HIV And The Need For A Voluntarist Approach

After a decade of fighting AIDS, the public health community has come to recognize that strategies to combat the infection must be premised on voluntarism and not on coercion. Attempts to combat AIDS with coercive public health strategies stem from a desire to force AIDS into an ill-fitting traditional disease-response framework, overlooking the differences between HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, including the limitations in available treatment modalities for HIV. A return to such a cramped, narrowly-medicalized view of the AIDS epidemic has enormous social implications and a coercive strategy would frustrate efforts to stem the spread of the disease. Further, such strategies would hamper the willingness of those in need of medical care and education to benefit from existing programs. This essay explores some of the possible explanations for the apparent erosion of the voluntarist consensus and calls for a return to such a voluntarist approach through effective health care and education efforts

HIV And The Need For A Voluntarist Approach

After a decade of fighting AIDS, the public health community has come to recognize that strategies to combat the infection must be premised on voluntarism and not on coercion. Attempts to combat AIDS with coercive public health strategies stem from a desire to force AIDS into an ill-fitting traditional disease-response framework, overlooking the differences between HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, including the limitations in available treatment modalities for HIV. A return to such a cramped, narrowly-medicalized view of the AIDS epidemic has enormous social implications and a coercive strategy would frustrate efforts to stem the spread of the disease. Further, such strategies would hamper the willingness of those in need of medical care and education to benefit from existing programs. This essay explores some of the possible explanations for the apparent erosion of the voluntarist consensus and calls for a return to such a voluntarist approach through effective health care and education efforts

Research paper: firm dynamics and productivity growth in Australian manufacturing and business services, Oct 2014

This paper examines the productivity of firms in manufacturing and business services, particularly the contribution of entry and exit to aggregate productivity growth. Abstract Competitive markets foster the reallocation of inputs where resources are channelled from less competitive to more competitive firms, and hence increase aggregate productivity. The turnover of firms entering and exiting industries is part of this competitive process as entrants vie for market shares and exiters cease consuming inputs. There is a large body of theoretical and empirical work on firm dynamics, yet to date very few large scale studies have been conducted in Australia due to limited access to firm-level data. This study uses a large panel of businesses, drawn from administrative data provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which allows us to track firms over the nine years from 2002–03 to 2010–11. Using this comprehensive panel we examine the productivity of firms in manufacturing and business services and, in particular measure the contribution of entry and exit to aggregate productivity growth. We find that exiting firms not only have low productivity relative to established firms in the year prior to exit, but the productivity gap is observed many years before they depart the market. Entrants grow most rapidly in their second year of operation, but after five years are still ten per cent below the productivity level of established firms. At the division level, the main driver of productivity growth is continuing firms, and the net impact of firm turnover is relatively modest. However, among the studied industries, net entry can be significant – a fact masked by the higher level of aggregation. Over the nine year period, entry lowered aggregate productivity growth by 13 per cent in manufacturing and 23 per cent in business services as entrants were less productive than continuing firms. In contrast, exiting firms raised productivity by 12 per cent in manufacturing, and 23 per cent in business services

Changing structures in German organ music from 1600 to the death of J. S. Bach

This thesis examines the forms used by German organist-composers of the period 1600-1750. These can be divided into two broad categories, the toccata and the organ chorale. The former originated in the works of late sixteenth century composers and was transmitted to Northland South/ Central Germany by Sweelinck and Froberger respectively. Their one movement, sectional compositions, in which fugal and free, idiomatic keyboard writing alternated, was used throughout the seventeenth century, reaching its zenith in the flamboyant music of Dietrich Buxtehude. J. S. Bach was greatly influenced by this Northern school and his early compositions were in a similar style. However, his study of the Italian concerto made ritornello form a dominant feature of his vocabulary and in his preludes and fugues one can trace the gradual elimination of the more improvisatory elements of the Northern style and the evolution of a thematically unified prelude, tightly organised on ritornello lines, which is succeeded by a similarly strict fugue, the climax being generated by contrapuntal means, rather than the fusillade of bravura passage-work characteristic of the previous generation. Samuel Scheldt codified the basic methods of organ chorale composition early in the seventeenth century and his basic principles still applied when J. S. Bach published Clavierűbung III in 1759. Many composers made distinctive contributions to the chorale based repertoire, using a wide variety of technical devices in works often of imposing length. However, Bach again brought order to these diffuse styles, developing in the Orgelbuchlein highly concentrated settings, each dominated by one characteristic idea, and then dramatically expanding their scale without diluting the motivic intensity by combining the presentation of a cantus fermus with a ritornello structure, a radical new departure not found in the organ music of his predecessors and rarely developed by his contemporaries and successors

Monitoring bioaerosol and odour emissions from composting facilities - WR1121

Government policy requires that valuable resources should be recovered and recycled from biodegradable waste. A successful and growing organics recycling industry delivers this policy with composting being one of the principal technologies deployed to process suitable feedstock such as garden and food waste. Composting inevitably generates bioaerosols – particulate matter comprising cells or cellular components that are released into the air as a result of disturbance of composting feedstock or the processing of final product. Exposure to bioaerosols has the potential to be harmful to human and animal health. The Environment Agency adopts a precautionary and risk-based approach to the regulation of composting facilities which was developed on the basis of research by Wheeler et al. (2001) and which has been updated as new evidence has become available. The Environment Agency also requires site operators to monitor bioaerosols around their facilities using methods specified in a standard protocol which relies upon classical microbiology methods which are tried and tested but which are labour-intensive, slow and offer only a snapshot view of a highly dynamic system. A recent IOM review commissioned by Defra (Searl, 2009) on exposure-response relationships for bioaerosol emissions from waste treatment processes identified significant gaps in knowledge of exposure to bioaerosols and recommended that more research was needed into alternatives to viable microbial monitoring such as priority biomarkers (notably endotoxin) and potential surrogates such as particulate matter. The IOM review also concluded that there is a lack of information to support the development of appropriate stand-off distances. The overall aim of this project was to provide evidence on bioaerosol production, dispersion and potential exposures from composting facilities in support of future developments in policy and regulation of biowaste facilities. The objectives were: (i) to undertake a comprehensive set of standard and novel bioaerosol measurements at representative composting sites to assess comparability between different methods and also to measure spatial and temporal variations; and (ii) to determine the odour emissions and then compare these with bioaerosol emissions to see if odour is a marker of significant bioaerosol exposure. Standard (AfOR, 2009) and novel (CEN filter method, endotoxin, glucan, qPCR, real-time particulates) bioaerosols measurements were taken on a minimum of three to a maximum of six occasions over a twelve month period at four different composting facilities in England. The composting facilities were selected to represent sites of varying sizes (tonnages) and to allow a comparison of bioaerosol concentrations at standard open windrow sites versus a fully-contained site. Additional supporting information was collected including meteorological data at the time of sampling, observation of site operations and measurements of odour at one of the sites. Supporting bioaerosol and odour dispersion modelling was conducted at the site where the odour measurements were made. The spatial trend of bioaerosol concentrations described by Wheeler et al., (1991) and upon which EA regulatory policy is based was broadly corroborated by this dataset. Excursions above the EA acceptable levels at or beyond 250m from source were rare. Bioaerosol concentrations at the enclosed site were generally lower than at the open windrow sites. There was no evidence of a seasonal pattern in bioaerosol concentrations at any of the sites whereas between-sampling day variations were apparent. The cause(s) of these variations were not identified. No consistent relationship was observed between the concentration of bioaerosols measured by the two AfOR standard methods. The two methods displayed certain strengths and weakness in different situations. The IOM sampling device proved to be better suited to situations where high bioaerosol concentrations were encountered (close to source); the Andersen proving to be more effective in the lower concentration range typically found upwind of a site or at distance downwind from source. The higher volume filtration device tested in this project (referred to as the CEN method) produced data that did not consistently match either of the AfOR standard methods. This device demonstrated greater sensitivity than the IOM filter method but suffered drawbacks associated with its weight and a lack of ease of use in the field. Endotoxin concentrations were normally below the level recommended by the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety but occasional exceedances of this standard were detected at the larger open windrow sites. The majority of glucan measurements were below a widely referred to 10ng/m3 threshold. Significantly elevated concentrations were detected at one of the larger open windrow sites. The dynamic range of the qPCR method is wider (4-5-log) than either of the AfOR and the CEN methods. It is also quicker to carry out and has the potential for automation. The results from the qPCR method are mainly higher than standard AfOR methods, as the method does not distinguish viable and non-viable spores. The spatial distribution of Aspergillus fumigatus spores (by qPCR) along sampling transects, gives similar results compared to AfOR (and CEN) methods. Real time particle detection showed that both TSP and PM10 are correlated to Aspergillus fumigatus spore concentration. No consistent relationship was observed between odour and bioaerosol concentrations (although this was a limited dataset). The envelope of modelled (back-extrapolated) bioaerosol emission rates straddles several orders of magnitude. Distinguishing the influences of meteorological conditions on this variability was not possible. It was not possible to predict bioaerosol or odour emission rates with confidence. This continues to hamper confidence in modelling of odours and bioaerosols from open windrow facilities. The findings of this research have implications for the current standard monitoring protocol which should be reviewed accordingly. The findings of this multi-site survey accord with existing regulatory policy and are supportive of the general trend towards enclosed facilities. Notwithstanding this, continuing research is needed to enhance the database on emission from bioaerosol and odour abatement technologies (e.g. biofilters); to determine the cause(s) of occasional bioaerosol peaks from open facilities; to improve exposure assessments through better modelling protocols; and to link enhanced exposure information to future health impact studies

Inhibitors of SARS-CoV entry--identification using an internally-controlled dual envelope pseudovirion assay.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged as the causal agent of an endemic atypical pneumonia, infecting thousands of people worldwide. Although a number of promising potential vaccines and therapeutic agents for SARS-CoV have been described, no effective antiviral drug against SARS-CoV is currently available. The intricate, sequential nature of the viral entry process provides multiple valid targets for drug development. Here, we describe a rapid and safe cell-based high-throughput screening system, dual envelope pseudovirion (DEP) assay, for specifically screening inhibitors of viral entry. The assay system employs a novel dual envelope strategy, using lentiviral pseudovirions as targets whose entry is driven by the SARS-CoV Spike glycoprotein. A second, unrelated viral envelope is used as an internal control to reduce the number of false positives. As an example of the power of this assay a class of inhibitors is reported with the potential to inhibit SARS-CoV at two steps of the replication cycle, viral entry and particle assembly. This assay system can be easily adapted to screen entry inhibitors against other viruses with the careful selection of matching partner virus envelopes

A study of changes in genetic and environmental influences on weight and shape concern across adolescence

The goal of the current study was to examine whether genetic and environmental influences on an important risk factor for disordered eating, weight and shape concern (WSC), remained stable over adolescence. This stability was assessed in two ways: whether new sources of latent variance were introduced over development, and whether the magnitude of variance contributing to the risk factor changed. We examined an 8-item WSC sub-scale derived from the Eating Disorder Examination using telephone interviews with female adolescents. From three waves of data collected from female-female same sex twin pairs from the Australian Twin Registry, a subset of the data (which included 351 pairs at Wave 1) was used to examine three age cohorts: 12-13, 13-15, and 14-16 years. The best fitting model contained genetic and environmental influences, both shared and non-shared. Biometric model fitting indicated that non-shared environmental influences were largely specific to each age cohort, and results suggested that latent shared environmental and genetic influences that were influential at 12-13 years continued to contribute to subsequent age cohorts, with independent sources of both emerging at ages 13-15. The magnitude of all three latent influences could be constrained to be the same across adolescence. Ages 13-15 was indicated as a time of risk for the development of high levels of WSC given that most specific environmental risk factors were significant at this time (e.g., peer teasing about weight, adverse life events), and indications of the emergence of new sources of latent genetic and environmental variance over this period.NHMRC Grants 324715 and 480420