59 research outputs found
Community Member Perspectives from Transgender Women and Men Who Have Sex with Men on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as an HIV Prevention Strategy: Implications for Implementation
Background: An international randomized clinical trial (RCT) on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-prevention intervention found that taken on a daily basis, PrEP was safe and effective among men who have sex with men (MSM) and male-to-female transgender women. Within the context of the HIV epidemic in the United States (US), MSM and transgender women are the most appropriate groups to target for PrEP implementation at the population level; however, their perspectives on evidenced-based biomedical research and the results of this large trial remain virtually unknown. In this study, we examined the acceptability of individual daily use of PrEP and assessed potential barriers to community uptake. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with an ethnoracially diverse sample of thirty HIV-negative and unknown status MSM (n = 24) and transgender women (n = 6) in three California metropolitan areas. Given the burden of disease among ethnoracial minorities in the US, we purposefully oversampled for these groups. Thematic coding and analysis of data was conducted utilizing an approach rooted in grounded theory. Results: While participants expressed general interest in PrEP availability, results demonstrate: a lack of community awareness and confusion about PrEP; reservations about PrEP utilization, even when informed of efficacious RCT results; and concerns regarding equity and the manner in which a PrEP intervention could be packaged and marketed in their communities. Conclusions: In order to effectively reduce HIV health disparities at the population level, PrEP implementation must take into account the uptake concerns of those groups who would actually access and use this biomedical intervention as a prevention strategy. Recommendations addressing these concerns are provided
Mapping Cosmic Dawn and Reionization: Challenges and Synergies
Cosmic dawn and the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) are among the least explored
observational eras in cosmology: a time at which the first galaxies and
supermassive black holes formed and reionized the cold, neutral Universe of the
post-recombination era. With current instruments, only a handful of the
brightest galaxies and quasars from that time are detectable as individual
objects, due to their extreme distances. Fortunately, a multitude of
multi-wavelength intensity mapping measurements, ranging from the redshifted 21
cm background in the radio to the unresolved X-ray background, contain a
plethora of synergistic information about this elusive era. The coming decade
will likely see direct detections of inhomogenous reionization with CMB and 21
cm observations, and a slew of other probes covering overlapping areas and
complementary physical processes will provide crucial additional information
and cross-validation. To maximize scientific discovery and return on
investment, coordinated survey planning and joint data analysis should be a
high priority, closely coupled to computational models and theoretical
predictions.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey Science
White Paper cal
Cosmology with the Highly Redshifted 21cm Line
In addition to being a probe of Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization
astrophysics, the 21cm line at is also a powerful way to constrain
cosmology. Its power derives from several unique capabilities. First, the 21cm
line is sensitive to energy injections into the intergalactic medium at high
redshifts. It also increases the number of measurable modes compared to
existing cosmological probes by orders of magnitude. Many of these modes are on
smaller scales than are accessible via the CMB, and moreover have the advantage
of being firmly in the linear regime (making them easy to model theoretically).
Finally, the 21cm line provides access to redshifts prior to the formation of
luminous objects. Together, these features of 21cm cosmology at provide
multiple pathways toward precise cosmological constraints. These include the
"marginalizing out" of astrophysical effects, the utilization of redshift space
distortions, the breaking of CMB degeneracies, the identification of signatures
of relative velocities between baryons and dark matter, and the discovery of
unexpected signs of physics beyond the CDM paradigm at high redshifts.Comment: Science white paper submitted to Decadal 2020 surve
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