Self-efficacy mediates the effect of providing HIV self-testing kits on HIV testing frequency among Chinese men who have sex with men: results from a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: HIV self-testing (HIVST) could promote HIV tests; however, knowledge about the mechanisms by which providing HIVST kits impacts the uptake of HIV testing is limited. This study aimed to examine how self-efficacy mediates the association between providing HIVST kits and HIV testing frequency. METHODS: In this randomised controlled trial, HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) were recruited in China and randomly assigned 1:1 into intervention and control groups. MSM in the control group could access site-based HIV testing services (SBHT). MSM in the intervention group could access SBHTs plus free HIVST kits. HIV testing self-efficacy, number of SBHTs, number of HIVSTs, and the total number of HIV tests were assessed every 3months for 1year. RESULTS: Data from 216 MSM (intervention group: 110; control group: 106) were included in analysis. Results from Pearson's correlations and point-biserial correlations showed that participants with higher self-efficacy scores underwent a higher number of HIV tests (r =0.241, P <0.001), more HIVSTs (r =0.162, P <0.001), and more SBHTs (r =0.138, P <0.001). Bootstrap tests using PROCESS indicated self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of providing HIVST on the number of HIVSTs (indirect effect: 0.018, 95% bias-corrected confidence interval [BC CI]: 0.003-0.035; direct effect: 0.440, 95% BC CI: 0.366-0.513) and on total HIV tests (indirect effect 0.053 (0.030-0.787); direct effect 0.452 (0.365-0.539)), and completely mediated the effect of providing HIVST on the number of SBHTs (indirect effect 0.035 (0.019-0.056); direct effect 0.012 (-0.059 to 0.083)). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated self-efficacy mediated the effect of HIVST provision on HIV testing frequency, suggesting improving self-efficacy might be an effective way to promote HIV testing among Chinese MSM.

A complex-valued slow independent component analysis based incipient fault detection and diagnosis method with applications to wastewater treatment processes.

Multivariate statistical process monitoring are the essential approaches to achieve better prognostics and health management (PHM) of process industries. However, incipient faults and complex behaviors (such as nonlinearity and dynamics) always render the traditional multivariate statistical process monitoring approaches inadequate. Thus, a complex-valued slow independent component analysis (CSICA) is proposed, which is able to extract optimized features from a complex-valued matrix containing both of raw data and their changing rates by resorting to a complex-valued independent component analysis operation and a batch of phase shifts. These features, named slow independent components (SICs), not only guarantee the statistical independence but also capture slowly-changing patterns, thus refining both dynamic and non-Gaussian information mostly related with incipient faults. The proposed algorithm together with novel statistics, Is2, If2 and SPE, as well as their control limits can sequentially detect incipient faults effectively. Then, together with the novel differential mapping reconstructed contribution plot (DM-RCP) and Granger causality analysis, the proposed method can accurately locate rooting causes of incipient faults. Finally, the proposed framework of process monitoring is validated through two data sets from a simulation platform and an oxidation-ditch-based wastewater treatment plant, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve more accurate and efficient performances than conventional methods.

The association between HIV disclosure, spousal testing and unprotected vaginal intercourse within marriage among HIV positive married MSM in China.

Disclosure of HIV status can encourage spouses of people diagnosed with HIV to prioritize HIV prevention. However, few studies have reported the HIV disclosure status of married men who have sex with men (MSM) and their female spouses. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of HIV disclosure, and whether it was associated with spouses' HIV testing uptake and unprotected vaginal intercourse within marriage for MSM living with HIV (HIV + MSM) in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three Chinese cities. Of 309 participants, only 31.1% of men had disclosed their HIV status to spouses. About 80% of participants reported that their spouses had been tested for HIV. A small proportion of men (9.1%) had unprotected sex with their spouse after HIV diagnosis. Multivariate analyses indicated HIV disclosure was positively associated with HIV testing uptake of spouses, but there was no significant association between HIV disclosure and unprotected marital sexual behaviors for HIV + MSM. The findings indicated that HIV disclosure to spouses is uncommon among married HIV + MSM in China, and HIV disclosure is associated with increased uptake of HIV testing among spouses of MSM, but it does not decrease the unprotected sexual behaviors in marriage.

Robust adaptive boosted canonical correlation analysis for quality-relevant process monitoring of wastewater treatment.

Quality-relevant process monitoring has attracted much attention for its ability to assist in maintaining efficient plant operation. However, when the process suffers from non-stationary and over-complex (with noise, multiplicative faults, etc.) characteristics, the traditional methods usually cannot be effectively applied. To this end, a novel method, termed as Robust adaptive boosted canonical correlation analysis (Rab-CCA), is proposed to monitor the wastewater treatment processes. First, a robust decomposition method is proposed to mitigate the defects of standard CCA by decomposing the corrupted matrix into a low-matrix and a sparse matrix. Second, to further improve the performance of the standard process monitoring method, a novel criterion function and control charts are reconstructed accordingly. Moreover, an adaptive statistical control limit is proposed that can adjust the thresholds according to the state of a system and can effectively reduce the missed alarms and false alarms simultaneously. The superiority of Rab-CCA is verified by Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1) and a real full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

A novel two-step adaptive multioutput semisupervised soft sensor with applications in wastewater treatment.

To make full use of unlabeled data for soft-sensor modelling and to address the coexistence of a large number of hard-to-measure variable issues, this study proposed a novel two-step adaptive heterogeneous co-training multioutput model. First, unlabeled data with the highest confidence were selected to optimize the model. Then, the proposed model co-trained Gaussian process regression (GPR) and least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) algorithms with two sets of independent labeled data. Second, at each step of the model update, the Kalman filter (KF) worked together with a moving window (MW) to strengthen the model to address process dynamics. Finally, the proposed model was demonstrated by a simulated wastewater treatment platform, BSM1, and a real sewage treatment plant. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) and root-mean sum of squares of the diagonal (RMSSD) were obviously reduced, and the correlation coefficient (R) and correlation coefficient (RR) reached 0.8 in both case studies. The results suggest that the proposed model can significantly improve prediction performance.

Internalized Sexual Minority Stigma is Associated With HIV Testing Behavior Among Chinese Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT: Although studies have examined the relationship between HIV-related stigma and HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding whether sexual minority stigma and HIV testing are associated. The purpose of this study was to identify the association between sexual minority- and HIV-related stigmas with HIV-testing behavior. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hunan Province of China. After controlling for covariates, the multivariate analyses showed that high internalized sexual minority stigma was negatively associated with HIV testing behavior in the previous year. However, anticipated sexual minority- and HIV-related stigmas were not associated with HIV-testing behavior. Findings suggest that internalized sexual minority stigma should be addressed in health care settings to encourage MSM to seek HIV testing services, especially considering the continuing HIV epidemic among MSM in China.

A Novel Ensemble Adaptive Sparse Bayesian Transfer Learning Machine for Nonlinear Large-Scale Process Monitoring.

Process monitoring plays an important role in ensuring the safety and stable operation of equipment in a large-scale process. This paper proposes a novel data-driven process monitoring framework, termed the ensemble adaptive sparse Bayesian transfer learning machine (EAdspB-TLM), for nonlinear fault diagnosis. The proposed framework has the following advantages: Firstly, the probabilistic relevance vector machine (PrRVM) under Bayesian framework is re-derived so that it can be used to forecast the plant operating conditions. Secondly, we extend the PrRVM method and assimilate transfer learning into the sparse Bayesian learning framework to provide it with the transferring ability. Thirdly, the source domain (SD) data are re-enabled to alleviate the issue of insufficient training data. Finally, the proposed EAdspB-TLM framework was effectively applied to monitor a real wastewater treatment process (WWTP) and a Tennessee Eastman chemical process (TECP). The results further demonstrate that the proposed method is feasible.

Learning soft sensors using time difference-based multi-kernel relevance vector machine with applications for quality-relevant monitoring in wastewater treatment.

Considering the time-varying, uncertain and non-linear properties of the wastewater treatment process (WWTPs), a novel multi-kernel relevance vector machine (MRVM) soft sensor based on time difference (TD) is proposed to predict the quality-relevant but difficult-to-measure variable. Firstly, a novel dimension reduction technique is introduced to reduce data dimension and model complexity. Secondly, the parameters of the kernel model are optimized by the intelligent optimization algorithm (PSO). Besides, the TD strategy is introduced to enhance the robustness of MRVM when exposing to dynamic environments. Finally, the proposed model was assessed through two simulation studies and a real WWTP with the results demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed model. Graphical abstract Framework of Lasso-TD-MRVM soft sensor model.

Potential HIV transmission risk among spouses: marriage intention and expected extramarital male-to-male sex among single men who have sex with men in Hunan, China.

OBJECTIVE: The HIV epidemic in China is shifting from the high-risk groups of men who have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users and sex workers to the general population, and sexual contact among spouses is assumed to be one route of transmission. Our objective was to determine the intention to marry and the expected extramarital male-to-male sex among single Chinese MSM, in order to estimate the potential HIV transmission risk among MSM living with HIV and their female spouses. METHODS: We conducted a web-based, cross-sectional survey between May 2016 and May 2017. A questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behaviours, HIV-related and homosexuality-related stigma, marriage intention, and expected extramarital sexual behaviours was completed by 556 single MSM in Hunan, China. Descriptive statistics, χ2 test, two-sample t-test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: Currently 48.9% of the participants intended to marry a woman in their lifetime, and 91% of them reported that they would continue to have sex with men after getting married. Those who were living with parents (OR=2.26), self-identified as bisexual (OR=2.57), had at least one heterosexual partner in the previous 6 months (OR=0.33) and perceived a higher level of self-homosexual stigma (OR=1.78) had greater intention to marry a woman. CONCLUSION: Nearly half of Chinese MSM intend to marry women, which has significantly dropped from the estimated percentage more than 10 years ago for Chinese MSM. However, the expectation of extramarital homosexual behaviours was common in these men. Sexual and gender minority stresses especially from family members, homosexual identity assertiveness and related stigma were the main factors for marriage intention, which should be addressed in future studies and practices.

Prediction of Filamentous Sludge Bulking using a State-based Gaussian Processes Regression Model.

Activated sludge process has been widely adopted to remove pollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, stable operation of activated sludge process is often compromised by the occurrence of filamentous bulking. The aim of this study is to build a proper model for timely diagnosis and prediction of filamentous sludge bulking in an activated sludge process. This study developed a state-based Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model to monitor the filamentous sludge bulking related parameter, sludge volume index (SVI), in such a way that the evolution of SVI can be predicted over multi-step ahead. This methodology was validated with SVI data collected from one full-scale WWTP. Online diagnosis and prediction of filamentous bulking sludge with real-time SVI prediction was tested through a simulation study. The results showed that the proposed methodology was capable of predicting future SVIs with good accuracy, thus providing sufficient time for predicting and controlling filamentous sludge bulking.

[Comparative study of four alkaloids contents and antitussive activities of Stemona tuberosa from different habitats of Guangxi Province].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the contents of four alkaloids and antitussive activities of Stemona tuberosa from different habitats of Guangxi Province. METHODS: The HPLC separation was performed on a Merck Purospher STAR RP18 (250 mm x 4. 6 mm, 5 µm) column by gradient elution using 0. 05% ammonia-acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 1. 0 mL/min, the dectection wave-length was set at 210 nm,and the column temperature was 40 °C. The antitussive potency of total alkaloids of Stemonae Radix from different habitats was evaluated on guinea pigs with citric acid aerosol to induce cough. RESULTS: The range of recoveries of this mehtod was 98. 24% ~ 101. 21%, with all the constituents showing good linearity(the correlation coefficents above 0. 999). The major chemotype of Stemonae Radix in Guangxi was stemoninine, following by tuberostemonine and croomine, and finally neotuberostemonine. The antitussive activitiy of Stemona tuberosa was in a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Stemonae Radix from Dongxing, Fangcheng can reduce cough times and prolong cough incubation period, and thus Dongxing, Fangcheng is the best habitat in Guangxi in the present experiments.

[Study on the quality of Rhizome of Dioscorea persimilis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk. METHODS: Determined the contents of 6 qualitative indexes in samples of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk that were cultivated in Yongning, Bobai, Beiliu, Guiping and Rongxian of Guangxi and in sample of Rhizome of Dioscorea opposita Thunb, that was cultivated in Wenxian, Henan province. RESULTS: The contents of water in them (%): 15.39, 18.52, 15.41, 13.96, 15.48, 15.74; the contents of protein in them (%): 7.06, 8.45, 9.20, 9.67, 8.63, 9.79; the contents of starch in them (%): 84.51, 86.51, 82.72, 83.65, 84.19, 79.13; the contents of water extracts in them (%): 6.19, 6.98, 8.95, 7.41, 6.70, 9.40; 90% EtOH extracts in them (%): 2.00, 2.04, 2.68, 2.20, 2.11, 3.53; the contents of 18 kinds of amino acids in them (%): 5.23, 6.31, 6.22, 6.78, 6.59, 6.83. CONCLUSION: The quality of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk cultivated in Guiping or Beiliu is beter than that of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk cultivated in Yongning. The quality of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk cultivated in Rongxian or Bobai are between those of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk cultivated in Guiping or Beiliu and Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk cultivated in Yonging. The qualities of Rhizome of D. persimilis Prain et Burk cultivated in Guiping or Beiliu are similar to that of Yam.