Developing interventions to address sexuality after stroke: Findings from a four-panel modified delphi study

© 2019 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information. Background: Although stroke has a profound impact on sexuality there are limited evidence-based interventions to support rehabilitation professionals in this area. The aim of the current research was to prioritize content areas and approaches to sexual rehabilitation from the perspective of stroke survivors, their partners, stroke rehabilitation clinicians and researchers. Methods: A 2-step online Delphi method was used to prioritize the content of, and approaches to, sexual rehabilitation with stroke survivors, their partners, stroke rehabilitation clinicians and researchers. Results: Stroke survivors (n=30), their partners (n=18), clinicians and researchers in stroke rehabilitation (n=45) completed at least 1 of 2 investigator-developed surveys. Participants prioritized 18 core content areas for inclusion in sexual rehabilitation following stroke with a high degree of consensus. Another 27 content areas were considered moderately important. There was strong consensus that sexual rehabilitation should be offered in the subacute and chronic phases of stroke recovery. Participants would prefer health professionals to deliver the intervention face-to-face. Conclusion: This study presents opinions from stroke survivors, partners of stroke survivors, clinicians and researchers. The information about content, timing and mode of delivery will be used to develop and evaluate a comprehensive sexuality rehabilitation programme

A High-Resolution Combined Scanning Laser- and Widefield Polarizing Microscope for Imaging at Temperatures from 4 K to 300 K

Polarized light microscopy, as a contrast-enhancing technique for optically anisotropic materials, is a method well suited for the investigation of a wide variety of effects in solid-state physics, as for example birefringence in crystals or the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). We present a microscopy setup that combines a widefield microscope and a confocal scanning laser microscope with polarization-sensitive detectors. By using a high numerical aperture objective, a spatial resolution of about 240 nm at a wavelength of 405 nm is achieved. The sample is mounted on a $^4$He continuous flow cryostat providing a temperature range between 4 K and 300 K, and electromagnets are used to apply magnetic fields of up to 800 mT with variable in-plane orientation and 20 mT with out-of-plane orientation. Typical applications of the polarizing microscope are the imaging of the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization via the longitudinal and polar MOKE, imaging of magnetic flux structures in superconductors covered with a magneto-optical indicator film via Faraday effect or imaging of structural features, such as twin-walls in tetragonal SrTiO$_3$. The scanning laser microscope furthermore offers the possibility to gain local information on electric transport properties of a sample by detecting the beam-induced voltage change across a current-biased sample. This combination of magnetic, structural and electric imaging capabilities makes the microscope a viable tool for research in the fields of oxide electronics, spintronics, magnetism and superconductivity.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures. The following article has been accepted by Review of Scientific Instruments. After it is published, it will be found at http://aip.scitation.org/journal/rs

Theory and design of quantum cascade lasers in (111) n-type Si/SiGe

Although most work towards the realization of group IV quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) has focused on valence band transitions, there are many desirable properties associated with the conduction band. We show that the commonly cited shortcomings of n-type Si/SiGe heterostructures can be overcome by moving to the (111) growth direction. Specifically, a large band offset and low effective mass are achievable and subband degeneracy is preserved. We predict net gain up to lattice temperatures of 90 K in a bound-to-continuum QCL with a double-metal waveguide, and show that a Ge interdiffusion length of at least 8 Å across interfaces is tolerable

The majority of re-activatable latent HIV proviruses are genetically distinct with no evidence of ongoing evolution

Background Two mechanisms have been proposed to contribute in to the maintenance of the HIV latent reservoir: homeostatic proliferation of latently infected cells and low level viral replication in the lymphoid tissue. Here we studied the sequences of reactivatable latent viruses obtained from a stably treated patient to assess the importance of these mechanisms. Methods Resting CD4+ T cells were isolated at regular intervals from the patient, underwent limiting dilution, were activated and then co-cultured with SupT1-CCR5 cells for 21 days. The supernatant was harvested for viral RNA. Regions in gag and env were analysed by Sanger sequencing. To control for artefacts from culture and sequencing, SupT1-CCR5 cells were infected with NL4-3 and underwent the same limiting dilution, culture, and sequencing processes. Pairwise comparisons were performed to obtain p-distances. Each pair of patient derived viral sequences was considered distinct if the p-distance was higher than that of the corresponding region of the sequences from NL4-3 infected SupT1-CCR5 cells. To seek evidence of viral evolution, a consensus was created from the viral sequences obtained from the first sample and sequences from samples obtained subsequently were compared against this baseline consensus. Results We obtained 32 sequences of reactivated latent viruses from a single patient. 18 distinct sequences could be distinguished from the gag region. The remaining 14 sequences segregated into five groups. However, when the env regions of these 14 sequences were analysed, only one ‘clonal’ group of two sequences remained. 30/32 reactivated latent viruses were distinct. If the threshold p-distance for two sequences to be considered distinct was set at the maximal (rather than average) p-distance observed in the reference set, 26/32 of reactivated latent viruses would still be considered distinct. We have not observed any increase in p-distances over 28 weeks of sampling compared to the baseline samples to suggest of accumulation of mutations. Conclusion Our results show that the majority of reactivatable latent viruses are genetically distinct. Persistent viral evolution was not observed in the latent reservoir harboured in peripheral blood resting CD4+ T cells in this stably treated patient

A method to estimate the efficiency of gene expression from an integrated retroviral vector

BACKGROUND: Proviral gene expression is a critical step in the retroviral life cycle and an important determinant in the efficiency of retrovirus based gene therapy vectors. There is as yet no method described that can assess the efficiency of proviral gene expression while vigorously excluding the contribution from unstable species such as passively transferred plasmid and LTR circles. Here, we present a method that can achieve this. RESULTS: Proviral gene expression was detected by the activity of the puromycin resistance gene encoded in the viral vector, and quantified by comparing the growth curve of the sample under puromycin selection to that of a series of calibration cultures. Reproducible estimates of the efficiency of proviral gene expression could be derived. We confirm that contamination from unstable species such as passively transferred plasmid used in viral vector production and unintegrated viral DNA can seriously confound estimates of the efficiency of transduction. This can be overcome using a PCR based on limiting dilution analysis. CONCLUSION: A simple, low cost method was developed that should be useful in studying the biology of retroviruses and for the development of expression systems for retrovirus based gene therapy

The structural invisibility of outsiders: the role of migrant labour in the meat-processing industry

This article examines the role of migrant workers in meat-processing factories in the UK. Drawing on materials from mixed methods research in a number of case study towns across Wales, we explore the structural and spatial processes that position migrant workers as outsiders. While state policy and immigration controls are often presented as a way of protecting migrant workers from work-based exploitation and ensuring jobs for British workers, our research highlights that the situation ‘on the ground’ is more complex. We argue that ‘self-exploitation’ among the migrant workforce is linked to the strategies of employers and the organisation of work, and that hyper-flexible work patterns have reinforced the spatial and social invisibilities of migrant workers in this sector. While this creates problems for migrant workers, we conclude that it is beneficial to supermarkets looking to supply consumers with the regular supply of cheap food to which they have become accustomed

Exhaust System Gas-Dynamics in Internal Combustion Engines

ABSTRACT The sensitivity of engine performance to gas-dynamic phenomena in the exhaust system has been known for around 100 years but is still relatively poorly understood. The nonlinearity of the wave-propagation behaviour renders simple empirical approaches ineffective, even in a single-cylinder engine. The adoption of analytical tools such as engine-cyclesimulation codes has enabled greater understanding of the tuning mechanisms but for multi-cylinder engines has required the development of accurate models for pipe junctions. The present work examines the propagation of pressure waves through pipe junctions using shock-tube rigs in order to validate a computational model. Following this the effects of exhaustsystem gas dynamics on engine performance are discussed using the results from an engine-cycle-simulation program based on the equations of one-dimensional compressible fluid flow. NOMENCLATURE a speed of sound c propagation speed p pressure u particle speed κ ratio of speed heats Subscripts 0 conditions in undisturbed ga