A novel use of HIV surveillance and court data to understand and improve care among a population of people with HIV experiencing criminal charges in North Carolina 2017-2020.

Objectives Objectives: To enumerate the population of people with HIV (PWH) with criminal charges and to estimate associations between charges and HIV outcomes. Methods: We linked statewide North Carolina criminal court records to confidential HIV records (both 2017-2020) to identify a population of defendants with diagnosed HIV. We used generalized estimating equations to examine changes in viral suppression (outcome) pre-post criminal charges (exposure), adjusting for other demographic and legal system factors. Results: 9,534 PWH experienced criminal charges. Compared to others with charges, PWH were more likely to be male and report Black race. The median duration of unresolved charges was longer for PWH. When adjusting for demographic factors, the period following resolution of charges was modestly associated with an increased risk of viral suppression (aRR 1.03 (95% confidence interval 1.02-1.04) compared to the pre-charge period. Conclusions: A significant portion of PWH in NC had criminal charges during a three-year period, and these charges went unresolved for a longer time than those without HIV. These preliminary findings raise questions regarding whether PWH have appropriate access to legal services.

6TiSCH on SCµM: Running a Synchronized Protocol Stack without Crystals.

We report the first time-synchronized protocol stack running on a crystal-free device. We use an early prototype of the Single-Chip micro Mote, SCµM, a single-chip 2×3 mm 2 mote-on-a-chip, which features an ARM Cortex-M0 micro-controller and an IEEE802.15.4 radio. This prototype consists of an FPGA version of the micro-controller, connected to the SCµM chip which implements the radio front-end. We port OpenWSN, a reference implementation of a synchronized protocol stack, onto SCµM. The challenge is that SCµM has only on-chip oscillators, with no absolute time reference such as a crystal. We use two calibration steps - receiving packets via the on-chip optical receiver and RF transceiver - to initially calibrate the oscillators on SCµM so that it can send frames to an off-the-shelf IEEE802.15.4 radio. We then use a digital trimming compensation algorithm based on tick skipping to turn a 567 ppm apparent drift into a 10 ppm drift. This allows us to run a full-featured standards-compliant 6TiSCH network between one SCµM and one OpenMote. This is a step towards realizing the smart dust vision of ultra-small and cheap ubiquitous wireless devices.

Voiding prior to parachuting.

OBJECTIVE: Multiple incidents of isolated bladder ruptures have occurred in the military parachuting community after jumps. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the amount of energy it takes to rupture a distended bladder and encourage prejump voiding. DESIGN: Euthanized pig abdomens were opened immediately postmortem, and the urethra and bladder were isolated. The urethras were attached to a water column, which was gradually increased in height until bladder rupture. During the course of expansion, the differences in water level height, bladder dimensions, and total volume were measured. An acceleration model was constructed by placing a bladder in a rigid cylinder with a soft top to replicate a pelvis. The bladder was then dropped from a standardized height after filling the bladder with gradually increasing volumes. SETTING: 81st Medical Group Clinical Research Laboratory at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. PARTICIPANTS: Pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) postuse in an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)-approved protocol. RESULTS: Mean pressure at rupture = 116 mm Hg (standard deviation [SD] ± 7), mean height = 193 mm (SD ± 42), mean width = 122 mm (SD ± 9), and mean volume = 963 (SD ± 124). Rupture occurred after deceleration at only maximum elasticity. CONCLUSIONS: The pressure and amount of energy required to rupture a distended bladder is remarkably low, confirming the general application of Laplace's law to a bladder. It is our recommendation that parachutists be urged or required to void, when possible, before parachuting.

Possible vicarious contrast excretion causing symptomatic cholelithiasis.

A case report of a unique malleable, rubbery, white mass found at cholecystectomy after a diagnosis of symptomatic cholelithiasis. This likely represents either a unique form of a calcium-containing or contrast-containing stone. There are no reported incidents of vicarious contrast stones and calcium-containing stones are reported to be crystalline and hard.