, which the critics of liberalism cannot plausibly deny. But there are other rival, powerful bourgeois‐individualist and patriarchal ideals of personhood, equally rooted in modern political judgments and practices, which Rawlsian liberalism ignores, and which taken together g...
Binding of reactive intermediate analogs to enzymes.

Abstract A result of the fact that enzymes are catalysts is that an enzyme must bind the reactants in the transition state more tightly than the reactants in the ground state (Wolfenden, 1972; Lienhard, 1973). However, the position along the reaction co-ordinat e corresponding to the reactants in the transition state for an enzyme-catalyzed reaction does not necessarily correspond to the structure which has the highest affinity for the enzyme. Thus, analogs of structures intermediate between reactants in the ground state and in the transition state may be potent enzyme inhibitors. Bi-substrate analogs (compounds which are analogs of two substrates with the same relative orientation as the ternary enzyme complex in the ground state) are expected to have a higher affinity for many enzymes than indicated from the magnitude of the product of the binding constants of the two substrates. The value of the binding constant of a bi-substrate analog is dependent on the structure of the productive ternary complex and the kinetic nature of the reaction and is, therefore, a useful probe of the enzymic mechanism.
Transnational Urbanward Migration, 1830–1980

Data sets are provided that measure the volume of transnational urbanward immigration and yield estimates of the contributions of transnational migrants to urban growth for an expanding panel of countries from 1830–1980. Urbanward immigration is found to be cyclical, pulsating with long-wave rhythmicity. This cyclicality is the source of long-term surges and sags of urban growth in both receiving and sending countries. Since World War II, variations in the relationship have emerged across levels of development. The historical association of transnational migration and urban growth is still to be seen in low- and middle-income countries, but among higher-income countries, transnational urbanward immigration now is inversely related to urban growth: the countries with the lowest rates of urban growth are those with the greatest foreign inflows, which speeds the globalization of urban populations in the world's most developed regions.
Writing Feature Articles With Intermediate Students

Students need regular opportunities to write expository text. However, focusing on report writing often leaves students without strong examples to study or analyze to guide and grow their own writing. Writing and studying feature articles, meant to inform and explain, can become an alternative to report writing, as they can easily be located in magazines and other print materials for students to study and examine. This article describes a research project on implementing a feature article unit of study with a fourth-grade class. Upon completion of the unit, the students identified, in an open-ended response, minilessons they felt made a difference in their learning and in their knowledge as writers. Four minilessons emerged as helpful to the students, each of which is described, and students' comments and stories about their experiences are intertwined within each lesson.
What Costs Do Reveal and Moving beyond the Cost Debate: Reply to Einstein and McDaniel (2010).

Einstein et al., (2005) predicted no cost to an ongoing task when a prospective memory task meet certain criteria. Smith et al. (2007) used prospective memory tasks that met these criteria and found a cost to the ongoing task, contrary to Einstein et al.'s prediction. Einstein and McDaniel (in press) correctly note that there are limitations to using ongoing task performance as a measure of the processes that contribute to prospective memory performance, however, the alternatives suggested by Einstein and McDaniel all focus on ongoing task performance and therefore do not move beyond the cost debate. This article describes why the Smith et al. findings are important, provides recommendations for issues to consider when investigating cost, and discusses individual cost measures. Finally, noting the blurry distinction between Einstein and McDaniel's description of the reflexive associative processes and preparatory attentional processes and difficulties in extending the multiprocess view to nonlaboratory tasks, suggestions are made for moving beyond the cost debate.
Soil-structure interaction parameters from finite element analysis

Abstract A series of two-dimensional finite element computer runs were made to compute the frequency dependent soil-structure interaction coefficients. Variations in the element size, mesh dimensions, boundary conditions, and soil hysteretic damping ratio to determine their influence on the computed interaction coefficients were made. From the calculations, it has been determined that the primary requirement of the mesh is a transmitting boundary formulation. For low damping conditions, roller support boundary conditions must be placed exceedingly far from the structure to ensure convergence of the results to the analytic solution. In addition, with such boundary conditions, the addition of artificial hysteretic soil damping cannot be used to simulate radiation damping behavior of the continuum. A frequency dependent criteria is also presented to determine minimum size elements that must be used in any calculation.