Nonviral vector systems are used increasingly in gene targeting and gene transfer applications. The piggyBac transposon represents an alternative integrating vector for in vivo gene transfer. We hypothesized that this system could achieve persistent gene transfer to the liver when administered systemically. We report that a novel hyperactive transposase generated higher transposition efficiency...

Background: Clinical evaluation of hospitalized patients with acute altered mental status (AMS) is a common task of interns, regardless ofmedical specialty. The effectiveness ofmedical education to ensure competence in this area is unknown. Objective: To measure competency of new interns in the evaluation and management of AMS using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Methods: ...

With the establishment of the euro, many commentators have drawn positive lessons from European monetary union for monetary integration in other parts of the world. This paper argues that the European experience of the 1990s is richer than a simple story of the inevitability of monetary integration. The dissolution of the Yugoslav, Czechoslovak and Soviet currency areas between 1991 and 1993 me...

Dopamine and histamine are neuromodulators found in the adult stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) of several crustacean species. We used antibodies against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and histamine to map the distribution and developmental acquisition of the dopamine and histamine neurons in the STNS of the lobster, Homarus americanus. Embryos, larvae, juvenile and adult animals were studied. TH...

Layer I, which plays an important role in the development of the cerebral cortex, expands in size and diversity in primates. We found that, unlike in rodents, in the macaque monkey, neurons of this layer are generated during the entire 2 month period of corticogenesis, within the middle of the 165-d-long gestation. The large, classical Cajal-Retzius cells, immunoreactive to reelin and calretini...

To evaluate the Greenspan era, we nevertheless need to address three questions: Is his success due to talent or just luck? Does he have a system of monetary policy or is he himself the system? What will be his legacy? Greenspan was certainly lucky, but he was also clairvoyant. Above all, he has developed a profoundly original monetary policy. His confidence strategy is clearly opposed to the cr...

A Sun-tracking imaging system is implemented for minimizing circumsolar image distortion for improved short-term solar irradiance forecasts. This sky-imaging system consists of a fisheye digital camera mounted on an automatic solar tracker that follows the diurnal pattern of the Sun. The Sun is located at the geometric center of the sky images where the fisheye distortion is minimized. Images f...

The price system, the adjustment of prices to changes in market conditions, is the primary mechanism by which markets function and by which the three most basic questions get answered: what to produce, how much to produce and for whom to produce. To the behaviour of price and price system, therefore, have fundamental implications for many key issues in microeconomics and industrial organization...

We develop a two-sector search-matching model of the labor market with imperfect mobility of workers, augmented to incorporate a housing market and a frictional goods market. Homeowners use home equity as collateral to …nance idiosyncratic consumption opportunities. A …nancial innovation that raises the acceptability of homes as collateral raises house prices and reduces unemployment. It also t...

In recent years, central banks have increasingly turned to “forward guidance” as a central tool of monetary policy, especially as interest rates around the world have hit the zero lower bound. Standard monetary models imply that far future forward guidance is extremely powerful: promises about far future interest rates have huge effects on current economic outcomes, and these effects grow with ...