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

A thermal model for static current characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors including self-heating effect

2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Irreducible representations of Upq[gl(2/2)]

The two-parametric quantum superalgebra $U_{pq}[gl(2/2)]$ and its representations are considered. All finite-dimensional irreducible representations of this quantum superalgebra can be constructed and classified into typical and nontypical ones according to a proposition proved in the present paper. This proposition is a nontrivial deformation from the one for the classical superalgebra gl(2/2), unlike the case of one-parametric deformations.Comment: Latex, 8 pages. A reference added in v.

Effect of superlattice modulation of electronic parameters on the density of states of cuprate superconductors

Recent scanning tunneling microscopy on BSCCO 2212 has revealed a substantial spatial supermodulation of the energy gap in the superconducting state. We propose that this gap modulation is due to the superlattice modulations of the atoms in the structure, and hence the parameters in a microscopic model of the CuO2 plane. The gap modulation is estimated using renormalized mean field theory for a t- t′ -J model on a superlattice. The results compare well with experiment. © 2007 The American Physical Society.published_or_final_versio

Multi-field three-node triangular finite element model for helmholtz problem

In this paper, four three-node triangular finite element models which can readily be incorporated into the standard finite element program framework are devised via a multi-field variational functional for the bounded plane Helmholtz problem. In the models, boundary and domain fields are independently assumed. The former is constructed by nodal interpolation and the latter comprises nonsingular solutions of the Helmholtz equation. The equality of the two fields are enforced along the element boundary. Among the four devised models, the most accurate one is 1/3 to 1/2 less erroneous than the conventional single-field model in most examples. © 2011 IMACS.postprin

Hybrid quadrilateral finite element models for axial symmetric Helmholtz problem

This paper is a continuation of the previous work in which six-node triangular finite element models for the axial symmetric Helmholtz problem are devised by using a hybrid functional and the spherical-wave modes [1]. The six-node models can readily be incorporated into the standard finite element program framework and are typically ∼50% less erroneous than their conventional or, equivalently, continuous Galerkin counterpart. In this paper, four-node and eight-node quadrilateral models are devised. Two ways of selecting the spherical-wave modes are attempted. In the first way, a spherical-wave pole is selected such that it is equal-distant from an opposing pair of element nodes. In the second way, the directions of the spherical-waves passing through the element origin are equal-spaced with one of the directions bisecting the two parametric axes of the element. Examples show that both ways lead to elements that yield very similar predictions. Furthermore, four-node and eight-node hybrid elements are typically ∼50% and ∼70% less erroneous than their conventional counterparts, respectively. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.postprin

Spherical-wave based triangular finite element models for axial symmetric Helmholtz problems

In this paper, six-node hybrid triangular finite element models are devised for axial symmetric Helmholtz problems. In the formulation, boundary and domain approximations to the Helmholtz field are defined for each element. While the boundary approximation is constructed by nodal interpolation, the domain approximation satisfies the Helmholtz equation and is composed of spherical waves with source points located along the axis of symmetry. To formulate rank sufficient six-node elements, a minimal of six wave modes from three source points are required. Two methods of selecting the source points are attempted. In the first method, the directions of the waves passing through the element are essentially parallel to the three lines connecting the parametric center of the element and its three corner (or side) nodes. In the second method, the directions are essentially equally spaced at 2π/3 interval in the rz-plane. For the attempted examples, the average error ratios of the proposed elements and the conventional element are around 50%. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.postprin

Double phase anisotropic variational problems involving critical growth

In this paper, we investigate some existence results for double phase anisotropic variational problems involving critical growth. We first establish a Lions type concentration-compactness principle and its variant at infinity for the solution space, which are our independent interests. By employing these results, we obtain a nontrivial nonnegative solution to problems of generalized concave-convex type. We also obtain infinitely many solutions when the nonlinear term is symmetric. Our results are new even for the $p(\cdot)$-Laplace equations

Two-parametric deformation Up,q[gl(2/1)]U_{p,q}[gl(2/1)] and its induced representations

The two-parametric quantum superalgebra $U_{p,q}[gl(2/1)]$ is consistently defined. A construction procedure for induced representations of $U_{p,q}[gl(2/1)]$ is described and allows us to construct explicitly all (typical and nontypical) finite-dimensional representations of this quantum superalgebra. In spite of some specific features, the present approach is similar to a previously developed method [1] which, as shown here, is applicable not only to the one-parametric quantum deformations but also to the multi-parametric ones.Comment: Latex, 13 pages, no figur