In this study, we propose a tutoring agent that uses MSN Messenger, a popular synchronous internet media, as the communication platform. Students can invite the agent to a discussion session on MSN Messenger. The agent understands the students’ questions in natural language, and provides answers or hints during the group discussion. Unlike a traditional natural language tutoring agent that conv...

Increasing multimedia applications such as teleconferencing and video-on-demand require the Internet to effectively provide high-performance multicast support. One of the promising solutions for multicasting is called end-system multicasting, in which the multicasting is conducted either at the end systems or at a dedicated Multicast Service Node (MSN). A MSN is responsible for a number of end ...

An MCM-41 type mesoporous silica nanosphere-based (MSN) controlled-release delivery system has been synthesized and characterized using surface-derivatized cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystals as chemically removable caps to encapsulate several pharmaceutical drug molecules and neurotransmitters inside the organically functionalized MSN mesoporous framework. We studied the stimuli-responsive rele...

Moesin belongs to the ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) protein family and participates in cellular functions, such as morphogenesis and motility, by cross-linking between the actin cytoskeleton and plasma membranes. Although moesin seems necessary for tissue construction and repair, its function at the whole body level remains elusive, perhaps because of redundancy among ERM proteins. To determine th...

The main limitation of tissue engineering lies in the inability to stimulate osteogenesis, angiogenesis of stem cells and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. However, the development of multifunctional bioactive materials with these capabilities remains a great challenge. In this study, we prepared mesoporous silica nanoparticles encapsulated with silver nanocrystals (AG-MSN) with uniform sp...

The Critical Zone (CZ) is the thin layer of the Earth’s terrestrial surface and near-surface environment that ranges from the top of the vegetation canopy to the bottom of the weathering zone and plays fundamental roles in sustaining life and humanity. The past few years have seen a number of Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) being developed following the first CZOs established in the United S...

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are known as carriers with high loading capacity and large functionalizable surface area for target-directed delivery. In this study, a series of docetaxel-loaded folic acid- or methionine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DTX/MSN-FA or DTX/MSN-Met) with large pores and amine groups at inner pore surface properties were prepared. The results ...

Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects medium spiny striatal neurons (MSN). HD is caused by polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion (exp) in the amino-terminal region of a protein huntingtin (Htt). The connection between polyQ expansion in Httexp and MSN neurodegeneration remains elusive. Here we discuss recent data that link polyQ expansion i...

The principal neurons of the striatum, GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs), are interconnected by local recurrent axon collateral synapses. Although critical to many striatal models, it is not clear whether these connections are random or whether they preferentially link functionally related groups of MSNs. To address this issue, dual whole patch-clamp recordings were made from striatal MSNs ...