Precision mass measurements of magnesium isotopes and implications on the validity of the Isobaric Mass Multiplet Equation

If the mass excess of neutron-deficient nuclei and their neutron-rich mirror partners are both known, it can be shown that deviations of the Isobaric Mass Multiplet Equation (IMME) in the form of a cubic term can be probed. Such a cubic term was probed by using the atomic mass of neutron-rich magnesium isotopes measured using the TITAN Penning trap and the recently measured proton-separation energies of $^{29}$Cl and $^{30}$Ar. The atomic mass of $^{27}$Mg was found to be within 1.6$\sigma$ of the value stated in the Atomic Mass Evaluation. The atomic masses of $^{28,29}$Mg were measured to be both within 1$\sigma$, while being 8 and 34 times more precise, respectively. Using the $^{29}$Mg mass excess and previous measurements of $^{29}$Cl we uncovered a cubic coefficient of $d$ = 28(7) keV, which is the largest known cubic coefficient of the IMME. This departure, however, could also be caused by experimental data with unknown systematic errors. Hence there is a need to confirm the mass excess of $^{28}$S and the one-neutron separation energy of $^{29}$Cl, which have both come from a single measurement. Finally, our results were compared to ab initio calculations from the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group, resulting in a good agreement.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Public servant schools in Canada: A concept for reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has called on federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments of Canada to educate public servants about the history and legacy of Indian residential schools and related topics, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This article advances this call to action by conceptualizing “public servant schools” as government organizations that provide learning opportunities to public servants. The Canadian adult education literature, however, is largely silent on this topic, even though numerous examples can be found across branches and levels of governments within Canada. Drawing on material acquired through the Access to Information Act, this article breathes life into this topic by documenting the Canada School of Public Service and elements of its curriculum related to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Dual Sexual and Drug-related Predictors of Hepatitis C Incidence among Sex Workers in a Canadian Setting: Gaps and Opportunities for Scale-up of Hepatitis C Virus Prevention, Treatment, and Care

Background  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality globally. While sex workers may face elevated HCV risks through both drug and sexual pathways, incidence data among sex workers are severely lacking. HCV incidence and predictors of HCV seroconversion among women sex workers in Vancouver, BC were characterized in this study. Methods  Questionnaire and serological data were drawn from a community-based cohort of women sex workers (2010–2014). Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox regression were used to model HCV incidence and predictors of time to HCV seroconversion. Results  Among 759 sex workers, HCV prevalence was 42.7%. Among 292 baseline-seronegative sex workers, HCV incidence density was 3.84/100 person-years (PY), with higher rates among women using injection drugs (23.30/100 PY) and non-injection crack (6.27/100 PY), and those living with HIV (13.27/100 PY) or acute sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (5.10/100 PY). In Cox analyses adjusted for injection drug use, age (hazard ratio (HR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86–1.01), acute STI (HR 2.49, 95% CI 1.02–6.06), and non-injection crack use (HR 2.71, 95% CI 1.18–6.25) predicted time to HCV seroconversion. Discussion  While HCV incidence was highest among women who inject drugs, STIs and the use of non-injection stimulants appear to be pathways to HCV infection, suggesting potential dual sexual/drug transmission. Integrated HCV services within sexual health and HIV/STI programs are recommended

Avoiding a dystopian future for children's play

Describes the conflict between children's freedom to play and the quest for safety and makes recommendations for the future

The implementation of overdose prevention sites as a novel and nimble response during an illegal drug overdose public health emergency

Background Drug-related overdoses were declared a public health emergency in British Columbia, Canada in April, 2016 facilitating the scale-up of responses including rapid sanctioning and implementation of overdose prevention sites (OPSs). OPSs are a health service providing supervised injection and immediate overdose response. In BC, OPSs were operational within weeks of sanctioning. In the first year of operation over 20 OPSs were established with approximately 550,000 visits and no overdose deaths at any site. In this paper, we examine the implementation of OPSs as a novel and nimble response to prevent overdose deaths as a result of injection drug use. Methods A multiple case study design was used with the Consolidated Framework for Implementation (CFIR) informing the analysis. Three sites in a single city were included with each site constituting a case. In this paper, we focus on qualitative interviews with 15 staff and their perceptions of the implementation of the OPSs as well as provincial and local documents. Results The legislative process to implement OPSs was unprecedented as it sanctioned supervised injection services as an extraordinary measure under a declared public health emergency. Innovative and inclusionary practices were possible within state-sanctioned OPSs, as the sites were government-directed yet community-developed, with PWUD centred in service design, implementation and delivery. OPSs lack permanency and may be limited to the duration of the public health emergency. Conclusion The rapid implementation of OPSs provides an international example of an alternative to lengthy and often onerous sanctioning processes for supervised consumption services (SCSs). Overdose prevention sites provide an example of a novel service design and nimble implementation process that combines the benefits of state-sanctioned injection services with community-driven implementation. Such evidence questions the continued acceptability of governments’ restrictive sanctioning processes, which have limited expansion of SCSs internationally and the implementation of services that are not necessarily aligned with the needs of PWUD

Factors associated with long‐term antiretroviral therapy attrition among adolescents in rural Uganda: a retrospective study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138247/1/jia20841.pd

Sexual and reproductive health and human rights of women living with HIV

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138378/1/jia20834-sup-0001.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138378/2/jia20834.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138378/3/jia20834-sup-0002.pd

Avoiding a dystopian future for children's play

Describes the conflict between children's freedom to play and the quest for safety and makes recommendations for the future