Family Related Factors and Concurrent Heroin Use in Methadone Maintenance Treatment in China.

BackgroundThe use of heroin during Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is a challenging problem that contributes to poor treatment outcomes. Families may play an important role in addressing concurrent heroin use during MMT, especially in collectivist societies such as China.ObjectivesIn this study, we explored the relationship between family-related factors and concurrent heroin use during MMT in China.MethodsThis study was conducted at 68 MMT clinics in five provinces of China. There were 2,446 MMT clients in the analysis. Demographic information, MMT dosage, family members' heroin use status, family support of MMT, family problem, and self-reported heroin use were collected in a cross-sectional survey. The most recent urinalysis of opiate use was obtained from clinical records.ResultsOf the 2,446 participants, 533 (21.79%) self-reported heroin use in the previous seven days or had a positive urine morphine test result in the clinic record. Participants whose family member[s] used heroin were 1.59 times (95% CI: 1.17, 2.15) more likely to use concurrently during treatment. Those with family members who totally support them on the MMT were less likely to use (AOR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.60, 0.94). Having more family problems was positively associated with concurrent heroin use (AOR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.93).ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of the family's role in concurrent heroin use during MMT programs. The study's findings may have implications for family-based interventions that address concurrent heroin use

Rifabutin corneal deposits localized to the deep stroma using anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

Purpose:To demonstrate that rifabutin-related corneal deposits are localized to the deep stroma using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal microscopy. Observations:A 55-year-old male with a history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and disseminated mycobacterium avium complex on rifabutin treatment for 3 years presented with bilateral corneal deposits. Confocal microscopy and anterior segment OCT confirm that rifabutin-related corneal deposits are located in the deep stroma, rather than in the endothelium. Conclusions:And Importance: Rifabutin deposits localize to the deep corneal stroma, and can be seen with both confocal microscopy and anterior segment OCT. Anterior segment OCT is a widely available and easily used diagnostic tool, and can provide utility in the diagnosis of corneal deposits

Group Invariant Deep Representations for Image Instance Retrieval

Most image instance retrieval pipelines are based on comparison of vectors known as global image descriptors between a query image and the database images. Due to their success in large scale image classification, representations extracted from Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are quickly gaining ground on Fisher Vectors (FVs) as state-of-the-art global descriptors for image instance retrieval. While CNN-based descriptors are generally remarked for good retrieval performance at lower bitrates, they nevertheless present a number of drawbacks including the lack of robustness to common object transformations such as rotations compared with their interest point based FV counterparts. In this paper, we propose a method for computing invariant global descriptors from CNNs. Our method implements a recently proposed mathematical theory for invariance in a sensory cortex modeled as a feedforward neural network. The resulting global descriptors can be made invariant to multiple arbitrary transformation groups while retaining good discriminativeness. Based on a thorough empirical evaluation using several publicly available datasets, we show that our method is able to significantly and consistently improve retrieval results every time a new type of invariance is incorporated. We also show that our method which has few parameters is not prone to overfitting: improvements generalize well across datasets with different properties with regard to invariances. Finally, we show that our descriptors are able to compare favourably to other state-of-the-art compact descriptors in similar bitranges, exceeding the highest retrieval results reported in the literature on some datasets. A dedicated dimensionality reduction step --quantization or hashing-- may be able to further improve the competitiveness of the descriptors

Aluminum with dispersed nanoparticles by laser additive manufacturing.

While laser-printed metals do not tend to match the mechanical properties and thermal stability of conventionally-processed metals, incorporating and dispersing nanoparticles in them should enhance their performance. However, this remains difficult to do during laser additive manufacturing. Here, we show that aluminum reinforced by nanoparticles can be deposited layer-by-layer via laser melting of nanocomposite powders, which enhance the laser absorption by almost one order of magnitude compared to pure aluminum powders. The laser printed nanocomposite delivers a yield strength of up to 1000 MPa, plasticity over 10%, and Young's modulus of approximately 200 GPa, offering one of the highest specific Young's modulus and specific yield strengths among structural metals, as well as an improved specific strength and thermal stability up to 400 °C compared to other aluminum-based materials. The improved performance is attributed to a high density of well-dispersed nanoparticles, strong interfacial bonding between nanoparticles and Al matrix, and ultrafine grain sizes

Living High in the Sky: Modelling Prehistoric High Altitude Camps in the Great Basin

Historically, high altitude camps were not given careful attention by archaeologists due to what was considered an extreme and barren landscape. This poster examines the material culture of Native Americans that were utilizing these high alpine environments through archaeological evidence and ethnographic information along with their change through time from the Middle Archaic (5,000-1,000 B.C.) to the Late Archaic period (1,000 B.C. to A.D. 500.) in the Great Basin. Along with using the Lewis Binford hunter-gatherer database models which can aid in environmental variables such as the potential of plant biomass productivity and makes ethnographically informed estimates of resource strategies for different elevations from known hunter-gathering groups. This can give us insight into what types of subsistence patterns a group might have been utilizing in this region

The Socialisation and Interaction in the Volunteer Experience

Volunteering experience is believed to provide the potential for the socialisation and interaction of the participants. By means of observations, focus group and interviews, the research attempts to analyse the volunteering process and attitude shifts in relation to volunteering. Findings of the research confirm that apart from helping the destinations, volunteers develop their personalities and attitudes towards life during their journey of helping children in rural China. A wide range of interactions and socialisation opportunities take place before, during, and after volunteering. Volunteers benefit in the confirmation of self-value, interaction, learning and socialisation. The research concludes that volunteering makes notable contribution to youth development and poverty alleviation

An intervention trial targeting methadone maintenance treatment providers to improve clients' treatment retention in China.

BackgroundService providers including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals play an essential role in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This study evaluated the impact of an intervention targeting MMT providers on their clients' treatment retention.MethodsThis study was conducted in 68 MMT clinics in five provinces of China with 36 clients randomly selected from each clinic. The clinics were randomized to intervention or control condition. The MMT CARE intervention started with group sessions to enhance providers' communication skills. The trained providers were encouraged to conduct individual sessions with clients to promote treatment engagement. The outcomes, which include client retention (main outcome) and their reception of provider-delivered individual sessions (process outcome), were measured over a 24-month period.ResultsSignificantly fewer intervention clients dropped out from MMT than control clients during the study period (31% vs. 41%; p < 0.0001). Dropout hazard was significantly lower in the intervention condition compared to the control condition (HR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.89). More intervention clients had individual sessions than control clients (93% vs. 70%; p < 0.0001). Having individual sessions was associated with a significantly lower dropout hazard (HR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.40). The intervention clients had a significantly lower dropout hazard than the control clients if they started the individual sessions during the first six months (HR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.90).ConclusionsThe MMT CARE intervention focusing on provider capacity building has demonstrated efficacy in reducing clients' treatment dropout. This study sheds light on MMT service improvement in China and other global community-based harm reduction programs