eTest: a limited-interaction, longitudinal randomized controlled trial of a mobile health platform that enables real-time phone counseling after HIV self-testing among high-risk men who have sex with men.

Background: HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM) in the USA, and new infections continue to increase, particularly among African American (AA) and Hispanic/Latino (H/L) MSM. Rates of HIV testing are particularly low among AA and H/L MSM, and innovative approaches to encourage testing may help address high incidence in these men. HIV self-testing (HST) may be an important tool for increasing rates and frequency of testing.

Longitudinal effects of home-based HIV self-testing on well-being and health empowerment among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States.

HIV self-test (HST) kits have been available for purchase directly by consumers since 2012. However, public health and prevention programs have been slow to adopt self-testing as a strategy for improving testing rates and regularity, in part due to concerns about its effects on the well-being of users and lack of follow-up. This study explored whether there were differences in several constructs related to well-being, including health-related quality of life, social support, health empowerment, and emotional distress, across those who used HSTs versus tested at a clinic over time.

Game Plan: Development of a Web App Designed to Help Men Who Have Sex With Men Reduce Their HIV Risk and Alcohol Use.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for HIV, and alcohol use is a major risk factor for HIV infection. Internet-facilitated brief interventions have been shown to reduce alcohol use and HIV-risk behavior in other at-risk populations, but have so far incorporated limited content and have not been tested among MSM.

Objective: This manuscript describes Game Plan, an interactive, tablet-optimized web application designed to help heavy drinking, high-risk MSM consider reducing their alcohol use and sexual risk behavior.

A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial of Game Plan, A Web Application to Help Men Who Have Sex with Men Reduce Their HIV Risk and Alcohol Use.

Alcohol use is a key risk factor for HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). Past studies show that brief motivational interventions (BMI) can increase the use of prevention methods (e.g.

Vulnerable Periods: Characterizing Patterns of Sexual Risk and Substance Use During Lapses in Adherence to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly efficacious, but some groups of men who have sex with men may have difficulty adhering to daily dosing. Prevention-effective adherence suggests that PrEP's efficacy depends on adherence at the time of HIV exposure; yet, few studies have examined how exposures (ie, high-risk sex) overlap with periods of consecutive missed PrEP doses. Substance use may also play a role in these vulnerable periods.

User-centered, interaction design research approaches to inform the development of health risk behavior intervention technologies.

Background: Computers have tremendous potential for helping people change behaviors that put their health at risk. This potential has led to the development of a variety of health behavior intervention technologies (BITs) in recent years. While many of these BITs have been informed by scientific theories on behavior change, poor design can fail to engage intended users.

A Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial of HIV Self-Testing and Real-Time Post-Test Counseling/Referral on Screening and Preventative Care Among Men Who Have Sex with Men.

HIV self-testing (HST) could be an effective strategy for helping those at high risk test more regularly. However, concerns about HST's lack of follow-up care and referral have so far limited its use. In a pilot, randomized controlled trial, high-risk HIV-negative, or status unknown men who have sex with men (MSM; N = 65) were recruited from January 2016 to February 2017 and received (1) HST kits by mail, equipped with devices that detected when kits were opened and prompted a follow-up call from a counselor (eTEST); (2) standard HST kits with no follow-up (standard); or (3) informational letters about HIV testing locations (control) at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

Timeline: A web application for assessing the timing and details of health behaviors.

Background: Timeline Followback (TLFB) interview methods are used to assess a variety of health behaviors, including alcohol use, drug use, and sexual behavior. While several online TLFBs have been developed, most focus on single behaviors, and few studies have explored their validity in assessing multiple risk behaviors using a single online TLFB.

Objective: To examine the validity of a customizable web application (Timeline) for assessing alcohol use, drug use, and sexual behavior among high-risk men who have sex with men.

HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Northeastern United States.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be at especially high risk for HIV in the United States. Past studies have shown that rates of HIV testing differ across a number of demographic and behavioral factors, and this research may be helpful for targeting efforts to increase testing among certain subgroups of MSM. In this study, MSM were recruited from several online sources to complete a questionnaire on HIV testing.

eTEST: Developing a Smart Home HIV Testing Kit that Enables Active, Real-Time Follow-Up and Referral After Testing.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are the group at highest risk for contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States, but many do not test as frequently as recommended. Home-based self-testing (HBST) for HIV holds promise for promoting regular testing among these individuals, but currently available HBSTs have limited follow-up options, providing only a 1-800 number that participants can call. Failure to actively conduct follow-up counseling and referrals after HBST use could result in delays in seeking confirmatory testing and care among users receiving reactive (preliminary positive) test results.

Active current gating in electrically biased conical nanopores.

We observed that the ionic current through a gold/silicon nitride (Si3N4) nanopore could be modulated and gated by electrically biasing the gold layer. Rather than employing chemical modification to alter device behavior, we achieved control of conductance directly by electrically biasing the gold portion of the nanopore. By stepping through a range of bias potentials under a constant trans-pore electric field, we observed a gating phenomenon in the trans-pore current response in a variety of solutions including potassium chloride (KCl), sodium chloride (NaCl), and potassium iodide (KI).