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Most of the hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) was rapidly ionized at high-redshifts. While observations have established that reionization occurred, observational constraints on the emissivity of ionizing photons at high-redshift remains elusive. Here, we present a new analysis of the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS) and archival observations, a combined sample of 89 star-forming galaxies at z~0.3 with Hubble Space Telescope observations of their ionizing continua (or Lyman Continuum, LyC). We find a strong (6$\sigma$ significant) inverse correlation between the continuum slope at 1550\r{A} (defined as F$_\lambda\propto\lambda^{\beta}$) and both the LyC escape fraction (f$_{esc}$) and f$_{esc}$ times the ionizing photon production efficiency ($\xi_{ ion}$). On average, galaxies with redder continuum slopes have smaller f$_{esc}$ than galaxies with bluer slopes due to higher dust attenuation. More than 5% (20%) of the LyC emission escapes galaxies with $\beta$, Comment: 14 pages plus appendix. Submitted to MNRAS. Comments encouraged

SummaryBackgroundNanocovax is a recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 subunit vaccine composed of full-length prefusion stabilized recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins (S-2P) and aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. In a Phase 1 and 2 studies, (NCT04683484) the vaccine was found to be safe and induce a robust immune response in healthy adult participants.MethodsWe conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of the Nanocovax vaccine against Covid-19 in approximately 13,007 volunteers aged 18 years and over. The immunogenicity was assessed based on Anti-S IgG antibody response, surrogate virus neutralization, wild-type SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and the types of helper T-cell response by intracellular staining (ICS) for interferon gamma (IFNg) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). The vaccine efficacy (VE) was calculated basing on serologically confirmed cases of Covid-19.FindingsUp to day 180, incidences of solicited and unsolicited adverse events (AE) were similar between vaccine and placebo groups. 100 serious adverse events (SAE) were observed in both vaccine and placebo groups (out of total 13007 participants). 96 out of these 100 SAEs were determined to be unrelated to the investigational products. 4 SAEs were possibly related, as determined by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) and investigators. Reactogenicity was absent or mild in the majority of participants and of short duration. These findings highlight the excellent safety profile of Nanocovax.Regarding immunogenicity, Nanocovax induced robust IgG and neutralizing antibody responses. Importantly, Anti S-IgG levels and neutralizing antibody titers on day 42 were higher than those of natural infected cases. Nanocovax was found to induce Th2 polarization rather than Th1.Post-hoc analysis showed that the VE against symptomatic disease was 51.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] was [34.4%-64.1%]. VE against severe illness and death were 93.3% [62.2-98.1]. Notably, the dominant strain during the period of this study was Delta variant.InterpretationNanocovax 25 microgram (mcg) was found to be safe with the efficacy against symptomatic infection of Delta variant of 51.5%.FundingResearch was funded by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC., and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04922788.

Using functional integral method for the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin chain with the added Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in the presence of the longitudinal magnetic field, we find out expression for free energy of the spin chain via spin fluctuations, from which quantities characterize the antiferromagnetic order and phase transition such as staggered and total magnetizations derived. From that, we deduce the significant effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction on the reduction of the antiferromagnetic order and show that the total magnetization can be deviated from the initial one under the influence of canting of the spins due to a combination of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and the magnetic field. Besides, the remarkable role of the transverse spin fluctuations due to the above factors on the antiferromagnetic behaviours of the spin chain is also indicated.

Background While HIV/AIDS is increasing in Vietnam, very few published studies focus on HIV-related stigma in Vietnam. This study reports on findings from a community development project to reduce HIV-related stigma within one community in Vietnam. Objectives and design The purpose of this qualitative study is to describe HIV-related stigma from the perspective of three groups within one community in Vietnam: people living with HIV, their family members, and community members and leaders, including health care professionals. Setting, participants and methods Fifty-eight individuals from a poor, industrial district on the outskirts of a large city participated in the study and were asked to describe HIV-related stigma. Interviews were conducted with 10 people living with HIV, 10 family members of a person living with HIV, and 10 community members and 5 community leaders including health care professionals. We also conducted three focus groups, one with people living with HIV ( n =8), one with family members of people living with HIV ( n =8), and one with community leaders including health care professionals ( n =7). Findings Stigma across the three groups is characterized by four dimensions of HIV-related stigma: feeling shamed and scorned, behaving differently, stigma due to association, and fear of transmission. The manifestation of these dimensions differs for each group. Four themes of HIV-related stigma as described by people living with HIV are: being avoided, experiencing anger and rejection, being viewed as a social ill, and hiding the illness. Seven themes of HIV-related stigma as described by family members are: shunned by neighbors, viewed as poor parents, discriminated by health professionals, overhearing discussions about people with HIV, maintaining the secret, financial hardship for family, and fear of contracting HIV. Four themes of HIV-related stigma as described by community members and leaders including health professionals are: stigma as a fair reward, avoidance and shunning by neighbors, ruined family reputation, and fear of contracting HIV. Conclusions HIV-related stigma is experienced in a different manner by each of these groups, a finding that should help in developing culturally sensitive strategies to reduce HIV-related stigma in Vietnam.

This article describes an action research approach to community development in Vietnam. An advisory committee worked with the researchers and identified the stigma of HIV/AIDS as a health issue of importance to it. The advisory committee consisted of representatives from the community. The selected issue was then explored in greater depth by individually interviewing infected persons, their family members, community members, and leaders. At the same time, focus groups were conducted for additional members of each of the above three cohorts. Through open-ended questions, the participants described the impacts of the stigma on their life, the possible causes of the stigma, and the relevant strategies to reduce these causes. Based on the findings, the advisory committee suggested interventions to reduce the stigma. This project demonstrated an effective way in which nurses can work with communities to help them to identify local solutions to their identified health issues.

Changes in Mycobacterium leprae-induced lymphoproliferative responses and mediator release by leprosy patients’ lymphocytes were followed during multiple drug therapy (MDT). At the time of diagnosis, multibacillary (MB) patients who did not develop reactions responded to both sonicated M. leprae and synthetic disaccharide coupled to bovine serum albumin (ND-BSA) antigens, but those who would later develop reactions did not respond, even in the presence of added cytokines. The paucibacillary (PB) group initially had high responses to sonicated M. leprae but no response to ND-BSA, even in the presence of added cytokines. In the first year of treatment, the supernatants of PB patients’ cell cultures contained factors that enhanced the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) response of normal cells. In contrast, those MB patients who did not develop reactions at a later stage produced culture supernatants that were inhibitory. Interestingly, the MB patients who later developed reactions during treatment, and did not initially respond to M. leprae, produced supernatants containing enhancing factors, like those of the PB group. Later on in the treatment, all patients had the same patterns: when response to M. leprae decreased from its highest level, inhibitory factors were produced. Further studies revealed that the supernatants which inhibited the PHA response of normal cells contained the active form of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), whatever the disease type or treatment status of the donor. These TGF-β1 levels correlated directly with the degree of inhibition. Similarly, supernatants that neither inhibited nor enhanced PHA responses contained the highest levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), while those from treated patients that enhanced contained the lowest levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). These cytokine correlations transcended the conventional disease classification, and imply that all patients pass through a sequence of patterns of immune response during treatment. These treatment-induced changes may explain occasional reports of response patterns at variance with the ‘immunological spectrum’ of leprosy. BB, borderlineBL, borderline lepromatousBT, borderline tuberculoidIFN-γ, interferon gammaIL-4, interleukin-4IL-10, interleukin-10MB, multibacillaryPB, paucibacillaryRT–PCR, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reactionLL, polar lepromatousTGF-β1, transforming growth factor-β1TT, tuberculoid.

We have initiated a major new survey for emission-line galaxies (ELGs) which we call the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS). Survey observations began in March 1994 with the 0.61-m Burrell Schmidt telescope. The technique we employ combines the benefits of a traditional photographic objective-prism survey with the advantages of using a CCD detector. The field of view of our CCD is 1.1° square, and the prism employed provides a dispersion of 19 Å/pixel at 5000 Å. The spectral range covered (4800-5500 Å) is restricted by a specially designed filter that transmits from rest-frame Hβ to just shortward of the strong night-sky line at 5577 Å; this greatly reduces the sky background. We expect KISS to be sensitive to galaxies with magnitudes as faint as B = 20m–21m, much deeper than existing photographic surveys. Our initial pilot project covers 100 square degrees (Salzer et al. 1994) and overlaps the CfA/Dartmouth Century Redshift Survey (α = 8h30m–16h45m and δ = 29°–30°) in the North Galactic cap.

We report an analytical reversed-phase liquid-chromatographic procedure for quantifying nicotine and cotinine in urine, taking into account the presence of interfering caffeine frequently encountered in such specimens. These analytes are extracted from the alkalinized urine with chloroform. After evaporation of the chloroform, the residue is dissolved in methanol and injected into a chromatographic C18 column. Extraction recoveries averaged 80% to 97%. Chromatographic conditions were investigated to obviate caffeine interference. The proposed eluent mobile phase is a polar mixture of water, acetonitrile, methanol, and a pH 4 acetoacetate buffer (65/2/29/4 by vol) adjusted to pH 4.30 +/- 0.02 with triethylamine. High resolution and linearity were obtained for each analyte up to a concentration of 200 mg/L. The minimum detectable amount of each compound was 20 ng per injection, corresponding to 10 micrograms per liter of urine. Correlation with results of gas-liquid chromatography was excellent (r = 0.99). This simple, rapid procedure allows routine screening of tobacco exposure with acceptable precision: within- and between-run coefficients of variation were less than 2% and less than 5%, respectively.

We report an analytical reversed-phase liquid-chromatographic procedure for quantifying nicotine and cotinine in urine, taking into account the presence of interfering caffeine frequently encountered in such specimens. These analytes are extracted from the alkalinized urine with chloroform. After evaporation of the chloroform, the residue is dissolved in methanol and injected into a chromatographic C18 column. Extraction recoveries averaged 80% to 97%. Chromatographic conditions were investigated to obviate caffeine interference. The proposed eluent mobile phase is a polar mixture of water, acetonitrile, methanol, and a pH 4 acetoacetate buffer (65/2/29/4 by vol) adjusted to pH 4.30 +/- 0.02 with triethylamine. High resolution and linearity were obtained for each analyte up to a concentration of 200 mg/L. The minimum detectable amount of each compound was 20 ng per injection, corresponding to 10 micrograms per liter of urine. Correlation with results of gas-liquid chromatography was excellent (r = 0.99). This simple, rapid procedure allows routine screening of tobacco exposure with acceptable precision: within- and between-run coefficients of variation were less than 2% and less than 5%, respectively.

Lepromatous leprosy patients generally have reduced response to Mycobacterium leprae antigens in an in vitro lymphocyte transformation test, which could be due to insufficient generation of reactions or to active suppression of any reaction generated. We could detect 3 types of lack of reactivity: one which could be restored by the addition of supernatants from healthy, PHA-stimulated lymphocyte cultures, one which could not thus be restored and one in which the culture supernatant contained factors able to suppress mitogen responses of healthy cells. We compared responses of cells rom untreated patients, patients treated for 12–20 months with multiple drug therapy and patients with up to 20 years of dapsone treatment; all types of the disease were represented. Untreated patients of all types had low responses which were not always reconstituted by lymphokine-rich supernatants, but they did not produce the non-specific soluble suppressive factors. In most cases, including BL/LL types, after the initial months of treatment, antigen response improved and was further increased by the addition of supernatants containing lymphokines. Most of the long-term-treated, stable patients had a lymphokine-reconstitutable antigen response, and in most cases also produced non-specific suppressive factor(s). The question as to why leprosy patients do not respond to M. leprae antigen is a complex one; our results suggest that it is related to the activity of the infection in each group of patients.