‘Hold on’ (Bambelela)! Lyrical interpretations of participation in an HIV prevention clinical trial

Abstract: During a five-day workshop, former clinical trial participants and local musicians wrote the lyrics and recorded a song about an HIV prevention trial. Born of concerns about misconceptions regarding experimental drug trials, the aim was to engender engagement with medical researchers and open dialogue about the risks and benefits of trial participation. Composing lyrics that highlighted their credibility as communicators of medical scientific knowledge and their selfless sacrifice to stem the transmission of HIV, women performed their social positioning and cultural authority in contrast to men as well as other women not part of the trial. While involvement in HIV prevention initiatives often attracts stigma, scorn and criticism, the song’s lyrics highlighted women’s new-found identities as heroines searching for a solution to the spread of HIV, challenging these stereotypes. Methodologically, the paper describes a novel approach that uses artistic expression for public engagement with biomedical research

On the effect of parallel trade on manufacturers’ and retailers’ profits in the pharmaceutical sector

Differences in regulated pharmaceutical prices within the European Economic Area create arbitrage opportunities that pharmacy retailers can access through parallel imports. For prescription drugs under patent, parallel trade affects the sharing of profits among an innovating pharmaceutical company, retailers, and parallel traders. We develop a structural model of demand and supply in which retailers can choose the set of goods to sell, thus foreclosing consumers’ access to less profitable drugs. This allows retailers to bargain and obtain lower wholesale prices from the manufacturer and parallel trader. With detailed transaction data from Norway, we identify a demand model with unobserved choice sets using retailside conditions for optimal assortment decisions of pharmacies. We find that retailer incentives play a significant role in fostering parallel trade penetration and that banning parallel imports would benefit manufacturers as well as prevent pharmacies from foreclosing the manufacturer’s product. Finally, in the case of the statin market in Norway, we show that it would be possible to decrease spending and increase profits of the original manufacturer through lump sum transfers associated with a lower reimbursement price, thus decreasing price differentiation across countrie

Culture and carelessness: Constituting disability in South India

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Professional and lay explanations of disability, collected via interviews and participant-observation during fieldwork in Hyderabad, South India, identify “carelessness” and “superstition” as major impediments to good health among the general population, and education as the key solution. In that such findings suggest a valorization of personal responsibility for self-care, the Foucauldian concept of biopower appeared a salient framework for analysis. Although illuminating, however, biopower was ultimately inadequate for explaining what emerged, on closer analysis, as significant discrepancies between assumptions about how disabled people engaged with healthcare services and their actual beliefs and practices; and between the moral interpretations different stakeholders made of “carelessness” in describing perceived causes of disability. My data also suggested that education was not in itself a key determinant in people's healthcare decisions. This article explores these differences between official and demotic discourses concerning the causes of disability and attempts to account for them ethnographically.The British Academ

Horizon scanning to assess the bioclimatic potential for the alien species Spodoptera eridania and its parasitoids after pest detection in west and central Africa

BACKGROUND The southern armyworm (SAW) Spodoptera eridania (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is native to the tropical Americas where the pest can feed on more than 100 plant species. SAW was recently detected in West and Central Africa, feeding on various crops including cassava, cotton, amaranth and tomato. The current work was carried out to predict the potential spatial distribution of SAW and four of its co-evolved parasitoids at a global scale using the maximum entropy (Maxent) algorithm. RESULTS SAW may not be a huge problem outside its native range (the Americas) for the time being, but may compromise crop yields in specific hotspots in coming years. The analysis of its potential distribution anticipates that the pest might easily migrate east and south from Cameroon and Gabon. CONCLUSION The models used generally demonstrate that all the parasitoids considered are good candidates for the biological control of SAW globally, except they will not be able to establish in specific climates. The current paper discusses the potential role of biological control using parasitoids as a crucial component of a durable climate-smart integrated management of SAW to support decision making in Africa and in other regions of bioclimatic suitability

The 1993 baseline biological studies and proposed monitoring plan for the Device Assembly Facility at the Nevada Test Site

This report contains baseline data and recommendations for future monitoring of plants and animals near the new Device Assembly Facility (DAF) on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The facility is a large structure designed for safely assembling nuclear weapons. Baseline data was collected in 1993, prior to the scheduled beginning of DAF operations in early 1995. Studies were not performed prior to construction and part of the task of monitoring operational effects will be to distinguish those effects from the extensive disturbance effects resulting from construction. Baseline information on species abundances and distributions was collected on ephemeral and perennial plants, mammals, reptiles, and birds in the desert ecosystems within three kilometers (km) of the DAF. Particular attention was paid to effects of selected disturbances, such as the paved road, sewage pond, and the flood-control dike, associated with the facility. Radiological monitoring of areas surrounding the DAF is not included in this report

Seasonal variations of Spodoptera frugiperda host plant diversity and parasitoid complex in southern and central Benin

Open Access Journal; Published online: 24 May 2022Fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was recorded for the first time in 2016 attacking maize fields in central and west Africa. Soon after, several other regions and countries have reported the pest in almost the entire sub-Saharan Africa. In the present study, we assumed that (i) a variety of alternative plant species host FAW, especially during maize off-season, (ii) a wide range of local parasitoids have adapted to FAW and (iii) parasitoid species composition and abundance vary across seasons. During a two-year survey (from June 2018 to January 2020), parasitoids and alternative host plants were identified from maize and vegetable production sites, along streams and lowlands, on garbage dumps and old maize fields in southern and partly in the central part of Benin during both maize growing- and off-season. A total of eleven new host plant species were reported for the first time, including Cymbopogon citratus (de Candolle) Stapf (cultivated lemon grass), Bulbostylis coleotricha (A. Richard) Clarke and Pennisetum macrourum von Trinius (wild). The survey revealed seven parasitoid species belonging to four families, namely Platygastridae, Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, and Tachinidae associated with FAW on maize and alternative host plants. The most abundant parasitoid species across seasons was the egg parasitoid Telenomus remus (Nixon) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae). These findings demonstrate FAW capability to be active during the maize off-season in the selected agro-ecologies and provide baseline information for classical and augmentative biocontrol efforts

Monitoring Spodoptera frugiperda in Benin: assessing the influence of trap type, pheromone blends, and habitat on pheromone trapping

Published online: 12 Apr 2022The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has now become a pest of global concern. Originally known to be endemic to the Western Hemisphere, its first detection in Africa was followed by spectacular outbreaks and spread to almost all sub-Saharan countries. The rapid incursion of S. frugiperda on maize (Zea mays L.; Poaceae) fields in Africa highlighted a crucial need for a comprehensive assessment of integrated pest management strategies in most smallholder farms. However, these strategies cannot successfully function without efficient monitoring and surveillance efforts. These trapping studies were designed to provide an indication as to whether pheromone trap-lure combinations and simple changes in landscape and agricultural practices might mitigate fall armyworm infestations. Our data show that the commercially available Unitrap was the most effective design for fall armyworm captures among the traps tested. The inexpensive home-made 2 L jar trap was capable of consistently collecting fall armyworm during the first season of relatively moderate fall armyworm density. However, the number of fall armyworm captured by home-made trap were several fold lower than by the Unitrap under all conditions, and almost no fall armyworm was captured during the second season by home-made 2 L jar when fall armyworm density was low. Substantial differences were observed among the pheromone blends with respect to numbers of fall armyworm and non-targets captured. The 4-component blend attracted the most fall armyworm under all conditions. The 2-component blend was the most selective, with no non-target species found during the second season experiments

Natural enemies of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in different agro-ecologies

Open Access Journal; Published online: 31 May 2021Fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) and southern armyworm (SAW) Spodoptera eridania (Stoll) have become major threats to crops in Africa since 2016. African governments adopted emergency actions around chemical insecticides, with limited efforts to assess the richness or roles of indigenous natural enemies. Field surveys and laboratory studies were conducted to identify and assess the performance of parasitoids associated with spodopterans in Cameroon. FAW was the most abundant spodopteran pest. Telenomus remus (Nixon), Trichogramma chilonis (Ishi), Charops sp. (Szépligeti), Coccygidium luteum (Cameron), Cotesia icipe (Fernandez & Fiaboe), and Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) are the first records in the country on spodopterans. Telenomus remus, T. chilonis, C. icipe, and Charops sp. were obtained from both FAW and SAW; C. luteum and C. sesamiae from FAW. The distribution of spodopterans, their endoparasitoids, and parasitism rates varied with host, season and location. In the laboratory, T. remus showed significantly higher parasitism on FAW than SAW, and significant differences in the development parameters between the two host eggs, with shorter development time on FAW. It induced significant non-reproductive mortality on FAW but not on SAW. Developmental parameters showed that C. icipe has a shorter development time compared to other larval parasitoids. Implications for conservative and augmentative biocontrol are discussed