Sexual networks and the transmission of HIV in London

Copyright @ 1998 Cambridge University Press.This paper discusses ways in which empirical research investigating sexual networks can further understanding of the transmission of HIV in London, using information from a 24-month period of participant observation and 53 open-ended, in-depth interviews with eighteen men and one woman who have direct and indirect sexual links with each other. These interviews enabled the identification of a wider sexual network between 154 participants and contacts during the year August 1994-July 1995. The linked network data help to identify pathways of transmission between individuals who are HIV + and those who are HIV -, as well as sexual links between 'older' and 'younger' men, and with male prostitutes. There appears to be considerable on-going transmission of HIV in London. The majority of participants reported having had unprotected anal and/or vaginal sex within a variety of relationships. The implications of these findings for policies designed to prevent the transmission of HIV are discussed.The Wellcome Trust and The Health Education Authority

Media consumption and creation in attitudes toward and knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease: web-based survey

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic gastrointestinal condition affecting over 5 million people globally and 1.6 million in the United States but currently lacks a precisely determined cause or cure. The range of symptoms IBD patients experience are often debilitating, and the societal stigmas associated with some such symptoms can further degrade their quality of life. Better understanding the nature of this public reproach then is a critical component for improving awareness campaigns and, ultimately, the experiences of IBD patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore and assess the public's awareness and knowledge of IBD, as well as what relationship, if any, exists between the social stigma surrounding IBD, knowledge of the disease, and various media usage, including social media. METHODS: Utilizing a Web-based opt-in platform, we surveyed a nationally representative sample (n=1200) with demographics mirroring those of the US Census figures across baseline parameters. Using constructed indices based on factor analysis, we were able to build reliable measures of personal characteristics, media behaviors, and perceptions and knowledge of IBD. RESULTS: Among the American public, IBD is the most stigmatized of seven diseases, including genital herpes and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Additionally, IBD knowledge is generally low with 11.08% (133/1200) of the sample indicating no familiarity with the disease and 85.50% (1026/1200) of participants inaccurately answering two-thirds of the IBD index questions with which their knowledge was assessed. Increased knowledge of IBD is associated with lower levels of stigma. However, social media use is currently related to lower levels of IBD knowledge (P<.05). Furthermore, findings indicate that participants who most frequently engaged in producing social media content are less knowledgeable about IBD (P<.10), highlighting the potential for a dangerous cycle should they be contributing to a Web-based IBD dialogue. CONCLUSIONS: Greater efforts must be taken to stymie IBD misinformation across all media, but especially in social media channels, to increase IBD knowledge and reduce stigma surrounding IBD. These findings pave the way for further research qualitatively examining the pervasiveness of specific IBD messages found in today's social media landscape and their impact on enacted stigmas so as to better equip providers and patient advocacy organizations with impactful communication solutions

KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO COW/CALF COSTS, PROFITS AND PRODUCTION

In this study, cow/calf Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) data for Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico are used to analyze how total cost, production, and profitability are affected by management choices. Total cost is the financial cost associated with raising a calf through the weaning stage; profits are measured using the rate of return on assets; production is determined by pounds weaned per exposed female. Variables such as herd size, pounds of feed fed, calving percentage, death loss, length of breeding season and investment in asset groups are used in regressions. Key factors contributing to a cow/calf operation's costs, production, and profitability are identified.Livestock Production/Industries,

Energy-effcient master-slave edge-router upgrade paths in active remote nodes of next-generation optical access

Our design rules offers maximally energy-efficient Gb/s -> Tb/s edge-router upgrade paths. One path assumes 10% average traffic intensity with 68% energy-efficiency gains over 5 upgrades, while 30% traffic load enables 45% energy-efficiency gains over 9 generations

Impact of community based peer support in type 2 diabetes: a cluster randomised controlled trial of individual and/or group approaches

Background: Diabetes peer support, where one person with diabetes helps guide and support others, has been proposed as a way to improve diabetes management. We have tested whether different diabetes peer support strategies can improve metabolic and/or psychological outcomes.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: People with type 2 diabetes (n=1,299) were invited to participate as either ‘peer’ or ‘peer support facilitator’ (PSF) in a 2x2 factorial pragmatic randomised cluster controlled trial across rural communities (130 clusters) in England. Peer support was delivered over 8-12 months by trained PSFs, supported by monthly meetings with a diabetes educator. Primary end point was HbA1c. Secondary outcomes included quality of life, diabetes distress, blood pressure, waist, total cholesterol and weight. Outcome assessors and investigators were masked to arm allocation. Main factors were 1:1 or group intervention. Analysis was by intention-to-treat adjusting for baseline.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: The 4 arms were well matched (Group n=330, 1:1 n=325, combined n=322, control n=322); 1035 (79·7%) completed the mid-point postal questionnaire and 1064 (81·9%) had a final HbA1c. A limitation was that although 92.6% PSFs and peers were in telephone contact, only 61.4% of intervention participants attended a face to face session.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Mean baseline HbA1c was 57 mmol/mol (7·4%), with no significant change across arms. Systolic blood pressure was reduced by -2·3mm Hg (-4·0 to -0·6) among those allocated group peer-support and -3·0mm Hg (-5·0 to -1·1) among those who attended group peer-support at least once. There was no impact on other outcomes by intention to treat or significant differences between arms in self-reported adherence or medication.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions: Group diabetes peer support over 8-12 months was associated with a small improvement in blood pressure but no other benefits. Long term benefits should be investigated

Knowledge brokerage and research utilisation: a discussion document prepared for the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing

In mid 2009 the Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) funded the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI) to undertake a project on Knowledge Brokerage (KB). The aim of the project was to develop a model through which APHCRI, DoHA and other key stakeholders could work together over the next iteration of APHCRI’s contract for translating research evidence into Australian primary health care systems and services. The KB model would support the Commonwealth’s health reform agenda through facilitating the dissemination of research findings to policy makers and enabling policy makers to pose research questions addressing their need for evidence to support policy development. The KB project undertaken by APHCRI has three components;  A comprehensive literature review  A workshop of key stakeholders to identify different models of KB, work towards identifying the key components of successful models and to devise a framework to support effective knowledge translation  A review of the processes used by APHCRI to fund research and the effectiveness of the synthesis and transfer of knowledge generated by APHCRI-funded research to date. This document reports on the outcomes of these three components and offers recommendations for future action.The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation and Development Strategy

Protostellar Accretion Flows Destabilized by Magnetic Flux Redistribution

Magnetic flux redistribution lies at the heart of the problem of star formation in dense cores of molecular clouds that are magnetized to a realistic level. If all of the magnetic flux of a typical core were to be dragged into the central star, the stellar field strength would be orders of magnitude higher than the observed values. This well-known "magnetic flux problem" can in principle be resolved through non-ideal MHD effects. Two dimensional (axisymmetric) calculations have shown that ambipolar diffusion, in particular, can transport magnetic flux outward relative to matter, allowing material to enter the central object without dragging the field lines along. We show through simulations that such axisymmetric protostellar accretion flows are unstable in three dimensions to magnetic interchange instability in the azimuthal direction. The instability is driven by the magnetic flux redistributed from the matter that enters the central object. It typically starts to develop during the transition from the prestellar phase of star formation to the protostellar mass accretion phase. In the latter phase, the magnetic flux is transported outward mainly through advection, by strongly magnetized low-density regions that expand against the collapsing inflow. The tussle between the gravity-driven infall and magnetically driven expansion leads to a filamentary inner accretion flow, more disordered than previously pictured. The efficient outward transport of magnetic flux by advection lowers the field strength at small radii, making the magnetic braking less efficient and the formation of rotationally supported disks easier in principle. However, we find no evidence for such disks in any of our rotating collapse simulations. We conclude that the inner protostellar accretion flow is shaped to a large extent by this magnetic interchange instability. How disks form in such an environment is unclear.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap

Ultrasonic study of the gelation of gelatin: phase diagram, hysteresis and kinetics

We map the ultrasonic (8 MHz) speed and attenuation of edible-grade gelatin in water, exploring the key dependencies on temperature, concentration and time. The ultrasonic signatures of the sol-gel transition, confirmed by rheological measurements, and incomplete gel formation at low concentrations, enable a phase diagram of the system to be constructed. Sensitivity is also demonstrated to the kinetics of gel formation and melting, and associated hysteresis effects upon cyclic temperature sweeps. Furthermore, simple acoustic models of the sol and gel state enable estimation of the speed of sound and compressibility of gelatin. Our results demonstrate the potential of ultrasonic measurements to characterise the structure and visco-elasticity of gelatin hydrogels.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure