On the limits of sexual health literacy: Insights from Ugandan schoolgirls

This article makes the case that current conceptions of sexual health literacy have limited relevance to the Ugandan context because they assume that knowledge of unsafe sexual practices will lead to changes in behavior and lifestyle. Drawing on a longitudinal case study with 15 Ugandan schoolgirls in rural Uganda from August 2004 to September 2006, this study argues that despite being well-informed about the risks and responsibilities of sexual activity, poverty and sexual abuse severely constrained options for these young women. Although many believed in the value of abstaining from sexual activity until marriage, they engaged in transactional sex to pay for school fees, supplies, clothing, and food. Further, fear of sexual abuse, early pregnancy, and HIV–AIDS compromised attempts to embrace sexuality. The article concludes with implications of the study for research and policy on sexual health literacy in Uganda and other poorly resourced regions of the world

The Swift Deep Galactic Plane Survey (DGPS) Phase-I Catalog

The \textit{Swift} Deep Galactic Plane Survey is a \textit{Swift} Key Project consisting of 380 tiled pointings covering 40 deg$^{2}$ of the Galactic Plane between longitude $10$\,$<$\,$|l|$\,$<$\,$30$ deg and latitude $|b|$\,$<$\,$0.5$ deg. Each pointing has a $5$ ks exposure, yielding a total of 1.9 Ms spread across the entire survey footprint. Phase-I observations were carried out between March 2017 and May 2021. The Survey is complete to depth $L_X$\,$>$\,$10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ to the edge of the Galaxy. The main Survey goal is to produce a rich sample of new X-ray sources and transients, while also covering a broad discovery space. Here, we introduce the Survey strategy and present a catalog of sources detected during Phase-I observations. In total, we identify 928 X-ray sources, of which 348 are unique to our X-ray catalog. We report on the characteristics of sources in our catalog and highlight sources newly classified and published by the DGPS team.Comment: Submitted to ApJ

The practice of hepatocellular cancer surveillance in Nigeria

Background: Hepatocellular cancer is a disease of global and public health importance due to the widespread distribution of risk factors and associated high case fatality. Hepatocellular Cancer (HCC) in Sub-Saharan Africa is commonly seen among the younger age groups (&lt;45 years) who present mostly in the terminal stage, when the disease is not amenable to any curative therapy. Hepatocellular Carcinoma surveillance employs the use of simple, cheap and readily available investigations, to detect early curable cancer in individuals with risk factors for HCC.Objectives:The aim of this study is to assess the practice of hepatocellular cancer screening among physicians.Methodolgy:This is a nationwide online survey carried out among physicians who care for patients with HCC. A questionnaire was sent out via a web link to all consenting doctors in Nigeria. The responses were collated in a cloud-based application and data was analysed using Epi-info version 20.Results:Atotal of 218 respondents, 142 were males (65.1 %) with a mean age of 37.6 ± 5.7 years. The modal age group was 31-40 years 153 (69.5%). The main factors considered as a hindrance to surveillance were; the cost of the tests (57.7%), failure of return of patients (50.5%) and not being aware of a surveillance program (45.2 %). The majority of the respondents were Gastroenterologists and Family Physicians. 54% of the gastroenterologists and 64% of the family physicians have never offered HCC surveillance to their patients.Conclusion:This survey highlights a knowledge gap in HCC surveillance among physicians. There is a need to make HCCsurveillance a daily routine among patients at risk by all physicians. Keywords: Surveillance, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, HBV, HCV, Cancer screening

The SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane Survey

We present the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS), a 1.3 GHz continuum survey of almost half of the Galactic Plane (251○ ≤l ≤ 358○ and 2○ ≤l ≤ 61○ at |b| ≤ 1 5). SMGPS is the largest, most sensitive and highest angular resolution 1 GHz survey of the Plane yet carried out, with an angular resolution of 8″ and a broadband RMS sensitivity of ∼10–20 μJy beam−1. Here we describe the first publicly available data release from SMGPS which comprises data cubes of frequency-resolved images over 908–1656 MHz, power law fits to the images, and broadband zeroth moment integrated intensity images. A thorough assessment of the data quality and guidance for future usage of the data products are given. Finally, we discuss the tremendous potential of SMGPS by showcasing highlights of the Galactic and extragalactic science that it permits. These highlights include the discovery of a new population of non-thermal radio filaments; identification of new candidate supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae and planetary nebulae; improved radio/mid-IR classification of rare Luminous Blue Variables and discovery of associated extended radio nebulae; new radio stars identified by Bayesian cross-matching techniques; the realisation that many of the largest radio-quiet WISE H II region candidates are not true H II regions; and a large sample of previously undiscovered background H I galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance

Rapid Evolution of the White Dwarf Pulsar AR Scorpii

Analysis of AR Sco optical light curves spanning 9 yr shows a secular change in the relative amplitudes of the beat pulse pairs generated by the two magnetic poles of its rotating white dwarf. Recent photometry now shows that the primary and secondary beat pulses have similar amplitudes, while in 2015 the primary pulse was approximately twice that of the secondary peak. The equalization in the beat pulse amplitudes is also seen in the linearly polarized flux. This rapid evolution is consistent with precession of the white dwarf spin axis. The observations imply that the pulse amplitudes cycle over a period of ≳40 yr but that the upper limit is currently poorly constrained. If precession is the mechanism driving the evolution, then over the next 10 yr the ratio of the beat pulse amplitudes will reach a maximum followed by a return to asymmetric beat pulses