The Changing Narratives of Death, Dying, and HIV in the United Kingdom

Death and infection were closely linked from the start of the HIV epidemic, until successful treatments became available. The initial impact of mostly young, gay men dying from HIV was powerful in shaping UK responses. Neoliberal discourses developed at the same time, particularly focusing on how citizens (rather than the state) should take responsibility to improve health. Subsequently “successful ageing” became an allied discourse, further marginalising death discussions. Our study reflected on a broad range of meanings around death within the historical UK epidemic, to examine how dying narratives shape contemporary HIV experiences. Fifty-one participants including people living with HIV, professionals, and activists were recruited for semistructured interviews. Assuming a symbolic interactionist framework, analysis highlighted how HIV deaths were initially experienced as not only traumatic but also energizing, leading to creativity. With effective antiretrovirals, dying changed shape (e.g., loss of death literacy), and better integration of palliative care was recommended

An Unbiased Survey for Outflows in the W3 and W5 Star-Formation Regions

During their birth all stars undergo periods of copious mass loss, frequently characterized by the occurrence of bipolar outflows. These outflows are believed to play a fundamental role in the star formation process. However the exact outflow generating method is obscure at present. To elucidate this problem we are investigating whether the flow properties are correlated over the entire protostellar mass spectrum. Progress in this area requires that we assemble a statistically valid sample of high-mass outflow systems. This is necessary since existing catalogues of such objects are heterogeneous and statistically incomplete.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, uses newpasp.sty. To appear in "Hot Star Workshop III: The Earliest Phases of Massive Star Birth" (ed. P.A. Crowther

Addressing Ethical Issues in Studying Men’s Traumatic Stress

Like many human experiences, traumatic stress is highly gendered. Over the past several decades, a sub-stantial number of empirical studies have explored ethical issues in traumatic stress research. However, these studies have typically reported female samples or failed to account for the influence of gender in their analyses of mixed-sex samples. By extension, ethical issues that are relevant to male participants in traumatic stress research are poorly understood. After briefly exploring why the vulnerabilities of male participants are under-explored in traumatic stress research, this article highlights many ethical issues that are important to address when men participate in traumatic stress research, concluding with some sugges-tions for how these might be taken up to advance the field

The Near-Infrared Extinction Law in Regions of High Av

We present a spectroscopic study of the shape of the dust-extinction law between 1.0 and 2.2um towards a set of nine ultracompact HII regions with Av > 15 mag. We find some evidence that the reddening curve may tend to flatten at higher extinctions, but just over half of the sample has extinction consistent with or close to the average for the interstellar medium. There is no evidence of extinction curves significantly steeper than the standard law, even where water ice is present. Comparing the results to the predictions of a simple extinction model, we suggest that a standard extinction law implies a robust upper limit to the grain-size distribution at around 0.1 - 0.3um. Flatter curves are most likely due to changes in this upper limit, although the effects of flattening due to unresolved clumpy extinction cannot be ruled out.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Taurek, numbers and probabilities

In his paper, “Should the Numbers Count?" John Taurek imagines that we are in a position such that we can either save a group of five people, or we can save one individual, David. We cannot save David and the five. This is because they each require a life-saving drug. However, David needs all of the drug if he is to survive, while the other five need only a fifth each.Typically, people have argued as if there was a choice to be made: either numbers matter, in which case we should save the greater number, or numbers don't matter, but rather there is moral value in giving each person an equal chance of survival, and therefore we should toss a coin. My claim is that we do not have to make a choice in this way. Rather, numbers do matter, but it doesn't follow that we should always save the greater number. And likewise, there is moral value in giving each person an equal chance of survival, but it doesn't follow that we should always toss a coin.In addition, I argue that a similar approach can be applied to situations in which we can save one person or another, but the chances of success are different

The Pendulum Swings Back: Revisiting Corporate Criminality and the Rise of Deferred Prosecution Agreements

Essay from the Project for Law and Business Ethics Symposium: “Unearthing Corporate Wrongdoing: Detecting and Dealing with Ethical Breaches in the Business World

Helium and Hydrogen Line Ratios and The Stellar Content of Compact HII Regions

We present observations and models of the behaviour of the HI and HeI lines between 1.6 and 2.2um in a small sample of compact HII regions. As in our previous papers on planetary nebulae, we find that the `pure' 1.7007um 4^3D-3^3P and 2.16475um 7^(3,1)G-4^(3,1)F HeI recombination lines behave approximately as expected as the effective temperature of the central exciting star(s) increases. However, the 2.058um 2^1P-2^1S HeI line does not behave as the model predicts, or as seen in planetary nebulae. Both models and planetary nebulae showed a decrease in the HeI 2^1P-2^1S/HI Br gamma ratio above an effective temperature of 40000K. The compact HII regions do not show any such decrease. The problem with this line ratio is probably due to the fact that the photoionisation model does not account correctly for the high densities seen in these HII regions, and that we are therefore seeing more collisional excitation of the 2^1P level than the model predicts. It may also reflect some deeper problem in the assumed model stellar atmospheres. In any event, although the normal HeI recombination lines can be used to place constraints on the temperature of the hottest star present, the HeI 2^1P-2^1S/HI Br gamma ratio should not be used for this purpose in either Galactic HII regions or in starburst galaxies, and conclusions from previous work using this ratio should be regarded with extreme caution. We also show that the combination of the near infrared `pure' recombination line ratios with mid-infrared forbidden line data provides a good discriminant of the form of the far ultraviolet spectral energy distribution of the exciting star(s). From this we conclude that CoStar models are a poor match to the available data for our sources, though the more recent WM-basic models are a better fit.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

HIV-related stigma in the UK then and now: to what extent are we on track to eliminate stigma? A qualitative investigation

Background The introduction of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s led to the perception that HIV was a chronic but manageable condition. Nevertheless, stigma remains one of the major hurdles for people living with HIV (PLWH) to accessing healthcare and biomedical preventions. Thus, Fast Track Cities has set a target of zero HIV discrimination by 2030 as part of its strategy to end HIV transmission. Methods Fifty-three participants from the United Kingdom, including PLWH (n = 21, 40%), health and social care workers (n = 24, 45%), and charity workers and activists (n = 13, 25%), were recruited. Semi-structured interviews investigated stigma and discrimination, focusing on both before and after the widespread use of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Results Before effective antiretroviral treatment narratives were shaped by two main themes: 1) the media’s role in influencing public opinion and contributing to misunderstandings of HIV transmission; and 2) personal experiences of HIV-related stigma, which for PLWH included incidents of physical violence and aggression, as well as fears of their HIV status being publicised. Contemporary narratives on stigma experiences were organised around four themes: 1) discrimination in healthcare settings; 2) stigma amongst men who have sex with men (MSM); 3) stigma towards African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH; and 4) the limits of change in public HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Contemporary narratives indicated a reduction in enacted stigma, but continued anticipation of discrimination and self-reported shame, particularly in MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH. Conclusion The nature of stigma against those with HIV has evolved. The intersection of PLWH and minority groups (e.g. MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean persons) may enhance anticipatory and internalised stigma, with some suggestion that this may contribute to reduced engagement in HIV care and prevention services. Our findings indicate the need for further research in this area, as well as proactive interventions with community groups to enhance knowledge of HIV

Radiocarbon Isotopic Classification of Deep Tropical Forest Soils

Tropical forest soils have an important role in global carbon (C) stocks. Small changes in the cycling of C could drastically affect atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and active cycling of carbon in a forest community. Currently, little is understood of how tropical forest soils will respond to the increasing global temperatures. To examine the effects of warming/ drought on losses of older versus younger soil C pools, we implemented radiocarbon (14C) isotopic characterization of various soil plot samples and depths from the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. 14C was measured using Accelerated Mass Spectrometry (AMS) from catalytically condensed carbon in order to examine the initial carbon stocks of the test plots. This examination was done in order to determine the age of the carbon in the soil plots before implementation of a long term warming experiment. In addition to determining the age of the soil C, the samples were submitted to a Density Fractionation Process to obtain varying aggregate fractions. These were also submitted to AMS for mean residence time of the C stocks. The soil 14C was significantly different in the Heavy and Free Light density fractions. This implies that the soil C turnover increases as you near the top depth of the soil pit samples. The results will be used to establish the initial composition of the sample soils for a warming experiment that will model future changes in climate

Reducing weight and increasing physical activity in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease: a randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of enhanced motivational interviewing intervention with usual care.

OBJECTIVE: The epidemic of obesity is contributing to the increasing prevalence of people at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), negating the medical advances in reducing CVD mortality. We compared the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an intensive lifestyle intervention consisting of enhanced motivational interviewing in reducing weight and increasing physical activity for patients at high risk of CVD. METHODS: A three-arm, single-blind, parallel-group randomised controlled trial was conducted in consenting primary care centres in south London. We recruited patients aged 40-74 years with a QRisk2 score ≥20.0%, which indicates the probability of having a CVD event in the next 10 years. The intervention was enhanced motivational interviewing which included additional behaviour change techniques and was delivered by health trainers in 10 sessions over 1 year, in either group (n=697) or individual (n=523) format. The third arm received usual care (UC; n=522). The primary outcomes were physical activity (mean steps/day) and weight (kg). Secondary outcomes were changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and CVD risk score. We estimated the relative cost-effectiveness of each intervention. RESULTS: At 24 months, the group and individual interventions were not more effective than UC in increasing physical activity (mean difference=70.05 steps, 95% CI -288.00 to 147.90 and mean difference=7.24 steps, 95% CI -224.01 to 238.50, respectively), reducing weight (mean difference=-0.03 kg, 95% CI -0.49 to 0.44 and mean difference=-0.42 kg, 95% CI -0.93 to 0.09, respectively) or improving any secondary outcomes. The group and individual interventions were not cost-effective at conventional thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: Enhancing motivational interviewing with additional behaviour change techniques was not effective in reducing weight or increasing physical activity in those at high CVD risk