AIDS

This chapter examines Nan Goldin’s Cookie Portfolio, the well-known series of photographs of her good friend Cookie Mueller from the beginning of their relationship (1976) until Mueller’s death  (1989), in order to answer several questions about visuality, autobiography, marginality and death. I start by addressing the larger issue of how the representation of the AIDS crisis was transformed by the documentary endeavor of a photographer who was both subject and object of the gaze in an archival project constructed as a gesture of anticipated mourning. I also focus on the connections between photography, death and haunting which the Portfolio seems to invite, as well as on the larger dialogic potential contained within a visual narrative set in a small NYC underground community in the 80s, and which is undoubtedly both an autobiographical account (in the sense that by documenting Mueller, Goldin inevitably documents herself) and a memorial to a memorialist (Cookie herself wrote mostly autobiographical fictions, most of which are out of print now).

Because, globally, HIV is transmitted mainly by sexual practices and intravenous drug use and because of a long asymptomatic period, healthcare-associated HIV transmission receives little attention even though an estimated 5.4% of global HIV infections result from contaminated injections alone. It is an important personal issue for healthcare workers, especially those who work with unsafe equipment or have insufficient training. They may acquire HIV occupationally or find themselves before courts, facing severe penalties for causing HIV infections. Prevention of blood-borne nosocomial infections such as HIV differs from traditional infection control measures such as hand washing and isolation and requires a multidisciplinary approach. Since there has not been a review of healthcare-associated HIV contrasting circumstances in poor and rich regions of the world, the aim of this article is to review and compare the epidemiology of HIV in healthcare facilities in such settings, followed...

Coffee pulp is produced in large quantities, and its disposal can pollute the environment. However, the nutritional value and antioxidant content of coffee pulp make it a good option for animal feed. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition, the phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity of coffee pulp using fresh (FCP), ensiled (ECP), and ensiled and sun-dried (EDCP) coffee pulp. The study design was completely randomized with three treatments (n=4). Dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ash, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), lignin, phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity were determined. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance, and means were compared with the Tukey test. The percentage of CP, NDF and ADF was higher in ECP and EDCP than in FCP. There were no changes in lignin content. Ensiling and sun drying did not decrease (P>0.05) caffeine or tannins. No differences were found in caffeic acid (2.031...

During the past few years, the AIDS campaign in Haiti has been targetingVodou officiants and organizations. These awareness and training programmes in-form officiants about the transmission and prevention of AIDS, tests for HIV and anti-retroviral drugs, or even try to encourage them to become involved in a medicalreferral system. These culturalist interventions are grounded in an essentialist conceptof culture that can have harmful effects on the targeted groups. The concept of cultureunderlying such interventions is deconstructed along with the categories of tradi-tional medicine and the ‘tradipractitioner’. An approach to public health is advocatedthat would contextualize medical pluralism in Haiti.

The works of Hervé Guibert, French author, photographer and journal, are well-known for the intimate and complex writing of his experience with seropositivity in the midst of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s and 1990s. Following the publication of À l’ami qui ne m’a pas sauvé la vie (1990), he rapidly gained fame and became of the France’s best-known figures of AIDS literature. His line of work is coherent and homogenous in its themes: Guibert elaborates a complex thought on image and death that spans through his first publication, La Mort propagande (1977), at twenty one years old, all the way through the end of his life, evidently transformed by his illness. All throughout his work, Hervé Guibert creates an imaginary of the ill and dying self that overlaps the literary and visual parts of his works. Under the perspective of intermediality, this the-sis will analyze how this fictionalized version of the self unfolds in L’image fantôme (1981), Cy-tomégalovirus (1992), Le Protocole com...

More recent attention has focused on the question of how quickly ART should be started once HIV diagnosis is confirmed. We assessed whether rapid ART initiation improves patient outcomes. We searched 5 databases from inception up to August 2017. Rapid ART initiation was defined as initiation within 14 days of HIV diagnosis. Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Across the randomized trials, ART start on the same day increased viral suppression at 12 months (3 trials: RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.07-1.27), retention in care at 12 months (RR 1.11, 95%CI 0.99-1.26), and the likelihood of starting ART within 90 days (4 trials: RR 1.35, 95%CI 1.13-1.62) and 12 months after eligibility was established (3 trials: RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.07-1.27). There was a non-significant trend towards reduced mortality (3 trials: RR 0.53, 95%CI 0.24-1.08), as well as reduced loss to follow-up at 12 months (2 trials: RR 0.66, 95%CI, 95%CI 0.42-1.04). In the observational studies, offering accelerated ART ini...

Reproductive health is concerned with the people’s ability to have a satisfying and safe sex life ensuring their capability to reproduce with a liberty of making a decision that if, when and how often they have to do so. In Pakistan, culturally females are married at a young age; become mothers and are at risk of health complications i.e. HIV/ STD and STI. There is less utilization of reproductive health services throughout Pakistan that ultimately affects health status of people at very young age. Most of the communities are not aware of reproductive
health services, thus not availing these facilities. Objective: So the present study was designed to examine the females perceptions, attitude and practices about reproductive health services as well as to determine the level of their empowerment to take decisions and make choices regarding their own reproductive health besides determining the level of the quality, availability and accessibility of reproductive health services and to suggest some measures for policy makers to improve the reproductive health state of young mothers in district Faisalabad. Study Design: A sample of 600 young married females of age 15-32 years was selected through multistage sampling technique. Period: 2009. Setting: Rural and urban area of District Faisalabad. Material and Method: Uni-variate (frequency distribution and percentage) and Bivariate analysis (Chi square and Gamma Statistics) was carried out. Results: Most (44.0%) of the respondents belonged to age category of 26-30 years; 35.5% were married for 18 years; 39.3% had been married for 5 years; 71.8% had primary and above level of education. Majority (65.9%) had up to Rs.10,000 per month income, 49.2% possessed 6-10 family members, 73.5% had at least 2 and above live children. Majority had the knowledge of reproductive health (67.7%) and HIV/AIDs (54.7%) whereas most of females had no knowledge of STIs (69.8%), RTIs (52.3%) and its development (51.8%). Most of the females experienced headache (62.8%), swelling of different body parts (61%) and back pain (62.7%) during their reproductive life. Bivariate
analysis showed highly significant relation among age at  marriage, number of children, cultural hindrance and age of respondents vs. their reproductive health. Conclusion: Although
most of the females were young & educated mothers with good reproductive health experience but still lacking in knowledge about STIs, HIV/AIDS, RTIs and breast cancer that is because of
cultural hindrance, early age marriage pattern and male dominancy which indicates that we need to pay more attention towards female education and empowerment and decision making authority status at domestic level through community mobilization with the help of NGOs, Religious scholars and existing health system/ Health personnel’s .i.e. doctors/ nurses /LHV/ FHW.
Key words: Attitude, STI, RTIs, HIV, AIDs, Reproductive health Knowledge, Brest Cancer, Young Females,

Este estudo pontua sua análise no uso intenso do desenho na obra de Leonilson. O pensamento sobre o desenho do artista está estruturado em três diferentes pilares: sujeito, temporalidade e cartografias. Seu desenho será estudado através de elementos formais e de elementos biográficos, uma vez que sua obra traz questões de confissão de um diário íntimo.

This study examined traditional Shona beliefs and practices in light of HIV/AIDS in the rural communities of the Chipinge District in Zimbabwe. The focus of the study was to examine selected Shona traditional beliefs and practices, and evaluate how they respond to the HIV/AIDS threat. The study aimed to examine the traditional beliefs and practices that people in Chipinge rural communities still practise, have stopped practising, or have modified due to the encroachment of HIV/AIDS into the communities’ socio-moral space. It also aims to discuss the traditional beliefs and practices that are safe and those that expose people to HIV infection, in addition to the communities’ knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Grounded in the traditional Shona religious landscape, and from a phenomenological perspective, the study utilised a qualitative survey research design. Using purposive and snowball sampling procedures, 72 study participants, knowledgeable in the Shona people’s traditional beliefs and practices, were selected. The study used non-scheduled structured interviews and a questionnaire, with both closed and open-ended questions, to gather data from the participants. Most participants defined HIV/AIDS as a blend of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that take time to treat. They believed that AIDS results from ‘pollution’ caused by sexual intercourse with ‘unclean’ women, while a few attributed it to having unprotected sex with an infected partner. Results show that kuputsa (pledged or child marriage), barika (polygamy), and kugara nhaka (wife inheritance) are harmful marriage practices that expose people to HIV infection. As old habits die hard, the study suggests modifications to such marriage practices, where people willing to be involved should take an HIV antibody test. Given that information about HIV/AIDS is communicated through posters and pamphlets written in English, it would benefit the community, if the Ministry of Health and Child Care could provide information in the Ndau language.

Emergence of severe viral infections in recent years and limited availability of antiviral chemotherapeutic agents for prevention and treatment of these infections are among the most common causes of human illness and death. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop antiviral drugs that have a potentially critical role in the prevention and treatment of various fatal and debilitating viral infections. Triazole derivatives occupy a pivotal position in modern medicinal chemistry and several have found applications as medicines. A large volume of research has been carried out on triazole and their derivatives for antiviral activity and pharmacological importance of this scaffold has been well established. This review is primarily addressed to description of the recent advances in the synthesis and evaluation of triazole derivatives as antiviral agents which may facilitate the development of more potent and effective antiviral agents.

A „Virus HIV“ has never been proven by scientific standards. The “HIV”-genes are part of the Human Genome. “HIV” is a statistical construct, which is combined my multiple probes. A virus has never been isolated, characterized or been proved as infectious or disease causing. It is possible to test “HIV-positive” by more than 70 different conditions. The term “virus” has to be redefined, as evolution is a fluent process and thus is influenced by “horizontal gene transfer”. Social and psychological conditions have to be of a greater interest in relation to causing disease. Science is promoted by new findings. Without ethics, medicine is not conceivable!