Patient needs and point-of-care requirements for HIV load testing in resource-limited settings

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international, independent medical nongovernmental organization. One way in which MSF acts to improve patient care is to assist in the identification and development of adapted and appropriate tools for use in resource-limited settings. One strategy to achieve this goal is through active collaborations with scientists and developers, to make some of the field needs known and to help define the medical strategy behind the implementation of new diagnostic tests. Tests used in the field need to be effective in often extreme conditions and must also deliver high-quality, reliable results that can be used in the local context. In this article, we discuss some patient and health care provider needs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load measurement in resource-limited settings. This is just one of the areas in which effective, quality tools are desperately needed, not only by MSF and other international nongovernmental organizations, but also by many other health service providers. We hope that, by clearly defining the needs of patients in MSF clinics-as well as we can assess this-and by explaining why these tools are needed, how they should perform, and how their results can be integrated into a program, we will encourage the development of such tools and hasten their implementation in areas where they are so urgently needed

Old and new results on normality

We present a partial survey on normal numbers, including Keane's contributions, and with recent developments in different directions.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921706000000248 in the IMS Lecture Notes--Monograph Series (http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Locating Memory: Introduction

An introduction to the Locating Memory section of Cultural Studies Review 20.

ATLAS Detector Status and Physics Startup Plans

The status of the ATLAS detector shortly before the start-up of the LHC is presented. The progress in the commissioning of the detector, as well as plans for early physics analysis are outlined.Comment: Plenary talk at ICHEP08, Philadelphia, USA, July 2008. 10 pages PDF fil

Aspecten van filosofische verklaring

Opzet van dit artikel is een antwoord te geven op de vraag wat de minimale vereisten zijn waaraan een verklaring moet voldoen om een filosofische verklaring te zijn. Achtereenvolgens gaan wij na hoe de filosofische verklaring zich verhoudt tot de andere activiteiten in het domein van de filosofie, en hoe zij zich verhoudt tot de verklaring in het domein van de wetenschap. Om de eigenheid van de filosofische verklaring duidelijk in het licht te stellen, nemen wij de ‘klassieke’ analyse van wetenschappelijke verklaringen als referentiepunt. Uit die ‘vergelijking’ blijkt dat de filosofische verklaring zich van de wetenschappelijke verklaring onderscheidt, niet door het soort vragen dat zij behandelt, maar door haar zuiver theoretische aard en door haar logica. Waar de wetenschappelijke verklaring ‘wat verklaring verlangt’ afleidt uit de uitleg, brengt de filosofie haar uitleg binnen in ‘wat zij wil verklaren’. Volledigheidshalve behandelen wij ook nog de vraag naar criteria waarmee wij de kwaliteit van een filosofische verklaring kunnen toetsen, en sluiten deze uiteenzetting af met een korte reflectie over het nut van de filosofie in het algemeen en van filosofische verklaringen in het bijzonder

Acquiring and Applying Knowledge in Transnational Teams: The Roles of Cosmopolitans and Locals

This paper examines the roles of cosmopolitans and locals in transnational teams that work on knowledge-intensive projects. I propose that cosmopolitan and local team members can help their teams to acquire and apply knowledge more effectively, by bringing both internal and external knowledge to their teams and enabling them to more successfully transform this knowledge into improved project performance. Findings from a study of 96 project teams at an international development agency reveal that the roles of cosmopolitans and locals were complex and sometimes valuable, but cosmopolitans offered greater benefits than locals and too many of each could hurt. Implications for theory and research on international management, virtual teams, exploration and exploitation, and organizational knowledge are discussed

Queer(y)ing the family : an investigation into theories of family : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Women's Studies at Massey University

Within society there are many varieties of family arrangements, however some New Zealand social policies overlook any groups which do not reflect the dominant family type. Certain aspects of social policy prevent their recognition, preventing the receipt of state welfare assistance. I argue provision exists for primarily one type of family group: the heterosexual nuclear family. Beginning with the definition of the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings (Statistics New Zealand, 1994), I examine the implications that such a narrow definition may hold for alternatives to the dominant heterosexual model. This discussion develops into an examination of the construction of our social policy and the underlying ideologies which inform such policy. Specifically I examine some of the literature from a sociology of the family and provide an explanation for the disturbing fact that in New Zealand society it would appear that families which do not fit the definition outlined above are rendered invisible. This research engages with theoretical material to examine both the construction and ideology of New Zealand social policy. Given the current trend towards greater choice for the individual, the important nature of such research is emphasised. I refer to the concern of the New Zealand Income Support Service that a woman who chooses to become pregnant outside of a couple relationship, and then requires income support assistance may be viewed as having become pregnant for financial gain. Alongside this, I examine the ideology of the deserving and undeserving poor which underpins much of New Zealand's welfare history and defines who is deemed worthy of assistance

Cosmopolitans and Locals: Status Rivalries, Deference, and Knowledge in International Teams

Drawing on sociological role theory, this chapter introduces and explains the distinction between cosmopolitan and local role orientations as status categories in international teams. Qualitative data from a multi-method field study conducted at a leading international development agency illustrate that the high status of cosmopolitans and locals in this setting was based on expectations that these team members would enable their teams to more effectively interpret knowledge obtained from outside sources. The possible dynamics of status rivalry and deference in teams with cosmopolitan and local membership are explored, and their implications for team performance are addressed. Status in groups thus is viewed as both contested and contingent on the situation

Calibration of ultrafiltration membranes against size exclusion chromatography columns

Using the extension of the concept of universal calibration parameter, yielding a relation between the hydrodynamic volume of molecules and the elution volume in sizeexclusionchromatography (SEC), to retention coefficients in ultrafiltration (UF), we propose a direct calibration of UF membranes against chromatography columns. Plotting the retention coefficient by one given UF membrane of a series of probe molecules versus their elution volume in SEC chromatography provides a calibration curve for this membrane. For a wide range of retentions, such calibration can be directly used to predict the retention of any molecule: one only needs to measure its exclusion volume by the SEC column, and read the retention by the calibrated membrane on the calibration curves. The method has been tested with dextran and PEG for the calibration, and milk proteins as test molecules, for three different membranes. The predicted values of the retention are in rather good agreement with those experimentally measured in a UF cell