The relationship between age and sex partner counts during the mpox outbreak in the UK, 2022

BACKGROUND: Understanding the dynamics of an infectious disease outbreak linked to sexual activity requires valid expectations of likely counts of unique sex partners during the infectious period. Typically, age is the key demographic trait linked to expected partner count, with many transmission models removing adults from the sexually active pool abruptly at a pre-specified age threshold. Modelling the rate of decline in partner counts with age would benefit from a better description of empirical evidence. MEETHODS: During the 2022 mpox epidemic in the UK, we asked individuals about their partner counts in the preceding three weeks, which is about the same as usual infectious period for persons with active mpox. We used negative binomial regression (all responses) and Weibull regression (non-zero responses) to analyse the relationship between age and partner counts, adjusted for other demographic data (such as education level and occupation), sub-dividing by three types of respondent: men who have sex with men (MSM), men who have sex with women, and women who have sex with men. RESULTS: Most respondents had zero or one recent partner, all distributions were skewed. There was a relatively linear declining relationship between age and partner counts for heterosexual partnership groups, but a peak in partner counts and concurrency for MSMs in middle age years (age 35–54), especially for MSM who seemed to be in a highly sexually active subgroup. CONCLUSION: Useful data were collected that can be used to describe sex partner counts during the British mpox epidemic and that show distinctive partner count relationships with age, dependent on partnership type

Worry and behaviour at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak: results from three UK surveys (the COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses [CORSAIR] study)

We aimed to describe worry and uptake of behaviours that prevent the spread of infection (respiratory and hand hygiene, distancing) in the UK at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak (January and February 2020) and to investigate factors associated with worry and adopting protective behaviours. Three cross-sectional online surveys of UK adults (28 to 30 January, n=2016; 3 to 6 February, n=2002; 10 to 13 February 2020, n=2006) were conducted. We used logistic regressions to investigate associations between outcome measures (worry, respiratory and hand hygiene behaviour, distancing behaviour) and explanatory variables. 19.8% of participants (95% CI 18.8% to 20.8%) were very or extremely worried about COVID-19. People from minoritized ethnic groups were particularly likely to feel worried. 39.9% of participants (95% CI 37.7% to 42.0%) had completed one or more hand or respiratory hygiene behaviours more than usual in the last seven days. Uptake was associated with greater worry, perceived effectiveness of individual behaviours, self-efficacy for engaging in them, and having received more information. 13.7% (95% CI 12.2% to 15.2%) had reduced the number of people they had met. This was associated with greater worry, perceived effectiveness, and self-efficacy. At the start of novel infectious disease outbreaks, communications should emphasise perceived effectiveness of behaviours and ease with which they can be carried out

Sympathetic and swap cooling of trapped ions by cold atoms in a MOT

A mixed system of cooled and trapped, ions and atoms, paves the way for ion assisted cold chemistry and novel many body studies. Due to the different individual trapping mechanisms, trapped atoms are significantly colder than trapped ions, therefore in the combined system, the strong binary ion$-$atom interaction results in heat flow from ions to atoms. Conversely, trapped ions can also get collisionally heated by the cold atoms, making the resulting equilibrium between ions and atoms intriguing. Here we experimentally demonstrate, Rubidium ions (Rb$^+$) cool in contact with magneto-optically trapped (MOT) Rb atoms, contrary to the general expectation of ion heating for equal ion and atom masses. The cooling mechanism is explained theoretically and substantiated with numerical simulations. The importance of resonant charge exchange (RCx) collisions, which allows swap cooling of ions with atoms, wherein a single glancing collision event brings a fast ion to rest, is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Who is engaging with lateral flow testing for COVID-19 in the UK? The COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses (CORSAIR) study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate uptake of lateral flow testing, reporting of test results and psychological, contextual and socio-demographic factors associated with testing. DESIGN: A series of four fortnightly online cross-sectional surveys. SETTING: Data collected from 19 April 2021 to 2 June 2021. PARTICIPANTS: People living in England and Scotland, aged 18 years or over, excluding those who reported their most recent test was a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test (n=6646, n≈1600 per survey). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Having completed at least one lateral flow test (LFT) in the last 7 days. RESULTS: We used binary logistic regressions to investigate factors associated with having taken at least one LFT. Increased uptake of testing was associated with being vaccinated (adjusted ORs (aORs)=1.52-2.45, 95% CI 1.25 to 3.07, analysed separately by vaccine dose), employed (aOR=1.94, 95% CI 1.63 to 2.32), having been out to work in the last week (aOR=2.30, 95% CI 1.94 to 2.73) and working in a sector that adopted LFT early (aOR=2.54, 95% CI 2.14 to 3.02) . Uptake was higher in people who reported cardinal COVID-19 symptoms in the last week (aOR=1.89, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.66). People who had heard more about LFTs (aOR=2.28, 95% CI 2.06 to 2.51) and knew they were eligible to receive regular LFTs (aOR=2.98, 95% CI 2.35 to 3.78) were also more likely to have tested. Factors associated with not taking a test included agreeing that you do not need to test for COVID-19 unless you have come into contact with a case (aOR=0.51, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.55). CONCLUSIONS: Uptake of lateral flow testing is low. Encouraging testing through workplaces and places of study is likely to increase uptake, although care should be taken not to pressurise employees and students. Increasing knowledge that everyone is eligible for regular asymptomatic testing and addressing common misconceptions may drive uptake

Corporate branding’s influence on front-line employee and consumer value co-creation in UK household consumer markets

General managers are presented with an extensive opportunity to innovate and gain market advantage from front-line employees (FLEs) and consumers working together to exchange services and co-create value. To do this, general managers need to understand more about what influences the content and quality of FLE and consumer service exchanges? What predisposes FLEs to commit to service exchange and value co-creation? And what organizational phenomena can general managers use to influence this predisposition? This article presents results from an empirical research study of FLEs employed by a firm that provides installation, servicing and emergency services to domestic households across the United Kingdom. The study reveals the importance of the firm’s corporate brand in its influence upon FLE’s sense of membershipand attachment to a firm (organizational identity) and the consequent effect of this on their predisposition for serviceexchange (organizational commitment), that is, whether FLEs want to remain in their role, because they feel they ought to,want to or they have too much to lose by leaving

A Genomic-Based Approach Combining In Vivo Selection in Mice to Identify a Novel Virulence Gene in Leishmania

Parasites of the genus Leishmania cause a variety of human diseases that range from destructive skin lesions caused by L. major to visceral infections of the liver and spleen caused by L. donovani that result in death. The Leishmania genes responsible for these different pathologies are not known. In the present study, we used a comparative genome-based approach to introduce and over-express L. donovani genes in L. major to determine whether this results in increased virulence of L. major in visceral organs of infected mice. Through this approach, a novel gene termed Li1040 was identified that is potentially involved in protein transport and was shown to increase pathogenesis in the visceral organs in mice. The Li1040 gene may therefore represent a Leishmania virulence gene that has the potential to regulate the pathology of infection in the mammalian host. These observations help to define how Leishmania causes fatal infections in humans and therefore provide a parasite-specific target for therapy

Factors associated with wearing a facemask in shops in England following removal of a legal requirement to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify psychological factors associated with the use of facemasks in shops in England following removal of legal requirements to do so, and to compare associations with and without legal restrictions. DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional online surveys (n ≈ 2000 adults) between August 2020 and April 2022 (68,716 responses from 45,682 participants) using quota sampling. METHODS: The outcome measure was whether those who had visited a shop for essentials in the previous seven days reported always having worn a facemask versus sometimes or not at all. Psychological predictor variables included worry, perceived risk and severity of COVID-19 and the perceived effectiveness of facemasks. Socio-demographic variables and measures of clinical vulnerability were also measured. For the period following removal of legal restrictions, multivariable regression was used to assess associations between the primary outcome variable and predictors adjusting for socio-demographic and clinical vulnerability measures. The analysis was repeated including interactions between psychological predictors and presence versus absence of legal restrictions. RESULTS: Worry about COVID-19, beliefs about risks and severity of COVID-19 and effectiveness of facemasks were substantially and independently associated with the use of facemasks. Removal of legal obligations to wear facemasks was associated with a 25% decrease in wearing facemasks and stronger associations between psychological predictors and wearing facemasks. CONCLUSIONS: Legal obligations increase rates of wearing a facemask. Psychological factors associated with wearing a facemask could be targets for interventions aiming to alter rates of wearing a facemask. These interventions may be more effective when there are no legal obligations to wear a face covering in place