Search

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) deliver pulses of coherent X-rays on the femtosecond time scale, with potentially high repetition rates. While XFELs provide high peak intensities, both the intensity and the centroid of the beam fluctuate strongly on a pulse-to-pulse basis, motivating high-rate beam diagnostics that operate over a large dynamic range. The fast drift velocity, low X-ray absorption and high radiation tolerance properties of chemical vapour deposition diamonds make these crystals a promising candidate material for developing a fast (multi-GHz) pass-through diagnostic for the next generation of XFELs. A new approach to the design of a diamond sensor signal path is presented, along with associated characterization studies performed in the XPP endstation of the LINAC Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC. Qualitative charge collection profiles (collected charge versus time) are presented and compared with those from a commercially available detector. Quantitative results on the charge collection efficiency and signal collection times are presented over a range of approximately four orders of magnitude in the generated electron–hole plasma density.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, extensive lockdowns interrupted daily routines, including childcare. We asked whether these interruptions, and the inevitable changes in the people with whom children spent their waking hours, caused changes in the languages that children heard. We retrospectively queried parents of young children (0-4 years) in the US about childcare arrangements and exposure to English and non-English languages at four timepoints from February 2020 to September 2021. Despite discontinuity in childcare arrangements, we found that children's exposure to English versus other languages remained relatively stable. We also identified demographic variables (child age at pandemic onset, parental proficiency in a non-English language) that consistently predicted exposure to non-English languages. Thus, multilingually-exposed children in this population did not appear to significantly gain or lose the opportunity to hear non-English languages overall. These results provide insight into the experiences of this unique cohort and inform our understanding of how language development can be shaped by complex environmental systems.

Abstract Background The effect of gender-affirming testosterone therapy (TT) on breast cancer risk is unclear. This study investigated the association between TT and breast tissue composition and breast tissue density in trans masculine individuals (TMIs). Methods Of the 444 TMIs who underwent chest-contouring surgeries between 2013 and 2019, breast tissue composition was assessed in 425 TMIs by the pathologists (categories of lobular atrophy and stromal composition) and using our automated deep-learning algorithm (% epithelium, % fibrous stroma, and % fat). Forty-two out of 444 TMIs had mammography prior to surgery and their breast tissue density was read by a radiologist. Mammography digital files, available for 25/42 TMIs, were analyzed using the LIBRA software to obtain percent density, absolute dense area, and absolute non-dense area. Linear regression was used to describe the associations between duration of TT use and breast tissue composition or breast tissue density measures, while adjusting for potential confounders. Analyses stratified by body mass index were also conducted. Results Longer duration of TT use was associated with increasing degrees of lobular atrophy (p 0.05). Conclusions TT decreases breast epithelium, but this effect is attenuated in overweight/obese TMIs. TT has the potential to affect the breast cancer risk of TMIs. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the effect of TT on breast density and breast cancer risk.

Abstract Background Widefield radiation therapy (RT) has emerged as a treatment option for extensive skin field cancerization (ESFC), with or without keratinocyte cancer (KC). Objectives To assess the long‐term efficacy, safety, cosmesis and quality of life outcomes for patients with ESFC ± KC receiving widefield RT. Methods NDROR (National Dermatology Radiation Oncology Registry) is an open‐label, prospective, nonrandomized, multicentre registry of patients receiving widefield RT at 11 Australian radiation oncology clinics from a single organization. Field/lesion clearance efficacy and cosmesis were assessed in a cohort of patients with at least 24 months follow‐up. Patient‐reported quality of life using EQ‐5D‐5L questionnaires was performed at each visit. Toxicity analysis was performed on data from patients who completed treatment and had at least 3 months follow‐up. Results Combined investigator‐assessed field treatment success and lesion clearance at 24 months were ≥96% and 93.5%, respectively. The incidence of new KC within the treated field was 10%. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Event grade 1–2 radiation‐induced skin toxicities were reported in >92% of fields at the end of treatment, with 5.8% of fields exhibiting grade 3 toxicities. Toxicity resolved rapidly at the cessation of treatment, with grade 1–2 alopecia and xerosis the most prevalent toxicities after 24 months (51.8% and 43.4%, respectively). Cosmesis in treated fields was assessed as excellent or good in 98% of fields at 24 months. Quality of life significantly improved compared to baseline (baseline: mean visual analogue scale (VAS) 80.65, n = 183) at 24 months follow‐up (mean VAS 84.32, N = 83; improvement of 3.67; p = 0.026). Conclusions This analysis indicates that widefield RT is an effective and generally well‐tolerated treatment for ESFC ± KC. Treatment has a favourable safety and cosmesis profile within the period of follow‐up and is associated with significant improvements in quality of life for patients. Widefield RT may be considered for certain patients with extensive disease who have exhausted or are unsuitable for other therapies.

Abstract Background Early phase malaria vaccine field trials typically measure malaria infection by PCR or thick blood smear microscopy performed on serially sampled blood. Vaccine efficacy (VE) is the proportion reduction in an endpoint due to vaccination and is often calculated as VEHR = 1–hazard ratio or VERR = 1–risk ratio. Genotyping information can distinguish different clones and distinguish multiple infections over time, potentially increasing statistical power. This paper investigates two alternative VE endpoints incorporating genotyping information: VEmolFOI, the vaccine-induced proportion reduction in incidence of new clones acquired over time, and VEC, the vaccine-induced proportion reduction in mean number of infecting clones per exposure. Methods Power of VEmolFOI and VEC was compared to that of VEHR and VERR by simulations and analytic derivations, and the four VE methods were applied to three data sets: a Phase 3 trial of RTS,S malaria vaccine in 6912 African infants, a Phase 2 trial of PfSPZ Vaccine in 80 Burkina Faso adults, and a trial comparing Plasmodium vivax incidence in 466 Papua New Guinean children after receiving chloroquine + artemether lumefantrine with or without primaquine (as these VE methods can also quantify effects of other prevention measures). By destroying hibernating liver-stage P. vivax, primaquine reduces subsequent reactivations after treatment completion. Results In the trial of RTS,S vaccine, a significantly reduced number of clones at first infection was observed, but this was not the case in trials of PfSPZ Vaccine or primaquine, although the PfSPZ trial lacked power to show a reduction. Resampling smaller data sets from the large RTS,S trial to simulate phase 2 trials showed modest power gains from VEC compared to VEHR for data like those from RTS,S, but VEC is less powerful than VEHR for trials in which the number of clones at first infection is not reduced. VEmolFOI was most powerful in model-based simulations, but only the primaquine trial collected enough serial samples to precisely estimate VEmolFOI. The primaquine VEmolFOI estimate decreased after most control arm liver-stage infections reactivated (which mathematically resembles a waning vaccine), preventing VEmolFOI from improving power. Conclusions The power gain from the genotyping methods depends on the context. Because input parameters for early phase power calculations are often uncertain, these estimators are not recommended as primary endpoints for small trials unless supported by targeted data analysis. Trial registrations: NCT00866619, NCT02663700, NCT02143934.

Abstract Background Preventing progression to moderate or severe opioid use disorder (OUD) among people who exhibit risky opioid use behavior that does not meet criteria for treatment with opioid agonists or antagonists (subthreshold OUD) is poorly understood. The Subthreshold Opioid Use Disorder Prevention (STOP) Trial is designed to study the efficacy of a collaborative care intervention to reduce risky opioid use and to prevent progression to moderate or severe OUD in adult primary care patients with subthreshold OUD. Methods The STOP trial is a cluster randomized controlled trial, randomized at the PCP level, conducted in 5 distinct geographic sites. STOP tests the efficacy of the STOP intervention in comparison to enhanced usual care (EUC) in adult primary care patients with risky opioid use that does not meet criteria for moderate-severe OUD. The STOP intervention consists of (1) a practice-embedded nurse care manager (NCM) who provides patient participant education and supports primary care providers (PCPs) in engaging and monitoring patient-participants; (2) brief advice, delivered to patient participants by their PCP and/or prerecorded video message, about health risks of opioid misuse; and (3) up to 6 sessions of telephone health coaching to motivate and support behavior change. EUC consists of primary care treatment as usual, plus printed overdose prevention educational materials and an educational video on cancer screening. The primary outcome measure is self-reported number of days of risky (illicit or nonmedical) opioid use over 180 days, assessed monthly via text message using items from the Addiction Severity Index and the Current Opioid Misuse Measure. Secondary outcomes assess other substance use, mental health, quality of life, and healthcare utilization as well as PCP prescribing and monitoring behaviors. A mixed effects negative binomial model with a log link will be fit to estimate the difference in means between treatment and control groups using an intent-to-treat population. Discussion Given a growing interest in interventions for the management of patients with risky opioid use, and the need for primary care-based interventions, this study potentially offers a blueprint for a feasible and effective approach to improving outcomes in this population. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT04218201, January 6, 2020.

Abstract The past ∼200 million years of Earth's geomagnetic field behavior have been recorded within oceanic basalts, many of which are only accessible via scientific ocean drilling. Obtaining the best possible paleomagnetic measurements from such valuable samples requires an a priori understanding of their magnetic mineralogies when choosing the most appropriate protocol for stepwise demagnetization experiments (either alternating field or thermal). Here, we present a quick, and non‐destructive method that utilizes the amplitude‐dependence of magnetic susceptibility to screen submarine basalts prior to choosing a demagnetization protocol, whenever conducting a pilot study or other detailed rock‐magnetic characterization is not possible. We demonstrate this method using samples acquired during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 391. Our approach is rooted in the observation that amplitude‐dependent magnetic susceptibility is observed in basalt samples whose dominant magnetic carrier is multidomain titanomagnetite (∼TM60–65, (Ti0.60–0.65Fe0.35–0.40)Fe2O4). Samples with low Ti contents within titanomagnetite or samples that have experienced a high degree of oxidative weathering do not display appreciable amplitude dependence. Due to their low Curie temperatures, basalts that possess amplitude‐dependence should ideally be demagnetized either using alternating fields or via finely‐spaced thermal demagnetization heating steps below 300°C. Our screening method can enhance the success rate of paleomagnetic studies of oceanic basalt samples.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273914.].

Abstract Valdivia Bank (VB) is a Late Cretaceous oceanic plateau formed by volcanism from the Tristan‐Gough hotspot at the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR). To better understand its origin and evolution, magnetic data were used to generate a magnetic anomaly grid, which was inverted to determine crustal magnetization. The magnetization model reveals quasi‐linear polarity zones crossing the plateau and following expected MAR paleo‐locations, implying formation by seafloor spreading over ∼4 Myr during the formation of anomalies C34n‐C33r. Paleomagnetism and biostratigraphy data from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 391 confirm the magnetic interpretation. Anomaly C33r is split into two negative bands, likely by a westward ridge jump. One of these negative anomalies coincides with deep rift valleys, indicating their age and mechanism of formation. These findings imply that VB originated by seafloor spreading‐type volcanism during a plate reorganization, not from a vertical stack of lava flows as expected for a large volcano.

BackgroundFunctional dyspepsia is characterised by chronic symptoms of post-prandial distress or epigastric pain not associated with defined structural pathology. Increased peripheral gut-homing T cells have been previously identified in patients. To date, it is unknown if these T cells were antigen-experienced, or if a specific phenotype was associated with FD.ObjectiveThis study aimed to characterise T cell populations in the blood and duodenal mucosa of FD patients that may be implicated in disease pathophysiology.MethodsWe identified duodenal T cell populations from 23 controls and 49 Rome III FD patients by flow cytometry using a surface marker antibody panel. We also analysed T cell populations in peripheral blood from 37 controls and 61 patients. Where available, we examined the number of duodenal eosinophils in patients and controls.ResultsThere was a shift in the duodenal T helper cell balance in FD patients compared to controls. For example, patients had increased duodenal mucosal Th2 populations in the effector (13.03 ± 16.11, 19.84 ± 15.51, p=0.038), central memory (23.75 ± 18.97, 37.52 ± 17.51, p=0.007) and effector memory (9.80±10.50 vs 20.53±14.15, p=0.001) populations. Th17 populations were also increased in the effector (31.74±24.73 vs 45.57±23.75, p=0.03) and effector memory (11.95±8.42 vs 18.44±15.63, p=0.027) subsets. Peripheral T cell populations were unchanged between FD and control.ConclusionOur findings identify an association between lymphocyte populations and FD, specifically a Th2 and Th17 signature in the duodenal mucosa. The presence of effector and memory cells suggest that the microinflammation in FD is antigen driven.

Given the widespread prevalence of sleep disorders and their impacts on health, it is critical that researchers continue to identify and evaluate novel avenues of treatment. Recently the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) system has attracted commercial and scientific interest as a potential target of pharmacotherapy for sleep disorders. This interest emerges from basic scientific research demonstrating a role for MCH in regulating sleep, and particularly REM sleep. In addition to this role in sleep regulation, the MCH system and the MCH receptor 1 (MCHR1) have been implicated in a wide variety of other physiological functions and behaviors, including feeding/metabolism, reward, anxiety, depression, and learning. The basic research literature on sleep and the MCH system, and the history of MCH drug development, provide cause for both skepticism and cautious optimism about the prospects of MCH-targeting drugs in sleep disorders. Extensive efforts have focused on developing MCHR1 antagonists for use in obesity, however, few of these drugs have advanced to clinical trials, and none have gained regulatory approval. Additional basic research will be needed to fully characterize the MCH system’s role in sleep regulation, for example, to fully differentiate between MCH-neuron and peptide/receptor-mediated functions. Additionally, a number of issues relating to drug design will continue to pose a practical challenge for novel pharmacotherapies targeting the MCH system.

Abstract Wildfires devastated communities in Oregon and Washington in September 2020, burning almost as much forest west of the Cascade Mountain crest (“the westside”) in 2 weeks (~340,000 ha) as in the previous five decades (~406,00 ha). Unlike dry forests of the interior western United States, temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest have experienced limited recent fire activity, and debates surrounding what drove the 2020 fires, and management strategies to adapt to similar future events, necessitate a scientific evaluation of the fires. We evaluate five questions regarding the 2020 Labor Day fires: (1) How do the 2020 fires compare with historical fires? (2) How did the roles of weather and antecedent climate differ geographically and from the recent past (1979–2019)? (3) How do fire size and severity compare to other recent fires (1985–2019), and how did forest management and prefire forest structure influence burn severity? (4) What impact will these fires have on westside landscapes? and (5) How can we adapt to similar fires in the future? Although 5 of the 2020 fires were much larger than any others in the recent past and burned ~10 times the area in high‐severity patches >10,000 ha, the 2020 fires were remarkably consistent with historical fires. Reports from the early 1900s, along with paleo‐ and dendro‐ecological records, indicate similar and potentially even larger wildfires over the past millennium, many of which shared similar seasonality (late August/early September), weather conditions, and even geographic locations. Consistent with the largest historical fires, strong east winds and anomalously dry conditions drove the rapid spread of high‐severity wildfire in 2020. We found minimal difference in burn severity among stand structural types related to previous management in the 2020 fires. Adaptation strategies for similar fires in the future could benefit by focusing on ignition prevention, fire suppression, and community preparedness, as opposed to fuel treatments that are unlikely to mitigate fire severity during extreme weather. While scientific uncertainties remain regarding the nature of infrequent, high‐severity fires in westside forests, particularly under climate change, adapting to their future occurrence will require different strategies than those in interior, dry forests.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a global hot spot for aerosol emissions, which affect the regional climate and air quality. In this paper, we use ground-based observations to address the large uncertainties in the source-resolved emission estimation of carbonaceous aerosols. Ambient fine fraction aerosol was collected on filters at the high-altitude (2590 m a.s.l.) Rwanda Climate Observatory (RCO), a SSA background site, during the dry and wet seasons in 2014 and 2015. The concentrations of both the carbonaceous and inorganic ion components show a strong seasonal cycle, with highly elevated concentrations during the dry season. Source marker ratios, including carbon isotopes, show that the wet and dry seasons have distinct aerosol compositions. The dry season is characterized by elevated amounts of biomass burning products, which approach ∼95 % for carbonaceous aerosols. An isotopic mass-balance estimate shows that the amount of the carbonaceous aerosol stemming from savanna fires may increase from 0.2 µg m−3 in the wet season up to 10 µg m−3 during the dry season. Based on these results, we quantitatively show that savanna fire is the key modulator of the seasonal aerosol composition variability at the RCO.

Background: Transmission of respiratory pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 depends on patterns of contact and mixing across populations. Understanding this is crucial to predict pathogen spread and the effectiveness of control efforts. Most analyses of contact patterns to date have focused on high-income settings. Methods: Here, we conduct a systematic review and individual-participant meta-analysis of surveys carried out in low- and middle-income countries and compare patterns of contact in these settings to surveys previously carried out in high-income countries. Using individual-level data from 28,503 participants and 413,069 contacts across 27 surveys, we explored how contact characteristics (number, location, duration, and whether physical) vary across income settings. Results: Contact rates declined with age in high- and upper-middle-income settings, but not in low-income settings, where adults aged 65+ made similar numbers of contacts as younger individuals and mixed with all age groups. Across all settings, increasing household size was a key determinant of contact frequency and characteristics, with low-income settings characterised by the largest, most intergenerational households. A higher proportion of contacts were made at home in low-income settings, and work/school contacts were more frequent in high-income strata. We also observed contrasting effects of gender across income strata on the frequency, duration, and type of contacts individuals made. Conclusions: These differences in contact patterns between settings have material consequences for both spread of respiratory pathogens and the effectiveness of different non-pharmaceutical interventions. Funding: This work is primarily being funded by joint Centre funding from the UK Medical Research Council and DFID (MR/R015600/1).

In this work we explore the deposition of gold onto a silicoaluminophosphate, using a variety of known nanoparticle deposition techniques. By comparing the gold particles deposited on a traditional microporous aluminophosphate, with an analogous hierarchical species, containing both micropores and mesopores, we explore the influence of this dual porosity on nanoparticle deposition. We show that the presence of mesopores has limited influence on the nanoparticle properties, but allows the system to maintain porosity after nanoparticle deposition. This will aid diffusion of reagents through the system, allowing continued access to the active sites in hierarchical systems, which offers significant potential in catalytic oxidation/reduction reactions.

Air pollution is understudied in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in a gap in the scientific understanding of emissions, atmospheric processes, and impacts of air pollutants in this region. The Rwanda Climate Observatory, a joint partnership between MIT and the government of Rwanda, has been measuring ambient concentrations of key long-lived greenhouse gases and the short-lived climate-forcing pollutants CO2, CO, CH4, black carbon (BC), and O3 with state-of-the-art instruments on the summit of Mt. Mugogo (1.586∘ S, 29.566∘ E; 2590 m above sea level) since May 2015. Rwanda is a small, mountainous, and densely populated country in equatorial East Africa, currently undergoing rapid development but still at less than 20 % urbanization. Black carbon concentrations during Rwanda's two dry seasons (December–January–February, DJF, and June–July–August, JJA), which coincide with the two regional biomass burning seasons, are higher at Mt. Mugogo than in major European cities with daily values (24 h) during the dry season of around 5 µg m−3 (daily average concentrations ranging from less than 0.1 to over 17 µg m−3 for the entire measurement period). BC baseline concentrations during biomass burning seasons are loosely correlated with fire radiative power data for the region acquired with a MODIS satellite instrument. The position and meteorology of Rwanda is such that the emissions transported from both the northern and southern African biomass burning seasons affect BC, CO, and O3 concentrations in Rwanda. Spectral aerosol absorption measured with a dual-spot Aethalometer varies seasonally due to changes in types of fuel burned and the direction of pollution transport to the site. Ozone concentrations peaked during Rwanda's dry seasons (daily measured maximum of 70 ppbv). The understanding and quantification of the percent contributions of regional and local (beyond large-scale biomass) emissions is essential to guide policy in the region. During the rainy seasons, local emitting activities (e.g., cooking, transportation, trash burning) remain steady, regional biomass burning is low, and transport distances are shorter as rainout of pollution occurs regularly. Thus, local pollution at Mugogo can be estimated during this time period and was found to account for up to 35 % of annual average BC measured. Our measurements indicate that air pollution is a current and growing problem in equatorial East Africa.

Rationale: Baclofen is a commonly prescribed medication used to decrease spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. Despite its widespread use, this medication has not demonstrated to be consistently effective in clinical studies. Baclofen is also associated with systemic adverse effects due to potent neuronal depression. The management of baclofen toxicity is mainly supportive; however, some studies have shown that hemodialysis may alleviate the symptoms of an overdose and shorten the recovery time. Presenting concerns: In this case report, a 6-year-old boy with mild cerebral palsy, neuromyelitis optica, and normal kidney function was found unresponsive at home, with altered mental status, after ingesting 1300 mg of baclofen unobserved. The patient was intubated and mechanically ventilated because of significant neurologic depression with subsequent respiratory failure. Diagnosis: The patient was diagnosed with baclofen-induced encephalopathy. An elevated serum baclofen level of 4.00 µg/mL (therapeutic range of 0.08-0.40 µg/mL) was observed 10 hours after he was found unresponsive. The patient’s respiratory status deteriorated; he had high ventilatory requirements and remained comatose. Intervention: With the worsening of his clinical condition in the intensive care unit, hemodialysis, administered via a high-efficiency high-flux dialyzer, was initiated approximately 18 hours after he was found unresponsive. The patient underwent 2 hemodialysis runs spaced 9 hours apart, with blood flow rates approaching 250 mL/min. Outcomes: Within 3 hours of the first hemodialysis treatment, the patient started to regain consciousness. He was extubated to room air 6 hours after the second hemodialysis treatment. Novel findings: Supportive management is the primary treatment of baclofen toxicity in a pediatric patient with normal kidney function. Hemodialysis may be considered in severe cases of baclofen toxicity and worsening clinical status, but further studies are needed to confirm this finding.

The introduction of two distinct dopants in a microporous zeotype framework can lead to the formation of isolated, or complementary catalytically active sites. Careful selection of dopants and framework topology can facilitate enhancements in catalysts efficiency in a range of reaction pathways, leading to the use of sustainable precursors (bioethanol) for plastic production. In this work we describe our unique synthetic design procedure for creating a multi-dopant solid-acid catalyst (MgSiAPO-34), designed to improve and contrast with the performance of SiAPO-34 (mono-dopant analog), for the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene. We employ a range of characterization techniques to explore the influence of magnesium substitution, with specific attention to the acidity of the framework. Through a combined catalysis, kinetic analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study we explore the reaction pathway of the system, with emphasis on the improvements facilitated by the multi-dopant MgSiAPO-34 species. The experimental data supports the validation of the CFD results across a range of operating conditions; both of which supports our hypothesis that the presence of the multi-dopant solid acid centers enhances the catalytic performance. Furthermore, the development of a robust computational model, capable of exploring chemical catalytic flows within a reactor system, affords further avenues for enhancing reactor engineering and process optimisation, toward improved ethylene yields, under mild conditions.

Bilingual picture books have been growing in popularity, with caregivers, teachers, and researchers increasingly interested in understanding how picture books might be able to support the learning of words in two languages. In this study, we present the first evaluation of the quantity and quality of text contained within bilingual picture books in English and Spanish targeted to children ages 0–9 and available to parents in the United States. We focus specifically on a sample of codeswitching books (N = 45) which present text in one language embedded in another language. All books were transcribed and evaluated for (1) the number of words and utterances presented in each language; (2) the quality and complexity of text presented in each language; and (3) how switching occurred between the two languages. Results showed that although picture books in our sample presented predominantly English text and more complex English sentences, relatively more unique words were presented in Spanish. Furthermore, picture books in our sample presented frequent switching between languages, particularly within utterances. We suggest that bilingual picture books provide children with potentially enriching yet asymmetrical opportunities for learning in each language.

Background. Vaginal cancer is a rare disease with poor clinical outcomes and limited therapeutic options. In the United States (US), minority women and older women are disproportionately diagnosed with late-stage vaginal cancer. Sociodemographic characteristics, risk behaviors, and cooccurring conditions are linked to vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN). The diagnosis of VaIN is more prevalent among older women and women living with HIV (WLWH). The Caribbean basin has one of the highest rates of anogenital cancers in the Western Hemisphere. In the US, vaginal infections are more prevalent among Caribbean women, and these infections contribute to higher rates of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Given the high rate of anogenital cancers in the Caribbean and the high rates of HPV among Caribbean women in the US, we sought to describe the occurrence of VaIN in a cohort of Black non-Hispanic WLWH. The cohort was followed by an interdisciplinary team of providers with the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Results. Caribbean Americans were living with HIV longer and more were uninsured; more African Americans endorsed cigarette and illicit substance use. Caribbean Americans trended towards the highest grades of VaIN (VaIN 2+) at baseline, but more African Americans progressed to VaIN 2+ in subsequent biopsies. Conclusion. In this cohort of Caribbean American and African American women living with HIV diagnosed with VaIN, Caribbean Americans had the highest grade of VaIN at baseline, but more African Americans progressed to more advanced stages of the disease.

Basalts erupted in the Snake River Plain of central Idaho and sampled in the Kimama drill core link eruptive processes to the construction of mafic intrusions over 5.5 Ma. Cyclic variations in basalt composition reveal temporal chemical heterogeneity related to fractional crystallization and the assimilation of previously-intruded mafic sills. A range of compositional types are identified within 1,912 m of continuous drill core: Snake River olivine tholeiite (SROT), low K SROT, high Fe-Ti, and evolved and high K-Fe lavas similar to those erupted at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Detailed lithologic and geophysical logs document 432 flow units comprising 183 distinct lava flows and 78 flow groups. Each lava flow represents a single eruptive episode, while flow groups document chemically and temporally related flows that formed over extended periods of time. Temporal chemical variation demonstrates the importance of source heterogeneity and magma processing in basalt petrogenesis. Low-K SROT and high Fe-Ti basalts are genetically related to SROT as, respectively, hydrothermally-altered and fractionated daughters. Cyclic variations in the chemical composition of Kimama flow groups are apparent as 21 upward fractionation cycles, six recharge cycles, eight recharge-fractionation cycles, and five fractionation-recharge cycles. We propose that most Kimama basalt flows represent typical fractionation and recharge patterns, consistent with the repeated influx of primitive SROT parental magmas and extensive fractional crystallization coupled with varying degrees of assimilation of gabbroic to ferrodioritic sills at shallow to intermediate depths over short durations. Trace element models show that parental SROT basalts were generated by 5–10% partial melting of enriched mantle at shallow depths above the garnet-spinel lherzolite transition. The distinctive evolved and high K-Fe lavas are rare. Found at four depths, 319, 1045, 1,078, and 1,189 m, evolved and high K-Fe flows are compositionally unrelated to SROT magmas and represent highly fractionated basalt, probably accompanied by crustal assimilation. These evolved lavas may be sourced from the Craters of the Moon/Great Rift system to the northeast. The Kimama drill core is the longest record of geochemical variation in the central Snake River Plain and reinforces the concept of magma processing in a layered complex.

High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) causes virtually all cervical cancers. Trans masculine (TM) people (those assigned female at birth who identify with a gender other than female) have low uptake of conventional cervical cancer screening. Self-collected hrHPV DNA testing has high levels of acceptability among cisgender (non-transgender) females and may support increased cervical cancer screening uptake in TM individuals.To assess the test performance and acceptability of self-collected vaginal specimens in comparison to provider-collected cervical swabs for hrHPV DNA detection in TM individuals ages 21-64 years.Between March 2015-September 2016, 150 TM participants with a cervix (mean age = 27.5 years; SD = 5.7) completed a one-time study visit comprised of a self-report survey, self-collected vaginal HPV DNA swab, clinician-administered cervical HPV swab, and brief interview on acceptability of clinical procedures. Participants were randomized to complete either self- or provider-collection first to minimize ordering effects. Self- and provider-collected samples were tested for 13 hrHPV DNA types using a DNA Hybridization Assay. The primary outcome variable was the concordance (kappa statistic) and performance (sensitivity, specificity) of self-collected vaginal HPV DNA specimens versus provider-collected cervical HPV swabs as the gold standard.Of the 131 participants completing both the self- and provider-collected HPV tests, 21 cases of hrHPV were detected by the provider cervical swab (gold standard; 16.0% hrHPV prevalence); 15 of these cases were accurately detected by the self-collected vaginal swab (71.4% concordance) (Kappa = 0.75, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.59, 0.92; p