Acceptability of HIV self-sampling kits (TINY vial) among people of black African ethnicity in the UK: a qualitative study

Background: Increasing routine HIV testing among key populations is a public health imperative, so improving access to acceptable testing options for those in need is a priority. Despite increasing targeted distribution and uptake of HIV self-sampling kits (SSKs) among men who have sex with men in the UK, little is known about why targeted SSK interventions for black African users are not as wide-spread or well-used. This paper addresses this key gap, offering insight into why some groups may be less likely than others to adopt certain types of SSK interventions in particular contexts. These data were collected during the development phase of a larger study to explore the feasibility and acceptability of targeted distribution of SSKs to black African people. Methods: We undertook 6 focus groups with members of the public who self-identified as black African (n = 48), 6 groups with specialists providing HIV and social services to black African people (n = 53), and interviews with HIV specialist consultants and policy-makers (n = 9). Framework analysis was undertaken, using inductive and deductive analysis to develop and check themes. Results: We found three valuable components of targeted SSK interventions for this population: the use of settings and technologies that increase choice and autonomy; targeted offers of HIV testing that preserve privacy and do not exacerbate HIV stigma; and ensuring that the specific kit being used (in this case, the TINY vial) is perceived as simple and reliable. Conclusions: This unique and rigorous research offers insights into participants’ views on SSK interventions, offering key considerations when targeting this population.. Given the plethora of HIV testing options, our work demonstrates that those commissioning and delivering SSK interventions will need to clarify (for users and providers) how each kit type and intervention design adds value. Most significantly, these findings demonstrate that without a strong locus of control over their own circumstances and personal information, black African people are less likely to feel that they can pursue an HIV test that is safe and secure. Thus, where profound social inequalities persist, so will inequalities in HIV testing uptake – by any means

Cartan subalgebras and the UCT problem, II

We show that outer approximately represenbtable actions of a finite cyclic group on UCT Kirchberg algebras satisfy a certain quasi-freeness type property if the corresponding crossed products satisfy the UCT and absorb a suitable UHF algebra tensorially. More concretely, we prove that for such an action there exists an inverse semigroup of homogeneous partial isometries that generates the ambient C*-algebra and whose idempotent semilattice generates a Cartan subalgebra. We prove a similar result for actions of finite cyclic groups with the Rokhlin property on UCT Kirchberg algebras absorbing a suitable UHF algebra. These results rely on a new construction of Cartan subalgebras in certain inductive limits of Cartan pairs. We also provide a characterisation of the UCT problem in terms of finite order automorphisms, Cartan subalgebras and inverse semigroups of partial isometries of the Cuntz algebra $\mathcal{O}_2$. This generalizes earlier work of the authors.Comment: minor revisions; final version, accepted for publication in Math. Ann.; 26 page

Multi-scale assembly with robot teams

In this paper we present algorithms and experiments for multi-scale assembly of complex structures by multi-robot teams. We also focus on tasks where successful completion requires multiple types of assembly operations with a range of precision requirements. We develop a hierarchical planning approach to multi-scale perception in support of multi-scale manipulation, in which the resolution of the perception operation is matched with the required resolution for the manipulation operation. We demonstrate these techniques in the context of a multi-step task where robots assemble large box-like objects, inspired by the assembly of an airplane wing. The robots begin by transporting a wing panel, a coarse manipulation operation that requires a wide field of view, and gradually shifts to a narrower field of view but with more accurate sensors for part alignment and fastener insertion. Within this framework we also provide for failure detection and recovery: upon losing track of a feature, the robots retract to using wider field of view systems to re-localize. Finally, we contribute collaborative manipulation algorithms for assembling complex large objects. First, the team of robots coordinates to transport large assembly parts which are too heavy for a single robot to carry. Second, the fasteners and parts are co-localized for robust insertion and fastening. We implement these ideas using four KUKA youBot robots and present experiments where our robots successfully complete all 80 of the attempted fastener insertion operations

The NeuroDante Project: Neurometric measurements of participant’s reaction to literary auditory stimuli from dante’s “divina commedia”

Neurodante. Progetto di analisi neurometrica di alcuni brani della Commedi

The Supercooling of a Nematic Liquid Crystal

We investigate the supercooling of a nematic liquid crystal using fluctuating non-linear hydrodynamic equations. The Martin-Siggia-Rose formalism is used to calculate renormalized transport coefficients to one-loop order. Similar theories for isotropic liquids have shown substantial increases of the viscosities as the liquid is supercooled or compressed due to feedback from the density fluctuations which are freezing. We find similar results here for the longitudinal and various shear viscosities of the nematic. However, the two viscosities associated with the nematic director motion do not grow in any dramatic way; i.e.\ there is no apparent freezing of the director modes within this hydrodynamic formalism. Instead a glassy state of the nematic may arise from a ``random anisotropy" coupling of the director to the frozen density.Comment: Late

Wavelets and graph C∗C^*-algebras

Here we give an overview on the connection between wavelet theory and representation theory for graph $C^{\ast}$-algebras, including the higher-rank graph $C^*$-algebras of A. Kumjian and D. Pask. Many authors have studied different aspects of this connection over the last 20 years, and we begin this paper with a survey of the known results. We then discuss several new ways to generalize these results and obtain wavelets associated to representations of higher-rank graphs. In \cite{FGKP}, we introduced the "cubical wavelets" associated to a higher-rank graph. Here, we generalize this construction to build wavelets of arbitrary shapes. We also present a different but related construction of wavelets associated to a higher-rank graph, which we anticipate will have applications to traffic analysis on networks. Finally, we generalize the spectral graph wavelets of \cite{hammond} to higher-rank graphs, giving a third family of wavelets associated to higher-rank graphs

Comparison of patient comprehension of rapid HIV pre-test fundamentals by information delivery format in an emergency department setting

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two trials were conducted to compare emergency department patient comprehension of rapid HIV pre-test information using different methods to deliver this information.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients were enrolled for these two trials at a US emergency department between February 2005 and January 2006. In Trial One, patients were randomized to a no pre-test information or an in-person discussion arm. In Trial Two, a separate group of patients were randomized to an in-person discussion arm or a Tablet PC-based video arm. The video, "Do you know about rapid HIV testing?", and the in-person discussion contained identical Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-suggested pre-test information components as well as information on rapid HIV testing with OraQuick^®. Participants were compared by information arm on their comprehension of the pre-test information by their score on a 26-item questionnaire using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Trial One, 38 patients completed the no-information arm and 31 completed the in-person discussion arm. Of these 69 patients, 63.8% had twelve years or fewer of formal education and 66.7% had previously been tested for HIV. The mean score on the questionnaire for the in-person discussion arm was higher than for the no information arm (18.7 vs. 13.3, p ≤ 0.0001). In Trial Two, 59 patients completed the in-person discussion and 55 completed the video arms. Of these 114 patients, 50.9% had twelve years or fewer of formal education and 68.4% had previously been tested for HIV. The mean score on the questionnaire for the video arm was similar to the in-person discussion arm (20.0 vs. 19.2; p ≤ 0.33).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The video "Do you know about rapid HIV testing?" appears to be an acceptable substitute for an in-person pre-test discussion on rapid HIV testing with OraQuick^®. In terms of adequately informing ED patients about rapid HIV testing, either form of pre-test information is preferable than for patients to receive no pre-test information.</p

“Avoiding or approaching eyes”? Introversion/extraversion affects the gaze-cueing effect

We investigated whether the extra-/introversion personality dimension can influence processing of others’ eye gaze direction and emotional facial expression during a target detection task. On the basis of previous evidence showing that self-reported trait anxiety can affect gaze-cueing with emotional faces, we also verified whether trait anxiety can modulate the influence of intro-/extraversion on behavioral performance. Fearful, happy, angry or neutral faces, with either direct or averted gaze, were presented before the target appeared in spatial locations congruent or incongruent with stimuli’s eye gaze direction. Results showed a significant influence of intra-/extraversion dimension on gaze-cueing effect for angry, happy, and neutral faces with averted gaze. Introverts did not show the gaze congruency effect when viewing angry expressions, but did so with happy and neutral faces; extraverts showed the opposite pattern. Importantly, the influence of intro-/extraversion on gaze-cueing was not mediated by trait anxiety. These findings demonstrated that personality differences can shape processing of interactions between relevant social signals

American Thoracic Society 2019 Pediatric Core Curriculum

The American Thoracic Society Pediatric Core Curriculum updates clinicians annually in pediatric pulmonary disease in a 3 to 4 year recurring cycle of topics. The 2019 course was presented in May during the Annual International Conference. An American Board of Pediatrics Maintenance of Certification module and a continuing medical education exercise covering the contents of the Core Curriculum can be accessed online at www.thoracic.org.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152541/1/ppul24482_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152541/2/ppul24482.pd

Smoke gets in your eyes: re-reading gender in the "nostalgia film"

Upon its release, American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973) was much admired by critics and audiences alike. Yet, in subsequent years, the film became known for its supposed “flattening of history,” and celebration of patriarchal values. This article demonstrates that such a judgement owes much to Fredric Jameson’s historically contingent work on postmodernism, which argues that American Graffiti constitutes the paradigmatic nostalgia film. In contrast, using close textual analysis, I demonstrate that American Graffiti provides a more complex construction of the past, and of gender, than has hitherto been acknowledged. Far from blindly idealising the early 1960s, the film interrogates the processes through which the period and its gender relations come to be idealised. This article has consequences not only for our understanding of Lucas’ seminal film, but also for the American New Wave, and the “nostalgia” text