WU Polyomavirus in Patients Infected with HIV or Hepatitis C Virus, Connecticut, USA, 2007

WU polyomavirus (WUPyV) was detected in 10 (8.3%) of 121 HIV-positive plasma specimens, 0 (0%) of 120 HIV-negative serum specimens, and 2 (2.5%) of 79 hepatitis C virus (HCV)–positive serum specimens. KI polyomavirus was not detected in HIV-positive plasma or HCV-positive serum specimens. HIV-infected persons may be susceptible to systemic WUPyV infection

Dissociable contributions of ventromedial prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex to value-guided choice

AbstractTwo long-standing traditions have highlighted cortical decision mechanisms in the parietal and prefrontal cortices of primates, but it has not been clear how these processes differ, or when each cortical region may influence behaviour. Recent data from ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) have suggested one possible axis on which the two decision processes might be delineated. Fast decisions may be resolved primarily by parietal mechanisms, whereas decisions made without time pressure may rely on prefrontal mechanisms. Here, we report direct evidence for such dissociation. During decisions under time pressure, a value comparison process was evident in PPC, but not in vmPFC. Value-related activity was still found in vmPFC under time pressure. However, vmPFC represented overall input value rather than compared output value. In contrast, when decisions were made without time pressure, vmPFC transitioned to encode a value comparison while value-related parameters were entirely absent from PPC. Furthermore, under time pressure, decision performance was primarily governed by PPC, while it was dominated by vmPFC at longer decision times. These data demonstrate that parallel cortical mechanisms may resolve the same choices in differing circumstances, and offer an explanation of the diverse neural signals reported in vmPFC and PPC during value-guided choice

Glutathione in calf trabecularmeshwork and its relation to aqueous humor outflow facility,”

Previous studies have shown that sulfhydryl reagents can alter the facility of aqueous humor outflow but little is known about the sulfhydryl constituents of the aqueous outflow system or the effect of oxidants upon outflow facility. In the present study the concentration of glutathione (GSH) was measured in excised calf trabecular meshwork (TM) and found to be 0.40 n mol/g wet wt (0.027 n mol/mg protein). Oxidized glutathione was not detectable in the tissue. TM was found to have significant hexose monophosphate shunt activity as determined by measurement of the oxidation of 14C-1 and 14C-6-labeled glucose in tissue homogenates. The concentration of GSH in TM of enucleated calf eyes could be totally depleted by infusion of medium containing both diamide, which is an oxidant of GSH, and l,3bis(2-chlorethyl)-l-nitrosourea (BCNU), which is an inhibitor of the enzyme glutathione reductase. The depletion of GSH was found to have no effect on the facility of aqueous outflow. Experiments were also done in which normal and TM GSH-depleted eyes were perfused with medium containing H202. Exposure to H202 produced no effect on outflow facility in the normal eyes but caused a 33% decrease in facility in eyes with the GSH-depleted TM. The results indicate that GSH may not participate directly in regulating aqueous humor outflow but is able to protect TM against H202-induced oxidative damage that would otherwise lead to a decrease in outflow facility. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 24:1283-1287, 1983 Anterior chamber perfusion studies have shown that the presence of sulfhydryl (-SH) reagents can alter the resistance to aqueous humor outflow, 1 " 3 which suggests that thiols present in the trabecular meshwork (TM) may be involved in modulating aqueous humor outflow resistance. One thiol that may be involved in this process is glutathione (GSH), which has been found to be present in a number of ocular tissues 4 " 6 but whose concentration has not been determined in TM. The present study was designed to determine the level of GSH present in calf TM and to investigate its function. In addition, since the hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS) is an integral part of GSH metabolism, 7 the presence of this pathway in TM was also investigated. Since our studies to be reported demonstrated the presence of GSH in TM, it was of interest to deplete the level of the tripeptide in TM of perfused calf eyes and study the effect on aqueous outflow facility. For this purpose advantage was taken of diamide that has been shown to be a relatively specific oxidant of GSH 8 and of l,3bis(2-chloroethyl)-l-nitrosourea (BCNU), which is a specific inhibitor of the enzyme glutathione reductase. 9 Of special importance was the possible interaction of GSH in TM with H202, an oxidant that has been found to be a normal constituent of aqueous humor in at least three species including man. " 12 Since aqueous humor is drained via the TM it is conceivable that oxidant stresses that exceed the capacity of TM for detoxification could result in cellular damage and subsequent alteration of aqueous humor outflow resistance. We report here on changes that occur in the facility of aqueous outflow in calf eyes when GSH-depleted TM is exposed to H202. Materials and Methods Calf eyes were obtained from Joseph T. Trelegan and Co. (Cambridge, MA). Shortly after the animals were killed by exsanguination the eyes were enucleated and placed in iced saline solution for transportation and use within 24 hrs. Lenses used in the study were from albino rabbits weighing between 1.8 and 2.2 kg

Observation of a multitude of correlated states at the surface of bulk 1T-TaSe2_2 crystals

The interplay between electron-electron interactions and structural ordering can yield exceptionally rich correlated electronic phases. We have used scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate bulk 1T-TaSe2 and have uncovered surprisingly diverse correlated surface states thereof. These surface states exhibit the same in-plane charge density wave ordering but dramatically different electronic ground states ranging from insulating to metallic. The insulating variety of surface state shows signatures of a decoupled surface Mott layer. The metallic surface states, on the other hand, exhibit zero-bias peaks of varying strength that suggest Kondo phases arising from coupling between the Mott surface layer and the metallic bulk of 1T-TaSe2. The surface of bulk 1T-TaSe2 thus constitutes a rare realization of the periodic Anderson model covering a wide parameter regime, thereby providing a model system for accessing different correlated phenomena in the same crystal. Our results highlight the central role played by strong correlations in this material family

Aerosol Absorption: Progress Towards Global and Regional Constraints

Some aerosols absorb solar radiation, altering cloud properties, atmospheric stability and circulation dynamics, and the water cycle. Here we review recent progress towards global and regional constraints on aerosol absorption from observations and modeling, considering physical properties and combined approaches crucial for understanding the total (natural and anthropogenic) influences of aerosols on the climate. We emphasize developments in black carbon absorption alteration due to coating and ageing, brown carbon characterization, dust composition, absorbing aerosol above cloud, source modeling and size distributions, and validation of high-resolution modeling against a range of observations. Both observations and modeling of total aerosol absorption, absorbing aerosol optical depths and single scattering albedo, as well as the vertical distribution of atmospheric absorption, still suffer from uncertainties and unknowns significant for climate applications. We offer a roadmap of developments needed to bring the field substantially forward

Response to "Toward Unified Satellite Climatology of Aerosol Properties. 3. MODIS Versus MISR Versus AERONET"

A recent paper by Mishchenko et al. compares near-coincident MISR, MODIS, and AERONET aerosol optical depth (AOD) products, and reports much poorer agreement than that obtained by the instrument teams and others. We trace the reasons for the discrepancies primarily to differences in (1) the treatment of outliers, (2) the application of absolute vs. relative criteria for testing agreement, and (3) the ways in which seasonally varying spatial distributions of coincident retrievals are taken into account

Does the Method of Biopsy Affect the Incidence of Sentinel Lymph Node Metastases?

More detailed examination of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) in breast cancer has raised concerns about the clinical significance of micrometastases, specifically isolated tumor cells detected only through immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. It has been suggested that these cells do not carry the same biologic implications as true metastatic foci and may represent artifact. A retrospective institutional review board-approved review was conducted on clinically node-negative breast cancer patients who underwent SLN biopsy (SLNB) between 1997 and 2003. Retrospective analysis of tumor characteristics and the method of the initial diagnostic biopsy were correlated with the presence and nature of metastatic disease in the SLN. Of 537 SLNBs, 123 (23%) were hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) positive. SLN positivity strongly correlated with tumor size (p < 0.001) and tumor grade (p = 0.025), but not with the method of biopsy (needle versus excisional biopsy). Prior to July 2002, we routinely evaluated H&E-negative SLNs with IHC ( n  = 381). Of the 291 H&E-negative patients, 26 had IHC-only detected micrometastases (9%). The likelihood of detecting IHC-only metastases did not correlate with tumor size or grade, but was significantly higher in patients undergoing excisional biopsy than core needle biopsy. While the method of biopsy has no demonstrable effect on the likelihood of finding metastases in the SLN by routine serial sectioning and H&E staining, it may significantly impact the likelihood of finding micrometastases by IHC. IHC should not be used routinely in the evaluation of the SLN and caution should be used when basing treatment decisions (completion axillary lymph node dissection or adjuvant therapy) on IHC-only detected micrometastases.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72849/1/j.1075-122X.2006.00179.x.pd

Does the Madden-Julian Oscillation influence aerosol variability?

We investigate the modulation of aerosols by the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) using multiple, global satellite aerosol products: aerosol index (AI) from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on Nimbus-7, and aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on NOAA satellites. A composite MJO analysis indicates that large variations in the TOMS AI and MODIS/AVHRR AOT are found over the equatorial Indian and western Pacific Oceans where MJO convection is active, as well as the tropical Africa and Atlantic Ocean where MJO convection is weak but the background aerosol level is high. A strong inverse linear relationship between the TOMS AI and rainfall anomalies, but a weaker, less coherent positive correlation between the MODIS/AVHRR AOT and rainfall anomalies, were found. The MODIS/AVHRR pattern is consistent with ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network data. These results indicate that the MJO and its associated cloudiness, rainfall, and circulation variability systematically influence the variability in remote sensing aerosol retrieval results. Several physical and retrieval algorithmic factors that may contribute to the observed aerosol-rainfall relationships are discussed. Preliminary analysis indicates that cloud contamination in the aerosol retrievals is likely to be a major contributor to the observed relationships, although we cannot exclude possible contributions from other physical mechanisms. Future research is needed to fully understand these complex aerosol-rainfall relationships

The extent and consequences of p-hacking in science

A focus on novel, confirmatory, and statistically significant results leads to substantial bias in the scientific literature. One type of bias, known as “p-hacking,” occurs when researchers collect or select data or statistical analyses until nonsignificant results become significant. Here, we use text-mining to demonstrate that p-hacking is widespread throughout science. We then illustrate how one can test for p-hacking when performing a meta-analysis and show that, while p-hacking is probably common, its effect seems to be weak relative to the real effect sizes being measured. This result suggests that p-hacking probably does not drastically alter scientific consensuses drawn from meta-analyses