Hepatitis C Virus Infection Epidemiology among People Who Inject Drugs in Europe: A Systematic Review of Data for Scaling Up Treatment and Prevention

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatment options are improving and may enhance prevention; however access for PWID may be poor. The availability in the literature of information on seven main topic areas (incidence, chronicity, genotypes, HIV co-infection, diagnosis and treatment uptake, and burden of disease) to guide HCV treatment and prevention scale-up for PWID in the 27 countries of the European Union is systematically reviewed. Methods and Findings: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for publications between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012, with a search strategy of general keywords regarding viral hepatitis, substance abuse and geographic scope, as well as topic-specific keywords. Additional articles were found through structured email consultations with a large European expert network. Data availability was highly variable and important limitations existed in comparability and representativeness. Nine of 27 countries had data on HCV incidence among PWID, which was often high (2.7-66/100 person-years, median 13, Interquartile range (IQR) 8.7–28). Most common HCV genotypes were G1 and G3; however, G4 may be increasing, while the proportion of traditionally ‘difficult to treat’ genotypes (G1+G4) showed large variation (median 53, IQR 43–62). Twelve countries reported on HCV chronicity (median 72, IQR 64–81) and 22 on HIV prevalence in HCV-infected PWID (median 3.9%, IQR 0.2–28). Undiagnosed infection, assessed in five countries, was high (median 49%, IQR 38–64), while of those diagnosed, the proportion entering treatment was low (median 9.5%, IQR 3.5–15). Burden of disease, where assessed, was high and will rise in the next decade. Conclusion: Key data on HCV epidemiology, care and disease burden among PWID in Europe are sparse but suggest many undiagnosed infections and poor treatment uptake. Stronger efforts are needed to improve data availability to guide an increase in HCV treatment among PWID

Hydrogen quantification in hydrogenated amorphous carbon films by infrared, Raman, and x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopies

Contains fulltext : 75172.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)7 p

Direct spectroscopic evidence of self-formed C_60 inclusions in fullerenelike hydrogenated carbon films

Contains fulltext : 72176.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)3 p

The effect of nitrogen incorporation on the bonding structure of hydrogenated carbon nitride films

This work describes the composition and bonding structure of hydrogenated carbon nitride (a-CNx:H) films synthesized by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition using as precursor gases argon, methane, and nitrogen. The composition of the films was derived from Rutherford backscattering and elastic recoil detection analysis and the bonding structure was examined by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). By varying the nitrogen to methane ratio in the applied gas mixture, polymeric a-CNx:H films with N/C contents varying from 0.06 to 0.49 were obtained. Remarkably, the H content of the films (similar to 40 at. %) was rather unaffected by the nitrogenation process. The different bonding states as detected in the measured XANES C(1s) and N(1s) spectra have been correlated with those of a large number of reference samples. The XANES and IR spectroscopy results indicate that N atoms are efficiently incorporated into the amorphous carbon network and can be found in different bonding environments, such as pyridinelike, graphitelike, nitrilelike, and amino groups. The nitrogenation of the films results in the formation of N-H bonding environments at the cost of C-H structures. Also, the insertion of N induces a higher fraction of double bonds in the structure at the expense of the linear polymerlike chains, hence resulting in a more cross-linked solid. The formation of double bonds takes place through complex C=N structures and not by formation of graphitic aromatic rings. Also, the mechanical and tribological properties (hardness, friction, and wear) of the films have been studied as a function of the nitrogen content. Despite the major modifications in the bonding structure with nitrogen uptake, no significant changes in these properties are observed. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.status: publishe

Direct spectroscopic evidence of self-formed C-60 inclusions in fullerenelike hydrogenated carbon films

The detection of self-formed C-60 inclusions in hydrogenated carbon (C:H) with fullerenelike (FL) structure is reported. This material is synthesized by bias-enhanced electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition at low substrate temperatures (< 120 degrees C). The FL structure is identified by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy whereas the presence of C-60 inclusions is derived from spectral signatures in the C(1s) x-ray absorption near edge structure. The formation of FL-C:H takes place for negative bias voltages higher than 100 V, in parallel with dehydrogenation and drastic improvement of the tribomechanical film properties. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.status: publishe

DC substrate bias effects on the physical properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films grown by plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films have been grown from argon/methane gas mixtures by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapour deposition (ECR-CVD) on silicon substrates. The effects of the application of a DC substrate bias on the structural, morphological and mechanical properties of the films have been explored by multiple analysis techniques such as infrared and micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, nanoindentation and pin-on-disk wear testing. In general, within the range of applied substrate bias (i.e. from -300 up to + 100V) we have observed a strong correlation between all measured properties of the a-C:H films and the ion energy. This work shows that the properties can differ greatly and indicates a threshold energy in the order of 90 eV. For the production of hard, low-friction coatings energies above this value are required. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.status: publishe

Material with fullerene-type structure, production method and applications thereof (Spanish Patent)

status: publishe

Hydrogen quantification in hydrogenated amorphous carbon films by infrared, Raman, and x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopies

In this study, we have employed infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy, visible Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) to quantify the hydrogen (HI) content in hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C: HI) films. a-C: H films with a hydrogen content varying from 29 to 47 at. % have been synthesized by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition at low substrate temperatures (< 120 degrees C) applying a wide range of bias voltage, V-b, (- 300 V < V-b < + 100 V). With the application of high negative V-b, the a-C: II films undergo a dehydrogenation process accompanied by a sharp structural modification from polymer-to fullerenelike films. The trend in the H content derived from elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) is quantitatively reproduced from the intensity of the C-H bands and states in the IR and XANES spectra, respectively, as well as from the photoluminescence (PL) background drop in the Raman spectra. Using the H contents obtained by ERDA as reference data, semiquantitative expressions are inferred for the amount of bonded hydrogen as a function of the experimental spectroscopic parameters, i.e., the integrated area of the IR C-H stretching band at about 2900 cm(-1), the PL background in visible Raman spectra, and the XANES intensity of the sigma*-CH peak. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3103326]status: publishe

Micromechanical properties of diamond films deposited by microwave-plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition

This paper reports on the study of mechanical properties of diamond films produced by microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition on silicon under different deposition conditions. The quality of films has been examined by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Raman and Auger electron spectra show significant differences between the sp3 and sp2 bonding characters depending on the methane concentrations used in the deposition of diamond films. The microstructure of these films has a significant influence on the microhardness and elastic properties measured by a dynamic microindentation technique in a load range 0.4-10 mN. Changes in film quality have shown variations in these values, leading to a relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties of these diamond films. The best results have been obtained for diamond films deposited at CH4 concentrations in H2 of less than 0.5 vol.%, reaching hardness values of up to 42 GPa and percentages of elastic recovery of up to 84.5%.This work was supported in part by the Comisi6n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Project MAT90-0848-CO2-02, and by the Commission of European Communities under Contract BREU-0098-C.Peer reviewe