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The term, risk-taking, has often been used to describe some of the behaviours and their associated negative outcomes occurring during adloscence. Statistics have shown that South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world, with most infections occurring during adolescence. The central aim in this study was to explore the relationship between current constructions of masculinity and risk-taking behaviours among a group of young South African men. It was an exploratory study, focused on exploring how young men construct their masculinities, and how this intersects with or impacts on adolescent male risk-taking behaviours. A key conclusion drawn at the end of this project was that some traditional notions of manhood still held sway, and these tied in strongly with how these participants constructed their masculinity.

South Africa is estimated to have one of the highest epidemics of HIV infection. Recent youth studies have found that youth aged 15-24 years are increasingly becoming vulnerable to HIV. Condom use is promoted as one of the key HIV prevention methods in South Africa. Face-to-face structured questionnaire interviews were conducted with a volunteer sample of rural active women and men aged 15-26 years living in 70 villages in the Eastern Cape Province. Most of the participants were recruited in schools.

Titel: Att leva med hiv - En litteraturstudie om personers upplevelser av att leva med en stigmatiserad sjukdom. Bakgrund: Idag lever ca 7000 personer med hiv i Sverige och årligen upptäcks ca 450 nya sjukdomsfall. Sjukdomen behöver inte längre leda till en för tidig död då effektiv bromsmedicin funnits sedan 1996. Hiv är dock fortfarande en stigmatiserande sjukdom som dessutom förknippas med andra stigmatiserande attribut. Att leva med hiv har en stor inverkan i personers liv då allmänhetens syn fortfarande försvårar möjligheten att vara öppen om hivsamt att vårdpersonals ovilja påverkar vårdkvaliteten. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att belysa hiv-smittade personers erfarenheter av att leva med hiv. Metod: En litteraturstudie genomfördes baserad på nio vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras i tre huvudkategorier och totalt 8 underkategorier: “Livet påverkas av hiv”; - Att hantera en förändrad livssituation, - Att behöva ta läkemedel varje dag, “Att prata om hiv”; - Att välja att vara öppen, - En möjlighet till stöd genom att prata med någon, - Valet att hålla hiv hemligt, “Att leva med stigmatiserande sjukdom”; - En påverkad syn på sig själv, - Samhället och omgivningens syn, - Erfarenheter från möten med vården. Konklusion: Att leva med hiv kan orsaka flera svårigheter i de drabbades liv och de behöver stöd kring beslutet att vara öppna om sin hiv. Sjuksköterskor kan behöva mer kompetens inom området för att kunna ge bästa möjliga vård. Fler studier om vårdpersonals kunskapsläge och attityd är önskvärt.

Twenty four percent of all HIV infections in the United States occur among adults aged 50 and older (mature adults), yet little is understood of the dynamics of HIV infection among this group in Texas. Data from 1999 to 2009 examined the relationship between HIV spatial and temporal patterns affecting socio-economic and demographic variables including poverty, gender, race/ethnicity and mode of exposure. Results revealed highest HIV infection rates among White homosexual men, Black males engaged in IV-drug use, Black female heterosexuals and minorities in poverty. Concentrations of HIV infection among mature adults were located primarily in urban centers of Houston and Dallas and indicated increasing HIV infection rates from 1999 to 2009. These results will assist future allocation of resources by zip code in urban areas for this understudied population.

N-Glykosylierungen spielen beim Env-Gen eine wichtige Rolle. Sie dienen nicht nur als „Escape-Phänomen“ zur Verhinderung einer Elimination des Virus durch neutralisierende Antikörper. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass bestimmte Menschen sich mit HIV infizieren können, aber es zu keinem Zeitpunkt zu AIDS-typischen Symptomen kommt, ohne die Einnahme antiretroviraler Therapie (ART). Solche Menschen werden als Elite Controller bezeichnet. Ihr Organismus kann selbst die Viruslast in sehr geringen Grenzen halten (< 50 Kopien/ml). Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, den Einfluss von N-Glykosylierungen in der Entstehung von Elite Controller zu untersuchen und prozentuell eine Tendenz zu schaffen, inwieweit die Glykosylierungsdichte des Env-Proteins entscheidend ist. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine immunologische Kontrolle auch auf der B-Zellebene stattfinden kann. Als Hinweis dient die geringe Glykosylierungsdichte im Bereich CD4bs und MPER, die indirekt über MHC Klasse II zu einer erhöhten Produktion von Antikörpern führen kann. Bisher wurde bei Elite Controller die T-Zellebene als mögliche immunologische Kontrolle beschrieben, jedoch gibt diese Arbeit hinweise, dass auch eine immunologische Kontrolle mittels Antikörper möglich ist. Die glykosylierten Zielepitope können eine große Hilfe sein für das Aussehen eines späteren Impfstoffs. / Predicted N-linked glycosylations loom large in env-gene of hiv and do not only function as an escape mechanism to avoid elimination of hiv by neutralising antibodies. Some people can become infected with hiv and never require antiretroviral medication and also never develop an AIDS-related disease. These people are the so called elite controler. Their immune system can dam the viral load of the virus in low-level (< 50 copies/ml). The aim of this thesis ist o show how predicted n-linked glycosylation influence the genesis of an elite controler and how glycosylation density is crucial for their development. One can show that there is also an immunological controll on the human B cell line. The low glycosylation density in CD4 binding site and MPER affects indirectly the higher concentration of neutralising antibodies by major histocompatibility complex type II. Previously the immunological control in elite controler was described by the T cell line but this thesis gives directions that an immunological control can be done also by antibodies. The env´s parts whith lower glycyosylation can be an instrument fort he later development of a vaccine.

Untersuchungen zur Effizienz einer hochaktiven antiretroviralen Therapie bei Patienten mit HIV-Infektion / Research on the efficiency of HAART on HIV-infected persons

Student Number : 9904829N - MA research report - School of Social Science - Faculty of Humanities / This research examines a possible welfare role of transport trade unions in the face of HIV/AIDS, particularly in the trucking industry. It uses SATAWU as a case study to see what the union, as a transport union, is doing to fight the spread of HIV in the industry. This study was motivated by a lack of previous research on the subject and also the claim of some studies that truck drivers are partly responsible for the spread of HIV in rural Southern Africa. The research was done through in-depth interviews with SATAWU officials, members of the Road Freight Association, truck drivers and other stakeholders. The main argument in this research is that although government has policies and programmes in place to fight the spread of HIV, there are certain things the unions can do to help seeing that they have more influence on the workers and they have easier access to them. The study examines programmes that are already in place and what is still lacking especially in relation to union involvement. The research also investigates union involvement in existing programmes and establishes what truck drivers and their families think should be done to fight the scourge and its aftermath. SATAWU remains remotely involved despite the spread of the scourge among truckers and the effects thereof on the family. Truckers remain vulnerable and so are their families.

The HIV/AIDS still remains a global health challenge with 42 million people infected with the virus. An alarming 70% of these people reside in sub-Saharan Africa with HIV-1 subtype C being the most prevalent subtype in this region and globally. HIV-1 protease (PR) is an obligate homodimer which plays a pivotal role in the maturation and hence propagation of the HI virus. Although successful developments on PR active site inhibitors have been achieved, the major limiting factor has been the emergence of HIV drug resistant strains. It has been postulated that disruption/dissociation of the dimer interface may lead to an inactive enzyme. The development of small molecules and peptides has been a major research area with the key target being the N- and C-termini antiparallel β-sheet. This is due to its highly conserved nature and because it consists of a cluster of amino acids that contribute most of the binding energy and stability of the dimer interface. Hence it is referred to as a ‘hot-spot’. Therefore, binding of protease inhibitors at this site could cause destabilisation and/or dissociation of the enzyme. The terminal residue, F99, was mutated to an alanine disrupting the presumed lock-and-key motif it forms and in turn creating a cavity at the N- and C-termini antiparallel β-sheet. A second mutant, W42F/F99A, was created for monitoring tertiary structural changes exclusively at the N- and C-termini antiparallel β-sheet. The F99A and W42F/F99A, compared to the wild-type, showed a higher expression yield and also migrated further when separated using tricine SDS-PAGE. Wild-type protease CD spectra showed a minimum at 214 nm and a local maximum at 230 nm, while the mutants exhibited minima at 203 nm and absence of the local maxima. A 50% higher fluorescence intensity and a 2 nm red-shift for the mutants versus the wild-type was observed. According to SE-HPLC data the relative molecular weight of the wild-type, F99A and W42F/F99A are 16.4 kDa, 20.7 kDa and 18.1 kDa, respectively. Although the thermal unfolding of all three proteases was irreversible, the unfolding transition of the wild-type was clearly defined between 55 °C and 63 °C. The F99A and W42F/F99A unfolding curves were linear without clearly defined transition states. The specific activity of the F99A (0.13 μmol/min/mg) amounted to a ten-fold reduction compared to the wild-type (1.5 μmol/min/mg). The substrate binding affinity (KM) for the F99A was 41% lower than the wild-type when 2 μM of protein was used. The Vmax and kcat values were about 30-fold and two-fold, respectively, higher for the wild-type when compared to the F99A. Therefore, the tricine SDS-PAGE analysis, secondary and tertiary structural characterisation and thermal denaturation curve showed that the F99A mutation has altered the structure causing ‘partial’ unfolding of the protein. But, the protein still maintained minute activity. The overlap between the ANS binding spectra of the wild-type and variants suggests that the dimeric form still exists.