Advanced materials characterisation for sensor materials

This study is mainly focused on material characterisation for soft robotic sensors which would be launched in the market for commercial usage in the future. The materials which would be used for this project are piezoelectric materials, mainly Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Molybdenum Sulfide (MoS2) and techniques required for this project includes SEM, XRD, XPS, AFM, PFM and ALD. The objective is to find out the relationship between the morphology, composition, and phase constitution with the piezo properties for the application of robotic sensors and aims to come up with sensors that can bend and stretch for different applications and at the same time, able to detect physical properties of objects, despite its minute size with high sensitivity and spatial resolution. The robotic grip sensors which we fabricate aims to find out the following properties of one’s hair condition such as the suppleness, smoothness, hydrophilicity and stickiness.Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering

A Twin Response to Twin Epidemics: Integrated HIV/Syphilis Testing at STI Clinics in South China

BACKGROUND: HIV testing is still stigmatized among many high-risk groups in China while routine syphilis testing has been widely accepted at STI clinics. This project used the platform of a rapid syphilis screening test to expand HIV test uptake. The objective of this study was to use multilevel modeling to analyze determinants of syphilis and HIV testing uptake at STI clinics in China. METHODS: 2061 STI patients at six clinics in Guangdong Province were offered free rapid syphilis and free rapid HIV testing. Test uptake was defined by patient receipt of results and a multilevel model was used to analyze predictors of uptake. RESULTS: This was the first syphilis or HIV test for the large majority (1388, 77.7%) of participants. Syphilis test uptake and HIV test uptake were high (1681, 81.6%, syphilis test uptake; 1673, 81.2% HIV test uptake). HIV test uptake was significantly concordant with syphilis test uptake (τb = 0.89, p < 0.001). The most parsimonious model of HIV test refusal included the following variables: being married, having a previous HIV test, being unaccompanied, and participating in the last two months of the study. CONCLUSIONS: STI-clinic based screening for syphilis and HIV represents an excellent opportunity for scaling up integrated services, especially in South China where syphilis and sexually transmitted HIV cases are both rapidly increasing. Effective integration of HIV testing into routine clinical practice requires an understanding not only of individual test uptake but also of the broader social context of HIV testing