Using Incentives to Increase HIV/AIDS Testing by Sex Workers: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in China

Can incentives increase the use of HIV/AIDS testing in criminalized populations? Lawbreakers engaged in activities that place them at heightened risk of HIV/AIDS infection fear that engaging with the state to request an HIV test could increase their likelihood of incurring sanctions for violating the law. This article reports on a randomized field experiment that evaluates whether material incentives can spur lawbreakers to seek state assistance. Sex workers in Beijing, China, were randomly assigned to receive an in‐kind incentive equivalent to $1 (control group) or$15 (treatment group) for getting an HIV test. Fifteen dollars corresponds to the average amount a sex worker in the study might earn for one sexual transaction, and about 3 percent of her monthly earnings. The larger incentive increased HIV/AIDS testing rates by forty‐two percentage points, on average. Both low‐tier sex workers, who solicit on the streets and in brothels, and those in the middle tier, who work in karaoke bars and clubs, responded strongly to the large incentive. In addition, the large incentive was effective regardless of whether or not respondents were aware that prostitution is against the law. These findings suggest that modest incentives can have important effects among criminalized populations in authoritarian settings

Tunable transform-limited pulse generation using self-injection locking of an FP laser

Wavelength-tunable, near transform-limited pulses have been generated using a Fabry-Perot laser diode coupled to a fiber loop containing a fiber Fabry-Perot resonator (FFPR) and a polarization controller. The ratio of transmitted to reflected light from the loop can be adjusted using the polarization controller. Single-mode operation of the gain-switched laser is achieved by self-injection locking, which is induced by light reflected from the fiber loop. The resulting output pulse has a time-bandwidth product of 0.4 and is tunable over about 15 nm by varying the tuning voltage of the FFPR

A high-speed optical star network using TDMA and all-optical demultiplexing techniques

The authors demonstrate the use of time-division multiplexing (TDM) to realize a high capacity optical star network. The fundamental element of the demonstration network is a 10 ps, wavelength tunable, low jitter, pulse source. Electrical data is encoded onto three optical pulse trains, and the resultant low duty cycle optical data channels are multiplexed together using 25 ps fiber delay lines. This gives an overall network capacity of 40 Gb/s. A nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) is used to carry out the demultiplexing at the station receiver. The channel to be switched out can be selected by adjusting the phase of the electrical signal used to generate the control pulses for the NOLM. By using external injection into a gain-switched distributed feedback (DFB) laser we are able to obtain very low jitter control pulses of 4-ps duration (RMS jitter <1 ps) after compression of the highly chirped gain switched pulses in a normal dispersive fiber. This enables us to achieve excellent eye openings for the three demultiplexed channels. The difficulty in obtaining complete switching of the signal pulses is presented. This is shown to be due to the deformation of the control pulse in the NOLM (caused by the soliton effect compression). The use of optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM) with all-optical switching devices is shown to be an excellent method to allow us to exploit as efficiently as possible the available fiber bandwidth, and to achieve very high bit-rate optical networks

Hierarchies of Race and Gender in the French Colonial Empire, 1914–1946

This article looks at French Indochina, metropolitan France, and French West Africa from 1914 through 1946 to illustrate specific ways in which French colonial authority operated across the French empire. We look at how colonized people challenged the complex formal and informal hierarchies of race, class, and gender that French administrators and colonizers sought to impose upon them. We argue that both the French imperial prerogatives and colonized peoples\u27 responses to them are revealed through directly comparing and contrasting various locales across the empire. Our case studies explore interracial families and single white women seeking compensation from the French in Indochina, black men de ning their masculinity, and Africans debating women\u27s suffrage rights

Expérimentation numérique pour l'aide à la spécification de la microstructure et des propriétés mécaniques d'un superalliage base Ni pour des applications moteurs

An optimization loop allowing the optimization of the thermal treatment toward the fatigue life of the turbine disk in PM Ni-base superalloy N18 is built. This loop is constituted of three finite elements calculations and one post-processing of the fatigue life. The first calculation is a thermal calculation which allows the determination of the evolution of the temperature in each point of the disk. The second one is a calculation of the precipitation, which gives the microstructural parameters, i.e. the volume fraction and the size of the different population of precipitates. The third one is the calculation of the mechanical response of the disc to the service loading. The behavior in each Gauss point is a function of the microstructural parameters deduced from the second calculation. To build this loop, a model of precipitation was implemented in ZeBuLoN code and recalibrated for coarse grained N18. Moreover the influence of the intragranular microstructure on the fatigue behaviour was studied through specific mechanical tests performed at 450°C. This study shown the fatigue life function is a priori no dependant from the intragranular microstructure. But it has a very strong influence on the yield stress, which has a direct impact on the mean stress at the stabilised cycle. And the mean stress is one of the key parameters for the fatigue resistance of the material. A multiscale model was built to account for the role of the fine microstructure on the fatigue behaviour. The optimization loop is built with a phenomenological model and shows that a slower cooling, leading to a lower yield stress at the critical point of the disk allows to enhance the fatigue life. Meanwhile, the resistance to brsting also constitutes a major criterion for the design of the disc and this one requires a good mechanical resistance of the material.Une boucle d'optimisation permettant d'optimiser le traitement thermique vis-à-vis de la durée de vie en fatigue d'un disque de turbine haute pression en superalliage à base de nickel N18 a été construite. Cette boucle comporte trois calculs par éléments finis et un post-processing de la durée de vie. Le premier calcul est un calcul thermique qui permet de déterminer l'évolution de la température au cours du traitement thermique en tout point du disque. Le second est un calcul de microstructure qui donne les paramètres microstructuraux, c'est-à-dire le rayon équivalent et la fraction volumique des différentes populations de précipités, en fonction de l'évolution de la température simulée lors du premier calcul. Le troisième calcul consiste à obtenir la réponse mécanique du disque à la sollicitation qu'il subit en service, le comportement en chaque point de Gauss étant dépendant des paramètres microstructuraux résultant du traitement thermique. Afin de construire cette boucle, un modèle de précipitation a été implémenté dans le code ZeBuLoN et calibré pour le N18 à gros grains. De plus, l'influence de la microstructure fine sur le comportement et la résistance en fatigue a été étudiée au moyen d'essais mécaniques spécifiques conduits à 450°C. Ces essais ont montré que la microstructure intragranulaire n'a a priori pas d'influence sur la fonction de durée de vie développée pour les matériaux pour disque. Mais elle a par contre une influence très importante sur la limite d'élasticité du matériau, qui a elle-même une influence directe sur la contrainte moyenne au cycle stabilisé. Et la contrainte moyenne est l'un des paramètres clés gouvernant la résistance en fatigue du matériau. Un modèle multiéchelle a par ailleurs été construit afin de mieux comprendre le rôle de la microstructure fine sur le comportement en fatigue. La boucle d'optimisation intègre un modèle phénoménologique et montre qu'un refroidissement plus lent, aboutissant à une limite d'élasticité plus basse au point critique du disque, permet d'allonger la durée de vie. Cependant, la tenue à l'éclatement constitue aussi un critère dimensionnant du disque et celle-ci requiert quant à elle une bonne résistance mécanique du matériau

Identification and functional response of interstitial Cajal-like cells from rat mesenteric artery

Cells with irregular shapes, numerous long thin filaments, and morphological similarities to the gastrointestinal interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) have been observed in the wall of some blood vessels. These ICC-like cells (ICC-LCs) do not correspond to the other cell types present in the arterial wall: smooth muscle cells (SMCs), endothelial cells, fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, or pericytes. However, no clear physiological role has as yet been determined for ICC-LCs in the vascular wall. The aim of this study has been to identify and characterize the functional response of ICC-LCs in rat mesenteric arteries. We have observed ICC-LCs and identified them morphologically and histologically in three different environments: isolated artery, freshly dispersed cells, and primary-cultured cells from the arterial wall. Like ICCs but unlike SMCs, ICC-LCs are positively stained by methylene blue. Cells morphologically resembling methylene-blue-positive cells are also positive for the ICC and ICC-LC markers α-smooth muscle actin and desmin. Furthermore, the higher expression of vimentin in ICC-LCs compared with SMCs allows a clear discrimination between these two cell types. At the functional level, the differences observed in the variations of cytosolic free calcium concentration of freshly dispersed SMCs and ICC-LCs in response to a panel of vasoactive molecules show that ICC-LCs, unlike SMCs, do not respond to exogenous ATP and [Arginine]8-vasopressi

The involvement of beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase and N-acetylglucosamine residues in fertilization has been lost in the horse

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In human and rodents, sperm-zona pellucida binding is mediated by a sperm surface Galactosyltransferase that recognizes N-Acetylglucosamine residues on a glycoprotein ZPC. In large domestic mammals, the role of these molecules remains unclear: in bovine, they are involved in sperm-zona pellucida binding, whereas in porcine, they are not necessary. Our aim was to clarify the role of Galactosyltransferase and N-Acetylglucosamine residues in sperm-zona pellucida binding in ungulates. For this purpose, we analyzed the mechanism of sperm-zona pellucida interaction in a third ungulate: the horse, since the Galactosyltransferase and N-Acetylglucosamine residues have been localized on equine gametes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We masked the Galactosyltransferase and N-Acetylglucosamine residues before the co-incubation of gametes. Galactosyltransferase was masked either with an anti-Galactosyltransferase antibody or with the enzyme substrate, UDP Galactose. N-Acetylglucosamine residues were masked either with a purified Galactosyltransferase or with an anti-ZPC antibody.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>The number of spermatozoa bound to the zona pellucida did not decrease after the masking of Galactosyltransferase or N-Acetylglucosamine. So, these two molecules may not be necessary in the mechanism of in vitro sperm-zona pellucida interaction in the horse.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The involvement of Galactosyltransferase and N-Acetylglucosamine residues in sperm-zona pellucida binding may have been lost during evolution in some ungulates, such as porcine and equine species.</p

Influence of y' precipitate-size and distribution on LCF behavior of a PM disk superalloy

International audienceThe influence of γ' precipitate distribution on tensile and low cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviors of a powder metallurgy (PM) disk superalloy was investigated at 450°C. Four γ' particle distributions were obtained through various cooling paths and/or aging treatments in coarse grain size superalloy N18. The mechanical tests show that the main influence of the intragranular microstructure concerns the 0.2% yield stress (0.2%YS) and the ultimate tensile stress. Wide variations of the 0.2%YS affect the mean stress under non symmetrical loading but have only little effect on fatigue life, the lower the 0.2%YS, the longer the fatigue life. The fatigue life of N18 at 450°C is independent of the intragranular microstructure as long as the mean stress effect is correctly taken into account. As expected with the coarse grain size N18, no crack initiation at pores or inclusions was observed. A precipitation model was coupled with a critical resolved shear stress calculation providing 0.2%YS value for a given heat treatment sequence. Finally, this computation procedure was implemented in a numerical modeling of the LCF life of a disk taking into account the heat treatment applied to its wrought preform

Antiproliferative effect of the histone demethylase inhibitor GSK-J4 in chondrosarcomas

International audienceChondrosarcoma (CS) is the second most common malignant bone sarcoma. Its treatment remains an issue, because this tumor is radio- and chemo-resistant. In the present study, we investigated the antitumoral potential of GSK-J4, a small molecule described as an inhibitor of histone demethylases UTX and JMJD3 (KDM6A and KDM6B), alone or in combination with cisplatin in CSs. Human CS-derived cell lines were treated with GSK-J4 in the presence or not of cisplatin. Survival curves were established and cell proliferation and cycle were evaluated by flow cytometry using dividing cell tracking technique utilizing carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester labeling, or DNA staining by propidium iodide. Apoptosis and senescence were also investigated. GSK-J4 decreased proliferation of CS cells. Additionally, it induced apoptosis in CH2879 and JJ012 cells, but not in SW1353 CSs. In addition, its association with cisplatin decreased cell proliferation more than drugs alone, whereas it did not increase apoptosis compared to cisplatin alone. Interestingly, GSK-J4 alone as well as in association with cisplatin did not affect chondrocyte survival or proliferation. In conclusion, this study suggests that demethylase inhibitors may be useful in improving therapy for CS in reducing its proliferation

Connexins and M3 muscarinic receptors contribute to heterogeneous Ca(2+) signaling in mouse aortic endothelium.

Smooth muscle tone is controlled by Ca(2+) signaling in the endothelial layer. Mouse endothelial cells are interconnected by gap junctions made of Connexin40 (Cx40) and Cx37, which allow the exchange of signaling molecules to coordinate their activity. Here, we investigated the role of Cx40 in the endothelial Ca(2+) signaling of the mouse aorta. Ca(2+) imaging was performed on intact aortic endothelium from both wild type (Cx40+/+) and Connexin40-deficient (Cx40 -/-) mice. Acetylcholine (ACh) induced early fast and high amplitude Ca(2+) transients in a fraction of endothelial cells expressing the M3 muscarinic receptors. Inhibition of intercellular communication using carbenoxolone or octanol fully blocked the propagation of ACh-induced Ca(2+) transients toward adjacent cells in WT and Cx40-/- mice. As compared to WT, Cx40-/- mice displayed a reduced propagation of ACh-induced Ca(2+) waves, indicating that Cx40 contributes to the spreading of Ca(2+) signals. The propagation of those Ca(2+) responses was not blocked by suramin, a blocker of purinergic ATP receptors, indicating that there is no paracrine effect of ATP release on the Ca(2+) waves. Altogether our data show that Cx40 and Cx37 contribute to the propagation and amplification of the Ca(2+) signaling triggered by ACh in endothelial cells expressing the M3 muscarinic receptors