Irritancy testing of sodium laurate and other anionic detergents using an open exposure model

Background/aims: The irritant potency of soap (sodium laurate, LAU) as opposed to other anionic detergents is not uniformly agreed upon. The aim of the study was to compare the irritancy of sodium laurate with that of sodium laurylsulphate (SLS), sodium cocoyl isethionate and disodium lauryl 3-ethoxysulphosuccinate by means of a 4-day repeated open exposure model in order to achieve a more realistic mimicry of daily practice.Methods: The effects of the exposures were evaluated by: a) number of fulfilled exposures, b) visual score after exposures, and c) transepidermal water loss (TEWL) after exposures.Results: in the majority of subjects, exposure to LAU had to be stopped because of burning sensations, erythema and/or scaling. The number of fulfilled exposures to LAU was lower than that of SLS. The other agents were tolerated very well. These less irritative agents had much lower visual scores and TEWL values after the repeated exposures compared with LAU and SLS.Conclusions: The explanation for the irritant nature of LAU in the present study might be the type of alkyl chain length distribution. Its 12-carbon chain content was ≤ 99%, and this agent can therefore be designated as pure sodium laurate. The same holds true for SLS. In daily practice, however, soap is a mixture of different - less irritant - chain lengths. Therefore, these findings cannot be extrapolated to commercially available soap bars.</p

A randomised feasibility trial of an intervention to support sharing of HIV status for 18-25-year olds living with perinatally acquired HIV compared with standard care: HIV Empowering Adults' Decisions to Share-UK/Uganda Project (HEADS-UP)

Abstract: Background: Young adults with perinatally acquired HIV (PAH) face several challenges, including adhering to antiretroviral therapy (ART), managing the risk of onward HIV transmission and maintaining positive well-being. Sharing one's HIV status with others (onward HIV disclosure) may assist with these challenges by facilitating emotional and practical support. Rates of HIV status sharing are, however, low in this population. There are no existing interventions focused on sharing one's HIV status for young adults living with PAH. The HEADS-UP study is designed to develop and test the feasibility of an intervention to help the sharing of HIV status for young adults with PAH. Methods: The study is a 30-month multi-site randomised feasibility study across both a high-income/low-HIV prevalence country (UK) and a low-income/high-HIV prevalence country (Uganda). Phase 1 (12 months) will involve developing the intervention using qualitative interviews with 20 young people living with PAH (ten in the UK-18 to 29 years; ten in Uganda-18 to 25 years), 20 of their social network (friends, family, sexual partners as defined by the young person; ten in the UK, ten in Uganda) and ten professionals with experience working with young adults with PAH (five in the UK, five in Uganda). Phase 2 (18 months) involves conducting a randomised feasibility parallel group trial of the intervention alongside current standard of care condition in each country (main study) with 18- to 25-year olds with PAH. A sample size of 94 participants per condition (intervention or standard of care; 188 participants in total: 47 in each condition in each country) with data at both the baseline and 6-month follow-up time points, across UK and Ugandan sites will be recruited. Participants in the intervention condition will also complete measures immediately post-intervention. Face-to-face interviews will be conducted with ten participants in both countries immediately post-intervention and at 6-month follow-up (sub-study). Discussion: This study will be the first trial that we are aware of to address important gaps in understanding acceptable and feasible ways of delivering HIV status sharing support for young people living with PAH. Trial registration: ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN31852047, Registered on 21 January, 2019. Study sponsor: Royal Holloway University of London. Sponsor contact: [email protected]. Date and version: April 2020. Protocol version 3.5

Multiscale nature of hysteretic phenomena: Application to CoPt-type magnets

We suggest a workable approach for the description of multiscale magnetization reversal phenomena in nanoscale magnets and apply it to CoPt-type alloys. We show that their hysteretic properties are governed by two effects originating at different length scales: a peculiar splitting of domain walls and their strong pinning at antiphase boundaries. We emphasize that such multiscale nature of hysteretic phenomena is a generic feature of nanoscale magnetic materials.Comment: 4 pages (revtex 4), 2 color EPS figure

"The difference that makes a difference": highlighting the role of variable contexts within an HIV Prevention Community Randomised Trial (HPTN 071/PopART) in 21 study communities in Zambia and South Africa.

This paper explores contextual heterogeneity within a community randomised trial HPTN 071 (Population Effects of Antiretroviral Treatment to Reduce HIV Transmission) carried out in 21 study communities (12 Zambian, 9 South African). The trial evaluates the impact of a combination HIV prevention package (including household-based HIV counselling and testing and anti-retroviral treatment (ART) eligibility regardless of CD4-count) on HIV incidence. The selection, matching and randomisation of study communities relied on key epidemiological and demographic variables and community and stakeholder support. In 2013, following the selection of study communities, a "Broad Brush Survey" (BBS) approach was used to rapidly gather qualitative data on each study community, prior to the implementation of the trial intervention. First-year process indicator intervention data (2014-2015) were collected during the household-based intervention by community lay workers. Using an open/closed typology of urban communities (indicating more or less heterogeneity), this qualitative inquiry presents key features of 12 Zambian communities using a list of four meta-indicators (physical features, social organisation, networks and community narratives). These indicators are then compared with four intervention process indicators in a smaller set of four study communities. The process indicators selected for this analysis indicate response to the intervention (uptake) amongst adults. The BBS qualitative data are used to interpret patterns of similarity and variability in the process indicators across four communities. We found that meta-indicators of local context helped to interpret patterns of similarity and variability emerging across and within the four communities. Features especially significant for influencing heterogeneity in process indicators include proportion of middle-class residents, proximity to neighbouring communities and town centre, the scale of the informal economy, livelihood-linked mobility, presence of HIV stakeholders over time and commitment to community action. Future interdisciplinary analysis is needed to explore if these patterns of difference continue to hold up over the full intervention period and all intervention communities

Monitoring on the performance of temporary props using wireless strain sensing

Although temporary props have been extensively used in underground support systems, their actual performance is poorly understood, resulting in potentially conservative and over-engineered design. This paper presents the performance monitoring of 4 temporary props in an urban construction site using a newly developed wireless strain sensor node featuring a 24-bit ADC. For each prop, 6 strain gauges and 3 temperature sensors were directly attached onto the prop surface using super glue, and then connected to a wireless strain sensor node mounted in the middle span. Each sensor node transmitted both monitoring data and network diagnostic messages in near-real-Time over an IPv6-based (6LoWPAN) wireless mesh sensor network. The data were also stored locally at each node on a micro SD card. Extensive testing and calibration was undertaken in the laboratory to ensure that the system functioned as expected. The prop loads are presented without correction for temperature effects and compared with the design loads. The monitoring data reveal the development of loads in temporary props during excavation, the formation of the basement and the extraction of the props. The network performance characteristics in terms of message reception ratio and network topology evolution are also highlighted and discussed

A Graph Theoretic Approach for Object Shape Representation in Compositional Hierarchies Using a Hybrid Generative-Descriptive Model

A graph theoretic approach is proposed for object shape representation in a hierarchical compositional architecture called Compositional Hierarchy of Parts (CHOP). In the proposed approach, vocabulary learning is performed using a hybrid generative-descriptive model. First, statistical relationships between parts are learned using a Minimum Conditional Entropy Clustering algorithm. Then, selection of descriptive parts is defined as a frequent subgraph discovery problem, and solved using a Minimum Description Length (MDL) principle. Finally, part compositions are constructed by compressing the internal data representation with discovered substructures. Shape representation and computational complexity properties of the proposed approach and algorithms are examined using six benchmark two-dimensional shape image datasets. Experiments show that CHOP can employ part shareability and indexing mechanisms for fast inference of part compositions using learned shape vocabularies. Additionally, CHOP provides better shape retrieval performance than the state-of-the-art shape retrieval methods.Comment: Paper : 17 pages. 13th European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV 2014), Zurich, Switzerland, September 6-12, 2014, Proceedings, Part III, pp 566-581. Supplementary material can be downloaded from http://link.springer.com/content/esm/chp:10.1007/978-3-319-10578-9_37/file/MediaObjects/978-3-319-10578-9_37_MOESM1_ESM.pd

Spinning plates: livelihood mobility, household responsibility and anti-retroviral treatment in an urban Zambian community during the HPTN 071 (PopART) study

INTRODUCTION: Qualitative data are lacking on the impact of mobility among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their decision-making around anti-retroviral treatment (ART). We describe challenges of juggling household responsibility, livelihood mobility and HIV management for six PLHIV in urban Zambia. METHODS: Six PLHIV (three men and three women, aged 21 to 44) were recruited from different geographic zones in one urban community drawn from a qualitative cohort in a social science component of a cluster-randomized trial (HPTN071 PopART). Participants were on ART (n = 2), not on ART (n = 2) and had started and stopped ART (n = 2). At least two in-depth interviews and participant observations, and three drop-in household visits with each were carried out between February and August 2017. Themed and comparative analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The six participants relied on the informal economy to meet basic household needs. Routine livelihood mobility, either within the community and to a nearby town centre, or further afield for longer periods of time, was essential to get by. Although aware of ART benefits, only one of the six participants managed to successfully access and sustain treatment. The other five struggled to find time to access ART alongside other priorities, routine mobility and when daily routines were more chaotic. Difficulty in accessing ART was exacerbated by local health facility factors (congestion, a culture of reprimanding PLHIV who miss appointments, sporadic rationed drug supply), stigma and more limited social capital. CONCLUSIONS: Using a time-space framework illustrated how household responsibility, livelihood mobility and HIV management every day were like spinning plates, each liable to topple and demanding constant attention. If universal lifelong ART is to be delivered, the current service model needs to adjust the limited time that some PLHIV have to access ART because of household responsibilities and the need to earn a living moving around, often away from home. Practical strategies that could facilitate ART access in the context of livelihood mobility include challenging the practice of reprimand, improving drug supply, having ART services more widely distributed, mapped and available at night and weekends, and an effective centralized client health information system