Could we find any signal of the stratosphere-ionosphere coupling in Antarctica?

An investigation searching for a possible coupling between the lower ionosphere and the middle atmosphere in Antarctica is here performed on the basis of stratospheric vertical temperature profiles and ionospheric absorption data observed at the Antarctic Italian Base of Terra Nova Bay (74.69S, 164.12E) during local summer time. The result obtained by applying a multi-regression analysis and a Superimposed Epoch Analysis (SEA) shows a statistically significant ionosphere-stratosphere interaction. In particular, by selecting stratospheric temperature maxima occurring at different heights as the referring epoch for the SEA approach, the ionospheric absorption is found to show a positive and/or negative trend (several days) around it. The tendency for an increasing/decreasing absorption is obtained for temperature maxima occurring below/above the stratospheric level of about 17-19 km, respectively

Non-cognate translation priming in masked priming lexical decision experiments: a meta-analysis

The masked translation priming paradigm has been widely used in the last 25 years to investigate word processing in bilinguals. Motivated by studies reporting mixed findings, in particular for second language (L2) to first language (L1) translation priming, we conducted, for the first time in the literature, a meta-analysis of 64 lexical decision experiments across 24 studies to assess the effect sizes of L1-L2 and L2-L1 non-cognate translation priming effects in bilinguals. Our meta-analysis also investigated the influence of potential moderators of translation priming effects. The results provided clear evidence of significant translation priming effects for both directions, with L1-L2 translation priming significantly larger than L2-L1 translation priming (i.e., effect size of 0.86 vs. 0.31). The analyses also revealed that L1-L2 translation effect sizes were moderated by the interval between prime and target (ISI), whereas L2-L1 translation effect sizes were modulated by the number of items per cell. Theoretical and methodological implications of this meta-analysis are discussed and recommendations for future studies are provided

Symptoms in different severity degrees of bruxism: a cross-sectional study

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate symptoms of the muscle pain, sleep quality, oral health, anxiety, stress and depression in individuals with different severity degrees of bruxism. Methods: Seventy-two individuals with bruxism were enrolled in the study, classified into: moderate (n=25) and severe (n=47) bruxism. Pain intensity was assessed using the Visual Analogical Scale, pain threshold with algometer, sleep quality by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, oral health by the Oral Health Impact Profile, anxiety by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, stress by the Perceived Stress Scale and depression using the Beck Depression Inventory. The significance level considered was 5%. Results: The results showed that individuals with severe bruxism presented greater muscle pain intensity, sleep disorder, worse oral health, high anxiety level and dysphoria with statistically significant differences (pObjetivo: Avaliar sintomas de dor muscular, qualidade de sono, saúde bucal, ansiedade, estresse e depressão em indivíduos com diferentes graus de severidade do bruxismo. Métodos: Setenta e dois indivíduos com bruxismo participaram do estudo e foram classificados com bruxismo moderado (n=25) e severo (n=47). A intensidade da dor foi avaliada pela Escala Visual Analógica, limiar de dor com o algômetro, qualidade de sono pelo Índice de Qualidade de Sono de Pittsburgh, saúde bucal pelo Perfil de Impacto de Saúde Bucal, ansiedade pelo Inventário de Ansiedade Traço-Estado, estresse pela Escala de Estresse Percebido e depressão pelo Inventário de Depressão de Beck. O nível de significância considerado foi 5%. Resultados: Os resultados demonstraram que indivíduos com bruxismo severo apresentaram maior intensidade de dor muscular, distúrbio do sono, pior qualidade de saúde bucal, elevado grau de ansiedade e disforia, com diferenças estatisticamente significantes (p;0,05). Conclusão: Os dados sugerem que indivíduos com bruxismo severo tem sintomas mais intensos. Eles apresentam maior intensidade de dor muscular, alterações na qualidade do sono e saúde bucal, ansiedade e depressão do que indivíduos com bruxismo moderado. Porém, ambos apresentam similaridade no estresse.Objetivo: Evaluar los síntomas dolor muscular, calidad de sueño, salud bucal, ansiedad, estrés y depresión en sujetos con diferentes niveles de gravedad del bruxismo. Método: Participaron del estudio 72 personas con bruxismo, clasificado según los niveles moderado (n=25) y grave (n=47). Se evaluaron la intensidad del dolor mediante la Escala Visual Analógica, umbral de dolor con algómetro, la calidad de sueño por el Índice de Calidad de Sueño de Pittsburgh, la salud bucal mediante el Perfil del Impacto de Salud Bucal, la ansiedad por el Inventario de Ansiedad Rasgo-Estado, el estrés mediante la Escala de Estrés Percibido y la depresión por el Inventario de Depresión de Beck. Se consideró el nivel de significación de 5%. Resultados: Los sujetos con bruxismo grave presentaron más intensamente dolor muscular, trastorno de sueño, peor calidad de salud bucal, alto grado de ansiedad y disforia, con diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p;0,05). Conclusión: Los datos mostraron que los sujetos con bruxismo grave sufren síntomas más intensos. A pesar de sufrir síntomas más intensos de dolor muscular, calidad de sueño y salud bucal alterada, ansiedad y depresión que los sujetos con bruxismo moderado, el estrés está presente en los dos niveles de bruxismo

Does rapid HIV disease progression prior to combination antiretroviral therapy hinder optimal CD4 + T-cell recovery once HIV-1 suppression is achieved?

Objective: This article compares trends in CD4+ T-cell recovery and proportions achieving optimal restoration (>=500 cells/µl) after viral suppression following combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation between rapid and nonrapid progressors. Methods: We included HIV-1 seroconverters achieving viral suppression within 6 months of cART. Rapid progressors were individuals experiencing at least one CD4+ less than 200 cells/µl within 12 months of seroconverters before cART. We used piecewise linear mixed models and logistic regression for optimal restoration. Results: Of 4024 individuals, 294 (7.3%) were classified as rapid progressors. At the same CD4+ T-cell count at cART start (baseline), rapid progressors experienced faster CD4+ T-cell increases than nonrapid progressors in first month [difference (95% confidence interval) in mean increase/month (square root scale): 1.82 (1.61; 2.04)], which reversed to slightly slower increases in months 1–18 [-0.05 (-0.06; -0.03)] and no significant differences in 18–60 months [-0.003 (-0.01; 0.01)]. Percentage achieving optimal restoration was significantly lower for rapid progressors than nonrapid progressors at months 12 (29.2 vs. 62.5%) and 36 (47.1 vs. 72.4%) but not at month 60 (70.4 vs. 71.8%). These differences disappeared after adjusting for baseline CD4+ T-cell count: odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.86 (0.61; 1.20), 0.90 (0.38; 2.17) and 1.56 (0.55; 4.46) at months 12, 36 and 60, respectively. Conclusion: Among people on suppressive antiretroviral therapy, rapid progressors experience faster initial increases of CD4+ T-cell counts than nonrapid progressors, but are less likely to achieve optimal restoration during the first 36 months after cART, mainly because of lower CD4+ T-cell counts at cART initiation