We conducted a cross-sectional study among HIV-positive adults age ≥ 50 in San Francisco to evaluate the frequency of loneliness, characteristics of those who reported loneliness, and the association of loneliness with functional impairment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Participants (N = 356) were predominately male (85%); 57% were white; median age was 56. 58% reported any loneliness symptoms with 24% reporting mild, 22% moderate and 12% severe loneliness. Lonely participants were more likely to report depression, alcohol and tobacco use, and have fewer relationships. In unadjusted models, loneliness was associated with functional impairment and poor HRQoL. In adjusted models, low income and depression remained associated with poor HRQoL, while low income, higher VACS index and depression were associated with functional impairment. A comprehensive care approach, incorporating mental health and psychosocial assessments with more traditional clinical assessments, will be needed to improve health outcomes for the aging HIV-positive population.

Objectives To perform geriatric assessments in older HIV-infected adults in San Francisco and examine the association with age and the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) index scores. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2012-2014 among HIV-infected patients ≥ 50 years at two San Francisco-based HIV clinics. We evaluated four health domains: 1) physical health and function (Activities of Daily Living [ADL], Instrumental ADL [IADL], falls, gait speed, 2) social support (physical and perceived support, loneliness), 3) mental health (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder) and cognition, and 4) behavioral and general health (antiretroviral adherence and quality of life). Contingency table and rank-sum analyses examined associations between these domains with age and VACS index scores. Results 359 patients completed assessments (median age 57; 85% male; 57% Caucasian; 72% >high school education). On functional assessment, 39% reported dependence with ≥1 IADL, and 40% reported falls in the previous year. 58% experienced loneliness, 60% the lowest levels of perceived social support, 55% depression, and 12% PTSD. 40% had possible mild cognitive impairment. 30% reported poor or fair quality of life. Older age was associated with lower CD4 counts, balance problems, slower gait, lower anxiety, poorer general health, and higher antiretroviral adherence. VACS Index score was associated with dependence in ≥1 IADL and antiretroviral adherence. Conclusion In a large sample of older HIV-infected adults, multiple significant aging-related conditions were identified. Integrating geriatric assessment tools into HIV/AIDS clinical care may help target interventions to optimize clinical care and quality of life for older HIV-infected individuals.

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We present the first complete implementation of a randomness and privacy amplification protocol based on Bell tests. This allows the building of device-independent random number generators which output provably unbiased and private numbers, even if using an uncharacterised quantum device potentially built by an adversary. Our generation rates are linear in the runtime of the quantum device and the classical randomness post-processing has quasi-linear complexity -making it efficient on a standard personal laptop. The statistical analysis is tailored for real-world quantum devices, making it usable as a quantum technology today.We then showcase our protocol on the quantum computers from the IBM-Q experience. Although not purposely built for the task, we show that quantum computer can run faithful Bell tests by adding minimal assumptions. At a high level, these amount to trusting that the quantum device was not purposely built to trick the user, but otherwise remains mostly uncharacterised. In this semi-device-independent manner, our protocol generates provably private and unbiased random numbers on today's quantum computers. Contents I. OverviewA. Introduction B. Results C. Relation to previous work II. Idea of the protocol A. Setup B. Interaction with the quantum device -data collection C. Verification / certification D. Randomness post-processing III. Main tools and ingredients A. What is randomness? B. Imperfect random number generators C. Quantum devices, Bell tests, and guessing probabilities D. Bell tests with imperfect random inputs E. Statistical analysis F. Post-processing randomness G. List of assumptions IV. Protocol and concrete numerical examples A. Steps of the protocol B. Efficiency of the protocol C. Fine tuning the randomness post-processing V. Implementation on IBM's quantum computers A. Overview B. Quantum computers for Bell experiments C. Bell inequality violations D.