Social Context, Sexual Strategies, and Risks for HIV Transmission among Men who have Sex with Men: The South Beach Health Survey

In a population-based sample of 193 men who had sex with men in South Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida, two indicators of social context—choice of sexual relationships and perceived HIV-infection status—were used to analyze residents who engaged in certain sexual practices with their partners. The vast majority (88.6%) of respondents reported engagement in anal sex during the previous 12 months; 20.2% reported unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with ejaculation with any partner and 12.4% reported UAI with ejaculation with one or more casual partners. Findings supported the hypothesis that primary partner relationships and perceived HIV status are important variables for understanding engagement in UAI with ejaculation. Men who engaged in such behaviors with casual partners were more likely to have negative attitudes towards condoms, report difficulty communicating desires for safer sex, disagree with the belief that AIDS is fatal, and be intoxicated during anal intercourse. Men who reported engaging in anal intercourse, but who never shared unprotected ejaculations, were most likely to be unknowingly infected with HIV, suggesting that many men may become infected while following what they believe to be “safer sex practices.” In designing effective interventions, public health authorities need to take into account socially embedded risk-negotiating practices

Limitations of Counseling and Testing in CDC\u27s HIV Prevention Efforts

To the Editor: We were delighted to see that our colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had read our article (Darrow et al., 1998a) and responded (Wolitski and Doll, 1999). Their criticisms of our cross-sectional study of 51 HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) and live in South Beach are welcomed and appreciated. In this brief reply, we continue the dialogue by addressing their concerns and recommending an appropriate course of action

Impact of HIV Counseling and Testing on HIV-Infected Men who have Sex with Men: The South Beach Health Survey

The impact of HIV counseling and testing on sexual risk-taking and related behaviors reported by HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) was examined in a cross-sectional study conducted among a representative sample of residents living in a resort area. Participants provided specimens of oral mucosal transudate for HIV-antibody testing, were interviewed in their homes, and completed a self-administered questionnaire. Specimens were tested by modified ELISA and, if repeatedly positive, confirmed by Western blot. Of 205 men enrolled, 51 (24.9%) tested positive for antibody to HIV. All 51 had been counseled and tested for antibody to HIV-1 (median = 4 tests); 37 (74%) of 50 reported that their most recent test was positive. Twenty (39.2%) said they had engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse in the past year; 15 (29.4%) engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse with partners who may have been susceptible to HIV infection. Men who reported that their last HIV-antibody test was positive were three times more likely to have engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse in the past year (45.9%) as those who did not know they were infected with HIV (15.4%). Counseling and testing is ineffective as a measure for promoting behavior change among HIV-positive MSM in South Beach. More effective social and behavioral interventions must be developed, implemented, and evaluated

Phenotypic and genotypic monitoring of Schistosoma mansoni in Tanzanian schoolchildren five years into a preventative chemotherapy national control programme

We conducted combined in vitro PZQ efficacy testing with population genetic analyses of S. mansoni collected from children from two schools in 2010, five years after the introduction of a National Control Programme. Children at one school had received four annual PZQ treatments and the other school had received two mass treatments in total. We compared genetic differentiation, indices of genetic diversity, and estimated adult worm burden from parasites collected in 2010 with samples collected in 2005 (before the control programme began) and in 2006 (six months after the first PZQ treatment). Using 2010 larval samples, we also compared the genetic similarity of those with high and low in vitro sensitivity to PZQ

Farmers Markets and the Local Food System: The Case of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

In order to examine and obtain a better understanding of the local food system within Adams County, Pennsylvania, this study explores the characteristics and perspectives of the customers and vendors at the farmers markets in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Survey findings from the Gettysburg Farmers Market and the three Adams County Farmers Markets include customer demographic information, perspectives and shopping behavior as well as vendor product information, farm size and location and preference for market management. Introductory background information on the Farm Bill and the influence of agricultural practices on the environment, human health and nutrition and the relationship between farmers markets and the local economy are offered in order to emphasize the value of a well-managed local food system. Conclusions provide evidence that lower income and lower education levels are not sufficiently represented at all the markets and food stamp programs are being underutilized. This study suggests employing additional marketing to target underrepresented demographic groups, public transportation to potentially inaccessible market locations and increased advertisement and encouragement of food stamp programs at all markets in order to expand the customer base and increase access to healthy, local foods for less advantaged citizens. The results from this study are intended to offer evidence that will promote and facilitate market management, strengthen customer/vendor relationships and encourage better ties between the local community and local food systems at the farmers markets within Gettysburg in Adams County, Pennsylvania

Salvatora Marzo. Biografia di una guaritrice

Salvatora Marzo is recognized by the community of Nardò as the only female member of the Nardò little orchestra, made up of musician-therapists. Through the percussion of the frame drum this group used to take care of the women suffering from tarantism. The anthropological, autobiographical and visual research is focusing on the entire life story of Salvatora, derived mainly from the memories of her daughter Teresa Errico, enriched with some intervention by the two sisters, Angela and Antonietta

Accounting for heterogeneity in θ-σ relationship:application to wheat phenotyping using ΕMI

Geophysical methods, such as electromagnetic induction (EMI), can be effective for monitoring changes in soil moisture at the field scale, particularly in agricultural applications. The electrical conductivity (σ) inferred from EMI needs to be converted to soil moisture content (θ) using an appropriate relationship. Typically, a single global relationship is applied to an entire agricultural field, however, soil heterogeneity at the field scale may limit the effectiveness of such an approach. One application area that may suffer from such an effect is crop phenotyping. Selecting crop varieties based on their root traits is important for crop breeding and maximizing yield. Hence, high throughput tools for phenotyping the root system architecture and activity at the field-scale are needed. Water uptake is a major root activity and, under appropriate conditions, can be approximated by measuring changes in soil moisture from time-lapse geophysical surveys. We examine here the effect of heterogeneity in the θ-σ relationship using a crop phenotyping study for illustration. In this study, the θ-σ relationship was found to vary substantially across a field site. To account for this, we propose a range of local (plot specific) θ-σ models. We show that the large number of parameters required for these models can be estimated from baseline σ and θ measurements. Finally, we compare the use of global (field scale) and local (plot scale) models with respect to ranking varieties based on the estimated soil moisture content change

MERRA Analytic Services: Meeting the Big Data Challenges of Climate Science Through Cloud-enabled Climate Analytics-as-a-service

Climate science is a Big Data domain that is experiencing unprecedented growth. In our efforts to address the Big Data challenges of climate science, we are moving toward a notion of Climate Analytics-as-a-Service (CAaaS). We focus on analytics, because it is the knowledge gained from our interactions with Big Data that ultimately produce societal benefits. We focus on CAaaS because we believe it provides a useful way of thinking about the problem: a specialization of the concept of business process-as-a-service, which is an evolving extension of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS enabled by Cloud Computing. Within this framework, Cloud Computing plays an important role; however, we it see it as only one element in a constellation of capabilities that are essential to delivering climate analytics as a service. These elements are essential because in the aggregate they lead to generativity, a capacity for self-assembly that we feel is the key to solving many of the Big Data challenges in this domain. MERRA Analytic Services (MERRAAS) is an example of cloud-enabled CAaaS built on this principle. MERRAAS enables MapReduce analytics over NASAs Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data collection. The MERRA reanalysis integrates observational data with numerical models to produce a global temporally and spatially consistent synthesis of 26 key climate variables. It represents a type of data product that is of growing importance to scientists doing climate change research and a wide range of decision support applications. MERRAAS brings together the following generative elements in a full, end-to-end demonstration of CAaaS capabilities: (1) high-performance, data proximal analytics, (2) scalable data management, (3) software appliance virtualization, (4) adaptive analytics, and (5) a domain-harmonized API. The effectiveness of MERRAAS has been demonstrated in several applications. In our experience, Cloud Computing lowers the barriers and risk to organizational change, fosters innovation and experimentation, facilitates technology transfer, and provides the agility required to meet our customers' increasing and changing needs. Cloud Computing is providing a new tier in the data services stack that helps connect earthbound, enterprise-level data and computational resources to new customers and new mobility-driven applications and modes of work. For climate science, Cloud Computing's capacity to engage communities in the construction of new capabilies is perhaps the most important link between Cloud Computing and Big Data

A Blueprint for the Problem Formulation Phase of EPA-Type Ecological Risk Assessments for 316(b) Determinations

The difference between management objectives focused on sustainability of fish populations and the indigenous aquatic community, and a management objective focused on minimizing entrainment and impingement losses accounts for much of the ongoing controversy surrounding §316(b). We describe the EPA’s ecological risk assessment framework and recommend that this framework be used to more effectively address differences in management objectives and structure §316(b) determinations. We provide a blueprint for the problem formulation phase of EPA-type ecological risk assessments for cooling-water intake structures (CWIS) at existing power plant facilities. Our management objectives, assessment endpoints, conceptual model, and generic analysis plan apply to all existing facilities. However, adapting the problem formulation process for a specific facility requires consideration of the permitting agency’s guidelines and level of regulatory concern, as well as site-specific ecological and technical differences. The facility-specific problem formulation phase is designed around the hierarchy of biolo gical levels of organization in the generic conceptual model and the sequence of cause-effect events and risk hypotheses represented by this model. Problem formulation is designed to be flexible in that it can be tailored for facilities where §316(b) regulatory concern is low or high. For some facilities, we anticipate that the assessment can be completed based on consideration of susceptibility alone. At the other extreme, a high level of regulatory concern combined with the availability of extensive information and consideration of costly CWIS mitigation options may result in the ecological risk assessment relying on analyses at all levels. Decisions on whether to extend the ecological risk assessment to additional levels should be based on whether regulatory or generator concerns merit additional analyses and whether available information is adequate to support such analyses. In making these decisions, the functional dependence between levels of analysis must be considered in making the transition to the analysis phase and risk estimation component of the ecological risk assessment. Regardless of how the generic analysis plan is modified to develop a facility-specific analysis plan, the resulting plan should be viewed as a tool for comparing representative species and alternative CWIS options by focusing on relative changes (i.e., proportional or percent changes) in various measures. The analysis plan is specifically designed to encourage consideration of multiple lines of evidence and to characterize uncertainties in each line of evidence. Multiple lines of evidence from different levels of analysis, obtained using both prospective and retrospective techniques, provide a broader perspective on the magnitude of potential effects and associated uncertainties and risks. The implications of the EPA’s recent (April 2002) proposed regulations for existing facilities on the applicability of this blueprint are briefly considered

In Vitro Praziquantel Test Capable of Detecting Reduced In Vivo Efficacy in Schistosoma mansoni Human Infections

Although great reductions in human schistosomiasis have been observed after praziquantel (PZQ) mass drug administration (MDA), some individuals remain infected after multiple treatments. Many MDA programs now require monitoring for drug efficacy as a key component. No molecular tools for PZQ resistance currently exist and investigations into the dose of PZQ required to kill 50% of adult worms in vivo (ED50) present ethical, logistical, and temporal restraints. We, therefore, assessed the feasibility and accuracy of a rapid, inexpensive in vitro PZQ test in the laboratory and directly in the field in Uganda under MDA in conjunction with highly detailed infection intensity, clearance, and reinfection data. This test strongly differentiated between subsequently cleared and uncleared infections as well as differences between parasite populations pre- and post-PZQ treatments, advocating its use for on-the-spot monitoring of PZQ efficacy in natural foci. After only a few treatments, uncleared parasites were identified to be phenotypically different from drug-sensitive parasites, emphasizing the urgent need for monitoring of these repeatedly PZQ-treated populations