Willingness, preferred ways and potential barriers to use pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men in China

Objective To explore willingness and preferred ways to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), factors associated with willingness, and potential barriers to PrEP use among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Changsha, China. Design A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 25 June to 31 August 2019. Two hundred and fifty-five MSM were recruited from three community-based organisations (CBOs) in Changsha City. Willingness and potential barriers to use PrEP were examined using researcher-created scales. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the factors associated with willingness to use PrEP. P values <0.05 were considered significant. Setting Three MSM inclusive CBOs in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Participants 255 HIV-negative MSM were recruited through their CBOs with snowball sampling. Results Less than half of the participants (43.1%) had heard of PrEP and 15.3% were willing to use PrEP. The participants reported higher willingness to use event-driven PrEP (3.70±0.07) than daily PrEP (2.65±0.07). Higher self-rated risk and fear of contracting HIV (OR: 14.47, 95% CI 2.19 to 95.53), awareness of PrEP (OR: 4.20, 95% CI 1.64 to 10.73), sharing one's own sexual orientation with parents or siblings (OR: 2.52, 95% CI 1.54 to 7.20) and having a university education or above (OR:0.29, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.72) were associated with willingness to use PrEP. Only 12.2% of the sample was concerned about potential barriers to PrEP use. Conclusion Efforts to improve awareness and knowledge of PrEP, teach self-evaluation of HIV infection risk and provide social and emotional support for MSM are needed to scale up PrEP implementation in China. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Wendy Cross, Louisa Lam and Bixwajit Banik” is provided in this record*

Willingness, preferred ways and potential barriers to use pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men in China

Objective To explore willingness and preferred ways to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), factors associated with willingness, and potential barriers to PrEP use among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Changsha, China. Design A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 25 June to 31 August 2019. Two hundred and fifty-five MSM were recruited from three community-based organisations (CBOs) in Changsha City. Willingness and potential barriers to use PrEP were examined using researcher-created scales. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the factors associated with willingness to use PrEP. P values <0.05 were considered significant. Setting Three MSM inclusive CBOs in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Participants 255 HIV-negative MSM were recruited through their CBOs with snowball sampling. Results Less than half of the participants (43.1%) had heard of PrEP and 15.3% were willing to use PrEP. The participants reported higher willingness to use event-driven PrEP (3.70±0.07) than daily PrEP (2.65±0.07). Higher self-rated risk and fear of contracting HIV (OR: 14.47, 95% CI 2.19 to 95.53), awareness of PrEP (OR: 4.20, 95% CI 1.64 to 10.73), sharing one’s own sexual orientation with parents or siblings (OR: 2.52, 95% CI 1.54 to 7.20) and having a university education or above (OR:0.29, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.72) were associated with willingness to use PrEP. Only 12.2% of the sample was concerned about potential barriers to PrEP use. Conclusion Efforts to improve awareness and knowledge of PrEP, teach self-evaluation of HIV infection risk and provide social and emotional support for MSM are needed to scale up PrEP implementation in China

The early variation of left ventricular twisting function in patients with lymphoma received anthracycline therapy assessed by three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography

Background: Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity remains a significant and unresolved issue in patients receiving chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate left ventricular (LV) twisting function by three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) in patients with lymphoma after anthracycline therapy. Methods: One hundred and one patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who had planned to receive anthracycline chemotherapy were enrolled. LV apical rotation, basal rotation, twist, torsion, time to peak apical rotation and time to peak basal rotation were measured by 3D-STE at baseline, after the completion of two cycles and four cycles of the regimen, respectively. Apical–basal rotation delay was calculated as the difference between time to basal and time to apical rotation. Results: The results showed that LV apical rotation, basal rotation, twist and torsion declined progressively during the whole procedure (baseline vs. two and four cycles of the regimen, apical rotation: 12.5 ± ± 4.5° vs. 8.8 ± 3.6° vs. 6.0 ± 3.2°; basal rotation: –7.7 ± 3.0° vs. –5.9 ± 2.6° vs. –4.4 ± 2.5°; twist: 20.0 ± 6.4° vs. 14.5 ± 5.1° vs. 9.8 ± 4.5°; torsion: 2.9 ± 0.9°/cm vs. 2.1 ± 0.9°/cm vs. 1.4 ± 0.7°/cm; all p &lt; 0.01). Furthermore, apical-basal rotation delay increased significantly after two cycles as well as after four cycles of the regimen (38.3 ± 67.9 ms vs. 66.7 ± 73.9 ms vs. 92.6 ± 96.9 ms; p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: LV twisting function deteriorated in the early stage of anthracycline therapy in patients with lymphoma, which could be detected by 3D-STE sensitively.

Association of Diurnal Rainfall in Northeastern Tibetan Plateau with the Retreat of the South Asian High

The characteristics of intense diurnal precipitation occurring beneath the South Asian High (SAH) are diagnosed in the summer monsoon season from 2010 to 2015 using observational data. The diagnostics indicate that summer nighttime rainfall events in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau can intensify towards the end of the monsoon period. By defining a transition index to identify the transition day during which the episodes of diurnal convection start to decline, daily thermodynamic properties and precipitation from each year were composited before and after the transition date. The analysis reveals that warmer air, increased moisture, and stronger upward velocity are present in the atmosphere before the transition day, potentially elevating nighttime convective precipitation. Enhanced upward velocity that is present through the two months prior to transition date coincides with the timing of the peak SAH, while weakened upward velocity afterwards coincides with its subsequent retreat. The large-scale lift due to terrain-ambient air interaction underneath the SAH and the increased moisture content can enhance the potential for diurnal convection, which lends support to the nighttime peak of rainfall. This feature persists until the transition date, after which the SAH starts to retreat

A new score system for predicting response to cardiac resynchronization therapy

Background: The aim of this study was to establish a score system derived from clinical, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic indexes and evaluate its clinical value for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) patient selection. Methods: Ninety-three patients receiving CRT were enrolled. A patient selection score system was generated by the clinical, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic parameters achieving a significant level by univariate and multivariate Cox regression model. The positive response to CRT was a left ventricular end systolic volume decrease of ≥ 15% and not reaching primary clinical endpoint (death or re-hospitalization for heart failure) at the end of follow-up. Results: Thirty-nine patients were CRT non-responders (41.94%) and 54 were responders (58.06%). A 4-point score system was generated based on tricuspid annular plane systolic ex­cursion (TAPSE), longitudinal strain (LS), and complete left bundle branch block (CLBBB) combined with a wide QRS duration (QRSd). The sensitivity and specificity for prediction of a positive response to CRT at a score &gt; 2 were 0.823 and 0.850, respectively (AUC: 0.92295% CI 0.691–0.916, p&lt; 0.001). Conclusions: A patient selection score system based on the integration of TAPSE, LS and CLBBB combined with a wide QRSd can help to predict positive response to CRT effectively and reliably

Widespread Horizontal Gene Transfer from Circular Single-stranded DNA Viruses to Eukaryotic Genomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In addition to vertical transmission, organisms can also acquire genes from other distantly related species or from their extra-chromosomal elements (plasmids and viruses) via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). It has been suggested that phages represent substantial forces in prokaryotic evolution. In eukaryotes, retroviruses, which can integrate into host genome as an obligate step in their replication strategy, comprise approximately 8% of the human genome. Unlike retroviruses, few members of other virus families are known to transfer genes to host genomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we performed a systematic search for sequences related to circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses in publicly available eukaryotic genome databases followed by comprehensive phylogenetic analysis. We conclude that the replication initiation protein (Rep)-related sequences of geminiviruses, nanoviruses and circoviruses have been frequently transferred to a broad range of eukaryotic species, including plants, fungi, animals and protists. Some of the transferred viral genes were conserved and expressed, suggesting that these genes have been coopted to assume cellular functions in the host genomes. We also identified geminivirus-like and parvovirus-like transposable elements in genomes of fungi and lower animals, respectively, and thereby provide direct evidence that eukaryotic transposons could derive from ssDNA viruses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our discovery extends the host range of circular ssDNA viruses and sheds light on the origin and evolution of these viruses. It also suggests that ssDNA viruses act as an unforeseen source of genetic innovation in their hosts.</p

Ss-Sl2, a Novel Cell Wall Protein with PAN Modules, Is Essential for Sclerotial Development and Cellular Integrity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

The sclerotium is an important dormant body for many plant fungal pathogens. Here, we reported that a protein, named Ss-Sl2, is involved in sclerotial development of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Ss-Sl2 does not show significant homology with any protein of known function. Ss-Sl2 contains two putative PAN modules which were found in other proteins with diverse adhesion functions. Ss-Sl2 is a secreted protein, during the initial stage of sclerotial development, copious amounts of Ss-Sl2 are secreted and accumulated on the cell walls. The ability to maintain the cellular integrity of RNAi-mediated Ss-Sl2 silenced strains was reduced, but the hyphal growth and virulence of Ss-Sl2 silenced strains were not significantly different from the wild strain. Ss-Sl2 silenced strains could form interwoven hyphal masses at the initial stage of sclerotial development, but the interwoven hyphae could not consolidate and melanize. Hyphae in these interwoven bodies were thin-walled, and arranged loosely. Co-immunoprecipitation and yeast two-hybrid experiments showed that glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), Woronin body major protein (Hex1) and elongation factor 1-alpha interact with Ss-Sl2. GAPDH-knockdown strains showed a similar phenotype in sclerotial development as Ss-Sl2 silenced strains. Hex1-knockdown strains showed similar impairment in maintenance of hyphal integrity as Ss-Sl2 silenced strains. The results suggested that Ss-Sl2 functions in both sclerotial development and cellular integrity of S. sclerotiorum