Australian consensus statement on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) for the prevention of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

Introduction: Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) involves consuming 200 mg of doxycycline up to 72 hours after a condomless sex act to reduce the risk of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Recent clinical trials of doxy-PEP have demonstrated significant reductions in syphilis, chlamydia and, to a lesser degree, gonorrhoea among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). There is a high level of interest in doxy-PEP in the GBMSM community and, in response, the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) held a national consensus conference with the aim of creating preliminary guidance for clinicians, community, researchers and policy makers.

The Legal Needs of People Living with a Sexually Transmissible Infection or Blood-Borne Virus: Perspectives From a Sample of the Australian Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Workforce.

Law and the legal environment are important factors in the epidemiology and prevention of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs). However, there has been no sustained effort to monitor the legal environment surrounding STIs and BBVs. This article presents the first data on the incidence and impacts of unmet legal needs for those affected by an STI or BBV in Australia using a survey administered to a sample of the Australian sexual health and BBV workforce.

Myogenic Cell Expression of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Contributes to Muscle Regeneration after Injury.

This study investigated intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), a membrane protein that mediates cell-to-cell adhesion and communication, as a mechanism through which the inflammatory response facilitates muscle regeneration after injury. Toxin-induced muscle injury to tibialis anterior muscles of wild-type mice caused ICAM-1 to be expressed by a population of satellite cells/myoblasts and myofibers. Myogenic cell expression of ICAM-1 contributed to the restoration of muscle structure after injury, as regenerating myofibers were more abundant and myofiber size was larger for wild-type compared with Icam1 mice during 28 days of recovery.

Spectroscopic Compton imaging of prompt gamma emission at the MeV energy range.

This work explores a novel tomographic approach to PGAA that is both quantitative and spatially resolved, adapted from a clinical "proton beam range finder" in which MeV gamma rays are imaged by coincidence measurements of Compton scattered gamma rays with multi-detector arrays. We performed preliminary measurements using a Compton camera made with CdZnTe detector arrays on a series of test samples with high-energy (> 1 MeV) gamma emission lines. 3D image reconstructions were performed on the 2.

Living concrete: Democratizing living walls.

Living walls can help bring nature to urban canyons. However, contemporary living walls are cost prohibitive and made of materials with shorter life spans than their buildings. High cost often restricts their use to luxury applications promoting ecological symbolism rather than impactful propagation of urban nature.

Impact of natural organic matter on particle behavior and phototoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles.

Due to their inherent phototoxicity and inevitable environmental release, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) are increasingly studied in the field of aquatic toxicology. One of the particular interests is the interactions between nano-TiO2 and natural organic matter (NOM). In this study, a series of experiments was conducted to study the impacts of Suwannee River natural organic matter (SRNOM) on phototoxicity and particle behaviors of nano-TiO2.

In vitro antifungal activity of DNA topoisomerase inhibitors.

In this paper we report the results of the study of the in vitro effect of eight anticancer DNA topoisomerase inhibitors on the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, Candida glabrata and Cryptococcus neoformans. Only one compound, idarubicin, displayed promising antifungal activity against A.