Readers\u27 Speakout

Dear Editors: The article in the Summer 1980 Women\u27s Studies Newsletter (vol. 8, no. 3), Building Coalitions between Women\u27s Studies and Black Studies: What Are the Realities?, by Ann Cathey Carver, is to my mind excellent. The understanding by this professor of the very real social realities that make for problems between Women\u27s Studies and Black Studies—and between Black and white women—reflects a tremendous sensitivity which has obviously grown out of extended acquaintance with the Black experience. As a Black woman, concerned with both racism and sexism in the society, I think such perceptive analysis is invaluable. I hope that this piece will be read and understood by many, many others. On such a basis, it is possible to develop strong coalitions, stronger interrelationships and trust, and more intimate one-to-one relationships between faculty and students of both programs and between Black and white women

Detailed Version: Analyzing Direct Effects in Randomized Trials with Secondary Interventions: An Application to HIV Prevention Trials

This is the detailed technical report that accompanies the paper “Analyzing Direct Effects in Randomized Trials with Secondary Interventions: An Application to HIV Prevention Trials” (an unpublished, technical report version of which is available online at http://www.bepress.com/ucbbiostat/paper223). The version here gives full details of the models for the time-dependent analysis, and presents further results in the data analysis section. The Methods for Improving Reproductive Health in Africa (MIRA) trial is a recently completed randomized trial that investigated the effect of diaphragm and lubricant gel use in reducing HIV infection among susceptible women. 5,045 women were randomly assigned to either the active treatment arm or not. Additionally, all subjects in both arms received intensive condom counselling and provision, the gold standard HIV prevention barrier method. There was much lower reported condom use in the intervention arm than in the control arm, making it difficult to answer important public health questions based solely on the intention-to-treat analysis. We adapt an analysis technique from causal inference to estimate the direct effects of assignment to the diaphragm arm, adjusting for condom use in an appropriate sense. Issues raised in the MIRA trial apply to other trials of HIV prevention methods, some of which are currently being conducted or designed

The effect of cooling rate in molten salt electro-carburisation process

In the recent development of a new process of electro-carburisation of mild steel in 800 ?C molten carbonate based salts, further investigation has been carried out to study the effects of the cooling rate after the electro-carburisation process. In the process, the mild steel to be carburised was made the cathode and an inert SnO2 as anode. Salt mixture of Na2CO3-NaCl (mole ratio 4:1) was used as the electrolyte, and the process was carried out at voltage range of 1.0 to 2.5 V for 60 min, and thereafter cooled at certain rate. As revealed by the optical microscopy, the microstructural changes in samples that have been electro-carburised and thereafter cooled either rapidly or naturally in air, were featured by the increase of the carbon rich at the expense of the original ferrite phase near the surface of the samples. Micro-hardness profiles measured from the surface to the centre of the electro-carburised sample presented clear evidence of carbon penetration as a function of the electrolysis voltage, and significant effects of cooling rate after the electro-carburisation process

Electro-deposition and re-oxidation of carbon in carbonate containing molten salts

The electrochemical deposition and re-oxidation of solid carbon were studied in CO32− ion-containing molten salts (e.g. CaCl2–CaCO3–LiCl–KCl and Li2CO3–K2CO3) at temperatures between 500 and 800 °C under Ar, CO2 or N2–CO2 atmospheres. The electrode reactions were investigated by thermodynamic analysis, cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry in a three-electrode cell under various conditions. The findings suggest that the electro-reduction of CO32− is dominated by carbon deposition on all three tested working electrodes (Ni, Pt and mild steel), but partial reduction to CO can also occur. Electro-re-oxidation of the deposited carbon in the same molten salts was investigated for potential applications in, for example, direct carbon fuel cells. A brief energy and cost analysis is given based on results from constant voltage electrolysis in a two-electrode cell.</p

A Trajectory Analysis of Alcohol and Marijuana Use Among Latino Adolescents in San Francisco, California

We examined alcohol and marijuana use trajectories among Latino adolescents in the San Francisco Bay Area

Electro-deposition and re-oxidation of carbon in carbonate containing molten salts

The electrochemical deposition and re-oxidation of solid carbon were studied in CO3(2-) ion-containing molten salts (e.g. CaCl2-CaCO3-LiCl-KCl and Li2CO3-K2CO3) at temperatures between 500 and 800 °C under Ar, CO2 or N2-CO2 atmospheres. The electrode reactions were investigated by thermodynamic analysis, cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry in a three-electrode cell under various conditions. The findings suggest that the electro-reduction of CO3(2-) is dominated by carbon deposition on all three tested working electrodes (Ni, Pt and mild steel), but partial reduction to CO can also occur. Electro-re-oxidation of the deposited carbon in the same molten salts was investigated for potential applications in, for example, direct carbon fuel cells. A brief energy and cost analysis is given based on results from constant voltage electrolysis in a two-electrode cell

Cash vs. food assistance to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected adults in Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effectiveness of short-term cash and food assistance to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and retention in care among people living with HIV in Tanzania. METHODS: At three clinics, 805 participants were randomized to three groups in a 3 : 3 : 1 ratio, stratified by site : nutrition assessment and counseling (NAC) and cash transfers (∼$11/month, n = 347), NAC and food baskets (n = 345), and NAC-only (comparison group, n = 113, clinicaltrials.gov NCT01957917). Eligible people living with HIV were at least 18 years, initiated ART 90 days or less prior, and food insecure. Cash or food was provided for 6 or less consecutive months, conditional on visit attendance. The primary outcome was medication possession ratio (MPR ≥ 95%) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes were appointment attendance and loss to follow-up (LTFU) at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: The primary intent-to-treat analysis included 800 participants. Achievement of MPR ≥ 95% at 6 months was higher in the NAC + cash group compared with NAC-only (85.0 vs. 63.4%), a 21.6 percentage point difference [95% confidence interval (CI): 9.8, 33.4, P < 0.01]. MPR ≥ 95% was also significantly higher in the NAC + food group vs. NAC-only (difference = 15.8, 95% CI: 3.8, 27.9, P < 0.01). When directly compared, MPR ≥ 95% was similar in the NAC + cash and NAC + food groups (difference = 5.7, 95% CI: -1.2, 12.7, P = 0.15). Compared with NAC-only, appointment attendance and LTFU were significantly higher in both the NAC + cash and NAC + food groups at 6 months. At 12 months, the effect of NAC + cash, but not NAC + food, on MPR ≥ 95% and retention was sustained. CONCLUSION: Short-term conditional cash and food assistance improves ART possession and appointment attendance and reduces LTFU among food-insecure ART initiates in Tanzania

Financial incentives to promote retention in care and viral suppression in adults with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania: a three-arm randomised controlled trial

Background: Financial incentives promote use of HIV services and might support adherence to the sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART) necessary for viral suppression, but few studies have assessed a biomarker of adherence or evaluated optimal implementation. We sought to determine whether varying sized financial incentives for clinic attendance effected viral suppression in patients starting ART in Tanzania. Methods: In a three-arm, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial at four health facilities in Shinyanga region, Tanzania, adults aged 18 years or older with HIV who had started ART within the past 30 days were randomly assigned (1:1:1) using a tablet-based application (stratified by site) to receive usual care (control group) or to receive a cash incentive for monthly clinic attendance in one of two amounts: 10 000 Tanzanian Shillings (TZS; about US$4·50) or 22 500 TZS (about$10·00). There were no formal exclusion criteria. Participants were masked to the existence of two incentive sizes. Incentives were provided for up to 6 months via mobile health technology (mHealth) that linked biometric attendance monitoring to automated mobile payments. We evaluated the primary outcome of retention in care with viral suppression (<1000 copies per mL) at 6 months using logistic regression. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03351556. Findings: Between April 24 and Dec 14, 2018, 530 participants were randomly assigned to an incentive strategy (184 in the control group, 172 in the smaller incentive group, and 174 in the larger incentive group). All participants were included in the primary intention-to-treat analysis. At 6 months, approximately 134 (73%) participants in the control group remained in care and had viral suppression, compared with 143 (83%) in the smaller incentive group (risk difference [RD] 9·8, 95% CI 1·2 to 18·5) and 150 (86%) in the larger incentive group (RD 13·0, 4·5 to 21·5); we identified a positive trend between incentive size and viral suppression (p trend=0·0032), although the incentive groups did not significantly differ (RD 3·2, −4·6 to 11·0). Adverse events included seven (4%) deaths in the control group and 11 (3%) deaths in the intervention groups, none related to study participation. Interpretation: Small financial incentives delivered using mHealth can improve retention in care and viral suppression in adults starting HIV treatment. Although further research should investigate the durability of effects from short-term incentives, these findings strengthen the evidence for implementing financial incentives within standard HIV care

The Entomopathogenic Bacterial Endosymbionts Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus: Convergent Lifestyles from Divergent Genomes

Members of the genus Xenorhabdus are entomopathogenic bacteria that associate with nematodes. The nematode-bacteria pair infects and kills insects, with both partners contributing to insect pathogenesis and the bacteria providing nutrition to the nematode from available insect-derived nutrients. The nematode provides the bacteria with protection from predators, access to nutrients, and a mechanism of dispersal. Members of the bacterial genus Photorhabdus also associate with nematodes to kill insects, and both genera of bacteria provide similar services to their different nematode hosts through unique physiological and metabolic mechanisms. We posited that these differences would be reflected in their respective genomes. To test this, we sequenced to completion the genomes of Xenorhabdus nematophila ATCC 19061 and Xenorhabdus bovienii SS-2004. As expected, both Xenorhabdus genomes encode many anti-insecticidal compounds, commensurate with their entomopathogenic lifestyle. Despite the similarities in lifestyle between Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus bacteria, a comparative analysis of the Xenorhabdus, Photorhabdus luminescens, and P. asymbiotica genomes suggests genomic divergence. These findings indicate that evolutionary changes shaped by symbiotic interactions can follow different routes to achieve similar end points