39 research outputs found
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'Thereâs this glorious pill': gay and bisexual men in the English midlands navigate risk responsibility and pre-exposure prophylaxis
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently being trialed for seronegative gay and other men who have sex with men (GMSM) at risk of HIV infection in England. However, research from other countries where PrEP is available shows limited literacy and uptake by GMSM at risk of HIV. We collected focus group data from 18 GMSM (13 HIVâ and 5 HIV+) from Leicester, an ethnically diverse city in the English Midlands. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and three themes are presented. The first theme 'I canât get my head around people like that': Representations of PrEP users within and beyond gay communities explores how PrEP users are vilified by some GMSM and the wider media. The second theme, 'There's a culture of anti-trust': PrEP, stigma and the interpersonal politics of HIV disclosure discusses how PrEP influences HIV disclosure and sexual decision-making in casual sero-discordant sexual encounters in a context where seropositive men experienced pervasive HIV stigma and HIVâ men were suspicious of HIV+ sexual partners. In the final theme, 'Iâm still suspicious': Discourses of doubt and distrust participants voiced concern over the safety of PrEP and the motives of drug companies, healthcare agencies and PrEP activists. We consider these findings through a critical lens of wider theorising around the relationship between public health agencies and GMSM communities and consider the impact of these perspectives on likely engagement with PrEP in an English context. We call for more critically informed and nuanced ways of promoting health and well-being amongst men from these communities
Efficacy of Yoga on Pregnancy Outcome
ABSTRACT Objective: To study the efficacy of yoga on pregnancy outcomes. Design and setting: Three hundred thirty five (335) women attending the antenatal clinic at Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital in Bangalore, India, were enrolled between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy in a prospective, matched, observational study; 169 women in the yoga group and 166 women in the control group. Methods: Women were matched for age, parity, body weight, and Doppler velocimetry scores of umbilical and uterine arteries. Yoga practices, including physical postures, breathing, and meditation were practiced by the yoga group one hour daily, from the date of entry into the study until delivery. The control group walked 30 minutes twice a day (standard obstetric advice) during the study period. Compliance in both groups was ensured by frequent telephone calls and strict maintenance of an activity diary. Main outcomes: Birth weight and gestational age at delivery were primary outcomes. Results: The number of babies with birth weight Ő2500 grams was significantly higher (p Ïœ 0.01) in the yoga group. Preterm labor was significantly lower (p Ïœ 0.0006) in the yoga group. Complications such as isolated intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (p Ïœ 0.003) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) with associated IUGR (p Ïœ 0.025) were also significantly lower in the yoga group. There were no significant adverse effects noted in the yoga group. Conclusions: An integrated approach to yoga during pregnancy is safe. It improves birth weight, decreases preterm labor, and decreases IUGR either in isolation or associated with PIH, with no increased complications. 23
Detrital carbon production and export in high latitude kelp forests
The production and fate of seaweed detritus is a major unknown in the global C-budget. Knowing the quantity of detritus produced, the form it takes (size) and its timing of delivery are key to understanding its role as a resource subsidy to secondary production and/or its potential contribution to C-sequestration. We quantified the production and release of detritus from 10 Laminaria hyperborea sites in northern Norway (69.6° N). Kelp biomass averaged 770â±â100 g C mâ2 while net production reached 499â±â50 g C mâ2 yearâ1, with most taking place in spring when new blades were formed. Production of biomass was balanced by a similar formation of detritus (478â±â41 g C mâ2 yearâ1), and both were unrelated to wave exposure when compared across sites. Distal blade erosion accounted for 23% of the total detritus production and was highest during autumn and winter, while dislodgment of whole individuals and/or whole blades corresponded to 24% of the detritus production. Detachment of old blades constituted the largest source of kelp detritus, accounting forâ>â50% of the total detrital production. Almost 80% of the detritus from L. hyperborea was thus in the form of whole plants or blades andâ>â60% of that was delivered as a large pulse within 1â2 months in spring. The discrete nature of the delivery suggests that the detritus cannot be retained and consumed locally and that some is exported to adjacent deep areas where it may subsidize secondary production or become buried into deep marine sediments as blue carbon
On a question of KĂŒlshammer for homomorphisms of algebraic groups
Some of the work in this paper was carried out by the first author during his PhD [15]. Both authors acknowledge the financial support of Marsden Grants UOC0501, UOC1009 and UOA1021. We are grateful to Dave Benson and GĂŒnter Steinke for helpful conversations. We also thank the referee for their careful reading of the paper.Peer reviewedPostprin
Transforming bodywork in eldercare with wash-and-dry toilets
This paper addresses how the introduction of welfare technologies in Denmark makes the body- work of eldercare an object of public governance, and investigates how wash-and-dry toilets co-constitute professional care work. First, a theoretical frame is established for studying care, with an emphasis on bodywork as a sociomaterial and collective accomplishment. The paper then unfolds the great expectations tied to welfare technologies in general, and wash-and-dry toilets specifically. Turning to differentiated examples of situated uses of the toilets, the complexity of making the toilets work within the context of professional eldercare is illustrated. Some of the uses of the toilets in care work are in concordance with policy expectations. Other uses demonstrate difficulties in satisfying the great expectations and call for a more complex understanding of what it takes to achieve dignified, technologically assisted care without silencing the skills and profes- sionalism of care workers
The Naturalization of Gender Segregation in a Danish Bank
Through a qualitative interview analysis of a document handling department in a Danish bank, this article seeks to illuminate central aspects of how some jobs come to be seen as naturally female. Taking gendered organizational theory and Joan Ackerâs concept of an ideal employee as our point of departure, we ask whether women are seen as the ideal employees in this femaledominated job function or as a residual to men as the actual ideal employees. The numerical female dominance in the document handling department is articulated as a matter of competencies, job content, and family obligations â for example, by framing women as good at multitasking, as enjoying routine work, and as primary caregivers. The article argues that this construction both draws on and alters historically formed stereotypes in ways that reinforce the gender segregation of the organization and make it hard to change
Indflydelse pÄ teknologi forudsÊtter kvalificeret fantasi
At teknologiske forandringer har betydning for arbejdet â dets betingelser og indhold samt de ansattes oplevelse af arbejdets formĂ„l og mening â er ikke til at komme udenom (se fx Badham, 2005; Grosen et al., 2021 under udgivelse). Samtidig er teknologi dog ret upolitiseret med hensyn til ansattes indfl ydelse pĂ„ arbejdspladsernes valg og anvendelse af teknologier. Hvis der for alvor skal gĂžres noget ved dĂ©t, er det dog ikke nok at krĂŠve, at de ansatte bliver hĂžrt. Det er ogsĂ„ nĂždvendigt at klĂŠde de ansatte pĂ„ til at kunne tage reel indflydelse, der kan gĂžre en forskel og som med inddragelse af de ansattes viden om arbejdets udfĂžrelse kan kvalificere valg og anvendelse af teknologi. Jeg vil i denne kronik diskutere, hvad det krĂŠver af de ansatte at tage en sĂ„dan indfl ydelse pĂ„ arbejdspladsernes teknologi. Det vil jeg gĂžre ved at argumentere for, at dĂ©t, man kan kalde kvalifi ceret fantasi, er en forudsĂŠtning for reel indflydelse. For at kunne forholde sig til hvilken teknologi og teknologianvendelse, der er hensigtsmĂŠssig, mĂ„ man nemlig vĂŠre i stand til at forestille sig fremtiden med en teknologi â forestille sig hvad teknologien vil betyde for mĂ„den, det daglige arbejder former sig, for hvordan teknologien vil gribe ind i den mĂ„de, man tĂŠnker og udfĂžrer arbejdet og for den mĂ„de, man relaterer til kolleger, ledelse, borgere, kunder, elever etc. Det drejer sig altsĂ„ ikke om hvilken som helst fantasifuld fabuleren, men om fantasi kvalificeret af erfaring med arbejdet
Fra spagettiprogrammering til standardiserede moduler:Standardisering og selvledelse i IT-arbejde i Danmark
Circulating microRNA as Biomarkers for Gestational Diabetes MellitusâA Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a severe pregnancy complication for both the woman and the child. Women who suffer from GDM have a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) later in life. Identification of any potential biomarkers for the early prediction of gestational diabetes can help prevent the disease in women with a high risk. Studies show microRNA (miRNA) as a potential biomarker for the early discovery of GDM, but there is a lack of clarity as to which miRNAs are consistently altered in GDM. This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate miRNAs associated with GDM by comparing GDM cases with normoglycemic controls. The systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines with searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. The primary search resulted in a total of 849 articles, which were screened according to the prior established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following the screening of articles, the review was based on the inclusion of 35 full-text articles, which were evaluated for risk of bias and estimates of quality, after which data were extracted and relative values for miRNAs were calculated. A meta-analysis was performed for the miRNA species investigated in three or more studies: MiR-29a, miR-330, miR-134, miR-132, miR-16, miR-223, miR-155, miR-122, miR-17, miR-103, miR-125, miR-210, and miR-222. While some miRNAs showed considerable between-study variability, miR-29a, miR-330, miR-134, miR-16, miR-223, and miR-17 showed significant overall upregulation in GDM, while circulating levels of miR-132 and miR-155 were decreased among GDM patients, suggesting further studies of these as biomarkers for early GDM discovery.</p