72 research outputs found
Novel Machine Learning HIV Intervention for Sexual and Gender Minority Young People Who Have Sex With Men (uTECH): Protocol for a Randomized Comparison Trial
No full textBackgroundSexual and gender minority (SGM) young people are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States, and substance use is a major driver of new infections. People who use web-based venues to meet sex partners are more likely to report substance use, sexual risk behaviors, and sexually transmitted infections. To our knowledge, no machine learning (ML) interventions have been developed that use web-based and digital technologies to inform and personalize HIV and substance use prevention efforts for SGM young people.
ObjectiveThis study aims to test the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the uTECH intervention, a SMS text messaging intervention using an ML algorithm to promote HIV prevention and substance use harm reduction among SGM people aged 18 to 29 years who have sex with men. This intervention will be compared to the Young Men’s Health Project (YMHP) alone, an existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention best evidence intervention for young SGM people, which consists of 4 motivational interviewing–based counseling sessions. The YMHP condition will receive YMHP sessions and will be compared to the uTECH+YMHP condition, which includes YMHP sessions as well as uTECH SMS text messages.
MethodsIn a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, we will recruit and enroll SGM participants (aged 18-29 years) in the United States (N=330) to participate in a 12-month, 2-arm randomized comparison trial. All participants will receive 4 counseling sessions conducted over Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc) with a master’s-level social worker. Participants in the uTECH+YMHP condition will receive curated SMS text messages informed by an ML algorithm that seek to promote HIV and substance use risk reduction strategies as well as undergoing YMHP counseling. We hypothesize that the uTECH+YMHP intervention will be considered acceptable, appropriate, and feasible to most participants. We also hypothesize that participants in the combined condition will experience enhanced and more durable reductions in substance use and sexual risk behaviors compared to participants receiving YMHP alone. Appropriate statistical methods, models, and procedures will be selected to evaluate primary hypotheses and behavioral health outcomes in both intervention conditions using an α<.05 significance level, including comparison tests, tests of fixed effects, and growth curve modeling.
ResultsThis study was funded in August 2019. As of June 2024, all participants have been enrolled. Data analysis has commenced, and expected results will be published in the fall of 2025.
ConclusionsThis study aims to develop and test the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of uTECH, a novel approach to reduce HIV risk and substance use among SGM young adults.
Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04710901; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04710901
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/5844
Cancer antigen 125, tissue polypeptide antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, and beta-chain human chorionic gonadotropin as serum markers of epithelial ovarian carcinoma
No full textCancer antigen 125 (CA 125) is common to most epithelial ovarian tumors. Therefore, it is potentially a good marker of this disease. This hypothesis was evaluated by measuring the serum levels of CA 125 in 81 patients with ovarian cancer (25 with nonactive and 56 with active disease), in 105 patients of both sexes with nonovarian tumors, and in 171 healthy controls of both sexes. The serum levels of three other markers, tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and human chorionic gonadotropin, beta subunit (beta-hCG), were also measured in the same 357 subjects. The results of this study clearly indicate the clinical irrelevance of both CEA and beta-hCG as tumor markers in ovarian carcinomas. Conversely, the clinical usefulness of CA 125 and TPA was confirmed. In particular, CA 125 and TPA showed comparable sensitivity, while CA 125 showed a higher specificity for ovarian cancer than TPA. The association of CA 125 with TPA was very useful in continuous observation of patients with active disease in order to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the therapy. Moreover, for patients in clinical remission, the markers allowed early detection of a recurrence of the disease
Serological markers of hepatitis B virus infection in healthy volunteer blood donors in Campania (Southern Italy
No full textSerological markers of hepatitis B virus infection in healthy volunteer blood donors in Campania (Southern Italy
No full textEmissionen organischer Verbindungen aus Holz und Holzwerkstoffen - neue Forschungsergebnisse
No full textS.31-4
Financing For Life Long Education:For Real GDP Growth In Jamaica
Get PDFIn order for Jamaica to transition from a Developing Country to a Developed Country it will be highly necessary to create a Knowledge based society, the inability to seriously overcome this challenge will mean Jamaica will be in transition to a developed country for an infinite number of years. A lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the lifecycle, from early childhood through retirement. It encompasses formal learning (schools, training institutions, universities); non- formal learning (structured on-the job training); and informal learning (skills learned from family members or people in the community). It allows people to access learning opportunities, as they need them rather than because they have reached a certain age. Lifelong learning in Jamaica is an important policy topic for government. This assumption is based on the impact of additional training on economic growth and on income distribution, particularly in an age when previously acquired knowledge is depreciating faster than before.Government of Jamaica(GOJ), Ministry Of Education,Jamaica,Jamaica teachers association(JTA,Jamaica Union Of tertiary Students(JUTS),UWI Mona Guild Of Students,UTECH Students Union,People National Party(PNP), Jamaica Labour Party(JLP), Private Sector Of Jamaica(PSOJ),Jamaica Employers Fderation(JEF),Jamaica Chamber of Commerce(JCC),Kingston And St Andrew Corporation(KSAC), University Of The West Indies(UWI), University Of Technology(UTECH), Northern caribbean University(NCU),World Bank,Jamaica, International Monetary Fund,Jamaica, Inter-American Development Bank(IDB),Jamaica
Eco-profiles for packages. Accumulated energy values as indicators of global environmental burden potentials
No full textS.39-55Der Vortrag soll mehr Klarheit zur Funktionszuweisung und damit zur Anwendbarkeit des Instruments "Ökobilanz" schaffen. Es werden zehn Thesen zur Unterstützung umweltrelevanter Entscheidungsprozesse der Wirtschaft durch systemanalytische Instrumente aufgestellt. Welche Informationen aus Ökobilanzen vom Typ LCA gewonnen werden können, wird in Form von Input-Output-Tableaus dargestellt. Für die wirkungsorientierte Aggregation von Ökobilanzen vom Typ LCA werden praktische Vorschläge unterbreitet, die von einer interdisziplinären wissenschaftlichen Arbeitsgruppe (Münchner Kreis) entwickelt wurden.The paper is intended to give more clarity to the functional assignment and consequently to the applicability of the "eco-profile" instrument. Ten theses are put forward to assist environmentally relevant decision processes of industry through system-analytical instruments. The information which can be acquired from eco-profiles of the LCA type, is represented in the form of input-output tables. Practical suggestions are presented for the efficiency-oriented aggregation of eco-profiles, which have been developed by an inter-disciplinary, scientific working party (Munich Circle)
Bridging the Gap: A Status Report on Company Law in the CARICOM Region with Recommendations for Reform
No full textLana Ashby (Key Note Speaker) The IMPACT Justice Project hosted a Company Law Reform Seminar on Tuesday, July 4th, 2017 in the Shell Suite of the Solution Centre, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus. The seminar, which was attended by representatives of regional Chambers of Commerce, regional Registrars of Corporate Affairs, attorneys-at-law, law lecturers and professors from the UWI and UTECH Faculties of Law, reviewed a report commissioned by IMPACT Justice entitled: “Bridging the Gap – A Status Report on Company Law in the CARICOM Region with Recommendations for Reform”. The author of the report, Ms. Lana Ashby, Assistant Professor (Education), Durham University, UK conducted the seminar and Mrs. Suzanne Ffolkes-Goldson, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UWI, St. Augustine Campus served as chairperson
Mikro-FEMOS: Mikrofertigungstechnik für hybride mikrooptische Sensoren. Abformtechnik für mikro-optische Bänke
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