The attentional blink (AB) represents a cognitive deficit in reporting the second of two targets (T2), when that second target appears 200–600 msec after the first (T1). However, it is unclear how ...this paradigm impacts the subjective visibility (that is, the conscious perception) of T2, and whether the temporal profile of T2 report accuracy matches the temporal profile of subjective visibility. In order to compare report accuracy and subjective visibility, we asked participants to identify T1 and T2, and to rate the subjective visibility of T2 across two experiments. Event-related potentials were also measured. The results revealed different profiles for the report of T2 versus the subjective visibility of T2, particularly when T1 and T2 appeared within 200 msec of one another. Specifically, T2 report accuracy was high but T2 visibility was low when the two targets appeared in close temporal succession, suggesting what we call the Experiential Blink is different from the classic AB. Electrophysiologically, at lag-1, the P3 component was modulated more by subjective visibility than by report accuracy. Collectively, the data indicate that the deficit in accurately reporting T2 is not the same as the deficit in subjectively experiencing T2. This suggests that traditional understandings of the AB may require adjustment and that, consistent with other findings, working memory (WM) encoding and conscious perception may not be synonymous.
Two major classes of small noncoding RNAs have emerged as important regulators of gene expression in eukaryotes, the short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) associated with RNA silencing and endogenous ...micro-RNAs (miRNAs) implicated in regulation of gene expression. Helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro) is a viral protein that blocks RNA silencing in plants. Here we examine the effect of HC-Pro on the accumulation of siRNAs and endogenous miRNAs. siRNAs were analyzed in transgenic tobacco plants silenced in response to three different classes of transgenes: sense-transgenes, inverted-repeat transgenes, and amplicon-transgenes. HC-Pro suppressed silencing in each line, blocking accumulation of the associated siRNAs and allowing accumulation of transcripts from the previously silenced loci. HC-Pro-suppression of silencing in the inverted-repeat- and amplicon-transgenic lines was accompanied by the apparent accumulation of long double-stranded RNAs and proportional amounts of small RNAs that are larger than the siRNAs that accumulate during silencing. Analysis of these results suggests that HC-Pro interferes with silencing either by inhibiting siRNA processing from double-stranded RNA precursors or by destabilizing siRNAs. In contrast to siRNAs, the accumulation of endogenous miRNAs was greatly enhanced in all of the HC-Pro-expressing lines. Thus, our results demonstrate that accumulation of siRNAs and miRNAs in plants can be differentially regulated by a viral protein. The fact that HC-Pro affects the miRNA pathway raises the possibility that this pathway is targeted by plant viruses as a means to control gene expression in the host.
To determine whether the combination of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and conventional rehabilitation techniques can produce meaningful motor improvement in chronic stroke patients with ...initially fisted hands.
Case series.
University hospital outpatient laboratory.
Consecutive sample (N=6) >1 year poststroke with plegic hands.
Treatment consisted of an initial period of 3 weeks (phase A) when adaptive equipment in the home, orthotics, and splints were employed to improve ability to engage in activities of daily living. This was continued in phase B, when CIMT and selected neurodevelopmental treatment techniques were added.
Motor Activity Log (MAL), accelerometry, Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (F-M).
Patients exhibited a large improvement in spontaneous real-world use of the more-affected arm (mean lower-functioning MAL change=1.3±0.4 points; P<.001; d'=3.0) and a similar pattern of increase in an objective measure of real-world more-affected arm movement (mean change in ratio of more- to less-affected arm accelerometer recordings=0.12±0.1 points; P=.016; d'=1.2). A large improvement in motor status was also recorded (mean F-M change=5.3±3.3 points; P=.005; d'=1.6).
The findings of this pilot study suggest that stroke patients with plegic hands can benefit from CIMT combined with some conventional rehabilitation techniques, even long after brain injury. More research is warranted.
Significance The Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate (2OG)-dependent hypoxia-inducible transcription factor prolyl-hydroxylases play a central role in human oxygen sensing and are related to other ...prolyl-hydroxylases involved in eukaryotic collagen biosynthesis and ribosomal modification. The finding that a PHD-related prolyl-hydroxylase in Pseudomonas spp. regulates pyocyanin biosynthesis supports prokaryotic origins for the eukaryotic prolyl-hydroxylases. The identification of the switch I loop of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) as a Pseudomonas prolyl-hydroxylase domain containing protein (PPHD) substrate provides evidence of roles for 2OG oxygenases in both translational and transcriptional regulation. A structure of the PPHD:EF-Tu complex, the first to the authors' knowledge of a 2OG oxygenase with its intact protein substrate, reveals that major conformational changes occur in both PPHD and EF-Tu and will be useful in the design of new prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitors.
The real options approach is frequently advocated as an approach that offers a positive and radical reassessment of the value of risk and exploration. We examine a recent case where Merck used the ...real options approach to justify an investment in an R&D project. This case is used to highlight some of the problems associated with using real options. We note that the assumptions incorporated in most standard option valuation models can conflict with the conclusions reached by strategic analysis. As a result, users of real options models should understand the quantitative aspects of these models, and may often need to create a customized model for each situation. The difficulty of developing customized models may explain, in part, the limited use of the real options approach in strategic analysis.
Objective
To evaluate whether Constraint-Induced Movement therapy (CI therapy) may benefit chronic upper extremity hemiparesis in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods
Five patients with ...progressive MS, who had chronic upper extremity hemiparesis and evidence for learned non-use of the paretic limb in the life situation, underwent 30 hours of repetitive task training and shaping for the paretic limb over 2–10 consecutive weeks, along with physical restraint of the less-affected arm and a “transfer package” of behavioral techniques to reinforce treatment adherence.
Results
The patients showed significantly improved spontaneous, real-world limb use at post-treatment and 4 weeks post-treatment, along with improved fatigue ratings and maximal movement ability displayed in a laboratory motor test.
Conclusions
The findings suggest for the first time that slowly progressive MS may benefit from CI therapy. Further studies are needed to determine the retention of treatment responses.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Reports of
and
have called for more interprofessional and coordinated hospital care. For over 20 years, Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Units and models of care that ...disseminate ACE principles have demonstrated outcomes in-line with the IOM goals. The objective of this overview is to provide a concise summary of studies that describe outcomes of ACE models of care published in 1995 or later. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion. Of these, 19 studies were from ACE Units and three were evaluations of ACE Services, or teams that cared for patients on more than one hospital unit. Outcomes from these studies included increased adherence to evidence-based geriatric care processes, improved patient functional status at time of hospital discharge, and reductions in length of stay and costs in patients admitted to ACE models compared to usual care. These outcomes represent value-based care. As interprofessional team models are adopted, training in successful team functioning will also be needed.
Patterns in morphology, pigment concentration, and light saturation kinetics of Ecklonia radiata reveal great morphological and physiological variability among individuals from sites spanning strong ...gradients in topographic shading and wave exposure among the 14 fjords in southwestern New Zealand. Morphology of E. radiata varies from relatively narrow ($85 \pm 4.7 mm$) ($mean \pm standard$ error), thick ($3.2 \pm 0.30 mm$) blades from the well-illuminated, wave-exposed outer coast sites to wide, undulate ($460 \pm 36.8 mm$,) and thin ($0.46 \pm 0.059 mm$) blades from quiescent, topographically shaded inner fjord sites. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration of blades ($0.084-1.34 \mu g g^{-1}$ of tissue) and the ratio of fucoxanthin to Chl a (0.33 to 0.56) also increased along this gradient, indicating photoacclimation within the inner fjord populations. In situ measurements of light saturation kinetics indicate maximum photosynthetic rates at lower irradiance ($I_{max} = 43.7$ vs. $257 \mu mol$ quanta m-2 s-1) for algae at inner fjord sites relative to well-lit outer fjord locations. Individuals exhibiting characteristically photoacclimated relative electron transfer rate curves had more deplete $\delta^{13}C (-13.35\textperthousand to -22.35\textperthousand)$ than individuals with higher Imax. There was no significant association between the kelp morphology or geographic location and the observed recombinant DNA diversity of ITS sequences that would indicate the presence of two Ecklonia species in the fjords. E. radiata occupies a wide range of habitats in Fiordland and displays variability in morphology and photo-physiological responses to low light that coincide with gradients in wave exposure and topographically shaded light conditions.
Abstract In 2022, a genotype IV (GIV) strain of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) caused an unprecedented and widespread outbreak of disease in pigs and humans in Australia. As no veterinary vaccines ...against JEV are approved in Australia and all current approved human and veterinary vaccines are derived from genotype (G) III JEV strains, we used the recently described insect-specific Binjari virus (BinJV) chimeric flavivirus vaccine technology to produce a JEV GIV vaccine candidate. Herein we describe the production of a chimeric virus displaying the structural prM and E proteins of a JEV GIV isolate obtained from a stillborn piglet (JEV NSW/22 ) in the genomic backbone of BinJV (BinJ/JEV NSW/22- prME). BinJ/JEV NSW/22- prME was shown to be antigenically indistinguishable from the JEV NSW/22 parental virus by K D analysis and a panel of JEV-reactive monoclonal antibodies in ELISA. BinJ/JEV NSW/22- prME replicated efficiently in C6/36 cells, reaching titres of >10 7 infectious units/mL - an important attribute for vaccine manufacture. As expected, BinJ/JEV NSW/22- prME failed to replicate in a variety of vertebrate cells lines. When used to immunise mice, the vaccine induced a potent virus neutralising response against JEV NSW/22 and to GII and GIII JEV strains. The BinJ/JEV NSW/22- prME vaccine provided complete protection against lethal challenge with JEV NSW/22 , whilst also providing partial protection against viraemia and disease for the related Murray Valley encephalitis virus. Our results demonstrate that BinJ/JEV NSW/22- prME is a promising vaccine candidate against JEV.
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