Lancet Glob Health

Background: Overall increases in the uptake of HIV testing in the past two decades might hide discrepancies across socioeconomic groups. We used data from population-based surveys done in sub-Saharan Africa to quantify socioeconomic inequalities in uptake of HIV testing, and to establish trends in testing uptake in the past two decades. Methods: We analysed data from 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa where at least one Demographic and Health Survey was done before and after 2008. We assessed the country-specific and sex-specific proportions of participants who had undergone HIV testing in the previous 12 months across wealth and education groups, and quantified socioeconomic inequalities with both the relative and slope indices of inequalities. We assessed time trends in inequalities, and calculated mean results across countries with random-effects meta-analyses. Findings: We analysed data for 537 784 participants aged 15–59 years (most aged 15–49 years) from 32 surveys done between 2003 and 2016 (16 before 2008, and 16 after 2008) in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. A higher proportion of female participants than male participants reported uptake of HIV testing in the previous 12 months in five of 16 countries in the pre-2008 surveys, and in 14 of 16 countries in the post-2008 surveys. After 2008, in the overall sample, the wealthiest female participants were 2·77 (95% CI 1·42–5·40) times more likely to report HIV testing in the previous 12 months than were the poorest female participants, whereas the richest male participants were 3·55 (1·85–6·81) times more likely to report HIV testing than in the poorest male participants. The mean absolute difference in uptake of HIV testing between the richest and poorest participants was 11·1 (95% CI 4·6–17·5) percentage points in female participants and 15·1 (9·6–20·6) in male participants. Over time (ie, when pre-2008 and post-2008 data were compared), socioeconomic inequalities in the uptake of HIV testing in the previous 12 months decreased in male and female participants, whereas absolute inequalities remained similar in female participants and increased in male participants. Interpretation: Although relative socioeconomic inequalities in uptake of HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa has decreased, absolute inequalities have persisted or increased. Greater priority should be given to socioeconomic equity in assessments of HIV-testing programmes

Cell division and death inhibit glassy behaviour of confluent tissues

We investigate the effects of cell division and apopotosis on collective dynamics in two-dimensional epithelial tissues. Our model includes three key ingredients observed across many epithelia, namely cell-cell adhesion, cell death and a cell division process that depends on the surrounding environment. We show a rich non-equilibrium phase diagram depending on the ratio of cell death to cell division and on the adhesion strength. For large apopotosis rates, cells die out and the tissue disintegrates. As the death rate decreases, however, we show, consecutively, the existence of a gas-like phase, a gel-like phase, and a dense confluent (tissue) phase. Most striking is the observation that the tissue is self-melting through its own internal activity, ruling out the existence of any glassy phase.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Understanding resilience and vulnerability to these intense stressors and their aftermath could reveal adaptations to extreme environmental change. In 2017, Puerto Rico suffered its worst natural disaster, Hurricane Maria, which left 3,000 dead and provoked a mental health crisis. Cayo Santiago island, home to a population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), was devastated by the same storm. We compared social networks of two groups of macaques before and after the hurricane and found an increase in affiliative social connections, driven largely by monkeys most socially isolated before Hurricane Maria. Further analysis revealed monkeys invested in building new relationships rather than strengthening existing ones. Social adaptations to environmental instability might predispose rhesus macaques to success in rapidly changing anthropogenic environments.National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Science Foundation (NSF)The Royal SocietyNational Center for Research Resources (NCRR) and the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) of the National Institutes of HealthBruce McEwen Career Development Fellowship and the Animal Models for the Social Dimensions of Health and Aging Research Networ

Social connections predict brain structure in a multidimensional free-ranging primate society

This is the final version. Available on open access from the American Association for the Advancement of Science via the DOI in this recordData and materials availability: All data, code, and materials used in this study are available on the Open Science Framework platform (osf.io). Link: https://osf.io/xfz3r/?view_only=66633a9490e649038330a98788a0cca3. Original brain tissue samples can be provided by the University of Pennsylvania pending scientific review and a completed material transfer agreement. Requests for brain tissues should be submitted to: [email protected] and survival in most primate species reflects management of both competitive and cooperative relationships. Here, we investigated the links between neuroanatomy and sociality in free-ranging rhesus macaques. In adults, the number of social partners predicted the volume of the mid-superior temporal sulcus and ventral-dysgranular insula, implicated in social decision-making and empathy, respectively. We found no link between brain structure and other key social variables such as social status or indirect connectedness in adults, nor between maternal social networks or status and dependent infant brain structure. Our findings demonstrate that the size of specific brain structures varies with the number of direct affiliative social connections and suggest that this relationship may arise during development. These results reinforce proposed links between social network size, biological success, and the expansion of specific brain circuits

Nouveau Plan Illustré de la Ville De Paris : Avec Le Système Complet De Ses Fortifications Et Forts Détachés, et les Nouvelles Divisions en 20 Arrondissements / Dressé Par A. Vuillemin Géographe. Illustré Par A. Testard Et Gravé Par Taylor. Gravé sur Acier par Bénard

NOUVEAU PLAN ILLUSTRÉ DE LA VILLE DE PARIS : AVEC LE SYSTÈME COMPLET DE SES FORTIFICATIONS ET FORTS DÉTACHÉS, ET LES NOUVELLES DIVISIONS EN 20 ARRONDISSEMENTS / DRESSÉ PAR A. VUILLEMIN GÉOGRAPHE. ILLUSTRÉ PAR A. TESTARD ET GRAVÉ PAR TAYLOR. GRAVÉ SUR ACIER PAR BÉNARD Nouveau Plan Illustré de la Ville De Paris : Avec Le Système Complet De Ses Fortifications Et Forts Détachés, et les Nouvelles Divisions en 20 Arrondissements / Dressé Par A. Vuillemin Géographe. Illustré Par A. Testard Et Gravé Par Taylor. Gravé sur Acier par Bénard (1) Karte, Viertel oben links (1) Karte, Viertel oben rechts (2) Karte, Viertel unten links (3) Karte, Viertel unten rechts (4

Vue (en relief et à vol d'oiseau) de Paris, de ses environs et de ses fortifications du sud au nord (de l'Observatoire à Montmartre) en rapport avec tous les plans / dessiné par A. Testard ; gravé sur acier par Taylor

Échelle(s) : Échelle non déterminabl