What's in a virus? Folk understandings of hepatitis C infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney

BACKGROUND: To explore folk understandings of blood borne virus infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney. METHODS: Observational fieldwork was conducted in Kings Cross over a four month period. In-depth interviews with 24 current injectors and 4 key informants recruited from King Cross were undertaken. RESULTS: Hepatitis C (HCV) generated different meanings from HIV. HIV was considered "the dreaded" and generated fear of infection and dire disease progression. Whereas HCV was considered non-desirable but less threatening than HIV. The risks of transmitting HCV through sharing injecting paraphernalia was poorly understood. Some believed HCV infection was linked to poor hygiene and dirty water. Jaundice was mistakenly thought to indicate HCV infection and was used to gauge infectiousness. Many were confused about their current hepatitis C serostatus. Some participants thought they had a "dormant antibody" or that they had a "mild case" of infection. Participants were unsure what this meant for their own health or for their potential to infect others. CONCLUSION: Participants displayed confusion about transmission risks for hepatitis C, conflating blood awareness and hygiene health promotion messages. Participants' reliance on the symptom of jaundice to gauge serostatus places them at risk of transmitting and contracting HCV. Participants were confused about what a positive HCV diagnosis meant for their own health and their ability to infect others. Education is needed to debunk misconceptions about jaundice and clarify medical terms such as 'antibody' at the time of diagnosis. Further clarification of messages about injecting hygiene and blood awareness are also required

The "Clubs against Drugs" program in Stockholm, Sweden: two cross-sectional surveys examining drug use among staff at licensed premises

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study is to examine self-reported drug use among staff at licensed premises, types of drugs used, attitudes towards drugs, and observed drug use among guests. Results are presented from two measurement points (in 2001 and 2007/08). This study was carried out within the framework of the "Clubs against Drugs" program, which is a community-based multi-component intervention targeting licensed premises in Stockholm, Sweden.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted, the first in 2001 and the second in 2007/08. Staff at licensed premises attending server training were asked to participate in the anonymous survey. A survey was administered in a classroom setting and consisted of four sections: 1) demographics, 2) respondents' own drug use experience, 3) respondents' attitudes towards drug use, and 4) observed drug use among guests at licensed premises.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data were collected from 446 staff in 2001 and 677 staff in 2007/08. The four most commonly used drugs among staff were cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, and ecstasy. The highest rates of drug use were reported by staff in the two youngest age groups, i.e., those younger than 25 and those between the ages of 25 and 29. In 2007/08 staff reported significantly lower rates of drug use than staff in 2001. Last year drug use for the sample in 2007/08 was 19% compared to 27% for the 2001 sample. While drug-using staff compared to non drug-using staff reported more observations of drug use among guests, they were less inclined to intervene. Overall, staff reported restrictive attitudes towards drugs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of life-time and last year drug use among staff at licensed premises is high compared to the general population in Sweden. Lower rates of self-reported drug use among staff were reported in 2007/08. The results of this study highlight that staff at licensed premises represent an important target population in club drug prevention programs.</p

"Nanohybrids" based on pH-responsive hydrogels and inorganic nanoparticles for drug delivery and sensor applications.

Allyl-PEG capped inorganic NPs, including magnetic iron oxide (IONPs), fluorescent CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), and metallic gold (AuNPs of 5 and 10 nm) both individually and in combination, were covalently attached to pH-responsive poly(2-vinylpyridine-co-divinylbenzene) nanogels via a facile and robust one-step surfactant-free emulsion polymerization procedure. Control of the NPs associated to the nanogels was achieved by the late injection of the NPs to the polymerization solution at a stage when just polymeric radicals were present. Remarkably, by varying the total amount of NPs injected, the swelling behavior could be affected. Furthermore, the magnetic response as well as the optical features of the nanogels containing either IONPs or QDs could be modified. In addition, a radical quenching in case of gold nanoparticles was observed, thus affecting the final nanogel geometry

A new approach to assessing the health benefit from obesity interventions in children and adolescents: the assessing cost-effectiveness in obesity project

OBJECTIVE: To report on a new modelling approach developed for the assessing cost-effectiveness in obesity (ACE-Obesity) project and the likely population health benefit and strength of evidence for 13 potential obesity prevention interventions in children and adolescents in Australia. METHODS: We used the best available evidence, including evidence from non-traditional epidemiological study designs, to determine the health benefits as body mass index (BMI) units saved and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) saved. We developed new methods to model the impact of behaviours on BMI post-intervention where this was not measured and the impacts on DALYs over the child\u27s lifetime (on the assumption that changes in BMI were maintained into adulthood). A working group of stakeholders provided input into decisions on the selection of interventions, the assumptions for modelling and the strength of the evidence. RESULTS: The likely health benefit varied considerably, as did the strength of the evidence from which that health benefit was calculated. The greatest health benefit is likely to be achieved by the \u27Reduction of TV advertising of high fat and/or high sugar foods and drinks to children\u27, \u27Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding\u27 and the \u27multi-faceted school-based programme with an active physical education component\u27 interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The use of consistent methods and common health outcome measures enables valid comparison of the potential impact of interventions, but comparisons must take into account the strength of the evidence used. Other considerations, including cost-effectiveness and acceptability to stakeholders, will be presented in future ACE-Obesity papers. Information gaps identified include the need for new and more effective initiatives for the prevention of overweight and obesity and for better evaluations of public health interventions

Islands and despots

This paper challenges a conventional wisdom: that when discussing political systems, small is democratic. And yet, can there be paradises without serpents? The presumed manageability of small island spaces promotes and nurtures dispositions for domination and control over nature and society. In such dark circumstances, authoritarian rule is a more natural fit than democracy. By adopting an inter-disciplinary perspective, this paper argues that small island societies may be wonderful places to live in, as long as one conforms to a dominant cultural code. Should one deviate from expected and established practices, the threat of ostracism is immense. Formal democratic institutions may and often do exist, and a semblance of pluralism may be manifest, but these are likely to be overshadowed by a set of unitarist and homogenous values and practices to which many significant social players, in politics and civil society, subscribe (at least in public).peer-reviewe

A PERFORMANCE NARRATIVA DE UMA BLOGUEIRA: "TORNANDO-SE PRETA EM UM SEGUNDO NASCIMENTO"

A web 2.0 propicia aos sujeitos sociais a possibilidade de contar suas histórias assim como de vê-las discutidas em novas formas de interação. Este artigo almeja apresentar os posicionamentos interacionais que constroem a performance narrativa de co-construção de raça de uma mulher negra no blog "Eu, Mulher Preta". O estudo se ampara nos aportes teóricos dos novos letramentos digitais, na concepção de raça proposta pelas Teorias Queer e na teorização de narrativa como performance. Para analisar a narrativa da blogueira como performance, o quadro analítico se ancora no construto de posicionamento interacional e nas pistas que marcam tal posicionamento na encenação da performance. Os resultados indicam que a narradora se posiciona interacionalmente como mulher preta. Identificamos, porém, um posicionamento interacional anterior ao renascimento como negra: o de mulher "branc[a] meio suj[a]". Observamos ainda que tais posicionamentos refletem duas performances discursivas conflitantes, uma que se aproxima e valoriza a negritude e outra que se distancia de sua origem. Esta investigação, baseando-se nas Teorias Queer, possibilita, também, tratar a questão racial como um traço performativo, colocando-a ao lado de gênero e sexualidade

HIV risk-taking behaviour among amphetamine users in Sydney, Australia

A survey was undertaken of needle-sharing and sexually risky behaviour among 231 Australian amphetamine users, half of whom usually injected amphetamine. The prevalence of risky needle use and sexual behaviour was similar to that observed in recent Australian surveys of opioid injectors. About a third of those who had ever injected had shared needles, and the variables that best predicted frequency of sharing needles were having an injecting drug user as a partner, having experienced symptoms of dependence on amphetamines, and having sought medical treatment for an amphetamine related problem. Regular condom use with either regular or casual partners was low; only the minority employed in the sex industry regularly used condoms. Sexual risk-taking was not related to needle-sharing or amphetamine we. Although Australian amphetamine and opioid users have reduced their risks of transmitting HIV, there remains a substantial minority of both types of drug injector who continue to place themselves and others at risk by sharing needles and engaging in unsafe sexual behaviour