The Relationship Between Discrimination and Missed HIV Care Appointments Among Women Living with HIV

Receiving regular HIV care is crucial for maintaining good health among persons with HIV. However, racial and gender disparities in HIV care receipt exist. Discrimination and its impact may vary by race/ethnicity and gender, contributing to disparities. Data from 1578 women in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study ascertained from 10/1/2012 to 9/30/2016 were used to: (1) estimate the relationship between discrimination and missing any scheduled HIV care appointments and (2) assess whether this relationship is effect measure modified by race/ethnicity. Self-reported measures captured discrimination and the primary outcome of missing any HIV care appointments in the last 6 months. Log-binomial models accounting for measured sources of confounding and selection bias were fit. For the primary outcome analyses, women experiencing discrimination typically had a higher prevalence of missing an HIV care appointment. Moreover, there was no statistically significant evidence for effect measure modification by race/ethnicity. Interventions to minimize discrimination or its impact may improve HIV care engagement among women

Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather

The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence, stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure

Steroid-sparing agents in giant cell arteritis

Background: Giant cell arteritis is the commonest form of medium-to-large vessel vasculitis, requiring long-term corticosteroid therapy. The short- and long-term side effects of corticosteroids are many, including weight gain, psychological effects, osteoporosis, cardiometabolic complications, and infections. Materials and Methods: Various agents used in place of or in combination with corticosteroids to reduce corticosteroid-related side effects were reviewed. However, considerable variation in practice was identified giving unclear guidance. This review included the most recent evidence on methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, abatacept, and tocilizumab Results and Discussion: Also discussed are encouraging results with tocilizumab in GCA patients. Amongst the agents available for steroid-sparing effects, tocilizumab demonstrated the most robust data and is consequently recommended as the agent of choice for steroid-sparing, for remission induction, remission maintenance, and treating relapsing and refractory cases of GCA.Published versio

Physical Processes in Star Formation

© 2020 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00693-8.Star formation is a complex multi-scale phenomenon that is of significant importance for astrophysics in general. Stars and star formation are key pillars in observational astronomy from local star forming regions in the Milky Way up to high-redshift galaxies. From a theoretical perspective, star formation and feedback processes (radiation, winds, and supernovae) play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of the physical processes at work, both individually and of their interactions. In this review we will give an overview of the main processes that are important for the understanding of star formation. We start with an observationally motivated view on star formation from a global perspective and outline the general paradigm of the life-cycle of molecular clouds, in which star formation is the key process to close the cycle. After that we focus on the thermal and chemical aspects in star forming regions, discuss turbulence and magnetic fields as well as gravitational forces. Finally, we review the most important stellar feedback mechanisms.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

What causes hidradenitis suppurativa ?—15 years after

The 14 authors of the first review article on hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) pathogenesis published 2008 in EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY cumulating from the 1st International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Research Symposium held March 30–April 2, 2006 in Dessau, Germany with 33 participants were prophetic when they wrote “Hopefully, this heralds a welcome new tradition: to get to the molecular heart of HS pathogenesis, which can only be achieved by a renaissance of solid basic HS research, as the key to developing more effective HS therapy.” (Kurzen et al. What causes hidradenitis suppurativa? Exp Dermatol 2008;17:455). Fifteen years later, th

Not Available

Not AvailableThis study documents the coupling of provenance and climate change over the last 100 ka manifested in clay mineralogy of sediments from two cores (~50 m deep) in the Ganga–Yamuna interfluve in the Himalayan Foreland Basin, India. Depth distribution of the texture and clay mineral assemblage in the two cores show notable differences on account of pedogenesis and sediment supply over the last 100 ka. Core sediments from the northern part of the interfluve (IITK core) are micaceous and dominated by hydroxyl-interlayered dioctahedral low-charge smectitea (LCS) in fine clay fraction but by trioctahedral high-charge smectite (HCS) in silt and coarse clay fractions. In contrast, core sediments from the southern part of the interfluve (Bhognipur core) are poor in mica and both LCS and HCS are recorded in the upper 28 m of the core while the lower part is dominantly LCS in all size fractions. The paleosols in the two cores formed in the sub-humid to semi-arid climatic conditions resulting in clay minerals such as 1.0–1.4 nm minerals, vermiculite, HCS and also preserved the LCS, hydroxyl-interlayered vermiculite (HIV) and pseudo-chlorite (PCh), and kaolin that formed earlier in a humid climate. The preservation of LCS, HIV, kaolin and PCh is a clear indicator of climate shift from humid to semi-arid in the Ganga Plains as their formation does not represent contemporary pedogenesis in the alkaline chemical environment induced by the semi-arid climate. As the simultaneous formation of both HCS and LCS is not possible at the expense of mica, the abundance of LCS sediments from both the cores suggests the role of plagioclase weathering in the formation of LCS. In the upper 28 m of the Bhognipur core, the presence of both HCS and LCS in the fine clays suggests a change in sediment provenance from cratonic to a dominantly Himalayan source during Holocene. The climatic records inferred from the typical clay mineral assemblages of the two interfluve cores are consistent with the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS). The humid interglacial stages (MIS 5, 3, and 1) are marked by dominance of HIV, PCh, and LCS whereas the dominance of HCS together with pedogenic carbonate (PC) is noted in semi-arid stages (MIS 4 and 2).Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThis study documents the coupling of provenance and climate change over the last 100 ka manifested in clay mineralogy of sediments from two cores (~50 m deep) in the Ganga–Yamuna interfluve in the Himalayan Foreland Basin, India. Depth distribution of the texture and clay mineral assemblage in the two cores show notable differences on account of pedogenesis and sediment supply over the last 100 ka. Core sediments from the northern part of the interfluve (IITK core) are micaceous and dominated by hydroxyl-interlayered dioctahedral low-charge smectitea (LCS) in fine clay fraction but by trioctahedral high-charge smectite (HCS) in silt and coarse clay fractions. In contrast, core sediments from the southern part of the interfluve (Bhognipur core) are poor in mica and both LCS and HCS are recorded in the upper 28 m of the core while the lower part is dominantly LCS in all size fractions. The paleosols in the two cores formed in the sub-humid to semi-arid climatic conditions resulting in clay minerals such as 1.0–1.4 nm minerals, vermiculite, HCS and also preserved the LCS, hydroxyl-interlayered vermiculite (HIV) and pseudo-chlorite (PCh), and kaolin that formed earlier in a humid climate. The preservation of LCS, HIV, kaolin and PCh is a clear indicator of climate shift from humid to semi-arid in the Ganga Plains as their formation does not represent contemporary pedogenesis in the alkaline chemical environment induced by the semi-arid climate. As the simultaneous formation of both HCS and LCS is not possible at the expense of mica, the abundance of LCS sediments from both the cores suggests the role of plagioclase weathering in the formation of LCS. In the upper 28 m of the Bhognipur core, the presence of both HCS and LCS in the fine clays suggests a change in sediment provenance from cratonic to a dominantly Himalayan source during Holocene. The climatic records inferred from the typical clay mineral assemblages of the two interfluve cores are consistent with the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS). The humid interglacial stages (MIS 5, 3, and 1) are marked by dominance of HIV, PCh, and LCS whereas the dominance of HCS together with pedogenic carbonate (PC) is noted in semi-arid stages (MIS 4 and 2).Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableGlobal importance of total organic carbon (TOC) in soil is due to its role in the global carbon cycle and, thus, the part it plays in influencing the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs). It is also of local importance as it determines ecosystem and agro-ecosystem function, influencing various soil parameters. The objective of the present study was to evaluate RothC model (26.3) to estimate TOC changes under two long term fertilizer experimental (LTFE) sites representing humid (Mohanpur) and semi-arid (Akola) climate in India. Five treatments each at the LTFE sites of Mohanpur representing alluvial soils (Alfisol) of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and of Akola dominated by black soils (Vertisols) in the Black Soil Region (BSR) were selected. Mohanpur site was modelled for 3 layers (0-13, 13-23, and 23-39 cm) while Akola for surface layer (0-15 cm) only. The root mean square error (RMSE), considered as modelling error, ranged from 3.34 to 17.85%, 6.87 to 14.22% and 6.66 to 24.34% in the 3 soil layers of Mohanpur site respectively. For Akola, RMSE ranges from 1.79 to 13.28. The simulation biases expressed by M (relative error) for all treatments at these sites were non-significant. In Mohanpur, observed trends in TOC show marginal increase in control (T1) and 100% NPK (T2) while the increase was nearly 17 to 35% when organic amendments were applied along with inorganics during 1999 to 2010. For the same period in Akola, control (T1), 50% NPK (T2), and 100% NPK (T4) recorded decrease in TOC while 26 to 29% increase was registered without inorganics and with the combination of inorganics and organics respectively. The calculation of modelled TOC stock to find out effect of global warming indicated that treating the entire soil pedon as a homogenous unit will overestimate effects of global warming in accelerating decomposition of soil carbon.Not Availabl