Client perspectives on an outreach approach for HIV prevention targeting Indonesian MSM and transwomen

This study explored clients’ perspective on an outreach approach to promote HIV testing in Indonesia targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (transwomen or waria). Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 32 individuals (21 MSM and 11 waria) who had received services from outreach workers (OWs) in five cities in Indonesia. Participants in this study reported positive experiences with the outreach approach and perceived OWs as their motivators in accessing HIV testing as well as HIV care and treatment. OWs provided easy-to-understand HIV information. Clients expected OWs to be well-trained and more creative in performing outreach. They perceived that the Internet and social media have helped them considerably to stay in touch with OWs. Yet, they expressed that such virtual contacts could not simply replace the face-to-face contact, especially for waria. Furthermore, clients suggested outreach to be delivered in a more appealing manner, for example through activities that may facilitate clients learning professional or life skills. They also asserted that as an HIV prevention approach, outreach needs to use more positive framing and go beyond HIV and health contents, chiefly for the youth. Future outreach programmes should facilitate OWs in providing tailored services based on the level and type of support that the clients need, and in applying varied proportion and levels of sophistication in the use of online and virtual platforms for outreach

Light sources for wavelengths > 2 mu m grown by MBE on InP using a strain relaxed buffer

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers operating in the 2 to 3 mu m spectral region at room temperature are been demonstrated. The devices were fabricated from InxGa1-xAs/InAsyP1-y double heterostructures grown on n-type InP (100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. A strain relaxed buffer layer which incorporates composition reversals was used to reduce the threading dislocation density and to accommodate the large lattice mismatch (up to 2.7%) between the InP substrate and the device active region. Efficient electroluminescence emission at wavelengths between 2 and 3 mu m was obtained from the LEDs at room temperature, while diode lasers exhibited coherent emission in the range 2-2.6 mu m at temperatures up to 130 K. For one of the LEDs a characteristic absorption was readily observed at 2.7 mu m in the diode electroluminescence emission spectrum, corresponding to strong water vapour absorption in the atmosphere. These devices could easily form the key component of an infrared gas sensor for water vapour detection and monitoring at 2.7 mu m in a variety of different applications

The NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE): facilitating European and worldwide collaboration on suspect screening in high resolution mass spectrometry

Background: The NORMAN Association (https://www.norman-.network.com/) initiated the NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE; https://www.norman-.network.com/nds/SLE/) in 2015, following the NORMAN collaborative trial on non-target screening of environmental water samples by mass spectrometry. Since then, this exchange of information on chemicals that are expected to occur in the environment, along with the accompanying expert knowledge and references, has become a valuable knowledge base for "suspect screening" lists. The NORMAN-SLE now serves as a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) chemical information resource worldwide.Results: The NORMAN-SLE contains 99 separate suspect list collections (as of May 2022) from over 70 contributors around the world, totalling over 100,000 unique substances. The substance classes include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, natural toxins, high production volume substances covered under the European REACH regulation (EC: 1272/2008), priority contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and regulatory lists from NORMAN partners. Several lists focus on transformation products (TPs) and complex features detected in the environment with various levels of provenance and structural information. Each list is available for separate download. The merged, curated collection is also available as the NORMAN Substance Database (NORMAN SusDat). Both the NORMAN-SLE and NORMAN SusDat are integrated within the NORMAN Database System (NDS). The individual NORMAN-SLE lists receive digital object identifiers (DOIs) and traceable versioning via a Zenodo community (https:// zenodo.org/communities/norman-.sle), with a total of > 40,000 unique views, > 50,000 unique downloads and 40 citations (May 2022). NORMAN-SLE content is progressively integrated into large open chemical databases such as PubChem (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and the US EPA's CompTox Chemicals Dashboard (https://comptox. epa.gov/dashboard/), enabling further access to these lists, along with the additional functionality and calculated properties these resources offer. PubChem has also integrated significant annotation content from the NORMAN-SLE, including a classification browser (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/classification/#hid=101).Conclusions: The NORMAN-SLE offers a specialized service for hosting suspect screening lists of relevance for the environmental community in an open, FAIR manner that allows integration with other major chemical resources. These efforts foster the exchange of information between scientists and regulators, supporting the paradigm shift to the "one substance, one assessment" approach. New submissions are welcome via the contacts provided on the NORMAN-SLE website (https://www.norman-.network.com/nds/SLE/)

Partial Loss of USP9X Function Leads to a Male Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Disorder Converging on Transforming Growth Factor beta Signaling

BACKGROUND: The X-chromosome gene USP9X encodes a deubiquitylating enzyme that has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders primarily in female subjects. USP9X escapes X inactivation, and in female subjects de novo heterozygous copy number loss or truncating mutations cause haploinsufficiency culminating in a recognizable syndrome with intellectual disability and signature brain and congenital abnormalities. In contrast, the involvement of USP9X in male neurodevelopmental disorders remains tentative.METHODS: We used clinically recommended guidelines to collect and interrogate the pathogenicity of 44 USP9X variants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in males. Functional studies in patient-derived cell lines and mice were used to determine mechanisms of pathology.RESULTS: Twelve missense variants showed strong evidence of pathogenicity. We define a characteristic phenotype of the central nervous system (white matter disturbances, thin corpus callosum, and widened ventricles); global delay with significant alteration of speech, language, and behavior; hypotonia; joint hypermobility; visual system defects; and other common congenital and dysmorphic features. Comparison of in silico and phenotypical features align additional variants of unknown significance with likely pathogenicity. In support of partial loss-of-function mechanisms, using patient-derived cell lines, we show loss of only specific USP9X substrates that regulate neurodevelopmental signaling pathways and a united defect in transforming growth factor signaling. In addition, we find correlates of the male phenotype in Usp9x brain-specific knockout mice, and further resolve loss of hippocannpal-dependent learning and memory.CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate the involvement of USP9X variants in a distinctive neurodevelopmental and behavioral syndrome in male subjects and identify plausible mechanisms of pathogenesis centered on disrupted transforming growth factor beta signaling and hippocampal function.Genetics of disease, diagnosis and treatmen