Vectors, polluters, and murderers: Hiv testing policies toward prostitutes in Nevada

This case study explores HIV testing policy and prostitution in Nevada. Three general themes emerge from analysis of Nevada\u27s HIV/AIDS policy regarding prostitution. First, HIV testing policies reflect and reproduce hegemonic sexuality-specifically gender inequality, heterosexist orientation, and negative stereotypes of prostitutes. Second, Nevada\u27s legalized prostitution industry makes visible the effects of economic dynamics, specifically tourism, on policies related to sexuality. Finally, the policymaking process depicts conflict between two approaches to regulation: the punitive control measures favored by law enforcement, and prevention and public health strategies favored by health bureaucracies. Testing prostitutes for HIV became the dominant policy response to an emerging moral panic about AIDS in the mid-1980s. Nevada\u27s conflicting policy approaches both tend to protect Nevada\u27s economic interests and stigmatize prostitutes. The research examines public documents, newspaper accounts, and interviews with policymakers to describe the emergence of Nevada\u27s regulatory policies, particularly in the context of interplay between sexuality, gender, economics, and political action. Further study of the relationship between moral panics and morality politics is necessary to understand how fear is transformed into policy through legislative processes

Determinants of agricultural land abandonment in post-soviet European Russia

Socio-economic and institutional changes may accelerate land-use and land-cover change. Our goal was to explore the determinants of agricultural land abandonment within one agro-climatic and economic region of post-Soviet European Russia during the first decade of transition from a state-command to market-driven economy (between 1990 and 2000). We integrated maps of abandoned agricultural land derived from 30 m resolution Landsat TM/ETM+ images, environmental and socioeconomic variables and estimated logistic regressions. Results showed that post-Soviet agricultural land abandonment was significantly associated with lower average grain yields in the late 1980s, higher distance from the populated places, areas with low population densities, for isolated agricultural areas within the forest matrix and near the forest edges. Hierarchical partitioning showed that average grain yields in the late 1980s contributed the most in explaining the variability of agricultural land abandonment, followed by location characteristics of the land. While the spatial patterns correspond to the classic micro-economic theories of von Thünen and Ricardo, it was largely the macro-scale driving forces that fostered agricultural abandonment. In the light of continuum depopulation process in the studied region of European Russia, we expect continuing agricultural abandonment after the year 2000. --agricultural land abandonment,institutional change, land use change,spatial analysis,logistic regression,remote sensing,Russia

Evaluation of a resistance-based model for the quantification of pulmonary arterial hypertension using MR-flow measurements

Quantifizierung des pulmonal-arteriellen Drucks im Truncus pulmonalis des Schweins. Methode: Künstliche Induktion einer pulmonalen Hypertonie mittels Thromboxan A2 in verschiedenen Schweregraden. Quantifizierung des Blutflusses anhand magnetresonanztomographischer Flussmessung im T.p., hieraus Bestimmung des zeitlichen Flussprofils und Akzelerationszeit (AT). Korrelation der AT mit den simultan erhobenen Daten einer invasiven Druckmessung (Pulmonalis-Katheter).Purpose: To establish an estimate for the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) derived from non-invasive data acquired with magnetic resonance velocity encoded sequences (MR). Material and Methods: In 7 sedated pigs synchronous catheter-based invasive pressure measurements (mPAPinv) and non-invasive MR were acquired in the main pulmonary artery (MPA) at different severities of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) that were caused by infusion of thromboxane A2 (TxA2). The invasively measured mPAP was correlated with the non-invasive magnetic resonance velocity data and linear combination equations (LCE) were computed. Results: Intravenously applied TxA2 induced a dose dependent level of severity of PAH with an mPAP of up to 54 mmHg without systemic effects. The acceleration time (AT) measured with MR demonstrated the best correlation with the mPAPinv : (1) mPAPinv = 72 - 0.65 x AT, (r=0.87) The LCE with the highest correlation was found between mPAPinv on the one hand and mean flow velocity (MFV) and AT on the other: (2) mPAPinv = 72 - 0.50 x AT - 0.28 x MFV, (r=0.90). Conclusion: Applying the identified LCE allowed the estimation of the mPAP in an acute and resistance-based model of PAH with high accuracy using non-invasive magnetic resonance velocity encoded sequences

Effects of different matrix representations and connectivity measures on habitat network assessments

Assessing landscape connectivity is important to understand the ecology of landscapes and to evaluate alternative conservation strategies. The question is though, how to quantify connectivity appropriately, especially when the information available about the suitability of the matrix surrounding habitat is limited. Our goal here was to investigate the effects of matrix representation on assessments of the connectivity among habitat patches and of the relative importance of individual patches for the connectivity within a habitat network. We evaluated a set of 50 × 50 km^2 test areas in the Carpathian Mountains and considered three different matrix representations (binary, categorical and continuous) using two types of connections among habitat patches (shortest lines and least-cost paths). We compared connections, and the importance of patches, based on (1) isolation, (2) incidence-functional, and (3) graph measures. Our results showed that matrix representation can greatly affect assessments of connections (i.e., connection length, effective distance, and spatial location), but not patch prioritization. Although patch importance was not much affected by matrix representation, it was influenced by the connectivity measure and its parameterization. We found the biggest differences in the case of the integral index of connectivity and equally weighted patches, but no consistent pattern in response to changing dispersal distance. Connectivity assessments in more fragmented landscapes were more sensitive to the selection of matrix representation. Although we recommend using continuous matrix representation whenever possible, our results indicated that simpler matrix representations can be also used as a proxy to delineate those patches that are important for overall connectivity, but not to identify connections among habitat patches

Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to (i) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity-taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits-and (ii) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts

Integrating demographic and Landsat (TM) data at a watershed scale

Recurrent calls for integrated resource management urge that an understanding of human activities and populations be incorporated into natural resource research, management, and protection efforts. In this paper, we hypothesize that watersheds can be a valuable geography for organizing an inquiry into the relationship between humans and the environment, and we present a framework for conducting such efforts. The framework is grounded in the emerging field of landscape ecology and incorporates demographic theory and data. Demography has been advanced by technological capabilities associated with the 1990 Census. Employing Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, we couple Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) land cover data with census-derived housing density data to demonstrate the operation of our framework and its utility for better understanding human-landscape interactions. In our investigation of the Kickapoo Watershed and two subwatersheds, located in southwestern Wisconsin, we identify relationships between landscape composition and the distribution and social structure of human populations. Our findings offer insight into the interplay between people and biophysical systems. Recurrent calls for integrated resource management urge that an understanding of human activities and populations be incorporated into natural resource research, management, and protection efforts. In this paper, we hypothesize that watersheds can be a valuable geography for organizing an inquiry into the relationship between humans and the environment, and we present a framework for conducting such efforts. The framework is grounded in the emerging field of landscape ecology and incorporates demographic theory and data. Demography has been advanced by technological capabilities associated with the 1990 Census. Employing Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, we couple Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) land cover data with census-derived housing density data to demonstrate the operation of our framework and its utility for better understanding human-landscape interactions. In our investigation of the Kickapoo Watershed and two sub-watersheds, located in southwestern Wisconsin, we identify relationships between landscape composition and the distribution and social structure of human populations. Our findings offer insight into the interplay between people and biophysical systems

Langzeiterfahrungen mit der ipsilateralen Elektroakustischen Stimulation (EAS) : meeting abstract

Hochgradig hörgeschädigten Patienten mit einem Tieftonrestgehör (Steilabfall im Audiogramm) können mittels ipsilateraler EAS versorgt werden. Dabei wird der völlig taube Hochfrequenzbereich des Innenohres mit einem Cochleaimplantat stimuliert, und die tieffrequente Restfunktion der Schnecke bleibt erhalten. Voraussetzung für eine derartige Versorgung ist ein Erhalt des tieffrequenten Restgehöres bei der Cochlea-Implant-Elektrodeneinführung. Im Rahmen einer klinischen Studie wurden seit 1999 in Frankfurt 25 Patienten mit EAS versorgt. Des Weiteren wurden 16 Patienten im Rahmen einer europäischen Multicenterstudie für EAS implantiert. Ein zumindest teilweiser Erhalt des Restgehöres war in über 90% der Fälle möglich. Es wird über die Langzeitergebnisse (6 bis 70 Monate) nach EAS-Implantation berichtet. In 70% der Fälle blieb das erhaltene Restgehör stabil. Die Patienten zeigten überdurchschnittlich gute Werte bei der Sprachdiskrimination mit ihren Cochleaimplantaten, die durch zusätzliche akustische Stimulation noch verbessert wurden. Besonders deutlich waren die Hörleistungen unter Störgeräuscheinfluss. Seit Kurzem steht auch ein kombinierter Sprachprozessor für die elektrische und akustische Stimulation zur Verfügung

Determinants of agricultural land abandonment in post-soviet European Russia

Socio-economic and institutional changes may accelerate land-use and land-cover change. Our goal was to explore the determinants of agricultural land abandonment within one agro-climatic and economic region of post-Soviet European Russia during the first decade of transition from a state-command to market-driven economy (between 1990 and 2000). We integrated maps of abandoned agricultural land derived from 30 m resolution Landsat TM/ETM+ images, environmental and socioeconomic variables and estimated logistic regressions. Results showed that post-Soviet agricultural land abandonment was significantly associated with lower average grain yields in the late 1980s, higher distance from the populated places, areas with low population densities, for isolated agricultural areas within the forest matrix and near the forest edges. Hierarchical partitioning showed that average grain yields in the late 1980s contributed the most in explaining the variability of agricultural land abandonment, followed by location characteristics of the land. While the spatial patterns correspond to the classic micro-economic theories of von Thünen and Ricardo, it was largely the macro-scale driving forces that fostered agricultural abandonment. In the light of continuum depopulation process in the studied region of European Russia, we expect continuing agricultural abandonment after the year 2000

The wildland-urban interface in Poland reflects legacies of historical national borders

Context The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is an area where houses are located near wildland vegetation. As such, the WUI is a focal area of wildfire risk, human-wildlife conflicts, and other human-nature interactions. Although there is a wide consensus on the impact WUI existence might have, little is known about the WUI spatial determinants over long periods, especially in countries with long settlement history. Objectives Our goal here was to map the WUI across Poland, and to quantify the extent to which historical legacies shape current WUI pattern, since Poland is one of the countries, which experienced substantial political changes over time, which had an impact on historical settlement development. Methods We analysed a database of nearly 15 million building locations and a 10-m Sentinel-2-based land cover map to produce a country-wide WUI map of Poland. Then we compared the WUI pattern among parts of Poland which belonged to different political entities in 1900s and 1930s and also among different ecoregions. Lastly, we verified the effects of the historical borders or landscape units borders on WUI patterns with a discontinuity analysis. Results We found that a substantial part of Poland is WUI, and over 60% of all buildings are in WUI. However, WUI patterns differ considerably across the country, and WUI hotspots are located around the largest metropolitan areas in central and southern part of Poland and in the Carpathians. Furthermore, WUI patterns reflect pre-1945 national borders indicating long-term legacies of past settlement patterns and urban planning approaches. Diversity among ecoregions was much less pronounced than among past political entities. Conclusions Our work shows that current WUI pattern is to large extent shaped by former political conditions, which is likely true not only in Poland, but also in many parts of Europe and elsewhere where settlement history goes back centuries