The Influence of Anticipated HIV Stigma on Health-related Behaviors, Self-rated Health, and Treatment Preferences Among People Living with HIV in East Asia.

Long-acting injectable regimens for HIV treatment have been developed which are less frequent, more discreet, and more desirable for some people living with HIV (PLHIV) and may help reduce stigma-related barriers to HIV treatment. However, there is little information on the relationship between reported stigma and preference for these newer treatments. We characterized anticipated, experienced, and internalized HIV stigma and examined the associations with treatment preferences among an international sample of PLHIV. Data came from the international, web-based, cross-sectional study called "Positive Perspectives" conducted among PLHIV aged ≥ 18 years in 25 geographic locations during 2019 (n = 2389). Descriptive analyses were stratified among East Asian (n = 230) vs. non-Asian (n = 2159) participants. Results showed that prevalence of anticipated stigma was significantly higher among East Asian than non-Asian participants (72.2%[166/230] vs. 63.8%[1377/2159], p = 0.011). A significantly higher percentage of East Asian (68.7%[158/230]) than non-Asian participants (43.3%[935/2159] indicated that someone finding their HIV pills would cause them much "stress or anxiety" (p < 0.001). Actions taken by some PLHIV to prevent unwanted disclosure included restricting who they shared their HIV status with, hiding their HIV pills, or even skipping a dose altogether because of privacy concerns. Overall, 50.0%[115/230] East Asian participants believed HIV would reduce their lifespan and 43.0%[99/230] no longer planned for their old age because of HIV. Anticipated stigma was strongly associated with receptivity to non-daily regimens. Concerted efforts to reduce stigma and deliver flexible treatment options that address the unmet treatment needs of PLHIV, including confidentiality concerns, may improve their health-related quality of life.

Changes in interferon-γ release assay readout after COVID-19 vaccination: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) are widely used in public health practice to diagnose latent tuberculosis. During the COVID-19 pandemic and rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, it has remained unclear whether COVID-19 vaccines interfere with IGRA readouts. METHODS: We prospectively recruited healthcare workers during their annual occupational health examinations in 2021. Baseline IGRA readouts were compared with follow-up data after the participants had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccination. RESULTS: A total of 134 baseline IGRA-negative cases (92 with ChAdOx1 vaccine, 27 with mRNA-1273 vaccine, and 15 with heterologous vaccination) and seven baseline IGRA-positive cases were analyzed. Among the baseline IGRA-negative cases, there were decreased interferon-γ concentrations over the Nil (P = 0.005) and increased Mitogen-Nil (P < 0.001) values after vaccination. For TB2-Nil value, a similar trend (P = 0.057) of increase was observed. Compared with the 0.35 IU/ml threshold, the baseline and follow-up readout differences were less than |± 0.10| IU/ml over the TB1-Nil and TB2-Nil values in >90% baseline IGRA-negative cases. No significant readout difference was observed among baseline IGRA-positive cases. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccination did not change IGRA interpretation in most cases. Cases showing conversion/borderline IGRA readouts should be given special consideration.

Prevalence of drug resistance mutations in HIV-infected individuals with low-level viraemia under combination antiretroviral therapy: an observational study in a tertiary hospital in Northern Taiwan, 2017-19.

BACKGROUND: Effective ART is crucial for combating the HIV pandemic. Clinically, plasma viral load monitoring to achieve virological suppression is the guide for an optimal ART. The presence of low-level viraemia (LLV) below the definition level of virological failure is a risk factor for ART failure. However, there is no treatment consensus over LLV yet, mainly due to the limitation of standard HIV-RNA genotyping and the resultant insufficient understanding of LLV characteristics. OBJECTIVES: To better profile drug resistance mutations (DRMs) and the associated factors in cases experiencing LLV. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted from 2017 to 2019. HIV-DNA was used as an alternative to HIV-RNA for HIV genotyping coupled with deep sequencing for ART-naive and ART-failure cases, as well as those with LLV. RESULTS: Eighty-one ART-naive, 18 ART-failure and 16 LLV cases received HIV genotyping in the study. Three-quarters (12/16) of cases experiencing LLV harboured DRMs. Cases with LLV had higher prevalence of DRMs to NNRTIs than the ART-naive group (69% versus 20%, P < 0.001), but lower DRM prevalence to NRTIs than the ART-failure group (25% versus 61%, P < 0.001). Approximately half of the LLV cases had issues of suboptimal ART compliance/ART interruption, and 68.8% (11/16) did not display drug resistance to their ART at the time of LLV. CONCLUSIONS: HIV DRM profiles in LLV cases were significantly different to those in ART-naive and ART-failure cases. Approaches to consolidate ART compliance and early exploration of potential ART resistance may be needed for cases experiencing LLV episodes.

Preparation and Thermomechanical Properties of Ketone Mesogenic Liquid Crystalline Epoxy Resin Composites with Functionalized Boron Nitride.

In order to enhance the thermomechanical behaviors of epoxy molding compounds, the hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) fillers were incorporated in a ketone mesogenic liquid crystalline epoxy (K-LCE) matrix to prepare a high-performance epoxy composites. The h-BN was modified by surface coupling agent 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The grafting of silane molecules onto the surface of BN fillers improved the compatibility and homogeneous dispersion state of BN fillers in the K-LCE matrix with a strong interface interaction. The surface-modified BN fillers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermomechanical properties and morphologies of K-LCE/BN composites loading with different contents of modified BN fillers, ranging from 0.50 to 5.00 wt%, were investigated. These results show that modified BN fillers uniformly dispersed in K-LCE matrix, contributing to the enhancement in storage modulus, glass transition temperatures, impact strength and reduction in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The thermal stability and char yield of the K-LCE/BN composites were increased by increasing the amount of modified BN fillers and the thermal decomposition temperatures of composites were over 370 °C. The thermal conductivity of the K-LCE/BN composites was up to 0.6 W/m·K, for LC epoxy filled with 5.00-wt%-modified BN fillers. Furthermore, the K-LCE/BN composites have excellent thermal and mechanical properties compared to those of the DGEBA/BN composites.

Demographic differences in people living with HIV according to recruitment sources: comparison between health-care systems and social media networks.

With the improvement of internet technology in health applications, the utilization of internet and social media as new survey methodologies and recruitment source for research participants have been encouraged, yet evidence of the feasibility in people living with HIV (PLHIV) study is still lacking. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to determine whether there are differences among PLHIV recruited from social media networks and health-care systems using an HIV stigma and discrimination questionnaire. The result revealed that PLHIV recruited from social media networks were younger, more sexually active, and had higher educational status and awareness of the country's HIV rights protection laws than those recruited from hospitals. By contrast, participants recruited from hospitals were more diverse regarding key population compositions, had lived with HIV for a longer duration, had a higher prevalence of concomitant physical disabilities than those recruited from social media networks, and fit Taiwan PLHIV characteristics described by 2016 census from Taiwan Centres for Disease Control. We conclude that sampling bias exists when utilizing social media networks for PLHIV studies.

Facilitating Green Supply Chain in Dental Care through Kansei Healthscape of Positive Emotions.

Dentistry is highly energy- and resource-intensive with a significant environmental impact. To consolidate green dentistry supply chains, delivering the care of highest quality that meets client value should not be neglected. This study emphasized the importance of client-centered healthscape design for facilitating a green dentistry supply chain. A client-centered healthscape design, which promotes clients' positive emotions and increases willingness to revisit the dentist, plays a critical role in realizing green dentistry supply chains in the long run. For this purpose, the relationship among dental healthscape design elements, client emotions, and revisit intentions was investigated using a Kansei engineering-based approach. The effects of dental healthscape elements on clients' positive emotions and the effects of positive emotions on clients' revisit intentions were holistically examined on the basis of the stimulus-organism-response model. Through this approach, 17 elements of design, ambience, and social interaction factors that comprise the dental healthscape and 20 Kansei words used to express clients' positive emotions regarding dental service were identified. A questionnaire survey was used to assess Kansei and revisit intention in healthscape scenarios, composed of varied design elements. Primary data were collected from 600 individuals from 2017 to 2018 throughout Taiwan. Partial least squares was applied to holistically analyze the effects of dental healthscape elements on clients' positive emotions and the effects of positive emotions on clients' revisit intention to generate a Kansei model for the dental healthscape. All 20 Kansei words had significant positive effects on the dental revisit intention of clients. The five positive emotions most associated with increased revisit intention were thoughtful, hopeful, tender, comfortable, and cozy. The Kansei model of the dental healthscape provides references for healthscape design that maintains positive client emotions during the dental service and results in high revisit intention. This approach can realize an emotion-centered design for dental healthscapes that promotes preventive dental care, early treatment, and effective use of medical resources, and consequently contributes to green dentistry supply chains.

Duplicated FoxA genes in the leech Helobdella: Insights into the evolution of direct development in clitellate annelids.

BACKGROUND: As an adaptation to the land, the clitellate annelid had reorganized its embryogenesis to develop "directly" without the ancestral planktonic larval stage. To study the evolution of gut development in the directly developing clitellates, we characterized the expression pattern of the conserved gut gene, FoxA, in the embryonic development of the leech. RESULTS: The leech has three FoxA paralogs. Hau-FoxA1 is first expressed in a subset of endoderm cells and then in the foregut and the midgut. Hau-FoxA2 is expressed in the stomodeum, which is secondarily derived from the anterior ectoderm in the clitellates rather than the tissue around the blastopore, the ancestral site of mouth formation in Phylum Annelida. Hau-FoxA3 is expressed during the morphogenesis of segmental ganglia from the ectodermal teloblast lineages, a clitellate-specific trait. Hau-FoxA1 and Hau-FoxA2 are also expressed during the morphogenesis of the leech-specific front sucker. CONCLUSIONS: The expression patterns suggested that Hau-FoxA1 carries out most of the conserved function in the endoderm and gut development, while the other two duplicates appear to have evolved unique novel functions in the directly developing clitellate embryos. Therefore, neofunctionalization and co-option of FoxA might have made a significant contribution to the evolution of direct development in Clitellata. Developmental Dynamics 247:763-778, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Prediagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea via multiclass MTS.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has become an important public health concern. Polysomnography (PSG) is traditionally considered an established and effective diagnostic tool providing information on the severity of OSA and the degree of sleep fragmentation. However, the numerous steps in the PSG test to diagnose OSA are costly and time consuming. This study aimed to apply the multiclass Mahalanobis-Taguchi system (MMTS) based on anthropometric information and questionnaire data to predict OSA. Implementation results showed that MMTS had an accuracy of 84.38% on the OSA prediction and achieved better performance compared to other approaches such as logistic regression, neural networks, support vector machine, C4.5 decision tree, and rough set. Therefore, MMTS can assist doctors in prediagnosis of OSA before running the PSG test, thereby enabling the more effective use of medical resources.

Multiclass MTS for saxophone timbre quality inspection using waveform-shape-based features.

Under the highly developed automation today, the manufacture of saxophone is still a nonautomatic process and much relies on highly skilled technicians. In order to insure the timbre quality, the sound of finished saxophone must be tested in the final inspection stage. The evaluation of timbre quality mainly depends on the professional musicians' hearing judgment; however, the sensitivity of human perception can be influenced by many factors. To improve the reliability of saxophone timbre quality inspection, an automatic multiclass timbre classification system (AMTCS) is developed and used to assist in the inspection work. The AMTCS is composed of our proposed waveform-shape-based feature extraction method in parameterization phase and multiclass Mahalanobis-Taguchi system in classification phase. The numerical experiments show that the musical instrument classification accuracy obtained by our proposed AMTCS is satisfactory. Through employing the AMTCS, strong assistance was provided to the inspection of saxophone timbre quality, and a perfect identification rate on the saxophones with different timbre quality levels is achieved. Moreover, the significant tones having impact on saxophone timbre quality can also be easily identified by AMTCS.