Prevention Technologies Research Articles

Evolution analysis of research on disaster-causing mechanism and prevention technology of mine goaf disaster.

The goaf is an important factor that induces major accidents. Based on the quantitative analysis of the existing research results, summarize and sort out the research and prevention technology of the goaf disaster with the experience of experts. Temporally, the research on goaf disasters was divided into two stages: the embryonic stage and the rapid development stage. Spatially, a collaborative network with the United States, China, Germany, France, Turkey, and the United Kingdom as the core, including India, Japan, Belgium, Italy, South Korea, and Canada, was analyzed. By constructing a co-occurrence and clustering network of keywords and co-cited literature to explore the focus and hotspots of goaf disaster research, the hotspots of goaf disaster research are summarized into four main aspects, such as goaf detection technology, goaf disaster analysis, goaf risk assessment and goaf treatment technology, which grasp the content of goaf research from a macro perspective. The burst detection analysis of keywords and co-cited literature was conducted to obtain the research frontiers of goaf disaster research in different periods. At the current stage, the microstructural characteristics of surrounding rocks in the context of deep mining and complex goaf group effect and the mining technology of the integration of excavation, anchoring and supporting are the current frontier research directions. This combined qualitative and quantitative method is more helpful to grasp the development context of goaf disaster research and provides a new reference perspective for sorting out the process of goaf disaster research.

Hospital, Catheter, Peritoneal Dialysis Acquired Infections: Visible Light as a New Solution to Reduce Risk and Incidence.

Healthcare-associated infections, often identified as hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), are typically not present during patient contact or admission. Healthcare-associated infections cause longer lengths of stay, increasing costs and mortality. HAI occurring in trauma patients increases the risk for length of stay and higher inpatient costs. Many HAIs are preventable. Antibiotic resistance has increased to a high level making proper treatment increasingly difficult due to organisms resistant to common antibiotics. Therefore, there is a need for alternate forms of attack against these pathogens. Currently, the application of light for the treatment of topical infections has been used. Ultraviolet (UV) light has well-documented antimicrobial properties. UV is damaging to DNA and causes the degradation of plastics, etc., so its use for medical purposes is limited. Using visible light may be more promising. 405-nm light sterilization has been shown to be highly efficacious in reducing bacteria. Light Line Medical, Inc.'s (LLM) patented visible-light platform technology for infection prevention may create a global shift in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections. LLM has developed a proprietary method of delivering light to prevent catheter-associated infections. This technology uses non-UV visible light and can kill both bacteria and prevent biofilm inside and outside a luminal catheter. This is significant as prevention is key. Independent analysis of the prototype system showed the application of the device met the acceptance criterion of 4 x 109-10 reduction in Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and other bacteria and fungal species. Further design evolution for this technology continues, and the FDA submission process is underway.

Next generation 3D-printed intravaginal ring for prevention of HIV and unintended pregnancy

Globally, there are 20 million adolescent girls and young women living with HIV who have limited access to long-acting, effective, women-controlled preventative methods. Additionally, although there are many contraceptive methods available, globally, half of all pregnancies remain unintended. Here we report the first 3D-printed multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) intravaginal ring (IVR) for HIV prevention and contraception. We utilized continuous liquid interface production (CLIP™) to fabricate MPT IVRs in a biocompatible silicone-based resin. Etonogestrel (ENG), ethinyl estradiol (EE), and islatravir (ISL) were loaded into the silicone poly(urethane) IVR in a controlled single step drug loading process driven by absorption. ENG/EE/ISL IVR promoted sustained release of drugs for 150 days in vitro and 14 days in sheep. There were no adverse MPT IVR-related findings of cervicovaginal toxicity or changes in vaginal biopsies or microbiome community profiles evaluated in sheep. Furthermore, ISL IVR in macaques promoted sustained release for 28 days with ISL-triphosphate levels above the established pharmacokinetic benchmark of 50–100 fmol/106 PBMCs. The ISL IVR was found to be safe and well tolerated in the macaques with no observed mucosal cytokine changes or alterations in peripheral CD4 T-cell populations. Collectively, the proposed MPT IVR has potential to expand preventative choices for young women and girls.

SO-IMCKD processed signal improving MSCNN model’s fault diagnosis accuracy for drilling pump fluid end

Drilling pump is the ‘heart’ of drilling construction. The key to accurate fault diagnosis is to extract useful fault features from noisy raw signals. In order to improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis of drilling pump fluid end, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis method based on multi-scale convolutional neural network (MSCNN) combined with the snake optimization optimized maximum correlation kurtosis deconvolution (SO-IMCKD). First, the SO algorithm is employed to optimize the filter length and the shift number of IMCKD to process the raw signal, enhancing the fault features from the raw signal. Second, the continuous wavelet transform is used to convert the enhanced signals into time-frequency images which are input into an established MSCNN to extract the fault feature more effectively. Finally, by changing the training batchsize of the MSCNN model, the identification effect of the model to the normal state, minor damage, and serious damage of the fluid end is analyzed. The identification of nine states of the fluid end is successfully carried out, with an average diagnostic accuracy of 99.93%. Moreover, the adaptability of the proposed method is verified with the Mechanical Failure Prevention Technology Association dataset. The method has high accuracy and good adaptability, which has desired prospect for drilling pump fault diagnosis and bearing fault diagnosis.

Pesticide overuse in vegetable production: a case study of urban agriculture in city x, China

With the improvement in the living standard and enhancement of awareness of environmental protection by urban residents, food safety issues of vegetables, especially pesticide residues in vegetables, have gradually become an area of focus. According to previous investigations, the problems of pesticide overuse in vegetable production in City X, a typical metropolis of northern China, cannot be underestimated. To figure out the status quo and extent of pesticide overuse in China’s urban vegetable production, City X was taken as a research case. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to make an economic assessment of whether pesticides are overused in vegetable production in City X. The study was conducted based on panel data of the inputs and outputs of five kinds of vegetable crops commonly planted in City X from 1990 to 2018. The economic assessment of whether pesticides are overused depends on an accurate estimation of the marginal productivity of pesticides. As we all know, pesticides cannot directly increase crop yields but reduce yield losses by inhibiting pests and diseases and reducing weeds. Therefore, regarding pesticides same as other input factors and introducing them directly into the Cobb-Douglas production function would lead to an inaccurate estimation of the marginal productivity of pesticides. Thus, we adopted a damage control model distributed in exponential and Weibull forms on the basis of the C-D production function to estimate the marginal productivity of pesticides with the NLS method. Subsequently, we calculated the optimal levels of pesticide inputs and evaluated the extent of pesticide overuse for tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, and cabbages cultivated in open-field and greenhouse systems respectively. We found that the marginal productivity of pesticides was close to 0, indicating that pesticide overuse issues on vegetable crops in City X have been extremely serious ever since the 1990s. We also discovered that 100% of our samples suffered excessive pesticide application, and the average pesticide input level was 21.5 to 27.9 times higher than the optimal level. Among the five vegetable crops, the pesticide overuse in tomatoes was the most serious, with actual pesticide input of 2714 yuan/hectare, which was 26.8 to 35.2 times the optimal level. While the extent of pesticide overuse was the slightest for cabbages with 9.7 to 12.8 times the optimal level. Besides, the degree of pesticide overuse for greenhouse vegetables was 55% higher than that of open-field vegetables. Fortunately, our findings suggest that with the implementation of Pesticides Reduction policies in China, the pesticide overuse issue in the vegetable industry in City X, although still grim, has been alleviated. The introduction and application of policies such as unified control, green prevention and control, monitoring, and forewarning have played a great role. With the further refinement and implementation of relevant policies in the vegetable industry, the excessive use of pesticides will be further controlled. Finally, possible policy measures are proposed to ensure the sustainable development of the urban vegetable industry, such as enhancing the publicity and service level of the unified prevention and control policy, utilizing urban agricultural big data, promoting scientific pesticide use knowledge, and new prevention and control technologies by new media, and increasing investment in the R&D of new technologies and new pesticides.

Manufacturing classification system for oral solid dosage forms of traditional Chinese medicines(Ⅳ): classification of hygroscopicity behaviors of capsules

Hard capsules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) have different degrees of hygroscopicity, which affects the stability and efficacy of drugs. In this paper, 30 kinds of commercially available TCM capsules were used as the research object. The hygroscopicity curves of capsule contents, capsule shells, and capsules were tested respectively, and the first-order kinetic equation was used for fitting. The results show that during the 24 h hygroscopicity process, the capsule shell can reduce the weight gain caused by the hygroscopicity of the contents by 0.80%-53.0% and the hygroscopicity rate of the capsule contents by 1.74%-91.3%, indicating that the capsule shell has a strong delay effect on the hygroscopicity of the contents of the TCM capsules. Seven physical parameters of the contents of 30 kinds of TCM capsules were determined, and 14 prescription process-related parameters were sorted out. A partial least squares model for predicting the hygroscopicity rate of the contents of TCM capsules(with shell) for 24 h was established. It is found that the hygroscopicity rate of the capsule shell is positively correlated with the hygroscopicity of the contents of TCM capsules(with shell), suggesting that the capsule shell with a low hygroscopicity rate is helpful for moisture prevention. In addition, the pre-treatment process route of the preparation and the type of molding raw materials affect the hygroscopicity. A larger proportion of the extract in the capsule content and a smaller proportion of the fine powder of the decoction pieces indicate stronger hygroscopicity of the capsule content. The 24 h hygroscopicity rate of 15% was used as the classification node of hygroscopicity strength, and the hygroscopicity rate constant of 0.58 was used as the classification node of hygroscopicity speed. The classification system of hygroscopicity behaviors of TCM capsules was established: the varieties with strong and fast hygroscopicity accounted for about 6.67%, while those with strong and slow hygroscopicity accounted for about 33.3%; the varieties with weak and fast hygroscopicity accounted for about 26.7%, while those with weak and slow hygroscopicity accounted for about 33.3%. The classification system is helpful to quantify and compare the hygroscopicity behavior of different TCM capsules and provides a reference for the quality improvement, moisture prevention technologies, and material research of TCM capsules.

Shale oil and gas exploitation in China: Technical comparison with US and development suggestions

The shale oil and gas exploitation in China is technically benchmarked with the United States in terms of development philosophy, reservoir stimulation treatment, fracturing parameters, fracturing equipment and materials, oil/gas production technology, and data/achievements sharing. It is recognized that the shale oil and gas exploitation in China is weak in seven aspects: understanding of flow regimes, producing of oil/gas reserves, monitoring of complex fractures, repeated stimulation technology, oil/gas production technology, casing deformation prevention technology, and wellbore maintenance technology. Combined with the geological and engineering factors of shale oil and gas in China, the development suggestions of four projects are proposed from the macro- and micro-perspective, namely, basic innovation project, exploitation technology project, oil/gas production stabilization project, and supporting efficiency-improvement project, so as to promote the rapid, efficient, stable, green and extensive development of shale oil and gas industry chain and innovation chain and ultimately achieve the goal of “oil volume stabilizing and gas volume increasing”.

Extended safety and tolerability of subcutaneous CAP256V2LS and VRC07-523LS in HIV-negative women: study protocol for the randomised, placebo-controlled double-blinded, phase 2 CAPRISA 012C trial

IntroductionWomen-controlled HIV prevention technologies that overcome adherence challenges of available daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis and give women a choice of options are urgently needed. Broadly neutralising monoclonal antibodies (bnAbs) administered...

Preclinical development and pharmacokinetic assessment in macaques of a multipurpose long-acting injectable suspension containing medroxyprogesterone acetate for contraception and rilpivirine for HIV prevention

Depot injections comprising aqueous drug suspensions are widely marketed for long-acting administration of contraceptive progestins and antipsychotics. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in developing similar long-acting injectable products containing antiretroviral drugs for treatment or prevention of HIV infection, culminating in 2020/2021 with the approval of Cabenuva® (which combines the integrase strand transfer inhibitor cabotegravir with the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor rilpivirine for treatment of HIV infection) and Apretude (a cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension for HIV prevention). Here, we describe formulation and preclinical development of a new multipurpose prevention technology product based on a long-acting injectable aqueous suspension formulation combining micronized medroxyprogesterone acetate (the progestin used in the long-acting injectable contraceptive product Depo-Provera®) and a rilpivirine nanosuspension for HIV prevention. Through the application of an extensive range of analytical methods, we have demonstrated that the resulting combination suspension formulation had a bimodal particle distribution, was stable, was sterilised by gamma irradiation, and provided sustained systemic and vaginal exposure of both drugs over at least one month following intramuscular injection in macaques. Further formulation development will be needed to sustain drug concentrations in the systemic/vaginal compartments over longer time periods, and to consider options for use of alternate antiretroviral drugs.

Mycotoxins in Cereal-Based Products and Their Impacts on the Health of Humans, Livestock Animals and Pets.

Cereal grains are the most important food staples for human beings and livestock animals. They can be processed into various types of food and feed products such as bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, cake, snacks, beer, complete feed, and pet foods. However, cereal grains are vulnerable to the contamination of soil microorganisms, particularly molds. The toxigenic fungi/molds not only cause quality deterioration and grain loss, but also produce toxic secondary metabolites, mycotoxins, which can cause acute toxicity, death, and chronic diseases such as cancer, immunity suppression, growth impairment, and neural tube defects in humans, livestock animals and pets. To protect human beings and animals from these health risks, many countries have established/adopted regulations to limit exposure to mycotoxins. The purpose of this review is to update the evidence regarding the occurrence and co-occurrence of mycotoxins in cereal grains and cereal-derived food and feed products and their health impacts on human beings, livestock animals and pets. The effort for safe food and feed supplies including prevention technologies, detoxification technologies/methods and up-to-date regulation limits of frequently detected mycotoxins in cereal grains for food and feed in major cereal-producing countries are also provided. Some important areas worthy of further investigation are proposed.

Research on Directional Hydraulic Coal Cutting and Outburst Prevention Technology in Soft and Hard Composite Coal Seams.

Affected by tectonics, soft and hard composite coal seams are widely distributed in China; the soft stratification in the soft and hard composite coal seam is the key to controlling the occurrence of coal and gas outburst accidents. Based on this, for soft and hard composite coal seams, in order to accurately extract soft layers, a directional hydraulic coal mining equipment has been developed, including a drilling rig pump truck system, a directional coal wireless measurement system, and a cutter drill pipe system. By constructing a mathematical model and conducting numerical simulations, it was found that the vertical stress, horizontal stress, and gas pressure of the coal body around the borehole after coal extraction decreased significantly compared to normal borehole conditions; the on-site test results indicate that the hydraulic coal extraction volume of directional hydraulic coal extraction boreholes reaches 0.25 m3 per meter. The total amount of coal extracted accounts for more than 3‰ of the total amount of coal within the coverage area. The average concentration of gas extraction in the coal extraction area is 80.15%, and the net amount of gas extraction from 100 m boreholes reaches 0.17 m3/(min·hm). After extraction, the measured residual gas content in the coal extraction and non-extraction areas decreased by 59.27 and 40.38%, respectively. Directional hydraulic coal mining technology can effectively solve the problem of coal and gas outburst prevention in soft and hard composite coal seams and has good application prospects.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

In the context of solving the tasks of inclusive education, the competencies of physical therapists and occupational therapists, defined by the Standard of Higher Education of the second (master's) level of higher education in the field of knowledge 22 Health care, specialty 227 Physical therapy, occupational therapy, in particular effective cooperation with all members of the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team and other health, education and social policy professionals involved in providing services to patients/clients.
 The purpose of the research is to reveal the content and tasks of physical therapy, occupational therapy in an inclusive educational space. In order to achieve the set goal, the following research tasks must be solved: to reveal the state of scientific study of the problem of using methods of physical therapy, occupational therapy in inclusive education; to analyze the task of the team of psychological and pedagogical support of a child with special educational needs; determine the types of health-preserving technologies in educational institutions with an inclusive form of education; to analyze the content, forms and methods of adaptive physical education in an inclusive educational space.
 Conclusions:
 
 The introduction of an inclusive form of education in Ukraine significantly actualized the need for the use of occupational therapy and physical therapy in corrective and developmental assistance for children with disabilities of different age and nosological groups. At the same time, the support of children with special educational needs in the implementation of the tasks of the individual development program by a multidisciplinary team of specialists in an inclusive educational space has become an important direction of ensuring their special educational needs.
 The use of various types of health-preserving technologies is an important condition for the effective functioning of inclusive education. In order to preserve, strengthen and increase the physical, mental and social health of pupils of inclusive groups of special education, such main groups of health-preserving technologies are used as: organizational-pedagogical, psychological-pedagogical and educational-educational. Organizational and pedagogical ones are used to determine the structure of the educational process, which is able to prevent overwork, hypodynamia, etc.
 Among the types of health-preserving technologies that are used in the inclusive educational space of primary schools, it is appropriate to single out: physical culture and health, medical and preventive technologies, and technologies for ensuring optimal mental and social health of preschoolers.
 The effectiveness of the introduction of AFV in the work with pupils of special educational institutions who have normative development and their peers with special needs of different nosological groups depends on ensuring an optimally favorable, barrier-free educational environment in special educational institutions. The results of AFV directly depend on taking into account and realizing the potential opportunities and needs of each child, individual characteristics, preservation and strengthening of his health. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that regardless of the psychophysical development of preschoolers and their state of health, each of them has resource opportunities, the use of which can positively affect the quality of life.

The Development of Medical Tourism with Preventive Technology: Medical Wellness

Objective: This study aims to examine the Development of Medical Tourism with Preventive Technology: Medical Wellness. Methods: This research was studied using the literature study method, sourced from national and international journals. Journal sources used include Pubmed, Google Scholar, Elsevier, and ResearchGate. Results: The study results show that telemedicine and telehealth (or e-health systems) covering all health service providers that use information and communication technology for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of health services can become a preventive technology in the practice of medical tourism and medical wellness in Indonesia. This is because information and communication technology development can be an essential factor in realizing the successful development of medical tourism in Indonesia. Conclusion: The reputation of Bali's tourism infrastructure in Indonesia and the ASEAN region is relatively well established. Growth in health and wellness travel due to improved infrastructure, tourist demand, the hospitality sector and a well-regulated business environment. However, such a comparative advantage does not guarantee that Bali will be able to compete in a world where tourist preferences are the driving force of competition.

Harnessing New Technologies in Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer Patients in India

Harnessing New Technologies in Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer Patients in India

Study on Spontaneous Combustion Law and Prevention Technology of Abandoned Coal in Goaf of Coal Mine

The spontaneous combustion of coal in goaf areas is a significant natural disaster encountered during coal mining operations. To investigate the oxygen consumption characteristics of different coal types, we conducted TG experiments and closed oxygen consumption experiments using seven coal samples exhibiting various degrees of metamorphism. The findings revealed the following key observations: During the oxidation combustion process of coal, the absorbed heat originates from the physical and chemical adsorption of coal and oxygen. The first exothermic peak on the DSC curve represents the maximum combustion temperature of volatile matter and signifies the initiation of coal burning. Coal with higher ignition temperatures is less prone to spontaneous combustion. Analyzing the thermogravimetric curves, we observed that the ignition temperatures of 15# coal and 8+9# coal predominantly extracted from Duanwang Coal Mine are higher compared to the ignition temperature of the 4# coal seam (known for its susceptibility to spontaneous combustion) in Jiudaoling Coal Mine, Liaoning. This observation aligns with their nonspontaneous combustion characteristics. In the closed oxygen consumption experiment, we determined the volume oxygen consumption attenuation coefficients for the main mining areas’ 8+9# and 15# coal seams as 3.9001 × 10 − 4 and 3.83559 × 10 − 4 , respectively. Additionally, the critical oxygen consumption concentrations were measured as 15.71% and 16.78%. The shortest spontaneous combustion periods were determined to be 119.24 days and 121.25 days, respectively, for the aforementioned coal seams. To mitigate spontaneous combustion, the addition of inhibitors is necessary. The selection of an appropriate inhibitor depends on the increase in ignition activation energy. Notably, coal samples treated with a 15% MgCl2 inhibitor exhibited the highest increase in ignition activation energy. Hence, we concluded that a 15% MgCl2 inhibitor is the most suitable ratio for preventing spontaneous combustion.

Auricularia auricular Adsorbs Aflatoxin B1 and Ameliorates Aflatoxin B1-Induced Liver Damage in Sprague Dawley Rats.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), as a class I carcinogen, poses a substantial health risk to individuals. Contamination of food sources, particularly grains and nuts, with Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) contributes to the prevalence of AFB1. The impact of global warming has spurred research into the development of AFB1 prevention technologies. While edible fungi have shown potential in detoxifying AFB1, there is a scarcity of literature on the application of Auricularia auricular (A. auricular) in this context. This study aimed to investigate the ability and underlying mechanism of A. auricular mycelia to adsorb aflatoxin B1, as well as evaluate its protective effects on the AFB1-induced liver damage in SD rats. Additionally, the effects of temperature, time, pH, and reaction ratio on the adsorption rate were examined. Combining thermodynamic and kinetic data, the adsorption process was characterized as a complex mechanism primarily driven by chemical adsorption. In SD rats, the A. auricular mycelia exhibited alleviation of AFB1-induced liver damage. The protective effects on the liver attributed to A. auricular mycelia may involve a reduction in AFB1 adsorption in the intestine, mitigation of oxidative stress, and augmentation of second-phase detoxification enzyme activity. The adsorption method for AFB1 not only ensures safety and non-toxicity, but also represents a dietary regulation strategy for achieving effective defense against AFB1.

Development and Application of a Microsurfacing Mix Design Method to Assess the Influence of the Emulsion Type

Microsurfacing asphalt mixtures are a preventive maintenance technology comprising the application of a slurry (produced with a modified asphalt emulsion), aggregate, filler, and water on top of an existing pavement at ambient temperature. Although it is a widely used technology, further studies on the mix design procedures are necessary to ensure an adequate composition. Thus, this study contributes to developing an improved mix design procedure for microsurfacing asphalt mixtures. Different mixtures were prepared, and the influence of the type and amount of asphalt emulsion and the amount of added water and filler (cement) on the characteristics of the mixture were evaluated. Two preliminary tests, referred to as the “pizza test” and the “ball test”, were proposed to determine the initial proportions of added water and cement in the mixture, respectively. Then, consistency, cohesion, and shaking abrasion tests were performed to determine the optimum content of each component and evaluate their influence on the mixture characteristics. The results showed that these tests are essential to optimize the mix composition, even though it was found that the mix design of microsurfacings is a complex task because the mixture is a system with chemical interactions strongly influenced by its composition.

Study on the Disaster Prevention Capacity of Residential Buildings in Enyang Ancient Town

In the background of protecting the development of historical and traditional cultural buildings, the exploration of disaster prevention technology of ancient town buildings is of great significance. Enyang ancient town has a long history, and its residential buildings have typical Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty architectural features and regional characteristics of northeast Sichuan. Enyang ancient town has experienced many natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes in its history, and the disaster resistance of its residential buildings is worth exploring. Taking the dwellings in Enyang Ancient town as the research object, its architectural space form and architectural structure are analyzed. On this basis, the flood resistance, earthquake resistance and fire resistance of the ancient town’s residential buildings were further studied. The research results can provide reference for the analysis of disaster prevention performance and reinforcement protection of similar ancient towns.

Strategic actions to advance multipurpose prevention technologies in low- and middle-income countries.

HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies are critical and interlinked health risks for millions of women of reproductive age worldwide. Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) offer an innovative approach for expanding combined pregnancy and/or disease prevention. So far, MPT development efforts have focused mostly on HIV prevention, but about half of product candidates comprise compounds active against non-HIV STIs as well. This review aims to provide a framework that promotes the efficient advancement of the most promising preclinical products through the development pathway and into the hands of end-users, with a focus on women in low- and middle-income countries (L/MICs). This mini review provides a summary of the current landscape of the MPT field. It comprises a landscape assessment of MPTs in development, complemented by a series of 28 in-depth, semi-structured key informant interviews (KIIs) with experts representing different L/MIC perspectives. We identified six primary action strategies to advance MPTs for L/MICs, including identification of key research gaps and priorities. For each action strategy, progress to date and key recommendations are included. To realize the life-saving potential of MPTs and maximize the momentum made to date, a strategic, collaborative and well-funded response to the gaps and next steps outlined in this paper is critical. A coordinated response can add rigor and efficiency to the development process, to successfully advance the most promising MPT products to the hands of end-users.

Virtual avatars as a new tool for human immunodeficiency virus prevention among men who have sex with men: a narrative review.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to affect sexual and gender minorities, predominantly men who have sex with men (MSM). Stigma, medical mistrust, and apprehension towards discussing sexual health with one's medical provider are significant barriers in seeking or accessing preventive services. Those obstacles could be surpassed through novel digital and electronic health interventions, specifically with virtual avatar technology. Avatars are digital self-representative agents that are controlled with an interactive electronic device. Avatars allow for virtual self-immersion within infinitely customizable environments to practice skill building, fostering relationships and more, through an optional incognito approach. The objective of this narrative review is to examine recent uses of and developments in avatar technology, highlight the personalization attribute of this technology, and evaluate its strengths and limitations as a tool for HIV prevention among MSM. We reviewed recent scientific literature generated by PubMed that use virtual avatar technology in HIV prevention and treatment among populations put at risk. Articles that met the inclusion criteria were then categorized on how the avatar technology was used. We identified eleven studies that met inclusion criteria. Avatar technology was found to create a comfortable environment for participants to address and discuss their sexual behaviors with less hesitation. Avatars can build rapport with populations put at high risk, creating an opportunity for reevaluation of their sexual behavior while assisting them in being able seek information, preventive services, or treatment for HIV or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Given the increased use of digital technology in health and prevention, avatars might be useful in sexual health education and HIV prevention among populations put at risk. The benefits and potential in utilizing this technology for HIV prevention are highlighted.