Electrodeposition and Anti-corrosive Properties of Polypyrrole Coatings on Stainless Steel

Electrochemical deposition of polypyrrole coatings on stainless steel was carried out by the constant potential technique. This study will provide a better understanding of the corrosion protection mechanism of the polypyrrole coating. The structure of the coating was determined by using Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIR). The RAIR peaks ratios of the characteristic peaks were used to monitor the changes in the structure of polymer with respect to the process parameters. The change in corrosion current with process parameter was correlated with the extent of oxidation of the polymer. The mean roughness, rms roughness and the 3-D morphology of the coatings obtained from Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were used to correlate the surface energy changes of the coatings

ZENITH Adolescent HIV prevalence survey dataset

The ZENITH study sought to determine whether a package of services at primary care level would adequately meet the needs of vertically HIV-infected children and adolescents in Zimbabwe, or whether further decentralisation is needed to provide community-level HIV testing and/or treatment support. This dataset contains results of a adolescent HIV prevalence survey conducted in Harare

Community burden of undiagnosed HIV infection among adolescents in Zimbabwe following primary healthcare-based provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling: A cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Children living with HIV who are not diagnosed in infancy often remain undiagnosed until they present with advanced disease. Provider-initiated testing and counselling (PITC) in health facilities is recommended for high-HIV-prevalence settings, but it is unclear whether this approach is sufficient to achieve universal coverage of HIV testing. We aimed to investigate the change in community burden of undiagnosed HIV infection among older children and adolescents following implementation of PITC in Harare, Zimbabwe. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Over the course of 2 years (January 2013-January 2015), 7 primary health clinics (PHCs) in southwestern Harare implemented optimised, opt-out PITC for all attendees aged 6-15 years. In February 2015-December 2015, we conducted a representative cross-sectional survey of 8-17-year-olds living in the 7 communities served by the study PHCs, who would have had 2 years of exposure to PITC. Knowledge of HIV status was ascertained through a caregiver questionnaire, and anonymised HIV testing was carried out using oral mucosal transudate (OMT) tests. After 1 participant taking antiretroviral therapy was observed to have a false negative OMT result, from July 2015 urine samples were obtained from all participants providing OMTs and tested for antiretroviral drugs to confirm HIV status. Children who tested positive through PITC were identified from among survey participants using gender, birthdate, and location. Of 7,146 children in 4,251 eligible households, 5,486 (76.8%) children in 3,397 households agreed to participate in the survey, and 141 were HIV positive. HIV prevalence was 2.6% (95% CI 2.2%-3.1%), and over a third of participants with HIV were undiagnosed (37.7%; 95% CI 29.8%-46.2%). Similarly, among the subsample of 2,643 (48.2%) participants with a urine test result, 34.7% of those living with HIV were undiagnosed (95% CI 23.5%-47.9%). Based on extrapolation from the survey sample to the community, we estimated that PITC over 2 years identified between 18% and 42% of previously undiagnosed children in the community. The main limitation is that prevalence of undiagnosed HIV was defined using a combination of 3 measures (OMT, self-report, and urine test), none of which were perfect. CONCLUSIONS: Facility-based approaches are inadequate in achieving universal coverage of HIV testing among older children and adolescents. Alternative, community-based approaches are required to meet the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) target of diagnosing 90% of those living with HIV by 2020 in this age group

Principles, policies and practices in the determination of fair terms in exclusive multi-option recording and music publishing agreements: an Anglo-American study

Exclusive multi-option recording and music publishing agreements display extraordinary characteristics in the law. These contracts depict not only the exclusive nature of the professional service(s) restraint of musical artists, but also the exclusive control over the copyright in the musical work(s). They illustrate the operation of two distinct forms of exclusivity which are unique to the practices of the music industry. Both types of restraint are significant because they usually operate over a number of years, and are influential in the shaping of musical careers. This thesis considers the principles, policies and practices which influence the interpretation of fair terms in these contracts. The function of specific contractual terms and their roles within the operation of the agreement will be examined. In particular, the interaction between the two types of exclusivity and the terms of contractual remuneration is considered in depth. This examination is quite unique not only because it considers the role of exclusive copyright within the operation of contract doctrines but also in terms of the recognition of the conceptual link between copyright and royalty payments. Bargaining priorities will also have to take into account crucial socio-economic background factors (including the effects of information technology), against which these contracts are being negotiated, as well as the theoretical foundations of legal interpretation. With regard to the latter, the theoretical model endorsed in this thesis is one based on liberal egalitarianism. This theory emphasises a primary concern for contractors as individuals and interprets a successful contract as a product of a co-operative rather than a competitive relationship. The laws and practices of the UK and the US (New York and California), which are the economic leaders in the 'pop' music industry (the focus of my study) will be discussed. The volume of work, expertise and experience in these jurisdictions has provided the most important illustrations of law and practice in the music industry

Variations in the cerebral venous anatomy and pitfalls in the diagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: Low field MR experience

Background: Knowledge of variations in the cerebral venous anatomy and apparent signal abnormalities seen on Magnetic resonance (MR) angiography are essential to avoid over-diagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), while interpreting the MR angiograms. Aims: To evaluate the variations of cerebral venous anatomy and signal abnormalities by using 3D phase contrast MR angiography performed in a 0.5 Tesla MRI scanner. Materials and Methods: One hundred patients who underwent MR imaging and MR angiography examinations at our institution from March 2004 to February 2005, with normal MR imaging of brain were studied retrospectively. Patients with clinical suspicion of CVST and patients who underwent color doppler evaluation for suspected deep vein thrombosis were excluded. Results: The superior sagittal, straight sinus and the internal cerebral veins were visualized in all patients. There was hypoplasia of the right transverse sinus in 13 patients, left transverse sinus in 35 patients, right sigmoid sinus in 6 patients and left sigmoid sinus in 19 patients. Absence of transverse sinus on left side was observed in one patient and absence of sigmoid sinus in 2 patients on left side. Flow gaps were observed in non-dominant transverse sinus, sigmoid sinus as well as transverse sigmoid sinus junctions. The occipital sinus was visualized in 17 patients. Conclusions: MR angiography done at low field strengths is also a reliable method, for assessing cerebral venous sinuses. Awareness of the normal anatomical variations of venous sinuses and apparent MR angiographic flow gaps prevent misdiagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis