Rapid Syphilis Testing Uptake for Female Sex Workers at Sex Venues in Southern China: Implications for Expanding Syphilis Screening

: Accessibility of syphilis testing services is critical in syphilis control programs for female sex workers (FSWs), but few FSWs attend public STI clinics or other testing sites. Introduction of free rapid syphilis testing (RST) into outreach programs for FSWs will help improve test uptake. : Commercial sex venues were identified in two cities in South China. In cooperation with health advocacy organizations, health outreach teams from local public health or medical facilities approached all types of sex venues in study areas to offer free RST. Acceptability and uptake of RST among FSWs were evaluated. : A total of 2812 FSWs were offered RST and 2670 (95.0%) accepted syphilis testing. 182 (6.8%) FSWs had a positive RST result among whom 136 (74.7%) were willing to attend an STD clinic for confirmatory testing and treatment. More than half (89, 66.4%) of those with syphilis were not willing to notify their sex partners. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that syphilis test uptake was associated with residing in Jiangmen (AOR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.15-2.77), older age (AOR, 2.11, 95% CI, 1.17-3.79 for age of 31 years or above), and not working at a service venue (AOR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.10-2.34). : RST at sex venues is well accepted by FSWs when it is integrated into ongoing outreach services. Such programs provide excellent opportunities for expanding syphilis screening efforts among specific subgroups of FSW who are difficult to reach through clinic-based programs.<br/

Poly(ionic liquid)s-based nanocomposite polyelectrolytes with tunable ionic conductivity prepared via SI-ATRP

National Natural Science Foundation of China [21276213]; National Ministry of Science and Technology of China [2012CB21500402]; State-Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering of Tsinghua University [SKL-ChE-13A05]; Research Fund KU LeuvenIn this study, a novel kind of organic inorganic core shell SiO2-poly(p-vinylbenzyl) trimethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (SiO2-P[VBTMA][BF4]) nanoparticle was well designed and successfully synthesized via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1 NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to confirm the formation of the core shell nanoparticles and the surface modification. In order to overcome the challenge of the characterization of the number average molecular weight of poly(ionic liquid)s, "sacrificial initiator' method was used here employing a trimethylsilyl (TMS)-labeled initiator as the NMR marker for integration. In addition, good thermal stability of the new hybrid polyelectrolyte was proved by thermogravimetric analysis. The electrochemical impedance measurements revealed that the room temperature conductivity reached 10(-4) S cm(-1), which is much higher than that of the pure poly(ionic liquid)s and varies with the amount of the grafted polymer and the test temperature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests further investigated the crystal structure of the nanocomposite and pure P[VBTMA][BF4]. The temperature dependence of ionic conductivity conforms to Arrhenius behavior for both of the nanocomposites and the pure polymer. The results indicated that the SI-ATRP approach provided a simple and versatile route to tune the ionic conductivity of the hybrid nanoparticles by changing the chain length of the grafted polymer, which can be potentially used in a variety of electrochemical devices

Exploring the causal factor effects of hypothyroidism on ischemic stroke: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

BackgroundObservational studies have suggested a possible association between hypothyroidism and increased risk of ischemic stroke. However, a causal relationship remains unclear.MethodsData on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with hypothyroidism and ischemic stroke were sourced from the FinnGens database and the UK Biobank of European descent. Both databases underwent separate two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. A subsequent meta-analysis of MR results using a random-effects model was conducted to determine the causal relationship between hypothyroidism and ischemic stroke.ResultsAll five analyses indicated a positive causal relationship between hypothyroidism and ischemic stroke. MR analysis of the association between hypothyroidism and ischemic stroke yielded a result of the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method at 4.7411 (1.3598–16.5308), p = 0.0146. The analysis of ischemic stroke (without excluding controls) yielded a result of the IVW method of 4.5713 (1.3570–15.3986), p = 0.0142. MR analysis with cerebral infarction yielded a result of the IVW method at 1.0110 (1.0006–1.0215), p = 0.0373. The MR analysis with cerebrovascular disease sequelae yielded an IVW method result of 2.4556 (1.0291–5.8595), p = 0.0429. Analysis for the sequelae of cerebrovascular disease (without excluding controls) yielded an IVW method result of 2.4217 (1.0217–5.7402), p = 0.0446. No evidence of heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy was found. The meta-analysis of the five MR results was 2.24 (1.18–4.26), p = 0.025.ConclusionOur two-sample Mendelian randomization study suggested a causal relationship between hypothyroidism and ischemic stroke, indicating that hypothyroidism could be a risk factor for ischemic stroke. However, further studies are required to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms

Dynamic Visco-Elastic Properties of Polycarbonate (PC) under Static and Dynamic Load

The purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of pre-load static load and dynamic load on the visco-elastic in polycarbonate. In the paper, static-dynamic sweep experiment of polycarbonate was performed on EPLEXOR 500N, which was manufactured by GABO of Germany. The variation laws of storage modulus, loss modulus and loss tangent as changing dynamic load in a large range were systematically analyzed and the spectral characteristics of dynamic-viscoelastic under static-dynamic loads were obtained. The experiment results on dynamic visco-elastic under the high load shows that the load effects on dynamic visco-elasticity of polycarbonate performing on the changing of the dynamic visco-elastic parameters, storage modulus become lager with the increasing of static load and decreasing with the increasing of dynamic load, while loss tangent decreases with the increasing of dynamic load and varies in a more complicated pattern as the increasing of static load.</jats:p

Visco-Elastic Study on Filled Polymer Composites

Dynamic mechanical behavior of materials, which is the response under cyclic stress(cyclic strain/force) in vibration condition, is different from its static behavior. The latter is the behavior of material in a monotonic increasing stress(strain/force). Dynamic mechanics analysis (DMA) is a method to measure the dynamic stiffness and damping in a lower stress level(linear elastic and lower than its yield strength). In the paper, dynamic mechanical experiments of filled polymer materials, polysulfone(PSU) and polyurethane(PUR), were performed on EPLEXOR 500N which manufacturing by GABO of Germany, the relationship of storage modulus E', loss modulus E" and loss tangent to pre-static load and frequency were systemically analyzed.</jats:p