460 research outputs found
Progress in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection in Ukraine: results from a birth cohort study
No full textBackground: Ukraine was the epicentre of the HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe, which has the most rapidly accelerating HIV epidemic world-wide today; national HIV prevalence is currently estimated at 1.6%. Our objective was to evaluate the uptake and effectiveness of interventions for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) over an eight year period within operational settings in Ukraine, within the context of an ongoing birth cohort study.Methods: The European Collaborative Study (ECS) is an ongoing birth cohort study in which HIV-infected pregnant women identified before or during pregnancy or at delivery were enrolled and their infants prospectively followed. Three centres in Ukraine started enrolling in 2000, with a further three joining in September 2006.Results: Of the 3356 women enrolled, 21% (689) reported current or past injecting drug use (IDU). Most women were diagnosed antenatally and of those, the proportion diagnosed in the first/second trimester increased from 47% in 2000/01 (83/178) to 73% (776/1060) in 2006/07 (p < 0.001); intrapartum diagnosis was associated with IDU (Adjusted odds ratio 4.38; 95% CI 3.19-6.02). The percentage of women not receiving any antiretroviral prophylaxis declined from 18% (36/205) in 2001 to 7% in 2007 (61/843) p < 0.001). Use of sdNVP alone substantially declined after 2003, with a concomitant increase in zidovudine prophylaxis. Median antenatal zidovudine prophylaxis duration increased from 24 to 72 days between 2000 and 2007. Elective caesarean section (CS) rates were relatively stable over time and 34% overall. Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rates decreased from 15.2% in 2001 (95% CI 10.2-21.4) to 7.0% in 2006 (95% CI 2.6-14.6). In adjusted analysis, MTCT risk was reduced by 43% with elective CS versus vaginal delivery and by 75% with zidovudine versus no prophylaxis.Conclusion: There have been substantial improvements in use of PMTCT interventions in Ukraine, including earlier diagnosis of HIV-infected pregnant women and increasing coverage with antiretroviral prophylaxis and the initial MTCT rate has more than halved. Future research should focus on hard-to-reach populations such as IDU and on missed opportunities for further reducing the MTCT rate
HIV-infected pregnant adolescents and youth : results from a European cohort study
No full textGlobally the HIV epidemic mainly affects young people, particularly young females who are vulnerable to acquisition of HIV as a result of their biological and social susceptibility. Women represent an increasing proportion of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Western and Eastern Europe, reaching 35% and 40%, respectively, in 2004. In the European Collaborative Study (ECS), HIV-infected pregnant women are enrolled and their infants followed-up prospectively. By the end of 2005, 5956 women had enrolled, of whom 1912 (32%) were aged < 25 years at delivery. Enrolments of youth declined in Western European centres from 59% in 1985 to 18% in 2005. In Ukraine, youth enrolments declined from 52% in 2001 to 43% in 2005. Median ages of the young and older sub-cohorts were 22.3 and 29.9 years, respectively. Injecting drug use (IDU) was more common in the older than younger sub-cohorts [42% (n = 1684) vs. 35% (n = 675), p < 0.001]. However, young IDUs were more likely to be currently using injecting drugs than older IDUs (59% vs. 38%, p < 0.001), to report current sharing of injecting equipment (22% vs. 13%, p = 0.001) and to report an IDU sex partner (59% vs. 48%, p < 0.02). Young HIV-infected pregnant women in Europe are a heterogeneous group, possibly less identifiable as being at risk of HIV infection. They will have diverse needs for services during and after pregnancy, including harm reduction services and psychosocial support, in addition to a universal need for prevention of mother-to-child transmission services
Street-based adolescents at high risk of HIV in Ukraine.
No full textBACKGROUND: Ukraine has the highest HIV prevalence in Europe, with young people disproportionately represented among populations at high risk. One particularly vulnerable group comprises adolescents who live or work on the streets. This study aimed to measure the extent and distribution of HIV risk behaviours among street-based adolescents in four Ukrainian cities as part of a regional UNICEF HIV prevention programme for most-at-risk adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional behavioural survey was conducted of 805 adolescents (aged 10-19 years) in the cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Nikolaev. Using location-based network and convenience sampling, 200 adolescents were reached in each site and were administered a standardised questionnaire on drug use, sexual behaviour, condom use, HIV knowledge, access to prevention services, experience of violence and contact with state institutions and police. RESULTS: Considerable levels of HIV risk behaviour were found, including injecting drug use among 15.5% of the sample. Almost three-quarters of adolescents had experienced sexual debut, most before the age of 15 years. Male-to-male sexual behaviour was reported by just under 10% of boys. Condom use was low although varied by partner type. There were high rates of forced sex, and 75.5% of respondents reported police harassment. CONCLUSIONS: Street-based adolescents in Ukraine are at significant risk of contracting HIV due to involvement in injecting drug use and unprotected sex in personal and commercial exchanges, including male-to-male sex. This group initiates risk behaviours at early ages, and does not appear to have good access to prevention and other health services
High prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV)- type 2 co-infection among HIV-positive women in Ukraine, but no increased HIV mother-to-child transmission risk
No full textBackground: Over 3500 HIV-positive women give birth annually in Ukraine, a setting with high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections. Herpes simplex virus Type 2 (HSV-2) co-infection may increase HIV mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) risk. We explored factors associated with HSV-2 seropositivity among HIV-positive women in Ukraine, and its impact on HIV MTCT.Methods: Data on 1513 HIV-positive women enrolled in the Ukraine European Collaborative Study from 2007 to 2012 were analysed. Poisson and logistic regression models respectively were fit to investigate factors associated with HSV-2 seropositivity and HIV MTCT.Results: Median maternal age was 27 years (IQR 24–31), 53 % (796/1513) had been diagnosed with HIV during their most recent pregnancy and 20 % had a history of injecting drugs. Median antenatal CD4 count was 430 cells/mm3 (IQR 290–580). Ninety-six percent had received antiretroviral therapy antenatally. HSV-2 seroprevalence was 68 % (1026/1513). In adjusted analyses, factors associated with HSV-2 antibodies were history of pregnancy termination (APR 1.30 (95 % CI 1.18–1.43) for ≥2 vs. 0), having an HIV-positive partner (APR 1.15 (95 % CI 1.05–1.26) vs partner’s HIV status unknown) and HCV seropositivity (APR 1.23 (95 % CI 1.13–1.35)). The overall HIV MTCT rate was 2.80 % (95 % CI 1.98–3.84); no increased HIV MTCT risk was detected among HSV-2 seropositive women after adjusting for known risk factors (AOR 1.43 (95 % CI 0.54–3.77).Conclusion: No increased risk of HIV MTCT was detected among the 68 % of HIV-positive women with antibodies to HSV-2, in this population with an overall HIV MTCT rate of 2.8 %. Markers of ongoing sexual risk among HIV-positive HSV-2 seronegative women indicate the importance of interventions to prevent primary HSV-2 infection during pregnancy in this high-risk group
Assessment of (computer-supported) collaborative learning
No full textWithin the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CS)CL research community there has been an extensive dialogue on theories and perspectives on learning from collaboration, approaches to scaffold (script) the collaborative process, and most recently research methodology. In contrast, the issue of assessment of collaborative learning has received much less attention. This article discusses how assessment of collaborative learning has been addressed, provides a perspective on what could be assessed, and highlights limitations of current approaches. Since assessment of collaborative learning is a demanding experience for teachers and students alike, they require adequate computer-supported and intelligent tools for monitoring and assessment. A roadmap for the role and application of intelligent tools for assessment of (CS)CL is presented
Collaborative platforms as alternative players of global politics: Ukraine Defense Contact Group and Kyiv Security Compact 2022
No full textIn the article, the author considers the possibility of new global actors in the context of rethinking security architecture. Using G. Grevi’s interpolarity approach and the “thousand plateaus” concept by J. Deleuze and F. Guattari, the researcher forms a theoretical basis for the categories of the collaborative window and collaborative platform. The author offers her vision of the external and internal structure of the collaborative platform as a transnational interactive place for joint actions. Applying the case study, the researcher considers the Ukraine Defense Contact Group as a kind of prototype of a collaborative platform, while the Kyiv Security Compact is the legal basis of a collective security institution.In the article, the author considers the possibility of new global actors in the context of rethinking security architecture. Using G. Grevi’s interpolarity approach and the “thousand plateaus” concept by J. Deleuze and F. Guattari, the researcher forms a theoretical basis for the categories of the collaborative window and collaborative platform. The author offers her vision of the external and internal structure of the collaborative platform as a transnational interactive place for joint actions. Applying the case study, the researcher considers the Ukraine Defense Contact Group as a kind of prototype of a collaborative platform, while the Kyiv Security Compact is the legal basis of a collective security institution
Impact of expanded access to combination antiretroviral therapy in pregnancy: results from a cohort study in Ukraine
No full textTo investigate the scale-up of antenatal combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in Ukraine since this became part of the national policy for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
SemCW: Semantic Collaborative Writing using RST
No full textDuring collaborative writing each author works on a copy of the shared document. These copies are then merged to produce the final document. This asynchronous work is supported by several collaborative writing tools. While these tools are excellent at merging and detecting syntactic conflicts, they are not able to easily recognise semantic inconsistencies. This hinders the coherence of the document because while each individual copy might be well constructed, they may not be after the merge. To address this, we investigate the combination of the Rhetorical Structure Theory with Operational Transformation approach. In this paper, we define a data model, a set of operations to manipulate the RST structures and a set of transformation functions. A validity checker alerts the authors to areas in the text with possible semantic lapses in the merged documents
An integrated Pan-European perspective on coastal Lagoons management through a mosaic-DPSIR approach
No full text© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 6 (2016): 19400, doi:10.1038/srep19400.A decision support framework for the management of lagoon ecosystems was tested using four European Lagoons: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), Mar Menor (Spain), Tyligulskyi Liman (Ukraine) and Vistula Lagoon (Poland/Russia). Our aim was to formulate integrated management recommendations for European lagoons. To achieve this we followed a DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State Change-Impacts-Responses) approach, with focus on integrating aspects of human wellbeing, welfare and ecosystem sustainability. The most important drivers in each lagoon were identified, based on information gathered from the lagoons’ stakeholders, complemented by scientific knowledge on each lagoon as seen from a land-sea perspective. The DPSIR cycles for each driver were combined into a mosaic-DPSIR conceptual model to examine the interdependency between the multiple and interacting uses of the lagoon. This framework emphasizes the common links, but also the specificities of responses to drivers and the ecosystem services provided. The information collected was used to formulate recommendations for the sustainable management of lagoons within a Pan-European context. Several common management recommendations were proposed, but specificities were also identified. The study synthesizes the present conditions for the management of lagoons, thus analysing and examining the activities that might be developed in different scenarios, scenarios which facilitate ecosystem protection without compromising future generations.This study was supported by the European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme, through the collaborative research project LAGOONS (contract n° 283157); by European funds through COMPETE and by Portuguese funds through the national Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (PEst-C/MAR/LA0017/2013). The post-Doc grant SFRH/BPD/41117/2007 (M Dolbeth) and the PhD grant SFRH/BD/79170/2011 (LP Sousa) supported by FCT are also acknowledged
Discussion, cooperation and collaboration: group learning in an online translation classroom
No full textThe study is an empirical investigation into the implementation of a variety of grouplearning structures in an online translation classroom. Drawing on the academic literature in the fields of translation didactics, social constructivism and e-learning, it describes the design and implementation of an online module in economic translation at Dublin City University during the academic years 2003/4 and 2004/5. The main body of the work evaluates the comparative strengths and weaknesses of three group-learning structures implemented in the online module. These are labelled 'discussion groups', 'cooperative groups' and 'collaborative groups' respectively.
A case-study approach is adopted in the study, with transcripts of online discussions representing the main data source. These are analysed using the 'Community of Inquiry' Model, a content analysis model derived from the research literature on Web-based learning. Findings from this analysis technique are triangulated with numerical measurements of student participation and online interaction, and with qualitative evaluation of student perceptions, in order to establish which task structures are most effective in promoting learning on the basis of group interaction via text-based computer conferencing. In addition, the study draws conclusions about the methodologies available for the study of group learning in an online environment, the advantages of Web-based translator training, and the disadvantages and challenges arising from such an approach.
The study has a contribution to make on a number of fronts. It explores the implications of designing translation instruction for Web-based delivery, it adds to the literature on online group-learning structures, and it presents a model for instructors and researchers to investigate the quality of the educational experience in an online translation classroom
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