(Ill-Legal) Lust is a battle field: HIV risk, socio-sexuality and criminality

This paper examines the criminalisation of HIV infection. HIV transmission offences exist in all Australian states and territories, but the bulk of prosecutions have occurred in Victoria. This paper outlines criminal legal responses to the virus in that state with an overview of the legislation and case law. Victoria has several HIV specific and nonspecific offences which may be applied to situations of HIV infection risk. It is the HIV non-specific offences which have been successfully used to prosecute HIV infection risks. The case law outlines several instances where HIV positive bodies have been charged with offences for placing others at risk of HIV infection. These charges have been applied in several cases regardless of whether the complainants seroconvert. Those charged have been same-sex desiring men or African-born men who engaged in sex with Caucasian women. There are marked differences in the sentences which have been applied to these defendants, which are based on the sexuality of the defendant and complainant. This demonstrates the heterosexist and Eurocentric character of the performance of these laws. These offences do not operate in isolation to sociality, rather this area of law embodies many cultural panics about the Other. HIV transmission offences signal socio-legal panics about sexuality, race/ethnicity and disease, situating certain bodies at greater risk of crimino-legal punishment.This conference has been generously sponsored by the School of Social and Political Sciences and the Sydney Law School, University of Sydney, in collaboration with the School of Law, University of Western Sydne

A comparison of four different imaging modalities - conventional, cross polarized, infra-red and ultra-violet in the assessment of childhood bruising

Background It is standard practice to image concerning bruises in children. We aim to compare the clarity and measurements of bruises using cross polarized, infra-red (IR) and ultra-violet (UV) images to conventional images. Methods Children aged <11 years with incidental bruising were recruited. Demographics, skin and bruise details were recorded. Bruises were imaged by standard protocols in conventional, cross-polarized, IR and UV lights. Bruises were assessed in vivo for contrast, uniformity and diffuseness, and these characteristics were then compared across image modalities. Color images (conventional, cross polarized) were segmented and measured by ImageJ. Bruises of grey scale images (IR, UV) were measured by a ‘plug in’ of ImageJ. The maximum and minimum Feret's diameter, area and aspect ratio, were determined. Comparison of measurements across imaging modalities was conducted using Wilcoxon rank sum tests and modified Bland-Altman graphs. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Twenty five children had 39 bruises. Bruises that were of low contrast, i.e. difficult to distinguish from surrounding skin, were also more diffuse, and less uniformity in vivo. Low contrast bruises were best seen on conventional and cross-polarized images and less distinctive on IR and UV images. Of the 19 bruises visible in all modalities, the only significant difference was maximum and minimum Feret's diameters and area were smaller on IR compared to conventional images. Aspect ratios were not affected by the modality. Conclusions Conventional and cross-polarized imaging provides the most consistent bruise measurement, particularly in bruises that are not easily distinguished from surrounding skin visually

Price Effects of Dutch Hospital Mergers: An Ex-post Assessment of Hip-Surgery

This study analyses price effects of six mergers in the Dutch healthcare industry. We investigate whether the merging hospitals raised their prices for hip surgery after the merger and, if so, how patients react to this higher price. For seven of the twelve hospitals involved, we found a statistically significant price increase for hip surgery, for three hospitals we found a significant price decrease. There is no clear relationship between price changes of hip surgery and changes in travelling behaviour of patients post merger

Exercise Training Reduces Liver Fat and Increases Rates of VLDL Clearance, but not VLDL Production in NAFLD

Context Randomised controlled trials in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have shown that regular exercise, even without calorie restriction, reduces liver steatosis. A previous study has shown that 16 weeks supervised exercise training in NAFLD did not affect total VLDL kinetics. Objective To determine the effect of exercise training on intrahepatocellular fat (IHCL) and the kinetics of large triglyceride-(TG)-rich VLDL1 and smaller denser VLDL2 which has a lower TG content. Design A 16 week randomised controlled trial. Patients 27 sedentary patients with NAFLD. Intervention Supervised exercise with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or conventional lifestyle advice (control). Main outcome Very low density lipoprotein1 (VLDL1) and VLDL2-TG and apolipoproteinB (apoB) kinetics investigated using stable isotopes before and after the intervention. Results In the exercise group VO2max increased by 31±6% (mean±SEM) and IHCL decreased from 19.6% (14.8, 30.0) to 8.9% (5.4, 17.3) (median (IQR)) with no significant change in VO2max or IHCL in the control group (change between groups p<0.001 and p=0.02, respectively). Exercise training increased VLDL1-TG and apoB fractional catabolic rates, a measure of clearance, (change between groups p=0.02 and p=0.01, respectively), and VLDL1-apoB production rate (change between groups p=0.006), with no change in VLDL1 -TG production rate. Plasma TG did not change in either group. Conclusion An increased clearance of VLDL1 may contribute to the significant decrease in liver fat following 16 weeks of exercise in NAFLD. A longer duration or higher intensity exercise interventions may be needed to lower plasma TG and VLDL production rate

Turbulent luminance in impassioned van Gogh paintings

We show that the patterns of luminance in some impassioned van Gogh paintings display the mathematical structure of fluid turbulence. Specifically, we show that the probability distribution function (PDF) of luminance fluctuations of points (pixels) separated by a distance R compares notably well with the PDF of the velocity differences in a turbulent flow, as predicted by the statistical theory of A.N. Kolmogorov. We observe that turbulent paintings of van Gogh belong to his last period, during which episodes of prolonged psychotic agitation of this artist were frequent. Our approach suggests new tools that open the possibility of quantitative objective research for art representation

Characterization and conservation of indigenous sheep genetic resources: A practical framework for developing countries

Livestock characterization projects in developing regions are characterized by a mere physical description of traditionally recognized populations or a purely academic genetic description of populations. However, characterization of livestock resources is meant to serve the purpose of developing conservation and utilization programs. A national characterization project should be geared to the specific national livestock production objectives. Thus there is a need to adopt a more practical characterization approach to assist in the development of national conservation and utilization strategies. This report provides a practical methodological framework suited for characterization and conservation of sheep resources in developing regions. The report highlights current approaches and tools for characterization and conservation of sheep resources and presents a model approach synthesising results of a study on characterization and conservation of sheep resources of Ethiopia. The study is a collaborative project between Wageningen University and the International Livestock Research Institute. The methodological framework can be applied elsewhere in developing countries with similar characterization and conservation objectives. This report largely dwelt on the technical aspects of sheep genetic resource characterization and conservation in developing regions. Operational aspects of setting up national programs for characterization and conservation action may be country specific. However, some general aspects such as institutional setups and breeding policy and strategy formulation could be similar across countries. A proposed scheme for setting up a national livestock characterization and conservation program is presented, taking Ethiopia as a case study

External validation of the fatty liver index and lipid accumulation product indices, using H-1-magnetic resonance spectroscopy, to identify hepatic steatosis in healthy controls and obese, insulin-resistant individuals

Background and Aims. Simple clinical algorithms including the Fatty Liver Index (FLI) and Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP) have been developed as a surrogate marker for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). These algorithms have been constructed using ultrasonography, a semi-quantitative method. This study aimed to validate FLI and LAP as measures of hepatic steatosis, as measured quantitatively by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Methods. Data were collected from 168 patients with NAFLD and 168 controls who had undergone clinical, biochemical and anthropometric assessment in the course of research studies. Values of FLI and LAP were determined, and assessed both as predictors of the presence of hepatic steatosis (liver fat >5.5 %) and of actual liver fat content, as measured by 1H MRS. The discriminative ability of FLI and LAP was estimated using the area under the Receiver Operator Characteristic curve (AUROC). Since FLI can also be interpreted as a predictive probability of hepatic steatosis, we assessed how well calibrated it was in our cohort. Linear regression with prediction intervals was used to assess the ability of FLI and LAP to predict liver fat content. Results. FLI and LAP discriminated between patients with and without hepatic steatosis with an AUROC of 0.79 (IQR= 0.74, 0.84) and 0.78 (IQR= 0.72, 0.83), although quantitative prediction of liver fat content was unsuccessful. Additionally, the algorithms accurately matched the observed percentages of patients with hepatic steatosis in our cohort. Conclusions. FLI and LAP may be used clinically, and for metabolic and epidemiological research, to identify patients with hepatic steatosis, but not as surrogates for liver fat content

Chemopreventive targeted treatment of head and neck precancer by Wee1 inhibition

HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) develop in precancerous changes in the mucosal lining of the upper-aerodigestive tract. These precancerous cells contain cancer-associated genomic changes and cause primary tumors and local relapses. Therapeutic strategies to eradicate these precancerous cells are very limited. Using functional genomic screens, we identified the therapeutic vulnerabilities of premalignant mucosal cells, which are shared with fully malignant HNSCC cells. We screened 319 previously identified tumor-lethal siRNAs on a panel of cancer and precancerous cell lines as well as primary fibroblasts. In total we identified 147 tumor-essential genes including 34 druggable candidates. Of these 34, 13 were also essential in premalignant cells. We investigated the variable molecular basis of the vulnerabilities in tumor and premalignant cell lines and found indications of collateral lethality. Wee1-like kinase (WEE1) was amongst the most promising targets for both tumor and precancerous cells. All four precancerous cell lines were highly sensitive to Wee1 inhibition by Adavosertib (AZD1775), while primary keratinocytes tolerated this inhibitor. Wee1 inhibition caused induction of DNA damage during S-phase followed by mitotic failure in (pre)cancer cells. In conclusion, we uncovered Wee1 inhibition as a promising chemopreventive strategy for precancerous cells, with comparable responses as fully transformed HNSCC cells