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People living with HIV (PLHIV) have high rates of tobacco smoking. Nicotine vaping products (NVPs) may promote tobacco smoking cessation and/or harm reduction. This study aimed to trial the feasibility of NVPs for promoting tobacco smoking cessation among PLHIV. The Tobacco Harm Reduction with Vaporised Nicotine (THRiVe) study was a mixed-methods trial among 29 PLHIV who used tobacco daily. Participants trialled a 12-week intervention of NVPs. This study reports descriptive analyses of quantitative data on tobacco abstinence and associated adverse events. Short-term abstinence (7-day point prevalence; i.e., no tobacco use for 7 days) was achieved by 35% of participants at Week 12 and 31% reported short-term abstinence at Week 24. Sustained medium-term abstinence (8 weeks’ abstinence) was achieved by 15% of participants at Week 12 and 31% at Week 24. Most adverse events were mild. NVPs may represent a feasible and potentially effective short-to-medium term tobacco smoking cessation aid and/or harm reduction strategy among PLHIV.

Aims and background People living with HIV (PLHIV) have a higher rate of smoking and experience a greater burden of tobacco-related disease than the general population. This study aimed to understand the role smoking plays in the lives of PLHIV, participants’ views of traditionally available nicotine products (e.g., nicotine replacement therapy or NRT) and novel nicotine products (e.g., nicotine vaping products or NVPs) as both short-term quit aids and long-term substitutes for cigarettes. Methods Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with PLHIV who smoked. Focus groups were transcribed and analysed using a combination of deductive and inductive thematic analysis. A brief questionnaire of nicotine product use and interest was also completed and the quantitative data presented using descriptive statistics. Results Fifty-four participants took part in 11 focus groups. Participants’ views of smoking, quitting and nicotine products were diverse. Commitment to smoking and interest in quitting were categorised into three groups across a smoking-quitting continuum: committed to smoking, ambivalent about smoking and reluctantly smoking. NRT was criticised for a range of side effects and primarily considered as a short-term cessation aid. NVPs generated debate. NVPs that closely resembled cigarettes were viewed as the most acceptable product and were considered to be more suitable than NRT for long-term use. Discussion and conclusions Understanding the unique needs, goals and views of PLHIV related to smoking, quitting smoking and using nicotine products could inform development of novel and tailored smoking interventions for PLHIV. NVPs should be further examined as potential long-term substitutes for PLHIV who are ambivalent about smoking. However, traditional smoking cessation assistance (approved cessation aids and counselling) is likely to be most appropriate for PLHIV who are reluctantly smoking.

Despite research efforts, cell uptake processes determining siRNA silencing efficiency remain unclear. Here, we examine the relationship between in vitro cell culture models, cellular trafficking and siRNA silencing efficiency to provide a mechanistic insight on siRNA delivery system design. Model siRNA-polyplexes, based on chitosan as a ‘classical’ condensing agent, were applied to a panel of lung epithelial cell lines, H1299, A549 and Calu-3 and cell internalization levels, trafficking pathways and gene silencing assessed on exposure to pharmacological inhibitors. The data reveal striking differences in the internalization behaviour and gene silencing efficiency in the tested cell lines, despite their common lung epithelial origins. The model system’s silencing was lower where clathrin internalization pathway predominated in Calu-3, relative to silencing in H1299 cells where a non-clathrin internalization appears dominant. Increased silencing on endosomal disruption was apparent in Calu-3 cells, but absent when cellular internalization was not predominantly clathrin-mediated in A549 cells. This highlights that identifying cell trafficking pathways before incorporation of functional components to siRNA delivery systems (e.g. endosomolytic compounds) is crucial. The study hence stresses the importance of selection of appropriate cell culture model, relevant to in vivo target, to assess the gene silencing efficiency and decide which functionalities the ‘stratified siRNA silencing vector’ requires., Highlights • Relationship between cell type, uptake path and silencing examined to inform siRNA vector design. • Notable differences observed in cell uptake pathways and silencing despite cells’ common origin. • Addition of endosomolytic functionality shows no effect when non-clathrin pathways dominate. • Cell model important to assess silencing and decide which functionalities siRNA vector requires.

Making enrichment the focus of restitutionary liability is a fundamental error. It leads to an untenable prejudice against unearned gain. At the same time, it denies restitution to parties who should obtain it. Only limited interests have been, and ought to be, protected by the law of restitution. These include autonomy in the transfer of our property and in committing ourselves to binding obligations. Where the protections are triggered, restitution follows whether or not the defendant has been enriched. Expenditure of our time and effort is not (or is almost never) a protected interest, nor is our paying a third party to do things, even if others are enriched thereby. Such others need to have requested the expenditure or otherwise participated in a way that makes it just that they cover or contribute to the resulting costs—where such participation is present, enrichment is (almost always) superfluous. By buying into the concept of “unjust enrichment”, English courts since Banque Financiere have overlooked and sometimes ignored paths of long-established precedent, and headed off into the wilderness. Bad claims have been recognised and good ones spurned. Even when the courts alight at the right place, we find judges not clearly or consistently identifying the enrichment that they say helped them get there, or we find them deeming an enrichment to have been present when they know it was not really there.

People living with HIV (PLHIV) have high rates of tobacco smoking, and smoking is a leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity. It is important to understand HIV healthcare providers' practices and attitudes towards addressing smoking with their patients. An online survey that measured: (i) use of the 5A framework for addressing smoking (Ask, Assess, Advise, Assist, Arrange) and (ii) attitudes and barriers to addressing smoking cessation was distributed by relevant professional bodies. Eligible participants were Australian health practitioners providing healthcare to PLHIV. Of the 179 respondents, most reported practising at least one of the 5As: Ask (94%); Assess (78%); Advise (82%); Assist (89%); and Arrange (73%). Practising the full 5A framework (completing at least one activity from each A) was less common (62%) and associated with having undertaken smoking cessation training (OR 2.1, CI 1.1-3.9), being a medical practitioner (OR 6.0, CI 3.1-11.6), having greater perceived knowledge and resources (OR 1.7, CI 1.3-2.4) and more positive attitudes (OR 1.5, CI 1.1-2.0). Common barriers to delivering cessation assistance related to knowledge and availability of resources. Development and greater dissemination of effective smoking cessation training and resources may be required to ensure healthcare practitioners have the capacity to complete all aspects of the 5A framework for smoking cessation and support their patients with HIV who smoke.

The common law regarding the formation of contracts made through an agent on behalf of a principal suffering from latent mental incapacity is still undeveloped. This article argues that, in general, such a principal can confer actual authority to contract on an agent so long as the agent (reasonably) is, and remains, unaware of the incapacity. On the same basis, an incapax principal can manifest to a third party that such an appointment has been made, thereby creating apparent authority in the agent.

A key issue with any analytical system based on mass spectrometry with no initial separation of compounds is to have a high level of confidence in chemical assignment. This is particularly true for areas of security, such as airports, and recent terrorist attacks have highlighted the need for reliable analytical instrumentation. Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry is a useful technology for these purposes because the chances of false positives are small owing to the use of a mass spectrometric analysis. However, the detection of an ion at a given m/z for an explosive does not guarantee that that explosive is present. There is still some ambiguity associated with any chemical assignment owing to the presence of isobaric compounds and, depending on mass resolution, ions with the same nominal m/z. In this article we describe how for the first time the use of a radio frequency ion-funnel (RFIF) in the reaction region (drift tube) of a proton transfer reaction−time-offlight− mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) can be used to enhance specificity by manipulating the ion−molecule chemistry through collisional induced processes. Results for trinitrotoluene, dinitrotoluenes, and nitrotoluenes are presented to demonstrate the advantages of this new RFIF-PTR-ToF-MS for analytical chemical purposes

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Time machines, spaceships, atomic blasters - the icons of science fiction tend to come from the physical sciences. But science fiction has a biological side too, finding drama and pathos in everything from alien evolution to the paradoxes of consciousness. Nature brought together four science-fiction writers with a background in the biological sciences to talk about life-science fiction.

Drawing on the sociology of professions, this chapter examines how the integration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) provided a space for hospital based nurses and midwives to enhance their occupational jurisdiction. In this regard CAM is implicated in the professional projects of the practitioners although the relationship is a complex one. Policy developments since the late 1980s had promoted the idea of the nurse/midwife as a ‘Knowledgeable doer’ - a practitioner with independence and responsibility. In this context, CAM provided a domain in which practitioners could not only exercise some autonomy but also reclaim feminised aspects of their practice which they feared had been lost. However, long-standing gendered power relations within health care, the uncertain status of CAM, changes in governance, and the relationship between femininity and professionalisation, together limited the success of their project.

In the decades following Armagas v. Mundogas, a leading case on some basic principles of agency law, the case has become surrounded by at least as many lukewarm lieutenants as stout defenders. There is in fact an understandable tension between not subjecting persons to transactions to which they have demonstrably not agreed and protecting the expectations of those who not unreasonably have trusted an intermediary accurately to report their principal’s willingness to transact. Protecting expectations, including “the security of contracting”, is generally more fashionable amongst lawyers now than it once was. This article addresses two of the holdings in Armagas (the need for a holding out by a (non-consenting) principal as to an agent’s authority before liability arises in either contract or the tort of negligent misstatement) and two of the dicta (being put on inquiry as to a lack of authority, and the unreliability of a course of dealing between the parties), and reviews the pronouncements of United Kingdom and England and Wales judges on each of them. The article seeks to reinforce Armagas on the first three, but not the last.

An important issue of corporations law is whether the shareholders of the company (or members of other sorts of corporation) can dictate to directors or the management committee on a particular matter, or override a management decision. The answer will often turn on the relevant incorporation statute. This article is concerned with the position under the standard company statutes used in such countries as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It argues that under this longstanding model, shareholders can by special majority using the constitution, or otherwise by acting unanimously, dictate to and override directors on a management issue. The focus of the article is a recent decision of the New Zealand Court of Appeal, Att-Gen v. Ririnui (2015), currently under appeal to the Supreme Court.

The synthesis of fifteen phosphylated compounds having P─OCD3, P─CD3, or P─OCD2CH3 groups is described. Selective chemistry for the precise placement of the deuterated groups was devised, and the products were isolated in a high purity in generally good yields. The compounds were required to study their behavior after electrospray ionization in an ion trap mass spectrometer.

The effectiveness of chitosan in promoting the intranasal bioavailability of recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) has been evaluated. hGH was formulated with chitosan to produce a powder blend (Formulation A) and granules (Formulation B) for intranasal administration. The in vivo pharmacokinetic performance of the formulations was evaluated in a group of six sheep in a randomised crossover study. A subcutaneous injection of hGH solution was administered as a control. The intranasal and subcutaneous doses of hGH were 0.3 and 0.03 mg/kg, respectively. The intranasal formulations appeared to be well tolerated. Mean bioavailabilities of hGH from Formulations A and B were 14 and 15%, respectively relative to subcutaneous injection. It is concluded that chitosan-based intranasal powder formulations may provide a practical means for non-injectable delivery of hGH and, potentially, other therapeutic protein molecules.

This is an audit of a new technique to improve the colposcopy service. Samples were tested for high risk HPV DNA using Digene Hybrid Capture II. Sixty-four percent of the sampled women under 30 had detectable high risk HPV DNA, decreasing to 44% in 30–39 year olds and to 27% in women over 40. High risk HPV prevalence increased with severity of cytology, although 22% with normal colposcopy had detectable high risk HPV. Of those women treated for cervical dysplasia, 83% had detectable high risk HPV prior to treatment, compared to only 32% afterwards. The audit has shown that high risk HPV testing has considerable discriminatory value. It has been integrated successfully into the service, particularly to manage low grade cervical abnormalities and to add valuable information following treatment for cervical dysplasia. Results need to be interpreted alongside colposcopy, cytology, and histology, and care must be taken in the interpretation of a single high risk HPV result. J. Med. Virol. 76:576–582, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Galaxy-galaxy lensing (GGL) measures the 2-point cross-correlation between galaxies and mass in the universe. In this work we seek to generalise this effect by considering the third-order correlations between galaxies and mass: galaxy-galaxy-galaxy lensing. We introduce the higher-order cross-correlation functions and discuss their physical interpretation in terms of the halo model. We then demonstrate that measuring the lensing shear of background galaxies about foreground galaxy pairs, which we term galaxy-galaxy-galaxy lensing, provides a measure of the third-order cross functions. We note that current surveys in which detections of the cosmic shear 3-point correlation function have been reported should also be able to detect galaxy-galaxy-galaxy lensing. Indeed, we suggest that this effect may already have been detected in recent studies of GGL.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

It has been a traditional requirement of rescission (ab initio), even as a response to fraudulent misrepresentation, that it must be possible to restore both parties to the relevant contract to some equivalence of their pre-contract positions. A line of cases involving rescission of guarantees has, however, permitted a surety to be entirely released from the guarantee even though the creditor has relied on it by supplying credit to the principal debtor. The suggested rationalisation is that the traditional requirement is confined to cases where rescission in specie is being sought and the innocent party can be adequately protected by a claim for damages. The article also addresses the relevance to rescission of the restitutionary concepts of change or position and counter-restitution.

The common law regarding the formation of contracts made through an agent on behalf of a principal suffering from latent mental incapacity is still undeveloped. This article argues that, in general, such a principal can confer actual authority to contract on an agent so long as the agent (reasonably) is, and remains, unaware of the incapacity. On the same basis, an incapax principal can manifest to a third party that such an appointment has been made, thereby creating apparent authority in the agent.

L'article rapporte les resultats d'une enquete sur les cafes internet et autres centres communautaires de technologies offrant un acces public aux ordinateurs et a l'internet et jouant ainsi un role social. L'etude porte sur differents types d'organisations, la variete de leurs approches et leurs utilisateurs. Un petit nombre de sites au Royaume-Uni sont decrits en detail. Ces portails technologiques donnent aux non-utilisateurs de l'internet l'opportunite sociale d'y acceder et d'acquerir de nouvelles competences. Les bibliotheques publiques, qui disposent des ressources pour fournir l'acces a l'internet a grande echelle, doivent s'inspirer de ces centres pour se montrer plus innovantes dans leurs approches.

This article starts with an overview of the debates over classification in private law that took place in the latter period of Peter Birks’s career. It does so by setting out the Birksian taxonomy and by collecting various extracts from Birks’s voluminous output, then contrasts those extracts with the views of a selection of his most prominent critics. The article next turns to a defence of Birks’s project and its aims of promoting rationality, the confinement of discretion, and modesty of function in the common law. The greater part of the article is devoted to showing how, in tort law particularly, New Zealand common law has lost its modesty and is intruding on personal freedoms. Instead of requiring an undertaking before a party becomes liable for nothing more than causing damage to another’s wealth, liability is being imposed from without by fudging the boundaries between contract and tort, and by using as tools nothing much sharper than “justice and fairness”. The final section of the article then turns to criticise, on similar grounds, the concept of unjust enrichment as promoted by Birks himself.

This article is an analysis of the related cases R v Gao and R v Hurring tried in the New Zealand District Court. These criminal proceedings arose out of an error of Westpac bank that attracted worldwide attention, namely the granting of an overdraft facility of $10 million when only $100,000 had been requested. The defendants were charged and convicted for their respective actions following that error, including drawing on the facility and spending or transferring the resulting funds. The principal charges against each were those of theft from Westpac pursuant to s 219 of the Crimes Act 1961. It is the thesis of this article that such theft charges were not available against either defendant. The article then proceeds to consider a range of alternative possible offences on the facts. It concludes that, at least in relation to Gao, charges of being an absconding debtor, or a party to defrauding creditors, might have been more appropriate, carrying lesser maximum sentences. The near fortuity that it was Gao’s company that applied for the overdraft may also have made theft from one’s own company a possibility against Gao (under s 220 of the 1961 Act), but that too would have involved very different charges from those brought.

A colony of harbour seals in the Pacific north-west was monitored over two years, concurrent with a variety of environmental variables. Regression models described diel hauling-out activity as: i) a photoperiodic cycle; ii) a function of other environmental factors; or iii) a cycle modified by environmental constraints. Throughout the year, the number of seals on shore followed a diel pattern with a midday peak. Seals hauled-out in lower numbers in winter than in summer, and for a smaller proportion of the day (although for about the same proportion of the photoperiod). During the annual moult, numbers hauled were elevated around the clock, and the midday peak was skewed to late afternoon/early evening. Models that defined hauling-out in terms of environmental factors were significant, but did not fit the data as well as models based on photoperiod. The strongest environmental correlates (such as tidal height) owed much of their explanatory power to artefactual similarities with the photoperiodic cycle. Four general conditions are presented which, if met, should always result in a diel hauling-out cycle with a midday peak. The most fundamental of these involves a proposed ‘cost of immersion’which motivates pinnipeds to haul-out when not foraging. Two likely candidates for such a cost involve risk from aquatic predators and the energetic expense of sleeping while immersed.