Disentangling the stigma of HIV/AIDS from the stigmas of drugs use, commercial sex and commercial blood donation – A factorial survey of medical students in China

Background: HIV/AIDS related stigma interferes with the provision of appropriate care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Currently, programs to address the stigma approach it as if it occurs in isolation, separate from the co-stigmas related to the various modes of disease transmission including injection drug use (IDU) and commercial sex (CS). In order to develop better programs to address HIV/AIDS related stigma, the inter-relationship (or 'layering') between HIV/AIDS stigma and the co-stigmas needs to be better understood. This paper describes an experimental study for disentangling the layering of HIV/AIDS related stigmas. Methods: The study used a factorial survey design. 352 medical students from Guangzhou were presented with four random vignettes each describing a hypothetical male. The vignettes were identical except for the presence of a disease diagnosis (AIDS, leukaemia, or no disease) and a cocharacteristic (IDU, CS, commercial blood donation (CBD), blood transfusion or no cocharacteristic). After reading each vignette, participants completed a measure of social distance that assessed the level of stigmatising attitudes. Results: Bivariate and multivariable analyses revealed statistically significant levels of stigma associated with AIDS, IDU, CS and CBD. The layering of stigma was explored using a recently developed technique. Strong interactions between the stigmas of AIDS and the co-characteristics were also found. AIDS was significantly less stigmatising than IDU or CS. Critically, the stigma of AIDS in combination with either the stigmas of IDU or CS was significantly less than the stigma of IDU alone or CS alone. Conclusion: The findings pose several surprising challenges to conventional beliefs about HIV/ AIDS related stigma and stigma interventions that have focused exclusively on the disease stigma. Contrary to the belief that having a co-stigma would add to the intensity of stigma attached to people with HIV/AIDS, the findings indicate the presence of an illness might have a moderating effect on the stigma of certain co-characteristics like IDU. The strong interdependence between the stigmas of HIV/AIDS and the co-stigmas of IDU and CS suggest that reducing the co-stigmas should be an integral part of HIV/AIDS stigma intervention within this context

Female victimization and intimate partner violence after the May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake

This study investigates the impact of the earthquake that occurred on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan, China on stressed families already experiencing domestic violence. We hypothesized that cumulative postdisaster stress would increase marital aggression and that the well-being of victims would deteriorate following the quake. A total of 186 women were recruited for this study. Results show that all types of family violence, including psychological aggression and physical violence between partners, increased after the earthquake. We provided preliminary evidence that psychological aggression was significantly associated with the detrimental effects on victims' mental and physical functioning. The findings support the need for violence assessment among victims of earthquakes, and we recommend that violence prevention be considered as part of the intervention during such natural disasters. © 2011 Springer Publishing Company.postprin

Concrete cover tensile capacity of corroded reinforced concrete

In this paper, the concrete cover tensile (CCT) capacity of cracked concrete caused by reinforcement corrosion is investigated. A newly developed double-cylinder model with the consideration of concrete confinement effects is used to evaluate the critical expansive pressure of the corrosion products necessary to cause unstable cover crack propagation in corroded reinforced concrete. After considering the critical pressures associated with wide ranges of tensile capacities of concrete, reinforcement diameters and cover thicknesses, an empirical critical expansion pressure function is determined by the least squares method. The CCT capacity of cracked concrete is obtained by considering the equilibrium of expansive pressure and concrete resistant tensile force at the limiting stage. A generic relationship between CCT capacity and concrete cover in a bilinear form, which is suitable for the design, analysis and modeling of the problems related to reinforcement bar corrosion induced and other internal expansion-caused cover cracking, is proposed for the first time. Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of the tensile strength of concrete and cover thickness on the critical expansive pressure and CCT capacity

Minimizing the communication overhead of iterative scheduling algorithms for input-queued switches

Communication overhead should be minimized when designing iterative scheduling algorithms for input-queued packet switches. In general, the overall communication overhead is a function of the number of iterations required per time slot (M) and the data bits exchanged in an input-output pair per iteration (B). In this paper, we aim at maximizing switch throughput while minimizing communication overhead. We first propose a single-iteration scheduling algorithm called Highest Rank First (HRF). In HRF, the highest priority is given to the preferred input-output pair calculated in each local port at a RR (Round Robin) order. Only when the preferred VOQ(i,j) is empty, input i sends a request with a rank number r to each output. The request from a longer VOQ carries a smaller r. Higher scheduling priority is given to the request with a smaller r. To further cut down its communication overhead to 1 bit per request, we design HRF with Request Compression (HRF/RC). The basic idea is that we transmit a single bit code in request phase. Then r can be decoded at output ports from the current and historical codes received. The overall communication overhead for HRF/RC becomes 2 bits only, i.e. 1 bit in request phase and 1 bit in grant phase. We show that HRF/RC renders a much lower hardware cost than multi-iteration algorithms and a single-iteration algorithm π-RGA [11]. Compared with other iterative algorithms with the same communication overhead (i.e. SRR [10] and 1-iteration iSLIP [6]), simulation results show that HRF/RC always produces the best delay-throughput performance. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionProceedings of the IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference (GLOBECOM 2011), Houston, TX, USA, 5-9 December 201

Boron nitride enhanced polymer/salt hybrid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium ion batteries

Solid state polymer electrolyte is a promising candidate for the next generation of all-solid-state lithium ion batteries due to its advantages of light weight, high stability to electrodes, non-flammable, sufficient mechanical strength to prevent lithium dendrite growth, and low cost. Here, through a facile and cost-effective route, two dimensional boron nitride (BN) is applied as an efficient additive in a polymer/salt hybrid electrolyte, which brings about high ionic conductivity, improved mechanical strength and intimate interfacial contact between the electrolyte and electrodes. A 1% BN addition into polymer/salt hybrid electrolyte membrane exhibits a high conductivity of 1.82 × 10−3 S/cm at room temperature. Indentation test shows the BN modified hybrid electrolyte possesses an enhanced hardness (4.99 MPa) and Young's modulus (0.133 GPa). The 1% BN modified hybrid electrolyte is demonstrated to effectively suppress the lithium dendrite growth during repeated striping and plating of lithium. As a result, the battery of lithium metal anode paired with LiFePO_{4} cathode and using the as-fabricated 1% BN enhanced polymer/salt hybrid electrolyte exhibits improved cycling performance with high Coulombic efficiency (over 98%)

Boron Nitride Enhanced Garnet-Type (Li6.25Al0.25La3Zr2O12) Ceramic Electrolyte for an All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Battery

Solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) are expected to improve not only the safety but also the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, especially referring to the application of most promising Li metal anode which encounters deleterious dendritic growth. The key challenge for the SSEs is the pursuit of higher ionic conductivity, higher mechanical strength, and better chemical and electrochemical stability. Herein, for the first time, hexagonal boron nitride (BN) is employed as the effective additive for garnet-type Li6.25Al0.25La3Zr2O12 (LALZO) SSE during sintering, which induces comprehensively improved properties. Compared with the LALZO electrolyte without BN, a small percentage of 1 wt % BN added to the LALZO electrolyte exhibits 30 times higher ionic conductivity (6.21 × 10–5 S cm–1), 6.6 times higher surface hardness (∼0.5 GPa), and 6.3 times higher reduced modulus (5.6 GPa), much improved chemical stability against air (anti-Li2CO3), and electrochemical stability during lithium stripping/plating at different current densities. As a result, the all-solid-state lithium-ion battery composed of lithium metal anode and LiCoO2 cathode with the 1 wt % BN enhanced LALZO electrolyte delivers a discharge capacity of 120 mA h g–1 and a much higher capacity retention (67% vs 33%) after 50 cycles at a rate of 0.1C than that without BN addition. This BN enhanced garnet-type ceramic electrolyte may provide a facile and efficient approach to further promote the solid-state electrolyte for next-generation high performance energy storage devices

Low-energy positron collisions with water: elastic and rotationally inelastic scattering

Differential, integral and momentum transfer cross sections for the vibrationally elastic and rotationally inelastic scattering of positrons from water at low collision energy ( E <= 10 eV) are reported. Several models within the R-matrix method are used to compute the body-fixed T-matrices, while the scattering calculations are performed within the fixed-nuclei approximation corrected with the standard Born-closure formula. These calculations are compared with experimental results for elastic scattering, and the best model gives reasonable agreement with the most recent measurements (Zecca et al 2006 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 39 1597) but not with some earlier studies. The relative contribution of the rotationally inelastic processes is investigated and comparisons are made with the equivalent electron scattering cross sections

International Laboratory Comparison of Influenza Microneutralization Assays for A(H1N1) pdm09, A(H3N2), and A(H5N1) Influenza Viruses by CONSISE

The microneutralization assay is commonly used to detect antibodies to influenza virus, and multiple protocols are used worldwide. These protocols differ in the incubation time of the assay as well as in the order of specific steps, and even within protocols there are often further adjustments in individual laboratories. The impact these protocol variations have on influenza serology data is unclear. Thus, a laboratory comparison of the 2-day enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and 3-day hemagglutination (HA) microneutralization (MN) protocols, using A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), and A(H5N1) viruses, was performed by the CONSISE Laboratory Working Group. Individual laboratories performed both assay protocols, on multiple occasions, using different serum panels. Thirteen laboratories from around the world participated. Within each laboratory, serum sample titers for the different assay protocols were compared between assays to determine the sensitivity of each assay and were compared between replicates to assess the reproducibility of each protocol for each laboratory. There was good correlation of the results obtained using the two assay protocols in most laboratories, indicating that these assays may be interchangeable for detecting antibodies to the influenza A viruses included in this study. Importantly, participating laboratories have aligned their methodologies to the CONSISE consensus 2-day ELISA and 3-day HA MN assay protocols to enable better correlation of these assays in the future

Feasibility of iron loaded 'okara' for biosorption of phosphorous in aqueous solutions

This study investigated the feasibility of using soybean milk by-products (okara) as a sustainable biosorbent for phosphate removal in water and wastewater. The results show that raw okara could hardly decontaminate phosphate from aqueous solutions. Hence, in this work, okara was modified by being cationized using FeCl3 0.25M (namely iron loaded okara, ILO) to enhance the phosphorus adsorption capacity. The phosphate sorption onto ILO was well achieved under the conditions of pH 3, initial phosphorous concentration of 25mg/L, biosorbent dose of 20mg/L and contact time of 7h. Based on Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity of phosphate by ILO was 4.785mg/g. The effects of interfering anions were in the order of CO32->SO42->NO3 It was also observed that Fe(III) was detached during operation. This problem can hinder the sustainable usability of ILO. Thus, further research would be necessary for improving the modification method. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd