Child marriage legislation in the Asia-Pacific region

Child marriage is a human rights violation that robs a girl of her childhood, puts her health, growth, and development at risk, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities for empowerment and social development, and increases her risk of exposure to violence and abuse (for a review of the evidence on the negative effects of child marriage on girls and their children, see Parsons et al. 2015, in this issue). While child marriage is not mentioned specifically in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention does contain a provision requiring governments to abolish “traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children” and calling on them to protect children from “all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”(art. 4). In addition, child marriage relates to other children’s rights, such as the right to express their views freely, the right to protection from all forms of abuse, and the right to be

Un cadre de référence intégrateur pour soutenir la fonction évaluation de l’infirmière pivot en oncologie du Québec

Au Québec, l’une des fonctions clés de l’infirmière pivot en oncologie (IPO) est l’évaluation des besoins des personnes atteintes de cancer et de leurs proches. Pour soutenir et guider cette fonction, un cadre de référence intégrateur est proposé. Ce cadre est élaboré à partir de recommandations d’organisations de la santé, de communautés scientifiques et de modèles théoriques en soins infirmiers. Il est ensuite commenté et bonifié à l’aide d’écrits sur la pratique d’infirmières en oncologie. Le cadre de référence intégrateur proposé compte six dimensions : les buts de l’évaluation, les personnes évaluées, les moments d’évaluation, le contenu de l’évaluation, le processus d’évaluation et l’utilisation des résultats. Ce cadre de référence est novateur, il structure l’ensemble des éléments nécessaires à la pratique évaluative de l’IPO

Mobile Applications for Participation at the Shopping Mall: Content Analysis and Usability for Persons with Physical Disabilities and Communication or Cognitive Limitations

The aim of this exploratory study was to determine the important features in content and usability of existing mobile applications evaluating environmental barriers and facilitators (EBF) to participation for persons with physical disabilities presenting mild communication or cognitive limitations. A rigorous process based on a user-centered design approach led to the identification of two relevant mobile applications to evaluate the EBF. An accessibility expert, the research team as well as five users then tested the mobile applications in a shopping mall. A thematic content analysis of the research team’s and users’ comments established 10 categories of key features that adequately respond to the needs of the clientele targeted in this study. In terms of content, granularity and contextualization of the information provided were considered important. With respect to usability, relevant features were place finding, rating system, presentation of results, compatibility, user-friendliness, aesthetics, credibility of the information as well as connectivity/interactiveness. The research team and the users agreed on some aspects such as aesthetics, but had different perspectives on features such as the rating system or the connectivity/interactiveness of the application. The users proposed new features suggesting that the existing mobile applications did not correspond to all their needs

Tobacco, cannabis, and liquorice: Hidden players altering albendazole metabolism in patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis

International audienc

Initiating antiretroviral treatment early in infancy has long-term benefits on the HIV reservoir in late childhood and adolescence

International audienceBackgroundEarly combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) limits the total HIV-DNA load in children. However, data on its impact in older children and adolescents remain scarce. This study aims to compare HIV reservoirs in children (5-12 years) and adolescents (13-17 years) who started cART before 6 months (early (E-)group) or after 2 years old (late (L-)group). MethodsThe ANRS-EP59-CLEAC study prospectively enrolled 76 HIV-1 perinatally-infected patients who reached HIV-RNA<400 copies/mL less than 24 months after cART initiation, regardless of subsequent viral suppression (E-group: 27 children, 9 adolescents; L-group: 19 children, 21 adolescents). Total and integrated HIV-DNA were quantified in blood and in CD4+ T cell subsets. A substudy assessed HIV reservoir inducibility after ex vivo peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulation.ResultsTotal HIV-DNA levels were lower in early- than late-treated patients (Children: 2.14 vs 2.87 log cp/million PBMCs, p<0.0001; Adolescents: 2.25 vs 2.74log, p<0.0001). Low reservoir was independently associated with treatment precocity, protective HLA and low cumulative viremia since cART initiation. The 60 participants with undetectable integrated HIV-DNA started cART earlier than the other patients (4 vs 54 months, p=0.03). In those with sustained virological control, transitional memory and effector memory CD4+T cells were less infected in the E-group than in the L-group (p=0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Viral inducibility of reservoir cells after normalization to HIV-DNA levels was similar between the groups.ConclusionsEarly cART results in a smaller blood HIV reservoir until adolescence, but all tested participants had an inducible reservoir. This deserves cautious consideration for HIV remission strategies

Open-source Software Sustainability Models: Initial White Paper From the Informatics Technology for Cancer Research Sustainability and Industry Partnership Working Group

BackgroundThe National Cancer Institute Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) program provides a series of funding mechanisms to create an ecosystem of open-source software (OSS) that serves the needs of cancer research. As the ITCR ecosystem substantially grows, it faces the challenge of the long-term sustainability of the software being developed by ITCR grantees. To address this challenge, the ITCR sustainability and industry partnership working group (SIP-WG) was convened in 2019. ObjectiveThe charter of the SIP-WG is to investigate options to enhance the long-term sustainability of the OSS being developed by ITCR, in part by developing a collection of business model archetypes that can serve as sustainability plans for ITCR OSS development initiatives. The working group assembled models from the ITCR program, from other studies, and from the engagement of its extensive network of relationships with other organizations (eg, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Open Source Initiative, and Software Sustainability Institute) in support of this objective. MethodsThis paper reviews the existing sustainability models and describes 10 OSS use cases disseminated by the SIP-WG and others, including 3D Slicer, Bioconductor, Cytoscape, Globus, i2b2 (Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside) and tranSMART, Insight Toolkit, Linux, Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics tools, R, and REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), in 10 sustainability aspects: governance, documentation, code quality, support, ecosystem collaboration, security, legal, finance, marketing, and dependency hygiene. ResultsInformation available to the public reveals that all 10 OSS have effective governance, comprehensive documentation, high code quality, reliable dependency hygiene, strong user and developer support, and active marketing. These OSS include a variety of licensing models (eg, general public license version 2, general public license version 3, Berkeley Software Distribution, and Apache 3) and financial models (eg, federal research funding, industry and membership support, and commercial support). However, detailed information on ecosystem collaboration and security is not publicly provided by most OSS. ConclusionsWe recommend 6 essential attributes for research software: alignment with unmet scientific needs, a dedicated development team, a vibrant user community, a feasible licensing model, a sustainable financial model, and effective product management. We also stress important actions to be considered in future ITCR activities that involve the discussion of the sustainability and licensing models for ITCR OSS, the establishment of a central library, the allocation of consulting resources to code quality control, ecosystem collaboration, security, and dependency hygiene