Treatment Interruption after Pregnancy: Effects on Disease Progression and Laboratory Findings

Objective. To assess clinical progression and inflammatory markers among women stopping or continuing antiretroviral therapy (ART) after pregnancy. Methods. ART-naïve women with CD4+ lymphocyte counts >350 cells/uL initiating ART during pregnancy had clinical events and laboratory markers compared over one year postpartum between those stopping (n = 59) or continuing (n = 147) ART. Results. Slopes in CD4 count and HIV RNA did not differ between groups overall and in subsets of ZDV or combination therapy. The hazard ratio (HR) of a new class B event was 2.09 (95% CI 0.79–5.58) among women stopping ART, 1.24 (0.31–4.95) in those stopping ZDV, and 2.93 (0.64–13.36) among those stopping combination therapy. Women stopping ART had increased immune activation. No significant differences were seen in C-reactive protein, lipids, leptin, or interleukin-6. Conclusions. While changes in CD4 and HIV RNA levels over one year were similar between women stopping or continuing ART postpartum, higher immune activation among women stopping therapy requires further study

Optimal redistributive tax and education policies in general equilibrium

This paper studies optimal linear and non-linear income taxes and education subsidies in two-type models with endogenous human capital formation, endogenous labor supply, and endogenous wage rates. Assuming constant human capital elasticities, human capital investment should be efficient under optimal linear policies, whether general equilibrium effects are present or not. Hence, education subsidies should not be used for distributional reasons. Due to general equilibrium effects, optimal linear income taxes may even become negative. Optimal non-linear policies exploit general equilibrium effects for redistribution. The high-skilled type optimally has a negative marginal income tax rate and a positive marginal education subsidy. The low-skilled type optimally faces a positive marginal income tax rate and a marginal tax on education. Simulations demonstrate that general equilibrium effects have only a modest effect on optimal non-linear policies

Static and dynamic analysis of space frames using simple Timoshenko type elements

In this paper a finite element method for geometrically and materially non-linear analyses of space frames is described. Beams with both solid and thin-walled open cross-sections are considered. The equations of equilibrium are formulated using an updated incremental Lagrangian description. The elements developed can undergo large displacements and rotations, but the incremental rotations are assumed to be small. The material behaviour is described by elastoplastic, temperature-dependent elastoplastic and viscoplastic models with special reference to metals. Computationally, more economical formulations based on the relationship between stress resultants and generalized strain quantities are also presented. In the case of thin-walled beams the torsional behaviour is modelled using a two-parameter warping model, where the angle of twist and the axial variation of warping have independent approximations. This approach yields average warping shear strains directly from the displacement assumptions and no discrepancy between stress and strain fields exists