Measured Quantum Groupoids in action

Franck Lesieur had introduced in his thesis (now published in an expended and revised version in the {\it M\'emoires de la SMF} (2007)) a notion of measured quantum groupoid, in the setting of von Neumann algebras and a simplification of Lesieur's axioms is presented in an appendix of this article. We here develop the notions of actions, crossed-product, and obtain a biduality theorem, following what had been done by Stefaan Vaes for locally compact quantum groups. Moreover, we prove that the inclusion of the initial algebra into its crossed-product is depth 2, which gives a converse of a result proved by Jean-Michel Vallin and the author. More precisely, to any action of a measured quantum groupoid, we associate another measured quantum groupoid. In particular, starting from an action of a locally compact quantum group, we obtain a measured quantum groupoid canonically associated to this action; when the action is outer, this measured quantum groupoid is the initial locally compact quantum groupComment: will be published in {\it M\'emoires SMF}, 200

The Challenge of Involvement and Detachment in Participant Observation

The technique of participant observation, and the roles involved, have been widely discussed in the literature across a range of settings and topics. However, researchers rarely argue for a particular role that a participant observer should adopt. In this paper, I attempt to argue for the participant-as-observer role. I do so by reviewing existing literature on the topic. I argue that the complete observer and the complete participant roles are not applicable in today\u27s research environment because, aside from their practical problems, they violate the ethical requirement of informed consent. I argued further that the observer-as-participant role, with its limited involvement in the life of informants, not only prevents the researcher from fully understanding the context of the study, but also instils doubts and suspicion in informants, leading to concealment or distortion of data. I therefore conclude that, where all the four roles are possible, the participant-as-observer role, which offers a higher degree of involvement, should be employed to enable the researcher to get deeper understanding of the context under study. I add, however, that the participant observer should, in this case, account for his/her biases and their possible effects on his/her observations

Outer actions of measured quantum groupoids

Mimicking a recent article of Stefaan Vaes, in which was proved that every locally compact quantum group can act outerly, we prove that we get the same result for measured quantum groupoids, with an appropriate definition of outer actions of measured quantum groupoids. This result is used to show that every measured quantum groupoid can be found from some depth 2 inclusion of von Neumann algebras.Comment: to be published in Journal of Functional Analysi

Physical activity levels among Malawian adults living with HIV and receiving anti-retroviral therapy

IntroductionDespite increasing life expectancy among people living with HIV (PLWHIV), anti-retroviral therapy (ART) side effects, HIV chronic inflammation and co-morbidities may limit functional abilities and reduced participation in exercises and physical activity (PA). PA improves wellbeing and overall quality of life of PLWHIV. In Malawi, there is paucity of information regarding PA levels among Malawians living with HIV and receiving ART. Therefore, this study aimed at determining PA levels among PLWHIV and receiving ART in Malawi. MethodsA quantitative cross-sectional design was employed. Eligible participants were male and female adults aged 18–45 years living with HIV receiving ART for at least 1 year. The participants were recruited from Limbe Health Center, Gateway Health Center and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess the PA levels. A Stadiometer (HS-DBS00361, Model: 1127154) was used to measure weight (kg) and height (cm) of the participants. ResultsA total of 213 participants were recruited. There were more females than male participants (n=132 females). Overall, the mean age of all participants was 37±6.5 years and they were within normal body weight (BMI=23±4.0). Many participants (n=85, 40%) had low PA levels followed by those who were moderately physically active (n=75, 36%). A larger proportion of the female participants (51%) had low PA levels compared to males (22%). Forty-two percent of participants with 1–3 years of ART had low PA whereas 39% with >3 years ART had low PA. ConclusionMost PLWHIV and receiving ART in the sample have low PA levels. The study has also revealed that proportionally more females than males had low PA levels