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Sleep disturbances affect a wide range of age groups and practically every segment of society is profoundly affected by the absence of healthful patterns of sleep and wakefulness. It is now apparent that sleep disorders, disturbances of sleep, and sleep deprivation are major public health concerns. Recent estimates suggest that as many as 40 million people may suffer from chronic or intermittent disorders of sleep. Many of these people remain undiagnosed and untreated, the consequences of which include reduced productivity, lowered cognitive performance, increased likelihood of accidents, higher risk of morbidity and mortality and decreased quality of life.

The Human Learning and Behavior Branch (HLB) of the Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Developmental Neurology Branch (DNB) of the Division of Convulsive, Developmental, and Neuromuscular Disorders (DCDND) of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invite research grant applications to develop new knowledge in the areas of definition, classification, epidemiology, prevention (and preventive strategies), early intervention, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of children who display learning disabilities (LD) in component oral language abilities (phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics), reading (word attack skills, word recognition skills, reading comprehension), written expression abilities (spelling, composition), and mathematics (basic calculation skills, mathematical reasoning), and combinations and relationships among them (e.g., combined deficits in phonology, word attack skills, spelling behavior and mathematics). An emphasis should also be placed on identifying the distinctions and interrelationships (comorbidities) between well defined types of learning disabilities and other well defined disorders to include disorders of attention, oppositional/conduct disorders, genetic disorders affecting learning (e.g., Fragile X syndrome, Asperger"s syndrome, etc.). In addition, of significant interest are longitudinal studies of treatment effectiveness with children with LD who are well defined in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, SES, primary LD, comorbid LD, severity of disability, intensity and duration of any previous intervention(s), familial and/or genetic findings, intellectual status, cognitive-linguistic status, neuropsychological status, neurophysiological status, educational status, and social/behavioral competencies.

This request for applications (RFA) is designed to encourage research grant applications focusing on mechanisms (primarily molecular and genetic mechanisms) that underlie nutrient modulation of cellular repair processes and maintenance of cellular integrity. Research should be aimed at the normal processes involved in the effects of specific nutrients or their metabolites on cellular, genetic, and metabolic functions, as well as elucidation of defective mechanisms. This initiative should offer unique opportunities afforded by the basic sciences and new technologies (e.g., molecular biology, NMR, ESR, PET) to enrich nutrition science. Nutrition science supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) includes studies designed to assess the consequences of food or nutrient intake, utilization in the intact organism, and the metabolic and behavioral mechanisms involved. Further support is needed for studies of nutrient variables at the cellular and subcellular levels; elucidation of the metabolic functions of nutrients in both animal models and humans; examination of genetic-nutrient-environmental interactions; and ultimately, studies of the role of diet in the maintenance of health, and the prevention and treatment of disease.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announce a continuing interest in supporting ground-based studies of sensorimotor adaptation and multisensory integration focusing on such functions as posture, gait, and other limb and body spatially directed movements, in health, in disease, and in special gravito-inertial environments.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) encourage the submission of research grant applications to investigate the potential for gene therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Responses to this program announcement may include studies in appropriate animal models of gene replacement using viral vectors, myoblast transfer, or other means of dystrophin enhancement.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) announces the reissuance of a program announcement (originally published July 18, 1985) to notify the scientific community of continuing NINDS interest in the submission of research grant applications concerning neurogenetic disorders.

The objective of the RFA is to stimulate research on the development of effective technologies to assess the integrity and function of the developing brain in the human fetus and newborns. The long-term goal of this research is the identification of newborns with brain dysfunction due to early, repetitive or chronic intrauterine central nervous system (CNS) influences/insults, which may result in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy. Postnatally acquired and acute perinatal deficits are not within the scope of this RFA. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invite applications for studies in animals and/or humans that (1) elucidate the physiological parameters that would serve as reliable markers of central nervous system integrity/pathology; and (2) explore the development of technologies/clinical tools that might identify infants who have, or are at risk for, abnormal neurologic development or sudden death from prenatal insults.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, (NINDS) invite investigators to submit innovative research applications for the development or improvement of techniques focused on achieving successful human gene therapy for the treatment of metabolic diseases. The ultimate goal of this program is to extend the repertoire of diseases that can be successfully treated by gene therapy. The diseases of interest include disorders of cellular transport, disorders of lysosome metabolism, peroxisome metabolism, amino acid and organic acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, purine and pyrimidine metabolism, metal metabolism, lipid metabolism, and mucopolysaccharide metabolism. Many of these diseases require the ability to deliver DNA to diverse tissue types. This program will support regular research grants as well as limited feasibility studies for new, highly innovative aspects of gene therapy.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) through the Diagnostic Imaging Research Branch (DIRB) of the Radiation Research Program, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the Division of Stroke and Trauma, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) are seeking grant applications that will address new medical imaging database designs that focus on non-textual paradigms. The goal of medical imaging databases is to provide a means for organizing a large mass of heterogeneous, changing, pictorial, and symbolic data into a structured environment that can be synthesized, classified, and presented in an organized efficient manner to facilitate optimal decision making in a health care environment. A properly organized imaging database can compensate for human memory limitations and provide an environment for improved patient care, research, and education. Development of an effective and useful medical imaging database must take place in an interdisciplinary environment, using the medical knowledge from radiologists, radiation and medical oncologists, neurologists and other specialties in collaboration with the database research community and the imaging expertise of the computer and Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) sciences.

This Request for Applications (RFA) has been developed to encourage research on the standards and methods for identifying and characterizing optimal human fetal tissue for use in transplantation therapy. Joint funding by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) reflects the extent of interest in evaluating human fetal tissues and their biological potentials. Attention should be given to proper collection, processing, culturing and preserving these tissues to ensure highest quality control. This research should consider addressing methods for acquisition, handling, and processing, establishing morphologic status, determining developmental age and viability, assessing sterility and genetic normality, preserving by cryopreservation, storing and establishing cell lines. President Clinton's directive of January 22 ended the moratorium on Federal funding for use of fetal tissue from induced abortions in human transplantation research. Therefore, human fetal tissues studied under this solicitation may be derived from spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, or induced abortion.