Risky Decision Making Assessed With the Gambling Task in Adults with HIV

Decision making was assessed using a laboratory gambling task in 67 adults with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV+) and in 19 HIV-seronegative (HIV−) control participants. Neurocognitive test performance across several domains was also analyzed to examine potential cognitive mechanisms of gambling task performance. As predicted, the HIV+ group performed worse on the gambling task, indicating greater risky decision making. Specifically, the HIV+ group selected more cards from the “risky” or disadvantageous deck that included relatively large payoffs but infrequent large penalties. The control group also selected such risky cards but quickly learned to avoid them. Exploratory analyses also indicated that in the HIV+ group, but not in the control group, gambling task performance was correlated with Stroop Interference performance and long delay free recall on the California Verbal Learning Test, suggesting the role of inhibitory processes and verbal memory in the poorer gambling task performance in HIV. These findings indicate the usefulness of the gambling task as a laboratory tool to examine risky decision making and cognition in the HIV population

Sensation Seeking and Visual Selective Attention in Adults with HIV/AIDS

The association between sensation seeking and visual selective attention was examined in 31 adults with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Sensation seeking was measured with Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS-V). Selective attention was assessed with a perceptual span task, where a target letter-character must be identified in a quickly presented array of nontarget letter-characters. As predicted, sensation seeking was strongly associated (R2 = .229) with perceptual span performance in the array size 12 condition, where selective attention demands were greatest, but not in the easier conditions. The Disinhibition, Boredom Susceptibility, and Experience Seeking subscales of the SSS-V were associated with span performance. It is argued that personality factors such as sensation seeking may play a significant role in selective attention and related cognitive abilities in HIV positive adults. Furthermore, sensation seeking differences might explain certain inconsistencies in the HIV neuropsychology literature

The impact of smart grid technology on dielectrics and electrical insulation

Delivery of the Smart Grid is a topic of considerable interest within the power industry in general, and the IEEE specifically. This paper presents the smart grid landscape as seen by the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS) Technical Committee on Smart Grids. We define the various facets of smart grid technology, and present an examination of the impacts on dielectrics within power assets. Based on the trajectory of current research in the field, we identify the implications for asset owners and operators at both the device level and the systems level. The paper concludes by identifying areas of dielectrics and insulation research required to fully realize the smart grid concept. The work of the DEIS is fundamental to achieving the goals of a more active, self-managing grid

Transition from Fireball to Poynting-flux-dominated Outflow in Three-Episode GRB 160625B

The ejecta composition is an open question in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) physics. Some GRBs possess a quasi-thermal spectral component in the time-resolved spectral analysis, suggesting a hot fireball origin. Others show a featureless non-thermal spectrum known as the "Band" function, consistent with a synchrotron radiation origin and suggesting that the jet is Poynting-flux-dominated at the central engine and likely in the emission region as well. There are also bursts showing a sub-dominant thermal component and a dominant synchrotron component suggesting a likely hybrid jet composition. Here we report an extraordinarily bright GRB 160625B, simultaneously observed in gamma-rays and optical wavelengths, whose prompt emission consists of three isolated episodes separated by long quiescent intervals, with the durations of each "sub-burst" being $\sim$ 0.8 s, 35 s, and 212 s, respectively. Its high brightness (with isotropic peak luminosity L$_{\rm p, iso}\sim 4\times 10^{53}$ erg/s) allows us to conduct detailed time-resolved spectral analysis in each episode, from precursor to main burst and to extended emission. The spectral properties of the first two sub-bursts are distinctly different, allowing us to observe the transition from thermal to non-thermal radiation between well-separated emission episodes within a single GRB. Such a transition is a clear indication of the change of jet composition from a fireball to a Poynting-flux-dominated jet.Comment: Revised version reflecting the referees' comments. 27 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables. The final edited version will appear in Nature Astronom

The Insulation of HVDC Extruded Cable System Joints. Part 2: Proposal of a New AC Voltage PD Measurement Protocol for Quality Control during Routine Tests

The review of materials, design and testing of joints for HVDC extruded cable systems provided in previous Part 1 paved the way to this Part 2 position paper by the DEIS HVDC Cable Systems Technical Committee, whose aim is to remedy the scarcity of existing standardized tests on joints. After a sound analysis, here routine tests are identified as the first practical target for the onset of new testing procedures, AC-PD measurements as the readily-available measurement from manufacturers’ experience for quality control of joints during routine tests and VHF/UHF wireless sensors as the best tool for such measurements in the noisy environment of factories. Thereby, a novel protocol for PD measurement using AC voltages and VHF/UHF electromagnetic sensors, for quality control during routine tests on HVDC extruded joints, is proposed

The Insulation of HVDC Extruded Cable System Joints. Part 1: Review of Materials, Design and Testing Procedures

This position paper by the DEIS HVDC Cable Systems Technical Committee provides a review of existing diagnostic electrical and dielectric techniques for testing the insulation of polymeric extruded HVDC cable joints in the present Part 1. Here, the state of the art on the insulation of HVDC extruded cable system joints is covered with reference to types, design and testing techniques. This helps to identify routine tests as the first target for the onset of new testing procedures, AC-PD measurements as the readily-available measurement from manufacturers' practices for quality control of the insulation of accessories during routine tests and VHF/UHF wireless sensors as the best tool for performing such measurements on joints in the noisy factory environment. Thereby, a novel protocol for the measurement of partial discharges using AC voltages and VHF/UHF sensors, for quality control during routine tests on such joints, is derived in the next Part 2. This protocol is the main novelty of this investigation

2D MR Spectroscopy Combined with Prior-Knowledge Fitting Is Sensitive to HCV-Associated Cerebral Metabolic Abnormalities

There is an evidence of neurocognitive dysfunction even in the absence of advanced liver disease in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Brain metabolism has been investigated non-invasively using one-dimensional (1D) in vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) over three decades. Even though highly concentrated cerebral metabolites (N-acetylaspartate, creatine, choline, glutamate/glutamine, myo-inositol) have been detected using MRS, other metabolites at low concentrations (~1–3 mM or less) including glutathione, aspartate and GABA are quite difficult to observe using 1D MRS. In order to resolve overlapping resonances from a number of metabolites, a remedy is to add a second spectral dimension to the existing 1D MRS. Localized two-dimensional correlated spectroscopy (L-COSY) has been developed over the last decade to enhance the spectral dispersion by using the second spectral dimension. We have evaluated this L-COSY technique in the frontal white/gray matter regions of 14 HCV+ (mean age of 56.2 years) and 14 HCV− (mean age of 46.6 years) subjects. Our preliminary results showed significantly increased myo-inositol and glutathione in the HCV+ compared to the HCV− subjects. Hence, glutathione and myo-inositol should be considered along with other metabolites as important markers of inflammation

An Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme Mutation (Y465D) Causes a Dramatic Increase in Blood ACE via Accelerated ACE Shedding

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) metabolizes a range of peptidic substrates and plays a key role in blood pressure regulation and vascular remodeling. Thus, elevated ACE levels may be associated with an increased risk for different cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. Previously, a striking familial elevation in blood ACE was explained by mutations in the ACE juxtamembrane region that enhanced the cleavage-secretion process. Recently, we found a family whose affected members had a 6-fold increase in blood ACE and a Tyr465Asp (Y465D) substitution, distal to the stalk region, in the N domain of ACE.HEK and CHO cells expressing mutant (Tyr465Asp) ACE demonstrate a 3- and 8-fold increase, respectively, in the rate of ACE shedding compared to wild-type ACE. Conformational fingerprinting of mutant ACE demonstrated dramatic changes in ACE conformation in several different epitopes of ACE. Cell ELISA carried out on CHO-ACE cells also demonstrated significant changes in local ACE conformation, particularly proximal to the stalk region. However, the cleavage site of the mutant ACE--between Arg1203 and Ser1204--was the same as that of WT ACE. The Y465D substitution is localized in the interface of the N-domain dimer (from the crystal structure) and abolishes a hydrogen bond between Tyr465 in one monomer and Asp462 in another.The Y465D substitution results in dramatic increase in the rate of ACE shedding and is associated with significant local conformational changes in ACE. These changes could result in increased ACE dimerization and accessibility of the stalk region or the entire sACE, thus increasing the rate of cleavage by the putative ACE secretase (sheddase)

Clash of Titans: A MUSE dynamical study of the extreme cluster merger SPT-CL J0307-6225

We present MUSE spectroscopy, Megacam imaging, and Chandra X-ray emission for SPT-CL J0307-6225, a z = 0.58 major merging galaxy cluster with a large BCG-SZ centroid separation and a highly disturbed X-ray morphology. The galaxy density distribution shows two main overdensities with separations of 0.144 and 0.017 arcmin to their respective BCGs. We characterize the central regions of the two colliding structures, namely 0307-6225N and 0307-6225S, finding velocity derived masses of M200, N = 2.44 ± 1.41 × 1014M⊙ and M200, S = 3.16 ± 1.88 × 1014M⊙, with a line-of-sight velocity difference of |Δv| = 342 km s-1. The total dynamically derived mass is consistent with the SZ derived mass of 7.63 h70-1 ± 1.36 × 1014M⊙. We model the merger using the Monte Carlo Merger Analysis Code, estimating a merging angle of 36+14-12 ° with respect to the plane of the sky. Comparing with simulations of a merging system with a mass ratio of 1:3, we find that the best scenario is that of an ongoing merger that began 0.96+0.31-0.18 Gyr ago. We also characterize the galaxy population using Hδand [O ii] λ3727 Å lines. We find that most of the emission-line galaxies belong to 0307-6225S, close to the X-ray peak position with a third of them corresponding to red-cluster sequence galaxies, and the rest to blue galaxies with velocities consistent with recent periods of accretion. Moreover, we suggest that 0307-6225S suffered a previous merger, evidenced through the two equally bright BCGs at the centre with a velocity difference of ∼674 km s-1

Blue-space availability, environmental quality and amenity use across contrasting socioeconomic contexts

Over 60% of the global population are expected to live in urban areas by 2050. Urban blue spaces are critical for biodiversity, provide a range of ecosystem services, and can promote human health and wellbeing. Despite this, access to blue space is often unequally distributed across socioeconomic gradients, and the availability of quality blue space could extend to environmental justice issues. Three stages of analysis were carried out in Mexico City, Mexico and Bristol, UK to (i) assess associations between blue space and socioeconomic metrics at a regional scale, (ii) apply a rapid assessment tool to assess amenity, access and environmental quality, (iii) consider local quality across socioeconomic gradients at a regional scale. Still water availability was indicative of higher socioeconomic status, but contrasting city evolutions underpinned differences. Locally, there were environmental gradients from more complex to disturbed habitats that influenced potential wellbeing and amenity benefits. In combination, this may exacerbate inequalities and risk increasing ecosystem disservices. If cities are to be socially, and environmentally resilient to higher levels of disturbance in the future, healthy ecosystems will be key. However, further research is needed to address various dimensions of injustice in urban areas beyond blue space distribution