123 research outputs found
Role of widows in the heterosexual transmission of HIV in Manicaland, Zimbabwe, 1998–2003
BACKGROUND: AIDS is the main driver of young widowhood in southern Africa. METHODS: The demographic characteristics of widows, their reported risk behaviours and the prevalence of HIV were examined by analysing a longitudinal population-based cohort of men and women aged 15-54 years in Manicaland, eastern Zimbabwe. The results from statistical analyses were used to construct a mathematical simulation model with the aim of estimating the contribution of widow behaviour to heterosexual HIV transmission. RESULTS: 413 (11.4%) sexually experienced women and 31 (1.2%) sexually experienced men were reported to be widowed at the time of follow-up. The prevalence of HIV was exceptionally high among both widows (61%) and widowers (male widows) (54%). Widows were more likely to have high rates of partner change and engage in a pattern of transactional sex than married women. Widowers took partners who were a median of 10 years younger than themselves. Mathematical model simulations of different scenarios of sexual behaviour of widows suggested that the sexual activity of widow(er)s may underlie 8-17% of new HIV infections over a 20-year period. CONCLUSIONS: This combined statistical analysis and model simulation suggest that widowhood plays an important role in the transmission of HIV in this rural Zimbabwean population. High-risk partnerships may be formed when widowed men and women reconnect to the sexual network
A Surprising Prevention Success: Why Did the HIV Epidemic Decline in Zimbabwe?
Daniel Halperin and colleagues examine reasons for the remarkable decline in HIV in Zimbabwe, in the context of severe social, political, and economic disruption
Understanding conspiracy theories
Scholarly efforts to understand conspiracy theories have grown significantly in recent years, and there is now a broad and interdisciplinary literature that we review in this article. We ask three specific questions. First, what are the factors that are associated with conspiracy theorizing? Our review of the literature shows that conspiracy beliefs result from a range of psychological, political and social factors. Next, how are conspiracy theories communicated? Here, we explain how conspiracy theories are shared among individuals and spread through traditional and social media platforms. Next, what are the risks and rewards associated with conspiracy theories? By focusing on politics and science, we argue that conspiracy theories do more harm than good. Finally, because this is a growing literature and many open questions remain, we conclude by suggesting several promising avenues for future research
Invited review: Large-scale indirect measurements for enteric methane emissions in dairy cattle: A review of proxies and their potential for use in management and breeding decisions
Publication history: Accepted - 7 December 2016; Published online - 1 February 2017.Efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of milk production through selection and management of low-emitting
cows require accurate and large-scale measurements of
methane (CH4) emissions from individual cows. Several
techniques have been developed to measure CH4 in a research setting but most are not suitable for large-scale
recording on farm. Several groups have explored proxies (i.e., indicators or indirect traits) for CH4; ideally
these should be accurate, inexpensive, and amenable
to being recorded individually on a large scale. This
review (1) systematically describes the biological basis
of current potential CH4 proxies for dairy cattle; (2)
assesses the accuracy and predictive power of single
proxies and determines the added value of combining
proxies; (3) provides a critical evaluation of the relative
merit of the main proxies in terms of their simplicity,
cost, accuracy, invasiveness, and throughput; and (4)
discusses their suitability as selection traits. The proxies range from simple and low-cost measurements such
as body weight and high-throughput milk mid-infrared
spectroscopy (MIR) to more challenging measures such
as rumen morphology, rumen metabolites, or microbiome profiling. Proxies based on rumen samples are generally poor to moderately accurate predictors of CH4,
and are costly and difficult to measure routinely onfarm. Proxies related to body weight or milk yield and
composition, on the other hand, are relatively simple,
inexpensive, and high throughput, and are easier to
implement in practice. In particular, milk MIR, along
with covariates such as lactation stage, are a promising
option for prediction of CH4 emission in dairy cows.
No single proxy was found to accurately predict CH4,
and combinations of 2 or more proxies are likely to be
a better solution. Combining proxies can increase the
accuracy of predictions by 15 to 35%, mainly because
different proxies describe independent sources of variation in CH4 and one proxy can correct for shortcomings
in the other(s). The most important applications of
CH4 proxies are in dairy cattle management and breeding for lower environmental impact. When breeding for
traits of lower environmental impact, single or multiple
proxies can be used as indirect criteria for the breeding
objective, but care should be taken to avoid unfavorable correlated responses. Finally, although combinations of proxies appear to provide the most accurate
estimates of CH4, the greatest limitation today is the
lack of robustness in their general applicability. Future
efforts should therefore be directed toward developing
combinations of proxies that are robust and applicable
across diverse production systems and environments.Technical and financial support from the COST Action FA1302 of the European Union
Optimal side impact protection
A three year collaborative research program was funded recently by the Australian Research Council in conjunction with the Federal Office of Road Safety, Holden and the Australian Automobile Association to develop a procedure to optimise vehicle design for minimal Harm. The research will be undertaken at the Monash University Accident Research Centre and involves research effort by the collaborative partners and its associate investigators. Four main study tasks are involved namely (i), collection of data on a sample of real world crashes and mass data analysis, (ii), establishment of up-dated Australian injury costs and Harm associated with vehicle occupants, (iii), development of Injury Assessment Functions (IAFs) relating crash test criteria with probability of injury, and (iv), construction of a computer package to optimise design. The project commenced in January 1998 and work has progressed on a number of the research tasks. It is expected to be of significant benefit to all international car manufacturers in their attempts to improve side impact protection. In addition, the Federal Office of Road Safety will be able to use these findings to help in the development of a single enhanced side impact standard world-wide.B. Fildes, P. Vulcan, R. Grzebieta, L. Sparke, K. Seyer, T. Gibson & A.J. McLea
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