The prevalence and predictors of food insecurity among HIV-infected women in Cape Town, South Africa: A cross sectional study

Background: Food insecurity is a major public health concern in most settings where the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is prevalent, and it affects women disproportionately. However, the prevalence of food insecurity and associated risk factors for women who are living with HIV (WLH) in South Africa is under researched. Methods: The researcher conducted a secondary, cross-sectional analysis of 346 HIV-infected women aged between 18 and 45, in Gugulethu, Cape Town. All participants were 12 months postpartum and enrolled into the MCH-ART study, a large implementation science study of antiretroviral use in pregnancy. For this study, women completed a 10-item household food security questionnaire that categorised food security status into household-level food insecurity, individual level food insecurity and children hunger. Using this tool, the level of food insecurity was categorised as food insecurity (“yes” to up to four questions), experiencing food insecurity (“yes” to five questions or more) and free from food insecurity (“no” to all questions). Results: Overall, the mean age was 29 years (SD: 5.46); 25 % of the women completed high school; 61 % were unemployed; nearly 66 % were free from food insecurity; and 25 % experienced food insecurity. Women who were employed were less likely to experience food insecurity when compared to those who were not employed (OR=0.54; 95 % CI: 0.32-0.90; p= 0.01). Those who completed high school were associated with food security than the ones who did not complete high school (OR= 0.5; 95 % CI: 0.28-0.97; p= 0.04). After adjusting for maternal age, marital and cohabiting status, education attainment, and parity, employment remained a significant predictor of experiencing food security (AOR= 0.55; 95 % CI: 0.32- 0.95 p=0.03) and educational attainment was no longer associated with food insecurity. Conclusions: The prevalence of food insecurity was relatively low in the urban-based sample of HIV-infected women. However, most of these HIV-infected women were obese and overweight. Thus, there is a clear need for more research to explore issues of food insecurity and nutrition in HIV-infected South African women

Avaluació de l'envolupant dels edificis del moviment modern a Barcelona

L'aparició del marc normatiu contemporani, i la influència dels aspectes mediambientals, albiren ineficiència en el comportament de les exigències tèrmiques, acústiques i de salubritat del parc edificat anterior a la normativa, molt més accentuat amb l'edat dels edificis. El període al voltant dels anys 1930-1937 és segons la major part dels autors que han tractat el tema, “un breu però dens capítol en la recent història de l’arquitectura” （La innovación tecnológica de las cubiertas planas del GATCPAC ， 1996 ） i no només d’una manera formal sinó també tecnològica. Tanmateix en la bibliografia clàssica sobre el moviment modern, difícilment s'especifiquen o avalen el comportament tèrmic, de soroll e impermeabilitat de les solucions constructives. És necessari centrar la reflexió en les relacions entre les necessitats tècniques i les normes existents. En l’arquitectura del moviment modern és, en l’envolupant de l’edifici, on el programa es fa evident i on les solucions tipològiques de les plantes es mostren i intenten arribar a produir els valors dels requeriments. Però alhora són arquitectura, són les façanes part del programa. Tanmateix, cal identificar si el canvi estètic va anar lligat a un canvi de concepte en l’enteniment de la façana com a pell protectora, per tal de garantir noves prestacions. En nombroses discussions de l’època apareix la problemàtica entre el nou llenguatge lligat als nous materials. Tal com apunta A.Pizza segons les paraules de N.M Rubió i Tudurí en Diàlegs sobre l’Arquitectura “La forma es sobirana, reflex pur d’un ideal de bellesa. El material és servent(...) Vosaltres, els teoritzadors de l’esperit modern, suposeu que es noble una forma que procedeix del recte ús dels materials, i jo dic, i ben alt, que és noble tot material que dóna forma nobles(...)Tot material té l’obligació, l’o-bli-ga-ció! de subjectar-se i servir a les formes nobles, eternament belles, de l’arquitectura”1 En el moment inicial del moviment modern, la tradició constructiva ens remet a altres conceptes constructius, a la paret de càrrega i no al pòrtic, amb els paràmetres de construcció que així es determinen. Cal determinar si va existir una voluntat de canvi en la concepció de les solucions constructives i l’anàlisi corresponent. Es planteja la necessitat de desenvolupar dades especifiques que permetin, per tipologies edificatòries concloure solucions concretes. Degut a que els paràmetres genèrics en la LOE són Habitabilitat, Seguretat i Funcionalitat, ens centrem en els primers i en concret, en aquells que conformen l’envolupant de l’edifici, és a dir, Salubritat, Energia i Soroll. Es descarten el segon i tercer degut a la dificultat d’extrapolar una solució tipologia degut a la variabilitat de casuística en el marc d'una innovacio formal i per tant, es defineix la necessitat de desenvolupar estudis concrets

Estudio sobre los vehículos compartidos en Zaragoza

Durante los últimos años ha aparecido una nueva forma de desplazarse en las ciudades: los vehículos compartidos. Este método, que consiste en el alquiler de diferentes tipos de vehículos por minutos, presenta un gran crecimiento mundialmente y se espera que siga siendo así en los próximos años.Este trabajo, centrado en la ciudad de Zaragoza, trata de obtener información acerca de esta tendencia, tanto de personas que utilizan estos vehículos como de aquellas que no lo hacen. La investigación tiene 2 partes diferenciadas. En la primera se fijan los objetivos de esta, se habla sobre el origen y la evolución de esta tendencia y se explica el modo de uso de estos vehículos y la metodología utilizada en la investigación. En la segunda parte se analizan los resultados obtenidos y se exponen las conclusiones a las que se ha llegado. <br /

Grandes retos de la agricultura

La agricultura, que es la base de la alimentación y, por tanto, de la salud, está llamada a desempeñar un papel decisivo en el orden mundial. La erradicación del hambre y la pobreza, Primer Objetivo del Milenio, exigen la concurrencia de todos los recursos disponibles. Incluyen la puesta al servicio de la seguridad alimentaria y del bienestar general de la tierra, el agua y la energía de un modo más prioritario, eficiente y equitativo. Todo ello exige profundas innovaciones tecnológicas e institucionales y una continua actualización y transferencia de medios y formación de los profesionalesPublishe

Influence of Traction Battery Arrangement on Risk of Thermal Runaway and Loads Suffered by Electric Vehicle Occupant during Side Collision

In the current electric vehicles, the purpose of the traction battery is to store energy. When designing this battery, different parameters are considered to arrange the battery/module/cells in the mechanically and thermally safest configuration. Moreover, the battery layout must produce correct dynamic behavior during collisions. In the present study, different battery configurations plus added energy absorbers were analyzed. To achieve this, an internal combustion vehicle modeled with finite elements was applied as the reference model. The structural behavior of the different battery configurations in the event of a side collision was examined. First, the safest arrangement was established with respect to both cabin intrusion and thermal runaway propagation. Second, the safest arrangement that guarantees the safety of the occupants in the event of a side collision was analyzed using MADYMO. This software includes experimentally validated dummies that allow insight into the stresses experienced by occupants. The results of the analysis showed that battery pack inclusion in the vehicle increases the stiffness of the car floor, resulting in fewer intrusions into the passenger compartment. Therefore, safety of the occupants is increased. However, none of the configurations analyzed showed sufficient safety against thermal runaway. This study contains sufficient contributions to the new body of knowledge, since there is no study that analyzes the safest configuration in terms of battery behavior with respect to intrusion into the passenger compartment and the effect of thermal runaway, together with the fact that this is the safest configuration for occupants after analyzing the injuries they experience in a side collision for the different configurations

The NLRP3 inflammasome: Regulation by metabolic signals

Macrophages undergo profound metabolic reprogramming upon sensing infectious and sterile stimuli. This metabolic shift supports and regulates essential innate immune functions, including activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Within distinct metabolic networks, key enzymes play pivotal roles to control flux restraining detrimental inflammasome signaling. However, depending on the metabolic cues, specific enzymes and metabolites result in inflammasome activation outcomes which contrast other metabolic steps in the pathway. We posit that understanding which metabolic steps commit to discrete inflammasome fates will broaden our understanding of metabolic checkpoints to maintain homeostasis and offer better therapeutic options in human disease

El duende : zarzuela original en dos actos

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2009-201

Determinants of adaptation to climate variability:A case study of crop farming households in Tyhume Valley communities Eastern Cape,South Africa.

Climate variability affects rural households and agricultural productivity, yet it is just one of many stresses that vulnerable rural households have to cope with. Climate variability is not as noticeable as weather variability, because it happens over seasons and years. It is the manner in which climate fluctuates above or below a long-term average value. Without measures at local and national level to adapt to climate variability, risk of food insecurity will continue to increase at household level. The objective of the study was to determine factors affecting adaptation to climate variability. Purposive sampling was used to identify households who participated because of un-availability of sampling frame. Information was elicited from the selected households with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire. The study utilised a cross-sectional survey of 205 farming households in Tyhume Valley communities. Data gathered was subjected to descriptive statistics, Cross tabulations and Binary logit model. The results indicate that rural households from Tyhume Valley communities practiced coping adaptation through use of the following adaptation strategies; crop rotation, planted drought resistant crops, changed planting dates and used indigenous strategies such as using ash to kill mule (intuku). Most of the households used irrigation as the coping strategy to adapt to climate variability. However, heatwave, high winds, employment status, cell phones, age and gender of the rural households’ heads have effects on households’ adaptation to climate variability in Tyhume Valley. In view of the research findings, a large number of farming households are old and are females, there is a need for development of labour saving technologies and extension services to increase the likelihood of adaptation of climate variability by vulnerable farmers such as women and elderly farmers.The study also recommends that there must be a development of infrastructure for farmers as they are negatively affect by high winds due to low infrastructural development.The study also shows that farming households who have access to cellphones are more likely to adapt to climate variability, therefore the study recommends that communication of farming households must be improved.Adapting to climate variability is an increasingly important issue in agriculture and one that is likely to persist for many years

Press Coverage of Food Security in Nigeria: A Case of The Guardian Newspaper

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO’s) recent estimates indicate that, globally, 842 million people – 12 per cent of the global population – were unable to meet their dietary energy requirements in 2011–13, down from 868 million reported for the 2010–12 period in last year’s report. Most of those affected are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the challenge of food security is still critical. Nigeria’s food security rating remains poor, in the absence of such social shock absorbers as food safety net, and measures aimed at facilitating access by the poor to affordable, quality food, which is on offer in nations that have good food security rating. The goal of this study was to examine reportage of food security as it affects Nigeria, the extent to which the Nigerian mass media accord reportorial relevance to the issue, which is closely linked to the very first of the MDGs that the United Nations floated at the turn of the current century. Therefore, the study examined Nigeria’s food security situation through the eyes of the mass media. It purposively selected six-month editions of The Guardian newspaper, which the researchers content-analysed using prominence, variety, and direction as content categories. A 132-day sample size out of 184 days in the six months derived from weekdays only. A key finding of this study is that The Guardian newspaper has shown gross indifference to an issue as globally critical as food security. The study recommends that both The Guardian and the Nigerian government pay closer attention to the issue. Keywords: Food security; food insecurity; food sovereignty; food security indicators; mass medi

Determinants of adaptation to climate variability:A case study of crop farming households in Tyhume Valley communities Eastern Cape,South Africa.

Climate variability affects rural households and agricultural productivity, yet it is just one of many stresses that vulnerable rural households have to cope with. Climate variability is not as noticeable as weather variability, because it happens over seasons and years. It is the manner in which climate fluctuates above or below a long-term average value. Without measures at local and national level to adapt to climate variability, risk of food insecurity will continue to increase at household level. The objective of the study was to determine factors affecting adaptation to climate variability. Purposive sampling was used to identify households who participated because of un-availability of sampling frame. Information was elicited from the selected households with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire. The study utilised a cross-sectional survey of 205 farming households in Tyhume Valley communities. Data gathered was subjected to descriptive statistics, Cross tabulations and Binary logit model. The results indicate that rural households from Tyhume Valley communities practiced coping adaptation through use of the following adaptation strategies; crop rotation, planted drought resistant crops, changed planting dates and used indigenous strategies such as using ash to kill mule (intuku). Most of the households used irrigation as the coping strategy to adapt to climate variability. However, heatwave, high winds, employment status, cell phones, age and gender of the rural households’ heads have effects on households’ adaptation to climate variability in Tyhume Valley. In view of the research findings, a large number of farming households are old and are females, there is a need for development of labour saving technologies and extension services to increase the likelihood of adaptation of climate variability by vulnerable farmers such as women and elderly farmers.The study also recommends that there must be a development of infrastructure for farmers as they are negatively affect by high winds due to low infrastructural development.The study also shows that farming households who have access to cellphones are more likely to adapt to climate variability, therefore the study recommends that communication of farming households must be improved.Adapting to climate variability is an increasingly important issue in agriculture and one that is likely to persist for many years