The effect of text message reminders on compliance with Twin Block appliances: A randomised controlled trial.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether text reminders influence patient compliance with Twin Block appliances. The null hypothesis was that there was no statistically significant differences in Twin Block compliance between those who receive text reminders and those that do not. DESIGN: Single-blind parallel randomised controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Health Service Executive (HSE) orthodontic outpatient clinic in Dublin, Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 59 patients aged 11-15 years with a 5a Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN grade) starting treatment with Twin Block appliances. METHODS: A computer-generated unstratified allocation sequence was used to randomise the participants into the control group (CG) or the text group (TG). Both groups were asked to wear their appliances full-time. In addition to the same verbal and written instruction received by the CG, the TG received text message reminders to wear their appliances every 3 days. The primary outcome measure was wear time reported by Theramon® sensors embedded in the appliances. Data on wear time were uploaded from the Theramon® sensors onto cloud software. Participants in both groups were asked to fill out wear diaries and submit these at each visit. Treating clinicians and the primary investigator were blinded to the allocation group. Participants were followed up for 4 months. Participants were not blinded to their treatment group. RESULTS: In total, 29 participants were allocated to the CG and 30 to the TG. The data for 53 participants were analysed, 24 from the CG and 29 from the TG. The median hours/day of wear recorded using the Theramon® sensors was 13.77 (interquartile range [IQR] = 10.19) for the CG and 17.72 (IQR = 5.62) for the TG. The difference in wear time recorded was not statistically significant (P = 0.16). CONCLUSION: The study concluded that text message reminders had no statistically significant influence on patient compliance with Twin Block appliances.

Associations between HIV testing and multilevel stigmas among gay men and other men who have sex with men in nine urban centers across the United States.

BACKGROUND: Complex manifestation of stigma across personal, community, and structural levels and their effect on HIV outcomes are less understood than effects in isolation. Yet, multilevel approaches that jointly assesses HIV criminalization and personal sexual behavior stigma in relation to HIV testing have not been widely employed or have only focused on specific subpopulations. The current study assesses the association of three types of MSM-related sexual behavior-related stigma (family, healthcare, general social stigma) measured at both individual and site levels and the presence/absence of laws criminalizing HIV transmission with HIV testing behaviors to inform HIV surveillance and prevention efforts among HIV-negative MSM in a holistic and integrated way. METHODS: We included nine National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) 2017 sites: Baltimore, MD; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Houston, TX; Long Island/Nassau-Suffolk, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; and Virginia Beach and Norfolk, VA. Multivariable generalized hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine how sexual behavior stigmas (stigma from family, anticipated healthcare stigma, general social stigma) measured at the individual and site levels and state HIV criminalization legislation (no, HIV-specific, or sentence-enhancement laws) were associated with past-year HIV testing behaviors across sites (n = 3,278). RESULTS: The majority of MSM across sites were tested for HIV in the past two years (n = 2,909, 95.4%) with the average number of times tested ranging from 1.79 (SD = 3.11) in Portland, OR to 4.95 (SD = 4.35) in Los Angeles, CA. In unadjusted models, there was a significant positive relationship between stigma from family and being tested for HIV in the past two years. Site-level HIV-specific criminalization laws were associated with an approximate 5% reduction in the prevalence of receiving any HIV test in the past two years after individual level stigma and sociodemographic covariate adjustments (PR = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.90-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Structural barriers faced by MSM persist and ending the HIV epidemic in the US requires a supportive legal environment to ensure effective engagement in HIV services among MSM. Home-based solutions, such as self-testing, used to deliver HIV testing may be particularly important in punitive settings while legal change is advocated for on the community and state levels.

Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review aims to offer an updated understanding of the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents. The databases PsycINFO, Medline, Cinahl, and ERIC were searched using keywords, and relevant literature was hand-searched. Papers (n = 3319) were systematically screened and deemed eligible if they were empirical studies published in English since 2014 and measured the GIS of individuals with ASD who were under 18 years old. Thirty studies were included in the final review. The study findings were synthesized under eight themes, including the prevalence and nature of GIS and their relationship with developmental regression, language and communication, ASD severity, challenging behavior, comorbid psychopathology, sleep problems, and sensory issues. The review found that GIS were common and that there was contradictory evidence concerning their relationship with co-occurring conditions. It also identified evidence of some causal relationships that support the existence of the gut-immune-brain pathways. Future research needs to use large prospective designs and objective and standardized GIS measurements to provide a nuanced understanding of GIS in the context of ASD.

A systematic review of artificial reefs as platforms for coral reef research and conservation.

Artificial reefs (ARs) have been used on coral reefs for ecological research, conservation, and socio-cultural purposes since the 1980s. We examined spatio-temporal patterns in AR deployment in tropical and subtropical coral reefs (up to 35° latitude) and evaluated their efficacy in meeting conservation objectives, using a systematic review of the scientific literature. Most deployments (136 studies) were in the North Atlantic and Central Indo-Pacific in 1980s - 2000s, with a pronounced shift to the Western Indo-Pacific in 2010s. Use of ARs in reef restoration or stressor mitigation increased markedly in response to accelerating coral decline over the last 2 decades. Studies that evaluated success in meeting conservation objectives (n = 51) commonly reported increasing fish abundance (55%), enhancing habitat quantity (31%) or coral cover (27%), and conserving target species (24%). Other objectives included stressor mitigation (22%), provision of coral nursery habitat (14%) or source populations (2%) and addressing socio-cultural and economic values (16%). Fish (55% of studies) and coral (53%) were the most commonly monitored taxa. Success in achieving conservation objectives was reported in 33 studies. Success rates were highest for provision of nursery habitat and increasing coral cover (each 71%). Increasing fish abundance or habitat quantity, mitigating environmental impacts, and attaining socio-cultural objectives were moderately successful (60-64%); conservation of target species was the least successful (42%). Failure in achieving objectives commonly was attributed to poor AR design or disruption by large-scale bleaching events. The scale of ARs generally was too small (m2 -10s m2) to address regional losses in coral cover, and study duration too short (< 5 years) to adequately assess ecologically relevant trends in coral cover and community composition. ARs are mostly likely to aid in reef conservation and restoration by providing nursery habitat for target species or recruitment substrate for corals and other organisms. Promoting local socio-cultural values also has potential for regional or global impact by increasing awareness of coral reef decline, if prioritized and properly monitored.

Metrics of Sexual Behavior Stigma Among Cisgender Men Who Have Sex With Men in 9 Cities Across the United States.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States are stigmatized for their same-sex practices, which can lead to risky sexual behavior, potentiating risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Improved measurement is necessary for accurately reporting and mitigating sexual behavior stigma. We added 13 sexual behavior stigma items to local surveys administered in 2017 at 9 sites in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system, which uses venue-based, time-sampling procedures to survey cisgender MSM in US Census Metropolitan Statistical Areas. We performed exploratory factor analytical procedures on site-specific (Baltimore, Maryland; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; Nassau-Suffolk, New York; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; and Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Virginia) and pooled responses to the survey items. A 3-factor solution-"stigma from family" (α = 0.70), "anticipated health-care stigma" (α = 0.75), and "general social stigma" (α = 0.66)-best fitted the pooled data and was the best-fitting solution across sites. Findings demonstrate that MSM across the United States experience sexual behavior stigma similarly. The results reflect the programmatic utility of enhanced stigma measurement, including tracking trends in stigma over time, making regional comparisons of stigma burden, and supporting evaluation of stigma-mitigation interventions among MSM across the United States.

HIV Prevalence Among Women Who Exchange Sex for Money or Drugs-4 U.S. Cities.

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist in the United States on the prevalence of HIV among women who exchange sex. SETTING: We estimate HIV prevalence of women who exchange sex from a 2016 survey in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Seattle and compare it with the prevalence of HIV among women of low socioeconomic status (SES), who did not exchange sex, and women in the general population. METHODS: Women who exchange sex were recruited via respondent-driven sampling among some cities participating in National HIV Behavioral Surveillance, interviewed, and offered HIV testing. We estimate HIV prevalence and, using prevalence ratios, compare it with the prevalence among women of low SES who did not exchange sex in the 2013 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance cycle, and to women in the general population estimated using 2015 National HIV Surveillance data. RESULTS: One thousand four hundred forty women reported exchange sex in 2016. Aggregated HIV prevalence was 4.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.7 to 7.1] among women who exchanged sex, 1.6% (95% CI: 0.3 to 2.8) among women of low SES who did not exchange sex, and 0.6% (95% CI: 0.5% to 0.6%) among women in the general population. HIV prevalence among women who exchanged sex was 3.1 times (95% CI: 1.6 to 5.9) as high as among women of low SES who did not exchange sex, and 8.8 times (95% CI: 7.0 to 11.1) as high as among women in the general population. CONCLUSION: HIV prevalence was significantly higher among women who exchanged sex compared with women in the general population and women of low SES who did not exchange sex.

Benthic community succession on artificial and natural coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea.

Evaluating the efficacy of artificial structures in enhancing or sustaining biodiversity on tropical coral reefs is key to assessing their role in reef conservation or management. Here, we compare spatial and temporal patterns of colonization and succession of the benthic assemblage on settlement collectors (ceramic tiles) in a 13-mo mensurative experiment on a suspended artificial reef, a seafloor artificial reef, and two nearby natural reefs at Eilat, Gulf of Aqaba. We also conducted a concurrent 7-mo manipulative experiment on the suspended reef and one of the natural reefs, and monitored fish feeding behaviour on experimental collectors, to examine effects of large mobile consumers on these patterns. In both experiments, taxonomic composition as percent planar cover for the whole community or biomass for the invertebrate component differed between collector topsides, dominated by a filamentous algal matrix, and shaded undersides with a profuse assemblage of suspension- or filter-feeding invertebrates. In the mensurative experiment, we found differences in final community and invertebrate composition between sites, which clustered according to reef type (artificial vs. natural) for collector undersides. Invertebrate biomass was greater at both artificial reefs than at one (undersides) or both (topsides) natural reefs. In the manipulative experiment, we found similar differences in composition between sites/reef types as well as between treatments (exclusion vs. control), and the invertebrate biomass was greater on the artificial reef. Invertebrate biomass was greater in the exclusion treatment than the control on collector undersides, suggesting mobile consumers can affect community composition and abundance. Predominant fish species observed interacting with collectors differed between artificial and natural reefs, likely contributing to differences in patterns of colonization and succession between sites and reef types. Our findings suggest artificial reefs have the potential to enhance cover and biomass of certain reef-associated assemblages, particularly those occupying sheltered microhabitats.

HIV Among MSM and Heterosexual Women in the United States: An Ecologic Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Phylogenetic studies show links between heterosexual women and men who have sex with men (MSM) that are more numerous than from heterosexual men to women suggesting that HIV infections among heterosexual women may stem from MSM. Poor communities have been associated with high rates of HIV among heterosexual women. Our analysis investigates potential transmission of HIV between MSM and female heterosexuals. METHODS: National HIV Behavioral Surveillance data describe transmission risk behaviors of MSM, and HIV case reporting data describe the percentages of cases that are attributed to transmission risk categories. We examined correlations between the percentages of men who were MSM who also have sex with women and female heterosexual cases. We also examined census data to characterize each city in terms of poverty level and race/ethnicity makeup. RESULTS: There was a high correlation (0.93) between the percentage of reported living HIV cases attributed to male heterosexual contact and female heterosexual contact and a moderate nonsignificant correlation (0.49) between the percentage of MSM who were men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) in National HIV Behavioral Surveillance and the percentage of reported cases that were attributed to female heterosexual contact suggesting some potential overlap. Cities with high levels of poverty and African American/Black residents had higher levels of MSMW and higher levels of heterosexual female cases. CONCLUSIONS: Addressing HIV in cities with high levels of MSMW may have the dual effect of improving the health of MSM populations that have a high burden of HIV and to improve the health of their larger communities.

Cutaneous metastasis of a primary oesophageal adenocarcinoma to the right cheek.

This case report details of a case of cutaneous metastasis from a primary adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus to the right cheek. A 67-year-old male was referred to the maxillofacial department with a 2-3 week history of non-painful swelling of the cheek. A diagnosis of infected sebaceous cyst was made and drainage was attempted with adjunctive antibiotic therapy. Follow up appointments showed no improvement a biopsy was taken. Histology reported presence of metastatic adenocarcinoma, suggesting the gastrointestinal tract as the primary site. An MRI scan was performed showing an oesophageal mass. Treatment options were discussed with the patient, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the advanced nature of the primary lesion meant his care was mainly palliative in nature. Clinicians must have a high index of suspicion regarding non-healing cutaneous lesions. Timely investigations in the will help to diagnose the primary cause of the lesion.

Transsaccadic processing: stability, integration, and the potential role of remapping.

While our frequent saccades allow us to sample the complex visual environment in a highly efficient manner, they also raise certain challenges for interpreting and acting upon visual input. In the present, selective review, we discuss key findings from the domains of cognitive psychology, visual perception, and neuroscience concerning two such challenges: (1) maintaining the phenomenal experience of visual stability despite our rapidly shifting gaze, and (2) integrating visual information across discrete fixations. In the first two sections of the article, we focus primarily on behavioral findings. Next, we examine the possibility that a neural phenomenon known as predictive remapping may provide an explanation for aspects of transsaccadic processing. In this section of the article, we delineate and critically evaluate multiple proposals about the potential role of predictive remapping in light of both theoretical principles and empirical findings.

Eye movements when viewing advertisements.

In this selective review, we examine key findings on eye movements when viewing advertisements. We begin with a brief, general introduction to the properties and neural underpinnings of saccadic eye movements. Next, we provide an overview of eye movement behavior during reading, scene perception, and visual search, since each of these activities is, at various times, involved in viewing ads. We then review the literature on eye movements when viewing print ads and warning labels (of the kind that appear on alcohol and tobacco ads), before turning to a consideration of advertisements in dynamic media (television and the Internet). Finally, we propose topics and methodological approaches that may prove to be useful in future research.

Synaptic and intrinsic balancing during postnatal development in rat pups exposed to valproic acid in utero.

Valproic acid (VPA) is among the most teratogenic of commonly prescribed anticonvulsants, increasing the risk in humans of major malformations and impaired cognitive development. Likewise, rats exposed prenatally to VPA exhibit a variety of neuroanatomical and behavioral abnormalities. Previous work has shown that pyramidal neuron physiology in young VPA-exposed animals is marked by two strong abnormalities: an impairment in intrinsic neuronal excitability and an increase in NMDA synaptic currents. In this study, we investigated these abnormalities across postnatal development using whole-cell patch recordings from layer 2/3 neurons of medial prefrontal cortex. We found that both abnormalities were at a peak soon after birth but were gradually corrected as animals matured, to the extent that normal excitability and NMDA currents had been restored by early adolescence. The manner in which this correction happened suggested coordination between the two processes. Using computational models fitted to the physiological data, we argue that the two abnormalities trade off against each other, with the effects on network activity of the one balancing the effects of the other. This may constitute part of the nervous system's homeostatic response to teratogenic insult: an attempt to maintain stability despite a strong challenge.

A model of top-down attentional control during visual search in complex scenes.

Recently, there has been great interest among vision researchers in developing computational models that predict the distribution of saccadic endpoints in naturalistic scenes. In many of these studies, subjects are instructed to view scenes without any particular task in mind so that stimulus-driven (bottom-up) processes guide visual attention. However, whenever there is a search task, goal-driven (top-down) processes tend to dominate guidance, as indicated by attention being systematically biased toward image features that resemble those of the search target. In the present study, we devise a top-down model of visual attention during search in complex scenes based on similarity between the target and regions of the search scene. Similarity is defined for several feature dimensions such as orientation or spatial frequency using a histogram-matching technique. The amount of attentional guidance across visual feature dimensions is predicted by a previously introduced informativeness measure. We use eye-movement data gathered from participants' search of a set of naturalistic scenes to evaluate the model. The model is found to predict the distribution of saccadic endpoints in search displays nearly as accurately as do other observers' eye-movement data in the same displays.

Time course of hippocampal IL-1 beta and memory consolidation impairments in aging rats following peripheral infection.

We previously reported that aging F344XBN rats are more vulnerable to disruptions of memory consolidation processes following an injection of Escherichia coli than are young rats. Furthermore, this disruption was specific to hippocampal-dependent memory. In the present study we examined the time course of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta in young and old rats following a peripheral injection of E. coli. Compared to young rats, aging rats treated with E. coli showed an exaggerated and prolonged up-regulation of IL-1 beta protein in the hippocampus, but not in hypothalamus, parietal cortex, prefrontal cortex, serum or spleen. Aging rats showed greater hippocampal IL-1 beta protein levels than their young counterparts 4h after E. coli, and these levels remained significantly elevated for 8 but not 14 days after E. coli. In a second experiment, aging rats exhibited anterograde memory consolidation impairments 4 and 8 days after an E. coli injection, but not after 14 days. A third experiment revealed that following an E. coli injection, bacterial clearance from the spleen and peritoneum was not impaired in aged rats, suggesting that elevations in hippocampal IL-1 beta were not mediated by impaired clearance in the periphery in aging rats. These data suggest that the exaggerated and prolonged elevation of IL-1 beta, specifically in the hippocampus, may be responsible for hippocampal-dependent memory impairments observed in aging rats following a bacterial infection.

The role of dorsal hippocampus and basolateral amygdala NMDA receptors in the acquisition and retrieval of context and contextual fear memories.

The authors used 3-phase context preexposure facilitation methodology to study the contribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in dorsal hippocampus (DH) and the basal lateral region of the amygdala (BLA) to (a) acquisition of the context memory, (b) retrieval of the context memory, (c) acquisition of context-shock association, and (d) retrieval of the context-shock association. The NMDA receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5 phosphonopentanoic acid (D-AP5) was injected into either the DH or BLA prior to (a) the context preexposure phase, (b) the immediate shock phase, or (c) the test for contextual fear. Antagonizing NMDA receptors in the DH impaired the acquisition of the context memory but did not affect its retrieval or retrieval of the fear memory. Antagonizing NMDA receptors with D-AP5 in the BLA impaired acquisition of the context-shock association but had no effect on the expression of fear. However, both DL-AP5 and L-AP5 reduced the expression of fear when they were injected into the amygdala prior to testing for contextual fear.

Mapping the color space of saccadic selectivity in visual search.

Color coding is used to guide attention in computer displays for such critical tasks as baggage screening or air traffic control. It has been shown that a display object attracts more attention if its color is more similar to the color for which one is searching. However, what does similar precisely mean? Can we predict the amount of attention that a display color will receive during a search for a given target color? To tackle this question, two color-search experiments measuring the selectivity of saccadic eye movements and mapping out its underlying color space were conducted. A variety of mathematical models, predicting saccadic selectivity for given target and display colors, were devised and evaluated. The results suggest that applying a Gaussian function to a weighted Euclidean distance in a slightly modified HSI color space is the best predictor of saccadic selectivity in the chosen paradigm. Hue and intensity information by itself provides a basis for useful predictors, spanning a possibly spherical color space of saccadic selectivity. Although the current models cannot predict saccadic selectivity values for a wide variety of visual search tasks, they reveal some characteristics of color search that are of both theoretical and applied interest, such as for the design of human-computer interfaces.

Amygdala regulation of immediate-early gene expression in the hippocampus induced by contextual fear conditioning.

The basolateral nuclei of the amygdala (BLA) are thought to modulate memory storage in other brain regions (McGaugh, 2004). We reported that BLA modulates the memory for both an explored context and for contextual fear conditioning. Both of these memories depend on the hippocampus. Here, we examined the hypothesis that the BLA exerts its modulatory effect by regulating the expression of immediate-early genes (IEGs) in the hippocampus. The main findings of these experiments were: (1) Arc activity-regulated cytoskeletal protein (Arc), an immediate-early gene (also termed Arg 3.1) and c-fos mRNA are induced in the hippocampus after a context exposure, or context plus shock experience, but not after an immediate shock; and (2) BLA inactivation with muscimol attenuated the increase in Arc and c-fos mRNA in the hippocampus associated with contextual fear conditioning but did not influence Arc mRNA associated with context exploration. These results support the hypothesis that the amygdala modulates contextual fear memory by regulating expression of IEGs in the hippocampus.

Peripheral infection and aging interact to impair hippocampal memory consolidation.

We report that a peripheral injection of Escherichia coli produces both anterograde and retrograde amnesia in 24 month old, but not 3 month old rats for memories that depend on the hippocampus, that is, memory of context, contextual fear, and place learning. The anterograde effect was restricted to measures of long-term memory. Short-term memory was not affected, nor did E. coli produce amnesia for auditory-cue fear conditioning. There were no age related effects on memory in vehicle-treated rats. In addition to these age-related cognitive effects of E.coli, we report that it produced a marked increased in IL-1beta levels in the hippocampus, but not in parietal cortex or serum. These findings support the hypothesis that age is a vulnerability factor that increases the likelihood that an immune challenge will produce a cognitive impairment. It is possible that this cognitive vulnerability is mediated by age-related changes in the glial environment that results in an exaggerated brain pro-inflammatory response to infection.

Context pre-exposure obscures amygdala modulation of contextual-fear conditioning.

We report that post-training inactivation of basolateral amygdala region (BLA) with muscimol impaired memory for contextual-fear conditioning (as measured by freezing) and intra-BLA norepinephrine enhanced this memory. However, pre-exposure to the context eliminated both of these effects. These findings provide a likely explanation of why an earler study failed to observe that the BLA modulates contextual fear conditioning-they pre-exposed their rats to the context. These results also suggest that the amygdala modulates the storage of the context fear memory and may do so by influencing the storage of the representation of the context in which the shock occurred.

The role of the dorsal hippocampus in the acquisition and retrieval of context memory representations.

It is argued that the hippocampus contributes to contextual fear conditioning by supporting the acquisition of a conjunctive memory representation of context, which associates with shock. This function was examined by studying the context pre-exposure facilitation effect (CPFE). A rat that is shocked immediately after being placed into a context subsequently displays almost no fear of that context. However, if it is pre-exposed to the context the day before immediate shock, it displays significant freezing to that context. By using 5-aminomethyl-3-hydroxysoxazole to temporarily inactivate the dorsal hippocampus (DH) at three different phases of the procedure, which produces the CPFE, we show that the hippocampus is necessary for the following: (1) acquisition of the context memory, (2) retrieval of this memory at the time of immediate shock, and (3) retrieval of the context-shock memory at the time of testing. In contrast, inactivating the DH before a standard contextual shock experience had no effect on contextual fear conditioning. These results support the view that two processes can support contextual fear conditioning: (1) conditioning to the conjunctive representation, which depends on the hippocampus, and (2) conditioning to the features that make up the context, which does not.