Scientific review of protocols to enhance informativeness of global health clinical trials.

Background: Trial informativeness describes the likelihood of a clinical trial to have a meaningful impact on clinical practice, research, or policy decisions. A dedicated scientific review process for protocols at the post-funding stage is not common, yet is an opportunity to enhance trial informativeness. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), one of the largest funders of clinical trials, created a group called Design, Analyze, Communicate (DAC).

Voluntary self-exclusion from gambling: Expert opinions on gaps and needs for improvement.

Voluntary self-exclusion (VSE) programmes are intended to minimise gambling-related harm. They are considered effective for the individual but several weaknesses have been reported that deter individuals from enrolment. The present paper summarises opinions about and experiences with VSE strategies and assesses gaps and needs with regard to the current self-exclusion regulations and programmes in seven jurisdictions.

The relationship between access to peer support programs and quality of life among people living with HIV in Australia.

Peer support services for people living with HIV (PLHIV) serve varying functions and are a unique resource for support. Peer support programs are considered an important strategy for achieving better quality of life (QoL) for PLHIV and there has been substantial investment in provision of such programs. The present study asks whether being connected to other PLHIV is associated with better QoL for PLHIV in Australia and; whether involvement in formal peer support programs is associated with QoL among people newly diagnosed with HIV.

Multiome Perturb-seq unlocks scalable discovery of integrated perturbation effects on the transcriptome and epigenome.

Single-cell CRISPR screens link genetic perturbations to transcriptional states, but high-throughput methods connecting these induced changes to their regulatory foundations are limited. Here, we introduce Multiome Perturb-seq, extending single-cell CRISPR screens to simultaneously measure perturbation-induced changes in gene expression and chromatin accessibility. We apply Multiome Perturb-seq in a CRISPRi screen of 13 chromatin remodelers in human RPE-1 cells, achieving efficient assignment of sgRNA identities to single nuclei via an improved method for capturing barcode transcripts from nuclear RNA.

Sexual satisfaction among people living with HIV in the era of biomedical prevention: enduring impacts of HIV-related stigma?

Background People living with HIV (PLHIV) have historically faced a range of challenges negotiating satisfying sex lives in the context of virus transmission risks and HIV-related stigma. We examine the experience of sexual satisfaction among PLHIV in an era of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and undetectable=untransmissible (U=U)/treatment as prevention. Methods Data are derived from HIV Futures 9, a cross-sectional survey of PLHIV in Australia conducted between December 2018 and May 2019.