Provision of psychosocial support for young people living with HIV: voices from the field

This review provides a synthesis of the experiences of organisations providing psychosocial support for young people living with HIV (YPLHIV) from throughout the world. Little research exists on psychosocial support for YPLHIV, with many providers uncertain about how to address their complex needs. Eighty-six organisations were sent a survey containing 15 semi-structured, open-ended questions. Sixty-eight organisations from the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East responded. The survey asked what challenges the organisation’s patient group face; what the organisational aims are; how, where and by whom psychosocial support is delivered; what types of psychosocial support have been effective and which have not; and what recommendations the organisation has for service provision and policy.Data were stratified by age of population, region of the world and whether youth were infected at birth or in adolescence. The problems and needs across groups were more consistent than disparate. Adherence to medication, disclosure of HIV status, issues relating to sex and lack of support networks are problems faced by all YPLHIV. Most organisations use a multi-disciplinary team of individuals to meet these needs, with particular emphasis on individual and group therapy, educational support, and skills-building programmes. The review stresses the importance of youth-centered and youth-led approaches that engage young people in the planning, implementation and evaluation of programmes. Organisations underlined the need for increased funding, capacity building and trained staff. They suggest that policy makers put more effort into understanding the distinctiveness of adolescence, particularly in the context of HIV, andchallenge them to make longer-term commitments to funding and  programme support. In order for organisations to provide better services, they need further evidence of effective solutions, programme guidance and support tools, and increased collaboration and communication with one another, and with policy-makers and donors.Keywords: HIV/AIDS, youth, psychosocial, interventions.Cette revue présente une synthèse des expériences d’associations du monde entier fournissant un soutien psychosocial pour les jeunes vivant avec le VIH (JVVIH). Peu de recherches sur le soutien psychosocial pour les JVVIH ont été réalisées, et de nombreux prestataires ne savent pas vraiment comment répondre à leurs besoins complexes. Quatre-vingt-six associations ont reçu un questionnaire contenant 15 questions semi-structurées et ouvertes. Soixante-huit associations, des États-Unis, d’Europe, d’Afrique, d’Asie, d’Amérique latine et du Moyen-Orient, ont répondu. L’enquête a demandé quels sont les défis dans l’organisation de groupes de patients; quels sont les objectifs organisationnels; comment, où et par qui le soutien psychosocial est fourni; quels types de soutien psychosocial ont été efficaces et lesquels ne l’ont pas été; et quelles sont les recommandations de l’association concernant la mise à disposition et la nature de ce service. Les données ont été stratifiées en fonction de l’âge de la population, de la région du monde et de la date de la contamination (à la naissance ou à l’adolescence). Les problèmes et les besoins des groupes étaient davantage cohérents que disparates. L’adhésion à la médication, la divulgation du statut VIH, les questions relatives au sexe et au manque de réseaux de soutien sont les problèmes rencontrés par tous les JVVIH. La plupart des associations utilisent une équipe multi-disciplinaire pour répondre à ces besoins, en mettant particulièrement l’accent sur la thérapie individuelle et de groupe, sur le soutien éducatif, et sur des programmes de renforcement des compétences. La revue souligne l’importance des approches centrées sur les jeunes et menées par eux, qui les impliquent dans la planification, la mise en oeuvre et l’évaluation des programmes. Les associations ont souligné la nécessité d’accroître le financement, les capacités d’accueil etle personnel qualifié. Ils suggèrent que les décideurs s’investissent davantage dans la compréhension de la spécificité de l’adolescence, en particulier dans le contexte du VIH; et les mettent aux défis de prendre des engagements à plus long terme pour le financement et le soutien du programme. Pour que les associations fournissent de meilleurs services, elles ont besoin de d’autres témoignages évoquant des solutions efficaces, d’outils d’orientation et de soutien du programme, et d’une plus grande collaboration et communication entre elles, ainsi qu’avec les décideurs et les donateurs

Property rights, collective action and technologies for natural resource management: a conceptual framework

Environmental management, Gender, Capacity,

Impacts of agricultural research on poverty: findings of an integrated economic and social analysis

Agricultural research, Sustainable livelihoods, Agricultural growth, Gender, Agricultural technology,

Degradation of Chloroaromatics: Purification and Characterization of a Novel Type of Chlorocatechol 2,3-Dioxygenase of Pseudomonas putida GJ31

A purification procedure for a new kind of extradiol dioxygenase, termed chlorocatechol 2,3-dioxygenase, that converts 3-chlorocatechol productively was developed. Structural and kinetic properties of the enzyme, which is part of the degradative pathway used for growth of Pseudomonas putida GJ31 with chlorobenzene, were investigated. The enzyme has a subunit molecular mass of 33.4 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Estimation of the native Mr value under nondenaturating conditions by gel filtration gave a molecular mass of 135 ± 10 kDa, indicating a homotetrameric enzyme structure (4 × 33.4 kDa). The pI of the enzyme was estimated to be 7.1 ± 0.1. The N-terminal amino acid sequence (43 residues) of the enzyme was determined and exhibits 70 to 42% identity with other extradiol dioxygenases. Fe(II) seems to be a cofactor of the enzyme, as it is for other catechol 2,3-dioxygenases. In contrast to other extradiol dioxygenases, the enzyme exhibited great sensitivity to temperatures above 40°C. The reactivity of this enzyme toward various substituted catechols, especially 3-chlorocatechol, was different from that observed for other catechol 2,3-dioxygenases. Stoichiometric displacement of chloride occurred from 3-chlorocatechol, leading to the production of 2-hydroxymuconate.

Dimensional Effects on Densities of States and Interactions in Nanostructures

We consider electrons in the presence of interfaces with different effective electron mass, and electromagnetic fields in the presence of a high-permittivity interface in bulk material. The equations of motion for these dimensionally hybrid systems yield analytic expressions for Green’s functions and electromagnetic potentials that interpolate between the two-dimensional logarithmic potential at short distance, and the three-dimensional r−1 potential at large distance. This also yields results for electron densities of states which interpolate between the well-known two-dimensional and three-dimensional formulas. The transition length scales for interfaces of thickness L are found to be of order Lm/2m* for an interface in which electrons move with effective mass m*, and for a dielectric thin film with permittivity in a bulk of permittivity . We can easily test the merits of the formalism by comparing the calculated electromagnetic potential with the infinite series solutions from image charges. This confirms that the dimensionally hybrid models are excellent approximations for distances r ≳ L/2

GE PETtrace RF power failures related to poor power quality

Introduction Anyone who has ever overseen the installation of a new cyclotron is aware of the importance of addressing the numerous vendor-supplied site specifications prior to its arrival. If the site is not adequately prepared, the facility may face project cost overruns, poor cyclotron performance and unintended maintenance costs. Once a facility has identified the space, providing sufficient power is the next step. Every cyclotron vendor will provide you with a set of power specifications, but meeting these specifications can be difficult, especially when the cyclotron is placed in an existing structure. The cyclotron is an interesting collection of power supplies providing power to sensitive electronic circuitry. It is not sufficient to just provide enough power; you must also provide quality power. It is hoped that our efforts to resolve our poor power quality problems will assist others as they replace aging cyclotrons in existing institutions whose power quality has degraded over the years. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics completed installation of a GE PETtrace 800 cyclotron in November 2011. Four months prior to installation, GE service personnel arrived to do a power assessment. The result was that we met their specifications, but with reservations. We could easily provide the quantity of power required, but the specification also states that GE recommends that primary power remain at 480 VAC ± 5%. GE service personnel attached a power quality analyzer to the cyclotron main power panel and determined that we did have some events of 7 to 8 % sag, but they were in-frequent, perhaps once or twice a week lasting 20 to 50 msec. Sags were confirmed to be the result of large non-linear loads elsewhere in the hospital. If these occurred during a run, they may shut down the cyclotron, specifically the RF power supply. Further investigation revealed the presence of harmonics on our power. Harmonics are the multiples of 60Hz power that are reflected back into your facility’s power grid from large motor drivers. Commercial air handler, water pump and fan motors often use variable frequency drives (VFDs) for proportional control to meet the changing facility demands. This pro-vides a significant on-going cost savings, but may play havoc with power quality throughout the institution. Harmonic distortion is often quantified as a total harmonic distortion (THD) percentage. Though not specifically mentioned in the site-specifications, our experience here will show that it is important not to overlook harmonic distortion. Its effects can be varied, erratic and wide-spread throughout the cyclotron system. When asked, GE service referred us to IEEE standards for electrical systems and equipment which states that THD is recommended to be below 5 % for most applications, but below 3 % for sensitive settings including airports and hos-pitals1. Mitigation of voltage sag and harmonic distortion is an expensive and complex topic. It is recommended that you consult with your cyclotron vendor to determine if there exists a field-tested solution. Additionally, you should consult a power systems specialist to do an audit of your building’s power system. Material and Methods Characterization of Power Quality: This was accomplished using a Hioki 3197 Power Quality Analyzer and a couple Dranetz PX-5 Power Xplorers. Each monitoring cycle logged data for about a week, which seemed to be about the limit for these units when logging both THD and surge/sag events down to the duration of a single 60Hz cycle. Analysis of the circuit diagrams and communication with GE engineers indicated that the main power contactors to the cyclotron RF system were dropping power to protect the system. The feedback for this shutoff is a detection signal from the front-end EHT (high-voltage generation) circuit that is set at a level to be representative of the 5% AC deviation specification. RF Power System Contactors: Every time the contactors of the RF power distribution system are energized/de-energized, some arching occurs at the contact surfaces. This arching pits the contactor surfaces such that over time the contactor surfaces become irregular and potentially resistive. Since the RF protection circuit triggered by the EHT circuit is downstream from the contactors, it is not so hard to envision why the system becomes more sensitive over time2. Additionally, the harmonic distortion also exists on the AC voltage energizing the contactors. As a result, they may not actuate as smoothly (de-pendent of degree of harmonic distortion) and further hasten the normal rate of pitting of contactor surfaces. Results and Conclusion Within weeks of installation, we began to get RF power shutoffs. They were infrequent at first, but soon began to occur numerous times a week, then numerous times a day. At approximately 3 months post installation, it was often difficult to get through a standard 30 to 45 minute bombardment to make F-18 for our daily patient FDG doses. We limped along for over a year until the University was willing to invest in a solution to address our power problems. Periodic Power Analyses: These analyses, per-formed over the next year, indicated that our power quality worsened in the winter and re-turned to functional levels in the summer. The instance of voltage sag remained approximately the same throughout the year (a few short sags per week), but the THD was down to 6 % in the summer and nearly 10% in the winter. This result, combined with RF shutdown tracking and lack of correlation between observed power sags and RF shutdowns, led us to the conclusion that our very high harmonic distortion combined with small power fluctuations (< 5 %) were the culprit. Mitigation Planning: There are a number of power conditioning technologies, but imposing the need to remove both voltage sag as well as harmonic distortion, quickly narrows the field. What remains are the following options: 1) UPS line conditioner with batteries, 2) UPS line conditioner with flywheel or 3) motor-generator power isolator. Battery maintenance costs ruled out the UPS battery line conditioner. Of the remaining two, if you have the space, the motor-generator is the simplest and cheapest (favored by forward military hospital units). But for the space constrained user, like us, the UPS flywheel line conditioner became the preferred option. Additionally, it was identified in a power audit that the THD was only 4% at the transformers connected directly to the local power utility company supply (upstream of load effect and harmonic distortion sources). This was to be expected as load effects and harmonic distortion are worse if your tie-in point to the building power grid is at the same level or downstream of their sources. Additionally, a test was performed during a hospital backup generator test, wherein the suspected primary offenders (large motors and VFDs) were diverted to backup. As a result, the THD measured at the cyclotron primary power panel dropped by 2.5 %. Working with University electricians, an outside power consultant, GE engineering and University Hospital Radiology Engineering, a two phase plan was created. Phase 1: With a repurposed utility transformer, the cyclotron and PET cameras got their own dedicated transformer connected to the main utility power feed. We also replaced the old contactors in the RF power distribution system. Since installation, the measured THD has remained at 4.5 to 5 % year round and the sag incidence and magnitude are slightly improved. Phase 2: With a quote from GE for a flywheel UPS we should be able to fully condition the power entering our facility, removing the load effect voltage sags as well as the harmonic distortion. One year of operation after Phase 1 implementation, it has been decided that Phase 1 was all that was required. We haven’t had a single new instance of RF shutdown since

GENETICS AND BIOCHEMISTRY OF DEHALOGENATING ENZYMES

Microorganisms that can utilize halogenated compounds as a growth substrate generally produce enzymes whose function is carbon-halogen bond cleavage. Based on substrate range, reaction type and gene sequences, the dehalogenating enzymes can be classified in different groups, including hydrolytic dehalogenases, glutathione transferases, monooxygenases and hydratases. X-ray crystallographic and biochemical studies have provided detailed mechanistic insight into the action of haloalkane dehalogenase. The essential features are nucleophilic substitution of the halogen by a carboxylate group and the presence of a distinct halogen binding site, formed by tryptophan residues. This review summaries current knowledge on a variety of other dehalogenating enzymes and indicates the existence of a widespread and diverse microbial potential for dechlorination of natural and xenobiotic halogenated compounds

DGP Cosmology with a Non-Minimally Coupled Scalar Field on the Brane

We construct a DGP inspired braneworld scenario where a scalar field non-minimally coupled to the induced Ricci curvature is present on the brane. First we investigate the status of gravitational potential with non-minimal coupling and observational constraints on this non-minimal model. Then we further deepen the idea of embedding of FRW cosmology in this non-minimal setup. Cosmological implications of this scenario are examined with details and the quintessence and late-time expansion of the universe within this framework are examined. Some observational constraints imposed on this non-minimal scenario are studied and relation of this model with dark radiation formalism is determined with details.Comment: 26 pages, 3 eps figure

Optical excitations in hexagonal nanonetwork materials

Optical excitations in hexagonal nanonetwork materials, for example, Boron-Nitride (BN) sheets and nanotubes, are investigated theoretically. The bonding of BN systems is positively polarized at the B site, and is negatively polarized at the N site. There is a permanent electric dipole moment along the BN bond, whose direction is from the B site to the N site. When the exciton hopping integral is restricted to the nearest neighbors, the flat band of the exciton appears at the lowest energy. The higher optical excitations have excitation bands similar to the electronic bands of graphene planes and carbon nanotubes. The symmetry of the flat exciton band is optically forbidden, indicating that the excitons related to this band will show quite long lifetime which will cause strong luminescence properties.Comment: 4 pages; 3 figures; proceedings of "XVIth International Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel Materials (IWEPNM2002)

Resonances in rotationally inelastic scattering of OH(X2ΠX^2\Pi) with helium and neon

We present detailed calculations on resonances in rotationally and spin-orbit inelastic scattering of OH (X\,^2\Pi, j=3/2, F_1, f) radicals with He and Ne atoms. We calculate new \emph{ab initio} potential energy surfaces for OH-He, and the cross sections derived from these surfaces compare favorably with the recent crossed beam scattering experiment of Kirste \emph{et al.} [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{82}, 042717 (2010)]. We identify both shape and Feshbach resonances in the integral and differential state-to-state scattering cross sections, and we discuss the prospects for experimentally observing scattering resonances using Stark decelerated beams of OH radicals.Comment: 14 pages, 15 Figure