Interaction between plasma sprayed YBaCuO and nimonic substrates

The interaction of YBaCuO layers, deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying, with nimonic substrates at high temperature has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Both the region at the YBaCuO/ nimonic interface and the surface of clean nimonic substrates after annealing in vacuum and oxygen have been studied in terms of chemical composition and peak shapes. Chromium was detected more than 20 ¿m deep in the YBaCuO layer. This is explained in terms of a chemical reaction of Cr3+ oxides from the nimonic with the YBaCuO. Depth profiling of the interface region combined with AES measurements reveals also an extensive migration of nickel oxides from the substrate into the YBaCuO

Principles of condom provision programs in prisons from the standpoint of European prison health experts: a qualitative study

Background Condom provision is one of the most effective harm reduction interventions to control sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis in prisons. Yet, very few countries around the world provide prisoners with condoms. The present study aimed to elucidate principles of effective prison-based condom programs from the perspective of European public health and prison health experts. Methods As a part of the “Joint Action on HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction (HA-REACT)” twenty-one experts from the field of prison health from eight European countries were invited to discuss the principles of condom provision programs in prisons within two focus groups. The audio records were transcribed verbatim, coded, categorized, and analyzed using thematic analysis method. Results Six components emerged from the analysis as essential for successful condom programs in prisons: (1) highlighting the necessity of condom provision in prisons, (2) engagement of internal and external beneficiaries in all stages of designing and implementing the program, (3) conducting a pilot phase, (4) condom program in a comprehensive package of harm reduction interventions, (5) vending machine as the best method of condom distribution in prisons and (6) assuring the sustainability and quality of the intervention. Conclusion Results of the present study can help prison health policy makers to design and conduct acceptable, accessible and high-quality prison-based condom provision programs, and consequently to mitigate the burden of STIs in prisons. Having access to high-quality healthcare services including condom provision programs is not only the right of prisoners to health, but also is a move towards achieving the sustainable development goal 3 of “leaving no one behind.”Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL

Availability, accessibility, and coverage of needle and syringe programs in prisons in the European Union

Needle and syringe programs (NSPs) are among the most effective interventions to control infection transmission among people who inject drugs in prisons. This review aimed to evaluate the availability, accessibility, and coverage of NSP in prisons in the European Union countries. In line with the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” criteria, four databases of peer-reviewed publications (PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect), and 53 databases for grey literature were systematically searched to collect data published from January 2008 to August 2018. A total of 23,969 documents (17,297 papers and 6,672 grey documents) were identified, of them 26 were included into the study. In 2018, imprisonment rates in 28 EU countries ranged between 51 per 100,000 in Finland and 235 per 100,000 in Lithuania. Only four countries namely Germany (in one prison), Luxemburg (no coverage data were found), Romania (available in more than 50% of prisons), and Spain (in all prisons) have needle and syringe programs in prisons. Portugal stopped the program after a six-months pilot phase. Despite the protective impact of the prison-based NSP on infection transmission, only four EU countries distribute sterile syringes among people who inject drugs in prisons, and coverage of the program within these countries is very low. Since most prisoners will eventually return to the community, lack of NSP in EU prisons is not only a threat to the health of prisoners but also endangers public health

# Me Too: Global progress in tackling continued custodial violence against women. The 10 year anniversary of the Bangkok Rules.

On any given day, almost 11 million people globally are deprived of their liberty. In 2020, the global female population was estimated to be 741,000, an increase of 105,000 since 2010. In order to investigate progress in the adoption of the Bangkok Rules since 2010, we conducted a legal realist assessment based on a global scoping exercise of empirical research and United Nations reporting, using detailed MESH terms across university and UN databases. We found evidence in 91 documents which directly relate to violations of the Bangkok Rules in 55 countries. By developing a realist account we document the precarious situation of incarcerated women, and continued evidence of systemic failures to protect them from custodial violence and other gender sensitive human rights breaches worldwide. Despite prison violence constituting a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, very little research (from the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia) has been conducted on custodial violence against women since 2010. Whilst standards of detention itself is a focus of UN universal periodic review, special procedures (violence against women) and concluding observations by the UN committees, very few explicitly mentioned women, and the implications of violence against them whilst incarcerated. We highlight three central aspects which hinder the full implementation of the Bangkok Rules; the past decade of a continued invisible nature of women as prisoners in the system, the continued legitimization, normalization and trivialization of violence under the pretext of security within their daily lives; and the unawareness and disregard of international (Bangkok and others) rules

Filariasis of the Axilla in a Patient Returning from Travel Abroad: A Case Report

Background: The term filariasis comprises a group of parasitic infections caused by helminths belonging to different genera in the superfamily Filaroidea. The human parasites occur mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, but filariae are also found in temperate climates, where they can infect wild and domestic animals. Humans are rarely infected by these zoonotic parasites. Patients and Methods: A 55-year-old patient presented with a new-onset, subcutaneous, non-tender palpable mass in the right axilla. Ultrasonography showed a 1.3-cm, solid, singular encapsulated node. Sonography of the breast on both sides, axilla and lymphatic drainage on the left side, lymphatic drainage on the right side, and mammography on both sides were without pathological findings. The node was excised under local anesthesia as the patient refused minimal invasive biopsy. Results: On histopathological examination, the tail of a parasite of the group of filariae was found. The patient revealed that she had stayed in Africa and Malaysia for professional reasons. 6 months before the time of diagnosis, she had also suffered from a fever and poor general condition after a trip abroad. The patient was referred for further treatment to the Institute for Tropical Medicine at the University of Dusseldorf, where a treatment with ivermectin was conducted on the basis of positive staining with antibodies against filariae. Conclusion: Our case demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between breast center, pathology, and other specialties such as microbiology and tropical medicine

MEM-BRAIN gas separation membranes for zero-emission fossil power plants

The aim of the MEM-BRAIN project is the development and integration of gas separation membranes for zero-emission fossil power plants. This will be achieved by selective membranes with high permeability for CO2, O2 or H2, so that high-purity CO2 is obtained in a readily condensable form. The project is being implemented by the “MEM-BRAIN” Helmholtz Alliance consisting of research centres, universities and industrial partners.\ud \ud The MEM-BRAIN project focuses on the development, process engineering, system integration and energy systems analysis of different gas separation membranes for the different CO2 capture process routes in fossil power plants