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Signals recorded from motor cortex—through an intracortical implant—can be linked in real-time to activation of forearm muscles to restore movement in a paralysed human. Part restoration of muscle response in quadriplegia This paper demonstrates that signals recorded from motor cortex — through an intracortical implant — can be linked in real-time to activation of forearm muscles in order to restore movement in a paralysed human. Motor cortex signals were decoded and used to control a neuromuscular electrical stimulation system contained in a sleeve wrapped around the patient's arm. The system provided isolated finger movements and the patient, a 24-year-old male who had sustained a spinal cord injury, could make six different volitional wrist and hand motions, enabling him to grasp, manipulate and release objects. Millions of people worldwide suffer from diseases that lead to paralysis through disruption of signal pathways between the brain and the muscles. Neuroprosthetic devices are designed to restore lost function and could be used to form an electronic ‘neural bypass’ to circumvent disconnected pathways in the nervous system. It has previously been shown that intracortically recorded signals can be decoded to extract information related to motion, allowing non-human primates and paralysed humans to control computers and robotic arms through imagined movements 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 . In non-human primates, these types of signal have also been used to drive activation of chemically paralysed arm muscles 12 , 13 . Here we show that intracortically recorded signals can be linked in real-time to muscle activation to restore movement in a paralysed human. We used a chronically implanted intracortical microelectrode array to record multiunit activity from the motor cortex in a study participant with quadriplegia from cervical spinal cord injury. We applied machine-learning algorithms to decode the neuronal activity and control activation of the participant’s forearm muscles through a custom-built high-resolution neuromuscular electrical stimulation system. The system provided isolated finger movements and the participant achieved continuous cortical control of six different wrist and hand motions. Furthermore, he was able to use the system to complete functional tasks relevant to daily living. Clinical assessment showed that, when using the system, his motor impairment improved from the fifth to the sixth cervical (C5–C6) to the seventh cervical to first thoracic (C7–T1) level unilaterally, conferring on him the critical abilities to grasp, manipulate, and release objects. This is the first demonstration to our knowledge of successful control of muscle activation using intracortically recorded signals in a paralysed human. These results have significant implications in advancing neuroprosthetic technology for people worldwide living with the effects of paralysis.

Many students who have experienced complex trauma receive special education services related to emotional and behavioral disorders at residential treatment facilities (RTFs) as they undergo therapy. One academic skill in which students with emotional and behavioral disorders often struggle is writing. The current multi-probe, multiple-baseline, across-groups-of-students study involved a science teacher in an RTF delivering whole-class persuasive writing instruction using the selfregulated strategy development model with 11 secondary students experiencing complex trauma. Results suggested large effects for persuasive parts (overall Tau-U = .97), word count (overall Tau-U = .96), and holistic quality (overall Tau-U = .97), as well as high social validity among participants. Implications for providing instruction to students in RTF settings and future directions for this population are included.

Increasing diversity is beneficial for the health care system and patient outcomes; however, the current leadership gap in oncology remains largely unquantified. To evaluate the gender, racial, and ethnic makeup of the leadership teams of National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers and compare with the city populations served by each center. This retrospective cross-sectional study examined gender, race, and ethnicity of leadership teams via publicly available information for NCI-designated cancer centers and compared results with national and city US census population characteristics, as well as active physician data. Data were analyzed in August 2020. Racial, ethnic, and gender diversity (identified via facial recognition software and manual review) of leadership teams compared with institution rank, location, team member degree(s), and h-index. All 63 NCI cancer centers were included in analysis, and all had identifiable leadership teams, with a total of 856 members. Photographs were not identified for 12 leaders (1.4%); of the remaining 844 leaders, race/ethnicity could not be identified for 7 (0.8%). Women make up 50.8% of the US population and 35.9% of active physicians; in NCI cancer centers, 36.3% (306 women) of cancer center leaders were women. Non-Hispanic White individuals comprise 60.6% of the US population and 56.2% of active physicians, but 82.2% of cancer center leaders (688 individuals) were non-Hispanic White. Both Black and Hispanic physicians were underrepresented when compared with their census populations (Black: 12.7% of US population, 5.0% of active physicians; Hispanic: 18.1% of US population, 5.8% of active physicians); however, Black and Hispanic individuals were even less represented in cancer center leadership positions (29 Black leaders [3.5%]; 32 Hispanic leaders [3.8%]). Asian physicians were overrepresented compared with their census population (5.6% of US population, 17.1% of active physicians); however, Asian individuals were underrepresented in leadership positions (92 Asian individuals [11.0%]). A total of 23 NCI cancer centers (36.5%) did not have a single Black or Hispanic member of their leadership team; 8 cancer centers (12.7%) had an all non-Hispanic White leadership team. A multivariate model found that leadership teams with more women (adjusted odds ratio, 1.73 [95% CI, 1.02-2.93]; P = .04) and institutions in the South (adjusted odds ratio, 2.31 [95% CI, 1.15 to 4.77]; P = .02) were more likely to have at least 1 Black or Hispanic leader. Pearson correlation analysis showed weak to moderate correlation between city Hispanic population and Hispanic representation on leadership teams (R = 0.5; P < .001), but no significant association between Black population and Black leadership was found. This cross-sectional study found that significant racial and ethnic disparities were present in cancer center leadership positions. Establishing policy, as well as pipeline programs, to address these disparities is essential for change.

Values of undercatch-corrected liquid-equivalent snowfall rate (S) at a ground site and microwave reflectivity (Z) retrieved using an airborne W-band radar were acquired during overflights. The temperature at the ground site was between −6 and −15 ∘C. At flight level, within clouds containing ice and supercooled liquid water, the temperature was approximately 7 ∘C colder. Additionally, airborne measurements of snow particle imagery were acquired. The images demonstrate that most of the snow particles were rimed, at least at flight level. A relatively small set of S–Z pairs (four) is available from the overflights. Important distinctions between these measurements and those of Pokharel and Vali (2011), who reported S–Z pairs and an S–Z relationship for rimed snow particles, are (1) the fewer S–Z pairs, (2) the method used to acquire S, and (3) the altitude, relative to ground, of the W-band Z retrievals. This analysis corroborates the fact that the S–Z relationship reported in Pokharel and Vali (2011) yields an S – in scenarios with snowfall produced by riming – substantially larger than that derived using an S–Z relationship developed for unrimed snow particles.

Plant synthetic biology holds great promise for engineering plants to meet future demands. Genetic circuits are being designed, built and tested in plants to demonstrate the proof of concept. However, developing these components in monocots, which the world relies on for grain, lags behind dicot models, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana. Here, we show the successful adaptation of a ligand‐inducible sensor to activate an endogenous anthocyanin pathway in the C4 monocot model Setaria viridis. We identify two transcription factors that can be expressed as a single transcript that are sufficient to induce endogenous anthocyanin production in S. viridis protoplasts and whole plants in a constitutive or ligand‐inducible manner. We also test multiple ligands to overcome physical barriers to ligand uptake, identifying triamcinolone acetonide (TA) as a highly potent inducer of this system. Using hyperspectral imaging and a discriminative target characterisation method in a near‐remote configuration, we can non‐destructively detect anthocyanin production in leaves in response to ligands. This work demonstrates the use of inducible expression systems in monocots to manipulate endogenous pigmentation production for remote detection. Applying inducible anthocyanin production coupled with sensitive detection algorithms could enable crop plants to report on the status of field contamination or detect undesirable chemicals impacting agriculture, ushering in an era of agriculture‐based sensor systems.

During the summer of 2018, the upward-pointing Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL) was deployed on board the University of Wyoming King Air (UWKA) research aircraft for the Biomass Burning Flux Measurements of Trace Gases and Aerosols (BB-FLUX) field campaign. This paper describes the generation of calibrated attenuated backscatter coefficients and aerosol extinction coefficients from the WCL measurements. The retrieved aerosol extinction coefficients at the flight level strongly correlate (correlation coefficient, rr > 0.8) with in situ aerosol concentration and carbon monoxide (CO) concentration, providing a first-order estimate for converting WCL extinction coefficients into vertically resolved CO and aerosol concentration within wildfire smoke plumes. The integrated CO column concentrations from the WCL data in nonextinguished profiles also correlate (rr = 0.7) with column measurements by the University of Colorado Airborne Solar Occultation Flux instrument, indicating the validity of WCL-derived extinction coefficients. During BB-FLUX, the UWKA sampled smoke plumes from more than 20 wildfires during 35 flights over the western United States. Seventy percent of flight time was spent below 3 km above ground level (AGL) altitude, although the UWKA ascended up to 6 km AGL to sample the top of some deep smoke plumes. The upward-pointing WCL observed a nearly equal amount of thin and dense smoke below 2 km and above 5 km due to the flight purpose of targeted fresh fire smoke. Between 2 and 5 km, where most of the wildfire smoke resided, the WCL observed slightly more thin smoke than dense smoke due to smoke spreading. Extinction coefficients in dense smoke were 2–10 times stronger, and dense smoke tended to have larger depolarization ratio, associated with irregular aerosol particles.

Background: There is a significant disparity in survival rates for pediatric cancer in low and middle-income countries compared to high-income countries. A variety of factors contribute to this disparity including late stage disease at presentation, high rates of abandonment of care, and lack of supportive care. In Mwanza, Tanzania, a residential hostel was created to reduce these barriers among patients being treated for childhood cancer at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC). This study explores the potential benefit of the hostel in terms of event free survival and quality of life and examines the barriers and facilitators for completing care and the perceptions of the hostel. Methods: The study had three major components. A medical record review was conducted for 229 patients who presented to BMC in 2016-17, looking at survival outcomes. Surveys were collected from patients and caregivers who presented in 2018. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore patient/caregiver experiences. Data was collected at BMC and was analyzed with survival curves, hazard models, logistic regression, t-tests and applied thematic analysis. Results: One-year EFS was not significantly different for patients who presented to BMC before the hostel opened compared to those that presented after the hostel opened. However, a proportional hazard model showed a significantly lower hazard for patients that stayed at the hostel compared to patients that did not. Participants that stayed at the hostel also scored significantly higher in emotional functioning compared to patients that did not stay at the hostel. In-depth interview participants highlighted barriers and facilitators for completing care and described the benefits of the hostel including psychosocial support and reduced financial burden. Conclusions: Higher one-year event free survival and better scores in emotional wellbeing were observed for patients that stayed at the hostel. Caregivers and patients shared positive perceptions of the hostel as a facilitator for completing care. Key supportive care programs such as a hostel can be beneficial for improving pediatric cancer outcomes in LMICs.