Stakeholder efforts to mitigate antiretroviral therapy interruption among people living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected antiretroviral therapy (ART) continuity among people living with HIV (PLHIV) worldwide. We conducted a qualitative study to explore barriers to ART maintenance and solutions to ART interruption when stringent COVID-19 control measures were implemented in China, from the perspective of PLHIV and relevant key stakeholders. METHODS: Between 11 February and 15 February 2020, we interviewed PLHIV, community-based organization (CBO) workers, staff from centres for disease control and prevention (CDC) at various levels whose work is relevant to HIV care (CDC staff), HIV doctors and nurses and drug vendors from various regions in China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a messaging and social media app. Challenges and responses relevant to ART continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed. Themes were identified by transcript coding and mindmaps. RESULTS: Sixty-four stakeholders were recruited, including 16 PLHIV, 17 CBO workers, 15 CDC staff, 14 HIV doctors and nurses and two drug vendors. Many CDC staff, HIV doctors and nurses responsible for ART delivery and HIV care were shifted to COVID-19 response efforts. Barriers to ART maintenance were (a) travel restrictions, (b) inadequate communication and bureaucratic obstacles, (c) shortage in personnel, (d) privacy concerns, and (e) insufficient ART reserve. CBO helped PLHIV maintain access to ART through five solutions identified from thematic analysis: (a) coordination to refill ART from local CDC clinics or hospitals, (b) delivery of ART by mail, (c) privacy protection measures, (d) mental health counselling, and (e) providing connections to alternative sources of ART. Drug vendors contributed to ART maintenance by selling out-of-pocket ART. CONCLUSIONS: Social and institutional disruption from COVID-19 contributed to increased risk of ART interruption among PLHIV in China. Collaboration among key stakeholders was needed to maintain access to ART, with CBO playing an important role. Other countries facing ART interruption during current or future public health emergencies may learn from the solutions employed in China

Changes of 8-OHdG and TrxR in the Residents Who Bathe in Radon Hot Springs

This study explored the effects of long-term bathing in radon hot springs on oxidative damage and antioxidation function in humans. In this study, blood was collected from residents in the Pingshan radon hot spring area (RHSA), Jiangzha RHSA, and control area (CA). 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), representing oxidation and antioxidant levels, respectively, were analyzed as indices. Compared to the CA group, the RHSA group in the Pingshan and Jiangzha areas showed significantly decreased 8-OHdG levels ( Z = −3.350, −3.316, respectively, P < .05) and increased TrxR levels ( Z = 2.394, 3.773, respectively, P < .05). The RHSA and CA groups in Jiangzha had lower levels of TrxR and 8-OHdG compared to those in Pingshan. This finding may be related to the different radon concentration levels, bathing time and other factors. Results suggested that long-term bathing in radon hot spring may activate antioxidant function and reduce oxidative damage in the body

An Improved Active Inductor with Tunable Active Resistor Feedback and Multi-regulated Cascode Circuit

The conventional Gyrator-C active inductor consists of common-emitter configured and common-collector configured with resistance feedback is improved. The fixed passive resistor is replaced with tunable active resistor (TAR) to enhance the adjustability of the active inductor. Multi- regulated Cascode (MRC) circuit is applied to boost quality factor Q. Compared with the conventional active inductor, the effective inductance and Q can be tuned by changing the equivalent resistance of TAR or the bias current of the transistor, moreover, the resonant frequency can be shifted, as well as the frequency at quality factor Q arriving at maximum. In addition, quality factor Q of the improved active inductor is boosted noticeably. The maximum Q of the improved active inductor can arrive at 526. The improved active inductor instead of spiral inductors can be applied to filters, low noise amplifiers, voltage control oscillators for small area, reconfigurable and intelligent RF front-end

Experimental Investigation into the Tail-Slapping Motion of a Projectile with an Oblique Water-Entry Speed

In this study, the tail-slapping behavior of an oblique water-entry projectile is investigated through high-speed photography technology. The experimental images and data are captured, extracted and processed using a digital image processing method. The experimental repeatability is verified. By examining the formation, development and collapse process of the projectile’s cavity, this study investigates the impact of the tail-slapping motion on the cavity’s evolution. Furthermore, it examines the distinctive characteristics of both the tail-slapping cavity and the original cavity at varying initial water-entry speeds. By analyzing the formation, development and collapse process of the cavity of the projectile, the influence of the tail-slapping motion on the cavity evolution is explored. Furthermore, it examines the evolution characteristics of both the tail-slapping cavity and the original cavity under different initial water-entry speeds. The results indicate that a tail-slapping cavity is formed during the reciprocating motion of the projectile. The tail-slapping cavity fits closely with the original cavity and is finally pulled off from the surface of the original cavity to collapse. In addition, as the initial water-entry speed increases, both the maximum cross-section size of the tail-slapping cavity and the length of the original cavity gradually increase. With the increase in the number of tail-slapping motions, the speed attenuation amplitude of the projectile increases during each tail-slapping motion, the time interval between two tail-slapping motions is gradually shortened, the energy loss of the projectile correspondingly enlarges, and the speed storage capacity of the projectile decreases

In Situ Tensile Testing of Nanometer-Thick Two-Dimensional Transition-Metal Carbide Films: Implications for MXenes Acting as Nanoscale Reinforcement Agents

In-plane mechanical behavior of stacks formed by titanium carbide MXenes (Ti2CTx, Ti3C2Tx) was investigated in a microscale uniaxial tensile experiment with the in situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) nanoindenter and a push-to-pull (PTP) micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS). When the number of MXene monolayers in a stack varies from 9 to 26 (Ti2CTx with d-spacing of 1.36 nm) and 7 to 52 (Ti3C2Tx with d-spacing of 1.48 nm), the measured Young\u27s moduli stay almost constant, averaging at 217.75 GPa (Ti2CTx) and 204.92 GPa (Ti3C2Tx). In the same experiment, the measured tensile strength monotonically decreases from 9.61 to 7.59 GPa (Ti2CTx) and 9.89 to 7.99 GPa (Ti3C2Tx). Notably, this dependence on the number of stacked MXene monolayers is much weaker than that previously observed in multilayer graphene and MoS2 stacks, which displayed a significant reduction of both tensile strength and Young\u27s modulus, compared to what was expected from additivity, as the number of monolayers increased. This difference implies a better scaling-up of the mechanical properties of MXenes as compared to other multilayer two-dimensional (2D) materials. Furthermore, atomistic simulations show that defects in different layers in the multilayer MXenes give rise to the observed dependence of the tensile strength on the number of MXene monolayers in a stack. The atomic damage initiated in the weakest layer with the highest defect density promotes strain softening, leading to a reduced tensile strength of the MXenes. Our results show that multilayer MXenes could be used as excellent mechanical reinforcing agents for composite materials across scales and potentially in other applications where robust mechanical performance is essential

Young adults’ intention to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among their grandparents: A nationwide cross-sectional survey of college students in China

Background: During a vaccination plateau phase, traditional vaccination promotion strategies such as the mobilization of government and community appear to have limited impact on expanding the coverage. New strategies to promote vaccination are needed especially in older adults. Our study aimed to assess college students’ intention to encourage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among their grandparents and its correlates. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in China from May to June 2022. We collected information on socio-demographics of college students and their grandparents, constructs of health belief model (HBM) and theory of planned behavior (TPB) for college students, and college students’ intention to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among their grandparents. Multilevel logistic regression models were performed to assess correlates of intention. Results: We enrolled 2681 college students who reported information for 6302 grandparents. 2272 students (84.7 %) intended to encourage COVID-19 vaccination for 4744 (75.3 %) grandparents. Intention was associated with having received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine (AOR 3.28, 95 % CI 1.68–6.42), having ever lived with their grandparents (2.07, 1.46–2.93), and having grandparents who regularly went outdoors (2.85, 1.70–4.76). HBM and TPB models showed that college students who had higher levels of perceived susceptibility (1.79, 1.12–2.87), perceived severity (1.52, 1.12–2.06) of COVID-19 among their grandparents, and higher levels of subjective norms (2.88, 1.61–5.15) were more likely to have the intention. Conclusion: College students’ intention to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among their grandparents was high. It may be potentially viable to engage college students in promoting COVID-19 and other routine vaccination among older adults

Numerical and Experimental Investigation on the Optical Manipulation from an Axicon Lensed Fiber

Here we numerically and experimentally studied the optical trapping on a microsphere from an axicon lensed fiber (ALF). The optical force from the fiber with different tapered lengths and by incident light at different wavelengths is calculated. Numerically, the microsphere can be trapped by the fiber with tapered outline y=±x/0.5 and y=±x at a short incident wavelength of 900 nm. While for the fiber with tapered outline y=±x/2, the microsphere can be trapped by the light with longer wavelength of 1100 nm, 1300 nm, or 1500 nm. The optical trapping to a polystyrene microsphere is experimentally demonstrated in a microfluidic channel and the corresponding optical force is derived according to the fluid flow speed. This study can provide a guidance for future tapered fibre design for optical trapping to microspheres

Revealing the microscopic formation mechanism and stability characteristics of anionic surfactant microemulsions using coarse-grained simulations

Microemulsion is thermodynamically stable dispersion system formed by emulsifiers such as surfactants adsorbed at the oil-water interface. However, the evolution mechanism of surfactant-stabilized microemulsions and its stability are not adequately understood. Motivated by these issues, the underlying formation mechanism and the complex interplay on the microemulsion stability were systematically investigated by dissipative particle dynamics simulations. Coarse-grained models of oil/water/surfactants were developed to demonstrate a clear Ostwald ripening mechanism for W/O microemulsion, whereas a collisional fusion mechanism for O/W microemulsion. Mutual transformation between O/W and W/O microemulsions was dominated by the change of interfacial water/oil area. As the surfactant concentration increased, smaller microemulsion formed with a higher stability. Compared to sodium lauryl sulfonate, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate with benzene structure could form a thicker interfacial film, thereby improving the microemulsion stability. Internal olefin sulfonate with a branched structure was able to form an interfacial film with greater strength, enduring a higher shear rate of 0.033/ps. Furthermore, longer molecular chains of surfactant could result in a stronger steric effect, leading to a higher salinity tolerance of microemulsion with aHH is 17. The obtained results are expected to provide a solid theoretical foundation for the rational design of efficient microemulsions and pave the way for the applications such as oil recovery, pollution control, and dispersion of drugs

Do Parents of Children with ADHD Know the Disease? Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Zhejiang, China

Parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are crucial in the selection of the treatment strategy and how to care for children with ADHD. However, little is known about parents’ conception in mainland China. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess this information with 25 true/false questions regarding ADHD, and other questions investigating the methods of acquiring ADHD-related information, treatment preference, and concerns about ADHD treatment strategy. We found that the average score of all the participants was 17.42 ± 2.69 (total of 25 points) for the questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about ADHD. This indicated that the parents had insufficient knowledge of this disease profile. They always accessed specialized information through mobile internet. For the treatment options, the investigated parents chose psychotherapy treatment rather than medications, in that they worried about the side effects of medication and expected to find alternative treatment strategies. The present investigation demonstrated that most parents lack knowledge about ADHD in treatment decision making in China. Medical professionals should provide parents with evidence-based ADHD-related information to help them understand this disease