Recent Progress in Neutron Star Theory

This review contains chapters discussing: Energy density fluctionals of nuclear matter, Many-body theory of nucleon matter, Hadronic and quark matter, Mixtures of phases in dense matter, Neutron star observations and predictions.Comment: 33 pages +13 figs., Ann. Rev. Nucl. & Part. Science, 200

Amphetamine-type stimulant use and HIV/STI risk behaviour among young female sex workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Background: Use of amphetamine-type substances (ATS) has been linked to increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) worldwide. In Cambodia, recent ATS use is independently associated with incident STI infection among young female sex workers (FSW). Methods: We conducted 33 in-depth interviews with women (15-29 years old) engaged in sex work to explore ATS use and vulnerability to HIV/STI. Results: Participants reported that ATS, primarily methamphetamine in pill and crystalline forms (yama), were cheap, widely available and commonly used. Yama was described as a “power drug” (thnam kamlang) which enabled women to work long hours and serve more customers. Use of ATS by clients was also common, with some providing drugs for women and/or encouraging their use, often resulting in prolonged sexual activity. Requests for unprotected sex were also more common among intoxicated clients and strategies typically employed to negotiate condom use were less effective. Conclusion: ATS use was highly functional for young women engaged in sex work, facilitating a sense of power and agency and highlighting the occupational significance and normalization of ATS in this setting. This highly gendered dynamic supports the limited but emerging literature on women's use of ATS, which to date has been heavily focused on men. Results indicate an urgent need to increase awareness of the risks associated with ATS use, to provide women with alternative and sustainable options for income generation, to better regulate the conditions of sex work, and to work with FSWs and their clients to develop and promote culturally appropriate harm reduction interventions. Keywords: sex work; amphetamine-type substances; HIV; sexually transmitted infections; risk behaviour; vulnerabilityNI

Influence of opioids on immune function in patients with cancer pain: from bench to bedside

In patients with cancer, opioids are principally used for the management of acute surgical and chronic cancer-related pain. However, opioids have many non-analgesic effects, including direct and indirect effects on cancer cells and on anti-tumour immunity (NK cells, macrophages and T-cells). Direct effects on immune cells are manifested via opioid and non-opioid toll-like receptors, whereas indirect effects are manifested via the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Opioids can also decrease/alter immune cell infiltration into the tumour micro-environment. Animal models have shown that this is not a class effect, in that morphine and fentanyl suppress NK cell cytotoxicity; buprenorphine does not affect NK cell cytotoxicity, whereas tramadol increases NK cell cytotoxicity, reducing metastasis. In healthy individuals, morphine suppresses and fentanyl enhances NK cell cytotoxicity. In patients undergoing surgery, fentanyl decreased and tramadol increased NK cell cytotoxicity; clinical outcomes were not determined. Meta-analyses of opioid-sparing surgical studies report an association between improved recurrence-free and/or overall survival with regional/neuraxial anaesthesia compared with systemic opioids. In patients receiving opioids for non-surgical cancer-related pain, morphine has variable effects on immunity; clinical outcomes were not assessed. Although there is a potential association between systemic opioid administration and shorter survival in cancer patients with a prognosis of months to years, studies have not been designed to primarily assess survival, as a consequence of which causality cannot be apportioned. Pain is immunosuppressive, so analgesia is important. Opioids for cancer-related pain will continue to be recommended until definitive data on the effects of opioids on clinical outcomes in specific patient groups becomes available

Comparative population structure of <i>Plasmodium malariae</i> and <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> under different transmission settings in Malawi

&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; Described here is the first population genetic study of Plasmodium malariae, the causative agent of quartan malaria. Although not as deadly as Plasmodium falciparum, P. malariae is more common than previously thought, and is frequently in sympatry and co-infection with P. falciparum, making its study increasingly important. This study compares the population parameters of the two species in two districts of Malawi with different malaria transmission patterns - one seasonal, one perennial - to explore the effects of transmission on population structures. &lt;BR/&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt; Six species-specific microsatellite markers were used to analyse 257 P. malariae samples and 257 P. falciparum samples matched for age, gender and village of residence. Allele sizes were scored to within 2 bp for each locus and haplotypes were constructed from dominant alleles in multiple infections. Analysis of multiplicity of infection (MOI), population differentiation, clustering of haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium was performed for both species. Regression analyses were used to determine association of MOI measurements with clinical malaria parameters. &lt;BR/&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; Multiple-genotype infections within each species were common in both districts, accounting for 86.0% of P. falciparum and 73.2% of P. malariae infections and did not differ significantly with transmission setting. Mean MOI of P. falciparum was increased under perennial transmission compared with seasonal (3.14 vs 2.59, p = 0.008) and was greater in children compared with adults. In contrast, P. malariae mean MOI was similar between transmission settings (2.12 vs 2.11) and there was no difference between children and adults. Population differentiation showed no significant differences between villages or districts for either species. There was no evidence of geographical clustering of haplotypes. Linkage disequilibrium amongst loci was found only for P. falciparum samples from the seasonal transmission setting. &lt;BR/&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; The extent of similarity between P. falciparum and P. malariae population structure described by the high level of multiple infection, the lack of significant population differentiation or haplotype clustering and lack of linkage disequilibrium is surprising given the differences in the biological features of these species that suggest a reduced potential for out-crossing and transmission in P. malariae. The absence of a rise in P. malariae MOI with increased transmission or a reduction in MOI with age could be explained by differences in the duration of infection or degree of immunity compared to P. falciparum

Selling sex in unsafe spaces: Sex work risk environments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Background The risk environment framework provides a valuable but under-utilised heuristic for understanding environmental vulnerability to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers. Brothels have been shown to be safer than street-based sex work, with higher rates of consistent condom use and lower HIV prevalence. While entertainment venues are also assumed to be safer than street-based sex work, few studies have examined environmental influences on vulnerability to HIV in this context. Methods As part of the Young Women's Health Study, a prospective observational study of young women (15-29 years) engaged in sex work in Phnom Penh, we conducted in-depth interviews (n = 33) to explore vulnerability to HIV/STI and related harms. Interviews were conducted in Khmer by trained interviewers, transcribed and translated into English and analysed for thematic content. Results The intensification of anti-prostitution and anti-trafficking efforts in Cambodia has increased the number of women working in entertainment venues and on the street. Our results confirm that street-based sex work places women at risk of HIV/STI infection and identify significant environmental risks related to entertainment-based sex work, including limited access to condoms and alcohol-related intoxication. Our data also indicate that exposure to violence and interactions with the police are mediated by the settings in which sex is sold. In particular, transacting sex in environments such as guest houses where there is little or no oversight in the form of peer or managerial support or protection, may increase vulnerability to HIV/STI. Conclusions Entertainment venues may also provide a high risk environment for sex work. Our results indicate that strategies designed to address HIV prevention among brothel-based FSWs in Cambodia have not translated well to street and entertainment-based sex work venues in which increasing numbers of women are working. There is an urgent need for targeted interventions, supported by legal and policy reforms, designed to reduce the environmental risks of sex work in these settings. Future research should seek to investigate sex work venues as risk environments, explore the role of different business models in mediating these environments, and identify and quantify exposure to risk in different occupational settings. Keywords: sex work; risk; environment; vulnerability; HIV; STI; young women; entertainment; Cambodi

A Study on the Impact of the Internet Finance On The Traditional Banking--A Study Based on The Case of Alibaba Internet Finance

随着大数据时代的降临，互联网金融崛地而起，发展势不可挡，互联网“开放、平等、协作、分享”的精髓通过互联网、移动互联网等工具，出现了阿里巴巴互联网金融模式、第三方支付抢占银行地盘、P2P平台迅速发展、众筹平台开始崭露头角等现象。当然，互联网金融与传统金融的区别不仅仅在于其所用的通道不同，更加重要的是，它能够让传统金融业务透明度更强、参与度更高、协作性更好、中间成本更低、操作更便捷。互联网金融的出现与发展，将加快金融脱媒、利率市场化进程，促使存款理财化、贷款债券化，更多的金融行为将从线下转到线上，商业银行的传统经营模式已受到冲击，特别是第三方支付、网络借贷、网络理财已经逐渐侵蚀传统银行业的核心业务...Along with the coming age of Big Data, the internet finance is arising with inundate tendency, and the internet spirit of “Open, Equal, Collaboration, Share” spreads through the internet, mobile internet and other channels. There are different internet finance model appeared, such as Alibaba Internet Financial Model, Third-Party Payment Platform, P2P, Kickstarter and so on, which are developing ra...学位：工商管理硕士院系专业：管理学院工商管理教育中心（MBA中心）_工商管理硕士(MBA)学号：1792011115066

Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review

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Understanding Needs, Identifying Opportunities: ICT in the View of Universal Design

This article provides food for thoughts elaborated by peer researchers who, basing on their studies and on current literature on relationships between Universal Design (UD) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), wish to share few key issues related to the challenges offered by the involvement of final users in designing product and services. Referring to approaches from different disciplines, key questions will be highlighted on which a debate could start, focused on the issue of promoting inclusion and how a close relationship among these different areas of knowledge can contribute to bridge the gap between the potential of new technologies and the real and diversified need by persons. Thus, actively contributing toward the empowerment of the community of belonging

From mediterranean city to costal metropolis: The case of the great La Serena

La Serena tuvo desde su origen una relación conflictiva con la costa próxima. Una planicie costera pantanosa, ataques de corsarios y maremotos hicieron que la ciudad mantuviera un carácter de ciudad interior hasta mediados del siglo XX. El “Plan Serena” (1948-1952) inició un proceso de transformación, propiciando la conurbación con el puerto de Coquimbo. En la década de 1980 la ciudad alcanza el borde costero con la apertura de la Avenida del Mar. Esto fomentó el desarrollo turístico e inmobiliario que ha consolidado el proceso de conurbación en torno a la bahía. En la investigación se exploran los modos de urbanización del borde, evaluando su incidencia en el desarrollo urbano y la construcción de ciudad. Se estudian lugares representativos de la costanera con un análisis morfológico y espacial comparado, situándolos en el contexto político, económico y normativo en el que fueron producidos. Las conclusiones apuntan a la importancia de la relación dialéctica de los agentes productores de ciudad en la calidad de la forma producida, observándose una progresiva privatización y excesiva densificación del espacio costero de la bahía a medida que avanza el proceso de metropolización, generando conflictos con formas mejor adaptadas y arraigadas, que, sin embargo, son más vulnerables ante amenazas naturales y de gentrificación. Since its beginnings, La Serena, Chile has had a troubled relationship with the nearby coast. A swampy coastal plain, pirate attacks and tsunamis caused it to retain an inland city character until the mid-twentieth century. “Plan Serena” (1948-1952) began a process of transformation by promoting conurbation with the port of Coquimbo. In the 1980s, the city reached the coastline with the opening of Avenida del Mar (Sea Avenue). This boosted tourism and real-estate development that have consolidated the process of conurbation around the bay. This research explores the different means of coastal urbanization in La Serena and evaluates their impact on urban development and city building. Representative places on the coast are studied using a comparative morphological and spatial analysis, thereby situating them in the political, economic and regulatory context in which they were produced. The findings point to the importance of the dialectical relationship between urban producer agents in relation to the quality of the resulting city that is produced. They show the progressive privatization and excessive densification of the coastal area of the bay as the metropolization process advances. Thus conflicts are created with better adapted and rooted forms, which, however, are more vulnerable to natural hazards and gentrification.