021 PP: Dual theoretical synergy framework: Developing and refining a method for stakeholder engagement in intervention development

Stakeholder engagement and patient and public involvement (PPI) is now a key expectation within healthcare policy and in securing research funding and often needs to be evident throughout the research process. While systematic reviews and meta-analyses synthesise the best evidence for the content of behaviour change interventions, engaging stakeholders in a collaborative process of co-production could identify the best ways of implementing interventions. We developed the Dual Theoretical Synergy (DTS) Framework to work with stakeholders via expert events to identify the major systemic and psychosocial barriers and facilitators to implementing interventions in practice. The method uses facilitated group exercises to assess the acceptability of the design, content and proposed delivery mechanisms of an intervention to examine systemic, psychosocial and/or contextual barriers and facilitators to implementation, using the Theoretical Domains Framework and Normalisation Process Theory. Qualitative content analysis is used to record the key recurrent issues and to map similarities and differences in responses by domain to create a matrix of key barriers and facilitators to implementation of the candidate intervention. The matrix and a narrative summary are sent to participants for review and comment and to seek consensus on the interpretation of the data. The benefit of the method is in empowering stakeholders to think through and detail key ways of enhancing implementation of the candidate intervention, using standard theoretical constructs, and to engage in collaborative co-production of an intervention that is more likely to be adopted in the ‘real world’

Heptageniidae (Ephemeroptera) of Wisconsin

(excerpt) Heptageniidae are one of the most abundant and widespread components of Wisconsin\u27s aquatic insect fauna. In almost any stream with a firm substrate and free of gross pollution, the flattened nymphs can be found hiding in crevasses and under rocks, or clinging to submerged wood. Adults and nymphs are easily distinguished from mayflies of other families, nymphs by their dorsoventrally flattened head and dorsal eyes, and adults by their 5-segmented tarsi and complete wing veination. This paper presents our knowledge to date of Heptageniidae in Wisconsin

ORGANIZING SMALL FARMERS TO EXPLOIT MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

Marketing,

Catalytic surface effects on contaminated space shuttle tile in a dissociated nitrogen stream

Visual inspection revealed contamination on the surface of tiles removed from the lower section of the space shuttle orbiter after the second flight of Columbia (STS-2). Possible sources of this contamination and the effect on surface catalycity are presented

Sexually transmitted infection testing and self-reported diagnoses among a community sample of men who have sex with men, in Scotland

Introduction To examine sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and self-reported diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM), in Scotland. Methods Cross-sectional survey of seven Glasgow gay bars in July 2010 (n=822, 62% response rate); 693 are included in the analyses. Results 81.8% reported ever having had an STI test; 37.4% had tested in the previous 6 months; 13.2% reported having an STI in the previous 12 months. The adjusted odds of having ever tested were significantly higher for men who had 6+ sexual partners in the previous 12 months (adjusted OR=2.66), a maximum sexual health knowledge score (2.23), and had talked to an outreach worker/participated in counselling (1.96), and lower for men reporting any high-risk unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the previous 12 months (0.51). Adjusted odds of recent testing were higher for men who had 6+ sexual partners (2.10), talked to an outreach worker/participated in counselling (1.66), maximum sexual health knowledge (1.59), and higher condom use knowledge (1.04), and lower for men aged ≥25 years (0.46). Adjusted odds of having had an STI in the previous 12 months were higher for men who had 6+ sexual partners (3.96) and any high-risk UAI in the previous 12 months (2.24) and lower for men aged ≥25 years (0.57). Conclusions STI testing rates were relatively high, yet still below the minimum recommended for MSM at high risk. Consideration should be given to initiating recall systems for men who test positive for STIs, and to developing behavioural interventions which seek to address STI transmission

Has testing been normalized? An analysis of changes in barriers to HIV testing among men who have sex with men between 2000 and 2010 in Scotland, UK

Objectives: This paper examines changes in barriers to HIV testing amongst gay men. We compared data collected in 2000 and 2010 to assess changes in HIV testing behaviours, in community-level perceptions of barriers to HIV testing, and in the relative contributions of barrier measures. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted within the commercial gay scene in Glasgow with good response rates (78% and 62%) using a form of time and location sampling. Results: Major changes in HIV testing behaviours were observed between 2000 and 2010 (30.6% increase in testing within previous year). At the community level, the perceived benefits of testing [t (1284) = –8.46; P <0.001] and the norm for HIV testing [t (1236) = –11.62; P < 0.001] increased; however, other perceived barriers did not change (fear of a positive result, clinic-related barriers and attitudes to sex with HIV-positive men). Multinomial logistic regression showed that fear of a positive test result remained a key barrier to HIV testing; however, a significant fear × year of survey interaction indicated that fear played a lesser role in differentiating those who had never been tested from those who had been tested in 2010 than it had in 2000. Conclusions: These findings suggest the partial normalization of HIV testing. While some barriers have reduced, other key barriers remain important. Interventions should be designed and evaluated that attend to both the biomedical and the psychosocial aspects of HIV testing (e.g. the meaning of positive test results, the sexual exclusion of positive men, and HIV-related stigma)

Using Polymerase Chain Reaction to Detect nifH and vnfDGK in a Novel Acidophilic Microbial Community

Acidophiles are widely known for their ability to exploit harsh environments, typically consisting of high temperatures, dissolved metal concentrations, and acidic conditions. Consequently, different acidophilic species are employed industrially in applications such as biomining and bioleaching. However, their full potential in bioremediation, and in industrial practices, has yet to be fully explored because many of these acidophiles are difficult to culture in laboratory conditions or have yet to be properly identified. This investigation focuses on a novel community sampled from the Richmond Mine site in Iron Mountain, California, consisting of a filamentous fungus and prokaryotes. This consortium can be cultured in laboratory conditions without the presence of organic nitrogen sources. Previous data has also revealed that the community has a nutritional requirement for vanadium ions. Therefore, I predicted that this bacterium is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen via the nitrogenase enzyme, and might do so using a rare variant that requires vanadium as a cofactor. My investigation will employ PCR amplification, ligation, and transformation as well as bioinformatics tools in attempts to isolate conserved nifH and vnfDGK gene fragments, that are found in standard nitrogenases and vanadium-dependent nitrogenases, respectively. Results from this investigation can be used not only to further understand the dynamics of the community found in these mine waters, but also to shed light on the process of nitrogen fixation in such a harsh environment

The Microbiome in Mental Health: Potential Contribution of Gut Microbiota in Disease and Pharmacotherapy Management

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115979/1/phar1640.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115979/2/phar1640_am.pd

Nuclear symmetry energy and the r-mode instability of neutron stars

We analyze the role of the symmetry energy slope parameter $L$ on the {\it r}-mode instability of neutron stars. Our study is performed using both microscopic and phenomenological approaches of the nuclear equation of state. The microscopic ones include the Brueckner--Hartree--Fock approximation, the well known variational equation of state of Akmal, Pandharipande and Ravenhall, and a parametrization of recent Auxiliary Field Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. For the phenomenological approaches, we use several Skyrme forces and relativisic mean field models. Our results show that the {\it r}-mode instability region is smaller for those models which give larger values of $L$. The reason is that both bulk ($\xi$) and shear ($\eta$) viscosities increase with $L$ and, therefore, the damping of the mode is more efficient for the models with larger $L$. We show also that the dependence of both viscosities on $L$ can be described at each density by simple power-laws of the type $\xi=A_{\xi}L^{B_\xi}$ and $\eta=A_{\eta}L^{B_\eta}$. Using the measured spin frequency and the estimated core temperature of the pulsar in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1608-52, we conclude that observational data seem to favor values of $L$ larger than $\sim 50$ MeV if this object is assumed to be outside the instability region, its radius is in the range $11.5-12$($11.5-13$) km, and its mass $1.4M_\odot$($2M_\odot$). Outside this range it is not possible to draw any conclusion on $L$ from this pulsar.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. Version published in Physical Review