TRAP CROP RADISH: A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR NEMATICIDE IN SUGAR BEETS

Chemical treatment of nematodes in sugar beets can be very costly ($190 per acre), and hazardous, representing significant environmental risks to air, water and human health. Substituting trap crop radish for chemicals, represents a win-win case of sustainable pest control, yielding environmental benefits, higher profit and reduced risk.Crop Production/Industries,

ECONOMICS OF VARIABLE RATE NEMATICIDE FOR SUGAR BEETS

The benefit of applying fumigant for control of the sugar beet nematode on a variable versus uniform rate basis is examined. Compared to fumigating an entire filed at a constant full-label rate, varialbe rate application provides a savings ranging from $31/ac (heavily infested field) to$69/ac (lightly infested field).Crop Production/Industries,

Effects of patch size and number within a simple model of patchy colloids

We report on a computer simulation and integral equation study of a simple model of patchy spheres, each of whose surfaces is decorated with two opposite attractive caps, as a function of the fraction $\chi$ of covered attractive surface. The simple model explored --- the two-patch Kern-Frenkel model --- interpolates between a square-well and a hard-sphere potential on changing the coverage $\chi$. We show that integral equation theory provides quantitative predictions in the entire explored region of temperatures and densities from the square-well limit $\chi = 1.0$ down to $\chi \approx 0.6$. For smaller $\chi$, good numerical convergence of the equations is achieved only at temperatures larger than the gas-liquid critical point, where however integral equation theory provides a complete description of the angular dependence. These results are contrasted with those for the one-patch case. We investigate the remaining region of coverage via numerical simulation and show how the gas-liquid critical point moves to smaller densities and temperatures on decreasing $\chi$. Below $\chi \approx 0.3$, crystallization prevents the possibility of observing the evolution of the line of critical points, providing the angular analog of the disappearance of the liquid as an equilibrium phase on decreasing the range for spherical potentials. Finally, we show that the stable ordered phase evolves on decreasing $\chi$ from a three-dimensional crystal of interconnected planes to a two-dimensional independent-planes structure to a one-dimensional fluid of chains when the one-bond-per-patch limit is eventually reached.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, J. Chem. Phys. in pres

Process evaluation of the SHARE intervention for preventing intimate partner violence and HIV infection in Rakai, Uganda.

The Safe Homes And Respect for Everyone (SHARE) intervention introduced an intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention approach into Rakai Health Sciences Program, an established HIV research and service organization in Uganda. A trial found exposure to SHARE was associated with reductions in IPV and HIV incidence. This mixed methods process evaluation was conducted between August 2007 and December 2009, with people living in SHARE intervention clusters, to assess awareness about/participation in SHARE, motivators and barriers to involvement, and perceptions of how SHARE contributed to behavior change. Surveys were conducted with 1407 Rakai Community Cohort Study participants. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 key informants. Most (77%) were aware of SHARE, among whom 73% participated in intervention activities. Two-thirds of those who participated in SHARE felt it influenced behavior change related to IPV. While some felt confident to take part in new IPV-focused activities of a well-established program, others were suspicious of SHARE's motivations, implying awareness raising is critical. Many activities appealed to the majority (e.g., community drama) while interest in some activities was limited to men (e.g., film shows), suggesting multiple intervention components is ideal for wide-reaching programming. The SHARE model offers a promising, acceptable approach for integrating IPV prevention into HIV and other established health programs in sub-Saharan Africa

Use of injectable hormonal contraception and women’s risk of herpes simplex virus type 2 acquisition: a prospective study of couples in Rakai, Uganda

Background The injectable hormonal contraceptive depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) has been associated with increased risk of HIV acquisition, but fi ndings are inconsistent. Whether DMPA increases the risk of other sexually transmitted viral infections is unknown. We assessed the association between DMPA use and incident herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2) infection in women. Methods In this prospective study, we enrolled HIV-negative and HSV2-negative women aged 15–49 years whose HIV-negative male partners were concurrently enrolled in a randomised trial of male circumcision in Rakai, Uganda. We excluded women if either they or their male partners HIV seroconverted. The primary outcome was HSV2 seroconversion, assessed annually. The male circumcision trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00425984. Findings Between Aug 11, 2003, and July 6, 2006, we enrolled 682 women in this study. We noted HSV2 seroconversions in 70 (10%) women. Incidence was 13·5 per 100 person-years in women consistently using DMPA (nine incident infections per 66·5 person-years), 4·3 per 100 person-years in pregnant women who were not using hormonal contraception (18 incident infections per 423·5 person-years), and 6·6 per 100 person-years in women who were neither pregnant nor using hormonal contraception (35 incident infections per 529·5 person-years). Women consistently using DMPA had an adjusted hazard ratio for HSV2 seroconversion of 2·26 (95% CI 1·09–4·69; p=0·029) compared with women who were neither pregnant nor using hormonal contraception. Of 132 women with HSV2-seropositive partners, seroconversion was 36·4 per 100 person-years in consistent DMPA users (four incident infections per 11 person-years) and 10·7 per 100 person-years in women who were neither pregnant nor using hormonal contraception (11 incident infections per 103 person-years; adjusted hazard ratio 6·23, 95% CI 1·49–26·3; p=0·012). Interpretation Consistent DMPA use might increase risk of HSV2 seroconversion; however, study power was low. These fi ndings should be assessed in larger populations with more frequent follow-up than in this study, and other contraceptive methods should also be assessed. Access to a wide range of highly eff ective contraceptive methods is needed for women, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa

Doppler imaging of the helium-variable star a Cen

The helium-peculiar star a Cen exhibits line profile variations of elements such as iron, nitrogen and oxygen in addition to its well-known extreme helium variability. New high S/N, high-resolution spectra are used to perform a quantitative measurement of the abundances of the star and determine the relation of the concentrations of the heavier elements on the surface of the star to the helium concentration and the magnetic field orientation. Doppler images have been created using programs described in earlier papers by Rice and others. An alternative surface abundance mapping code has been used to model the helium line variations after our Doppler imaging of certain individual helium lines produced mediocre results. We confirm the long-known existence of helium-rich and helium-poor hemispheres on a Cen and we measure a difference of more than two orders of magnitude in helium abundance from one side of the star to the other. Helium is overabundant by a factor of about 5 over much of the helium-rich hemisphere. Of particular note is our discovery that the helium-poor hemisphere has a very high abundance of helium-3, approximately equal to the helium-4 abundance. a Cen is therefore a new member of the small group of helium-3 stars and the first well-established magnetic member of the class. For the three metals investigated here, there are two strong concentrations of abundance near the equator consistent with the positive magnetic maximum and two somewhat weaker concentrations of abundance where the helium concentration is centered and roughly where the negative peak of the magnetic field would be found. Another strong concentration is found near the equator and this is not explainable in terms of any simple symmetry with the helium abundance or the apparent magnetic field main polar locations.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Eff ectiveness of an integrated intimate partner violence and HIV prevention intervention in Rakai, Uganda: analysis of an intervention in an existing cluster randomised cohort

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with HIV infection. We aimed to assess whether provision of a combination of IPV prevention and HIV services would reduce IPV and HIV incidence in individuals enrolled in the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS), Rakai, Uganda. Methods We used pre-existing clusters of communities randomised as part of a previous family planning trial in this cohort. Four intervention group clusters from the previous trial were provided standard of care HIV services plus a community-level mobilisation intervention to change attitudes, social norms, and behaviours related to IPV, and a screening and brief intervention to promote safe HIV disclosure and risk reduction in women seeking HIV counselling and testing services (the Safe Homes and Respect for Everyone [SHARE] Project). Seven control group clusters (including two intervention groups from the original trial) received only standard of care HIV services. Investigators for the RCCS did a baseline survey between February, 2005, and June, 2006, and two follow-up surveys between August, 2006, and April, 2008, and June, 2008, and December, 2009. Our primary endpoints were selfreported experience and perpetration of past year IPV (emotional, physical, and sexual) and laboratory-based diagnosis of HIV incidence in the study population. We used Poisson multivariable regression to estimate adjusted prevalence risk ratios (aPRR) of IPV, and adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) of HIV acquisition. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02050763. Findings Between Feb 15, 2005, and June 30, 2006, we enrolled 11 448 individuals aged 15–49 years. 5337 individuals (in four intervention clusters) were allocated into the SHARE plus HIV services group and 6111 individuals (in seven control clusters) were allocated into the HIV services only group. Compared with control groups, individuals in the SHARE intervention groups had fewer self-reports of past-year physical IPV (346 [16%] of 2127 responders in control groups vs 217 [12%] of 1812 responders in intervention groups; aPRR 0·79, 95% CI 0·67–0·92) and sexual IPV (261 [13%] of 2038 vs 167 [10%] of 1737; 0·80, 0·67–0·97). Incidence of emotional IPV did not diff er (409 [20%] of 2039 vs 311 [18%] of 1737; 0·91, 0·79–1·04). SHARE had no eff ect on male-reported IPV perpetration. At follow-up 2 (after about 35 months) the intervention was associated with a reduction in HIV incidence (1·15 cases per 100 personyears in control vs 0·87 cases per 100 person-years in intervention group; aIRR 0·67, 95% CI 0·46–0·97, p=0·0362). Interpretation SHARE could reduce some forms of IPV towards women and overall HIV incidence, possibly through a reduction in forced sex and increased disclosure of HIV results. Findings from this study should inform future work toward HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and SHARE’s ecological approach could be adopted, at least partly, as a standard of care for other HIV programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US National Institutes of Health, WHO, President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Fogarty International Center

Intimate partner violence as a predictor of marital disruption in rural Rakai, Uganda: a longitudinal study.

ObjectivesWe assessed the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and union disruption (divorce or separation) in the rural Ugandan setting of Rakai District.MethodsWe analyzed longitudinal data collected from April 1999 to June 2006, from 6834 women (15-49 years) living in 50 communities in Rakai. Participants were either officially married, traditionally married or in a consensual union during one or more surveys and completed at least one follow-up survey. The primary outcome was union disruption through divorce or separation from the primary sexual partner.ResultsPast year IPV ranged from 6.49 % (severe physical abuse) to 31.99 % (emotional abuse). Severe physical IPV was significantly associated with divorce/separation, after adjusting for other covariates (aOR = 1.80, 95 % CI 1.01-3.22). Another predictor of union disruption was a woman having two or more sexual partners in the past year (aOR = 8.42, 95 % CI 5.97-11.89). Factors protecting against divorce/separation included an increasing number of co-resident biological children and longer duration of union.ConclusionsIPV, particularly severe physical abuse, is an important risk factor for union disruption. Marital counseling, health education and interventions should address the role of IPV on the wellbeing of women and the stability of couples in Uganda

Male circumcision significantly reduces prevalence and load of genital anaerobic bacteria

Male circumcision reduces female-to-male HIV transmission. Hypothesized mechanisms for this protective effect include decreased HIV target cell recruitment and activation due to changes in the penis microbiome. We compared the coronal sulcus microbiota of men from a group of uncircumcised controls (n = 77) and from a circumcised intervention group (n = 79) at enrollment and year 1 follow-up in a randomized circumcision trial in Rakai, Uganda. We characterized microbiota using16S rRNA gene-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) and pyrosequencing, log response ratio (LRR), Bayesian classification, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS), and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PerMANOVA). At baseline, men in both study arms had comparable coronal sulcus microbiota; however, by year 1, circumcision decreased the total bacterial load and reduced microbiota biodiversity. Specifically, the prevalence and absolute abundance of 12 anaerobic bacterial taxa decreased significantly in the circumcised men. While aerobic bacterial taxa also increased postcircumcision, these gains were minor. The reduction in anaerobes may partly account for the effects of circumcision on reduced HIV acquisition. IMPORTANCE The bacterial changes identified in this study may play an important role in the HIV risk reduction conferred by male circumcision. Decreasing the load of specific anaerobes could reduce HIV target cell recruitment to the foreskin. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the benefits of male circumcision could help to identify new intervention strategies for decreasing HIV transmission, applicable to populations with high HIV prevalence where male circumcision is culturally less acceptable