AmBAR creates a unique platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and business contacts between technology entrepreneurs, professionals, and investors. The organization is also dedicated to accelerating access to capital for innovative projects and developing technology partnerships between Russia, Ukraine and other FSU countries and the United States. Through various seminars and conferences AmBAR provides educational programs that help entrepreneurs refine their business plans, and advance their product development and marketing efforts.
Ambar’s Mission:
· To provide a networking platform for technology entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, and other business professionals from Russian, Ukraine and other CIS countries who are interested in innovation and commercialization of high technology products.
· To educate, showcase, and support entrepreneurs in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries as they seek equity capital, corporate partners, and grow their companies globally.
· To enhance all aspects of technology partnership between the United States and the countries of the former Soviet Union.
SVOD Conference is right around the corner and we have an amazing lineup of speakers! Register today and don’t miss out on this unique networking opportunity!
This is a not to be missed event for the entrepreneurs and the Venture Capital community. This year’s theme will drive a very exciting Agenda exploring “re-invention” as it affects the startup process on multiple levels — technologies, business models, financing, monetizing and team building.
Vinod Khosla, Founding Partner, Khosla Ventures
Charles Giancarlo, Managing Director, Silver Lake
Steve Blank, Serial Entrepreneur; Founder, Epiphany; Lecturer, Stanford University, Graduate School of Engineering
Sergei Beloussov, CEO, Parallels
Ron Conway, Founding General Partner, Angel Investors LP
Jason Pressman, General Partner, Shasta Ventures
Adam Lashinsky, Editor at large, Fortune magazine; regular panelist and business commentator for Fox network programs
Esther Dyson, Director, 23andMe, Principal, EDventure Holdings (sold to CNet), investor in Flickr and del.icio.us (both sold to Yahoo!) & Medstory (sold to Microsoft)
Jeff Crow, General Partner, Norwest Venture Partners
Vivek Mehra, General Partner, August Capital
Ping Li, General Partner, Accel Partners
Kittu Kolluri, General Partner, New Enterprise Associates
Franklin Pitch Johnson, Founding Partner, Asset Management Company
Peter Loukianoff, Partner, Almaz Capital Partners
Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) and American Business Association of Russian-speaking Professionals (AmBAR) announce the Business Plan Competition cor projects and companies working in the field of nanotechnology. Origination of the project may come from any country or person all over the world, but its implementation or some part of implementation has to be completed in Russia. In 2009 the nominees for the contest are pre-selected by AmBAR among the participants of the Fifth Annual High Tech Investment Conference SVOD 2009. For more information, please go to: http://www.svod.org/ or e-mail to info@ambarclub.org
The projects are evaluated by the following criteria:
nanotechnology application;
scientific and technical feasibility of the project;
quality and feasibility of the business-plan;
steps already made towards project implementation.
The winner of the competition receives the RUSNANO award and the prize in the amount of 300,000 rubles (~$10,000).
Moscow to get restored Soviet-era statue back in 2010
The Moscow government has pledged to complete restoration work on a giant 1930s Soviet-era statue and have the monument back in its rightful place by 2010, a source in the city administration said on Friday.Restoration work on the 24.5-meter high statue, The Worker and the Peasant Woman, by Vera Mukhina, was launched in 2003. Moscow authorities originally said it would be back and fully restored in 2005. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov gave instructions in late August that the restoration work be speeded up.
“Restoration of the monument’s pedestal will come out of the city budget…and will be completed by 2010,” the source said.
He added that a museum and an exhibition center would be located under the giant statue, one of the most prominent on Moscow’s city landscape.
The famous statue was made for the International Exhibition in Paris in 1937. It has since been replicated in thousands of posters, cards, stamps and became a logo for the then-Soviet and now Russian film studio Mosfilm in the 1970s.
The statue, made from sheets of stainless steel, is a classic example of socialist realism art. The worker’s arm holds aloft a hammer and the peasant woman a sickle – two primary symbols of the Soviet Union.
Although the statue met the task of ideological glorification, it reflected the author’s inclination to might and love for the grandiose. As the sculptor put it, it is “a breakthrough into the future, to the light and the sun, to the feeling of human strength.”
Soviet-era icon statue to return to Moscow this year
A giant Soviet-era statue will be reopened on December 3 in northeast Moscow after a long-delayed restoration, a city official said on Monday.
The Worker and the Collective Farm Woman by Vera Mukhina, one of the most prominent statues to shape Moscow’s landscape, was dismantled for restoration in 2003 and was initially expected to be returned in 2005. Authorities cited lack of financing for repeated delays.
“The opening of the restored statue near the VVTs [all-Russia exhibition center] will be held on December 3,” the official said, adding that work to assemble the restored fragments of the monument was currently winding down.
Earlier reports said the statue would be put back on its pedestal on December 5.
First Deputy Moscow Mayor Vladimir Resinsaid earlier the statue would last several centuries after restoration.
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov had pledged the statue’s platform would be increased to a height of 37 meters to house an exhibition hall capable of accommodating 5,000 people and a cafe. Its total area will be over 8,000 sq m.
The 24-meter high steel statue was first showcased at an exhibition in Paris in 1937. It features two figures which seem to be moving briskly, holding aloft a hammer and sickle, the symbols of the Soviet Union. Although the statue was created to glorify communism, the enduring strength and grandeur of the image is cherished by many Muscovites.
Landmark Soviet statue to return to
A giant Soviet-era statue will be put back on its pedestal in northeast Moscow after a long-delayed restoration process on December 5, a city official said on Tuesday.The Worker and the Peasant Woman by Vera Mukhina, one of the most prominent statues to shape Moscow’s landscape, was dismantled for restoration in 2003 and was initially expected to be returned in 2005. Authorities cited lack of financing for repeated delays.
“We hope everything will be completed on December 5 as planned by the mayor,” Irina Raber, chief of the capital’s northeast administrative district, said.
Raber said fragments of the platform are already being brought to the statue’s original site near a major exhibition center.
The 24-meter high steel statue was first showcased at an exhibition in Paris in 1937.
The statue features two figures which seem to be moving fast, holding aloft a hammer and sickle, the symbols of the Soviet Union. Although the statue was created to glorify communism, the enduring strength and grandeur of the image is cherished by many Muscovites.
The composition is a logo for the leading Soviet and now Russian film studio Mosfilm.
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov earlier said the statue’s platform was to be increased to a height of 37 meters to house an exhibition hall capable of accommodating 5,000 people and a cafe. Its total area will be over 8,000 sq m.
Iconic Soviet-era statue to be mounted on 37-meter platform
A giant 1930s Soviet-era statue will be mounted on a 37 meters (121.4 feet) high platform in Moscow once its restoration is completed, a Moscow official said on Wednesday.Restoration work on the 24.5-meter high statue, The Worker and the Peasant Woman, by Vera Mukhina, was launched in 2003. Moscow authorities originally said it would be back and fully restored in 2005, but later moved the date to 2010.
The iconic statue was made for the International Exhibition in Paris in 1937, where it was exhibited on a 37-meter high platform, but after it was returned to Moscow it was mounted on a 10-meter platform.
“It has been decided to elevate the statue to its historic height, as it was exhibited in Paris, i.e. at a height of 37.5 meters,” said Valery Shevchuk, the head of the Moscow Committee on Cultural Heritage.
After the monument was exhibited in Paris its image was used in thousands of posters, cards, stamps and became the logo for the then-Soviet and now Russian film studio Mosfilm.
The statue, made from sheets of stainless steel, is a classic example of socialist realism art. The worker’s arm holds aloft a hammer and the peasant woman a sickle – two primary symbols of the Soviet Union.
Unearthing our Past and Future
2-10 August 2012
Brisbane
Geology of Australia
Australia lies within the fastest moving crustal plate. Long term geological stability has given the smallest continent its unusually deeply weathered and topographically subdued landscapes. The extensive blanket of weathered rocks and sediments the regolith has demanded the development of innovative approaches and technologies for mineral exploration and land and water management in Australia.
Australia is made up of 6 states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia) and 2 territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory).
Western Australia, the largest state, is dominated by two Archaean cratons. It is home to the oldest identified life forms (in ~3.5 billion year old chert in the Pilbara region). It also has a remarkable mineral endowment, with world class gold and nickel provinces in the Yilgarn Craton, the vast Hamersley Iron Formations of the earliest Proterozoic, and major bauxite and mineral sand resources in the southwest. The fascinating Kimberley region in the northwest is underlain by Proterozoic and has a magnificently-exposed Devonian carbonate reef system on its southern margin. Major oil and gas fields occur off-shore on the Northwest Shelf, and pristine coral reefs, beautiful beaches, dolphin feeding grounds and Holocene stromatolites occur further south.
Western Australia
Western Australia, the largest state, is dominated by two Archaean cratons. It is home to the oldest identified life forms (in ~3.5 billion year old chert in the Pilbara region). It also has a remarkable mineral endowment, with world class gold and nickel provinces in the Yilgarn Craton, the vast Hamersley Iron Formations of the earliest Proterozoic, and major bauxite and mineral sand resources in the southwest. The fascinating Kimberley region in the northwest is underlain by Proterozoic and has a magnificently-exposed Devonian carbonate reef system on its southern margin. Major oil and gas fields occur off-shore on the Northwest Shelf, and pristine coral reefs, beautiful beaches, dolphin feeding grounds and Holocene stromatolites occur further south.
Northern Territory
The World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park is located in the “Top End” of the Northern Territory, where the Proterozoic geology is spectacularly scenic. In the east, the unmetamorphosed Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic strata of the McArthur basin host a major zinc deposit and the oldest live oil. Further south and west, Proterozoic basement blocks are surrounded by Phanerozoic sedimentary basins containing major artesian water resources. The famous Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), spectacular gorges and impact craters are geological attractions that draw tourists to the centre of Australia.
Tasmania
Tasmania, the island state is characterised by late Proterozoic to Mesozoic geology. Jurassic dolerites, with spectacular landforms, are related to those in Antarctica and South Africa. There has been a long history of base metal and gold mining in western Tasmania. Scenic wilderness areas abound, including glacially sculpted mountains, wild rivers, lakes and old forests.
South Australia
In South Australia, the picturesque Flinders Ranges include well preserved Ediacaran fauna and Neoproterozoic glacial horizons. These contrast starkly with the surrounding plains, where there are major salt lake systems and the Olympic Dam mine, a world-class copper-gold-uranium deposit in Proterozoic basement. In the southeast of the state is the well preserved crater lake of Mount Gambier, the most recent intraplate volcano in Australia, and a range of famous wine producing regions, each with its own distinctive geological features.
Queensland
Eastern Queensland is dominated by Palaeozoic fold belts, and large areas of the centre and west are covered by sedimentary basins that host vast coal resources, some petroleum fields, and well preserved fossils of dinosaurs and megafauna that are unique to Australia. The Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic basement of western Queensland hosts a world class lead-zinc-silver province, with major mines at Mount Isa, Century, and Cannington. Spectacular coastal scenery abounds, and the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world.
New South Wales
New South Wales is dominated by a southern continuation of Palaeozoic fold belts, and volcanic units host some large porphyry style copper-gold deposits (e.g. Cadia-Ridgeway). Major coal measures occur in Permian and younger sedimentary basins. Fascinating insights into climatic changes and early human habitation have been found at Lake Mungo in the southwest of the state. In the west, the fabulous Broken Hill lead-zinc-silver mine is nearing the end of its life, which began in the 1880s, and the town has become a major centre for artists. The Murray Darling Basin hosts extensive heavy mineral sand resources and is the nation’s major agricultural region.
Victoria
The Palaeozoic fold belt geology continues south into Victoria, where there are many historic gold mining towns. Along the Great Ocean Road the younger sedimentary strata have been weathered and eroded to form fabulous coastal scenery from great beaches to rugged and colourful cliffs and islands that resulted in numerous shipwrecks in past times. Offshore is one of Australia’s main petroleum fields.
Агента ЦРУ Эвелин Солт обвиняют в том, что она , засланная российская шпионка, цель которой , убить президента. Ей придётся, постоянно уклоняясь от попыток её арестовать, самостоятельно доказать, что она , невиновна, и что предатель , это кто-то другой
художественный фильм Филлипа Нойса в жанре триллера. Сценарий фильма написали Курт Уиммер и Брайан Хелгеланд. Главную роль исполняет Анджелина Джоли, играющая Эвелин Солт, подозреваемую в работе на российскую разведку. Официальная дата выхода фильма пока ещё не объявлена, но Columbia Pictures объявила, что фильм выйдет 23 июля 2010 года. Первоначально планировалось, что главную роль будет играть Том Круз, но потом сценарий переписали под ДжолиЭвелин Солт, агент ЦРУ, обвиняемая в том, что она , российская шпионка.
UN-Water supports co-ordination among UN agencies’ efforts to monitor the state and utilization of the world’s water resources. Associated assessment reports focus on status, trends, and progress against international development targets, on responses and their impact, as well as on challenges and emerging issues. The side-event will present these three UN-Water assessment reports and stimulate a discussion on how these reports respond to specific water and sanitation related challenges facing Africa.
UN Global Assessments on Water Resources, Drinking Water and Sanitation
UN-Water supports co-ordination among UN agencies’ efforts to monitor the state and utilization of the world’s water resources. Associated assessment reports focus on status, trends, and progress against international development targets, on responses and their impact, as well as on challenges and emerging issues.
These three reporting mechanisms together represent a comprehensive and complementary set of information on water and development and are part of the UN-Water effort to rationalize, harmonize and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring and reporting.
UN-Water Presents Key Messages on Water & Climate Change for COP 15
Water is the primary medium through which climate change influences the Earth’s ecosystems and therefore people’s livelihoods and well-being. Climate change adaptation, therefore, is mainly about water. On November 3 UN-Water presented its key messages on water & climate change as a contribution to COP 15 in Copenhagen this December.
Water is the primary medium through which climate change influences the Earth’s ecosystems and therefore people’s livelihoods and well-being.
Already, water-related climate change impacts are being experienced in the form of more severe and more frequent droughts and floods. Higher average temperatures and changes in precipitation and temperature extremes are projected to affect the availability of water resources through changes in rainfall distribution, soil moisture, glacier and ice/snow melt, and river and groundwater flows; these factors are expected to lead to further deterioration of water quality as well. The poor, who are the most vulnerable, are also likely to be affected the most.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE : UN-Water Key Messages on Climate Change and Water
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
MEDIA – ” TO IMPROVE INTERNATIONAL COORPORATIONS”, Martina Gmur, Head of the Network of Global Agenda Councils
For the second consecutive year, the World Economic Forum and the Government of Dubai will host the Summit on the Global Agenda from 20 to 22 November 2009. The Summit will bring together over 700 council members of the most innovative and relevant minds from over 90 countries – leaders from academia, business, government and civil society – to address some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda. “Dubai provides the most convenient environment for effective exchange of ideas among global thought leaders” said Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, United Arab Emirates and Co-Chair of the Summit.
• Dubai welcomes back the World Economic Forum’s Summit on the Global Agenda from 20 to 22 November 2009
• For more information on the Summit and the Network of Global Agenda Councils, visit www.weforum.org/gac • Note to the media: Should you wish to sign up for the media programme, please submit your accreditation request at www.weforummedia.org.
The councils will be represented by 3 Nobel Laureates, 300 business leaders, 240 members from academia, 100 leaders from civil society – NGOs, think tanks, over 50 leaders from international organizations and 30 public figures.
In all, there will be 76 Global Agenda Councils represented at the Summit, each bringing together the finest minds in each sector to propose solutions to the key issues and help shape a post-crisis world. Global Agenda Council members will explore ways to tackle governance gaps at the local, regional and global levels, as well as examine the new and continued interlinkages among the various councils. These deliberations and the councils’ recommendations to improve global cooperation will serve as the framework for organizing sessions at the 40th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters in January 2010.
“The world has never faced such a complex global agenda as we do today, when so many challenges need to be addressed simultaneously,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
“The Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai will complement the efforts undertaken by the G20 and other international organizations to address the global economic crisis. But this meeting will go beyond the immediate situation and provide a long-term strategic approach to shape our global future. Bringing together the best minds and foremost experts, this meeting will be the starting point for global efforts to redesign our international system according to the needs of the 21st century.”
“The first Global Agenda Summit held last year in Dubai laid out the direction for crucial discussions and recommendations on concerns that affect the whole of humanity. This year, by hosting the Summit again, Dubai is reiterating its position as a role model in the post-crisis world of being one of the most resurgent economies. Dubai provides the most convenient environment for effective exchange of ideas among global thought leaders,” said Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, United Arab Emirates and Co-Chair of the Summit.
This year, the Global Agenda Councils have been tasked to contribute to the World Economic Forum’s Global Redesign Initiative (GRI). This initiative is a global multistakeholder dialogue to improve the processes and structures of global cooperation in the 21st century. Fifty Global Agenda Councils are developing proposals in the following areas:
1. Creating a Values Framework – considers the shared values needed for constructive coexistence in an interdependent world characterized by cultural diversity
2. Mitigating Global Risks and Addressing Systemic Failures – includes all eventualities and risks which may have adverse consequences on a global level
3. Strengthening Economies – encompasses all aspects of economic growth and development
4. Enhancing Security – speaks to the need for global, national and human security
5. Ensuring Sustainability – addresses human behaviour in the global ecosystem
6. Building Effective Institutions– reflects on the necessary institutional context for effective global governance
The list of some of the leading experts who chair specific councils at the Summit can be found here.
Global Agenda Councils – The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils were created to further the Forum’s mission and strategic vision. They are multistakeholder groups of the world’s most innovative and relevant experts, established to advance knowledge and collaboratively explore actions to the most important issues in the global arena. For further information on the Councils, please visit Network of Global Agenda Councils.
Dubai TV is the host broadcaster of the Summit on the Global Agenda
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Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests (http://www.weforum.org/).
Around 285,000 people live in a space originally designed for 90,000.UNHCR Angelina Jolie visits dire refugee settlement on Kenyan border with Somalia on September 12 th,2009.
A group of Somali refugees in Ifo camp, Dadaab. As Somali civilians continue to flee to Kenya to escape continuing fighting and a prolonged drought, the pressure on the already severely stretched facilities and resources in the Dadaab complex of camps – which currently host three times the population they were designed to hold – is reaching a saturation point.
“I am very happy, very grateful to be going to Kakuma. It will be wonderful.”
Abukar Abdikadir Ali, 44, a Somali refugee on his way from Dadaab to Kakuma refugee camp in north-west Kenya.
After arriving last February in the congested complex of refugee camps at Dadaab, Abukar lived in a small mud brick house with his wife, six children and 74-year-old asthmatic mother-in-law. They shared their plot with two other families in a flood-prone area. So when he heard that the family would be relocated to Kakuma, he could not contain his joy. “Finally we will get a bit of space and privacy.”
Kakuma camp, he believed, would offer his children a better chance for the future: “My children need to get an education; there were no places for them in Dadaab and I hope they can go to school in Kakuma,” he said last week, while on the road to Kakuma.
For his 10-year-old son Saadiq, the three-day road trip was in itself a wonderful experience. “I enjoyed passing through all the big towns and seeing the different farming activities,” he said. “I even saw zebras and antelopes at the side of the road. Kenya is beautiful; there is no gunfire like in Somalia. I’m very excited to be going to Kakuma.”
A young Somali about to leave the overcrowded Dadaab refugee camp, in Kenya.
Last August, UNHCR embarked on a relocation programme aimed at decongesting Dadaab refugee camp and transferred some 13,000 refugees to Kakuma camp in north-west Kenya. Happy and grateful.
**Only one day left in the giving challenge**
Join us on the Facebook Causes giving challenge where we have the chance to get US$50,000 for Somali refugees like Akubar and his family. Remember, to be the top cause we need as many single donations as possible. You can make a real difference by giving as little as US$10 right now.
About Somalia For nearly two decades, conflict in Somalia has forced more than 1.8 million people from their homes. Hundreds of thousands have fled the country or sought refuge in other parts of Somalia. In many cases, the camps for displaced Somalis are overcrowded, putting a heavy strain on available humanitarian aid, especially emergency shelter.
There are currently large populations of forcibly displaced Somalis living in settlements in central and northern Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen. With no end in sight to the violence in Somalia, the reality for the majority of displaced Somalis is a daily struggle for the basic necessities in life. The constant violence in the south and centre of the country has made the task of helping them extremely difficult and dangerous. You can watch the video below to learn more about the plight of Somalia’s internally displaced refugees.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, and since late 2006 the county has been engulfed in renewed armed conflict in which thousands of civilians have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes. It is one of the world’s worst refugee crises with well over a million people repeatedly displaced within Somalia, and 500,000 fleeing to countries in the region.
Somalis forced to flee war and the worst drought for 10 years are now living in overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Somalia and her neighboring countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen.
One such camp, the Dadaab camp in northern Kenya, has facilities for 90,000 people, and yet houses over 280,000 refugees who have no access to basic necessities, including clean water. Some refugees were moved to a camp in north-west Kenya in late 2009 but thousands continue to arrive monthly.
In Ethiopia, the Bokolmayo camp homes about 11,000 people, with at least another 1,000 people arriving there every month. Again here the facilities are not adequate to handle the huge numbers of arriving refugees, leaving them ravaged by the harsh environment and disease.
In Somalia itself, insecurity has hindered international aid agencies from reaching the 485,000 people who have fled from the capital, Mogadishu, to makeshift settlements for the displaced in the Afgooye corridor.
The horrific conditions seen in these three places — Afgooye, Dadaab and Bokolmayo – are replicated across the region, with the services being provided to these vulnerable and desperate people far below acceptable international standards.
UNHCR is working to help these displaced people find basic provisions and shelter. All we need is for every individual to give a small amount, and together we can make a huge difference.
“We will fail to reach this goal unless poor countries themselves make a firm commitment to education and develop credible national education plans. But the developed world needs to step up its investment too,” said the Senator.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON’S
EDUCATION FOR ALL LEGISLATION
Summary and Background
Legislation Responds to the Crisis of Out-of-School Children in Poor Countries
104 million children ages 6-11 (60 million girls) in developing countries are out of school – (UNESCO 2003)
Another 150 million are at risk of dropping out before completing primary school. (World Bank Education Advisory Services). In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 55% of girls do not complete primary school. (World Bank 2003)
1) Donors had promised to get all children in school by 2015
In April 2000, at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, the U.S. and 181 governments committed to the goal of universal education. (See www.unesco.org/efa)
The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals call for universal primary education by 2015 and gender parity by 2005. (See www.developmentgoals.org)
2) But poor countries are at risk of missing key education goals by 2015
Only 36 of 155 developing countries have achieved 100 percent primary completion rates – only six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. 86 countries are off-track to reach universal completion of primary school by 2015 (World Bank 2003).
Already, 76 countries will miss the goal of gender parity in primary school classrooms by 2005. (UNESCO 2003)
The use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV transmission is emerging as a potential new set of interventions for the prevention portfolio. Antiretroviral drugs, combined with HIV testing of pregnant women and appropriate infant feeding practices, are already being used to prevent HIV transmission from pregnant women to their children. Guidance also exists on the use of antiretroviral drugs for post-exposure prophylaxis, and research is ongoing on their use for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Studies have also provided observational evidence that antiretroviral therapy may reduce the sexual transmission of HIV in generalized epidemics, especially among discordant couples.
Some recent research studies have modelled the effects of antiretroviral therapy on HIV prevention. They have estimated that expanding antiretroviral therapy can substantially reduce the growth of the epidemic and related costs.
AIDS: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
The symptoms of AIDS are primarily the result of conditions that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. Most of these conditions are infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that are normally controlled by the elements of the immune system that HIV damages.
Opportunistic infections are common in people with AIDS. HIV affects nearly every organ system.
People with AIDS also have an increased risk of developing various cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, cervical cancer and cancers of the immune system known as lymphomas. Additionally, people with AIDS often have systemic symptoms of infection like fevers, sweats (particularly at night), swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss. The specific opportunistic infections that AIDS patients develop depend in part on the prevalence of these infections in the geographic area in which the patient lives.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a member of the retrovirus family) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells. The four major routes of transmission are unsafe sex, contaminated needles, breast milk, and transmission from an infected mother to her baby at birth (Vertical transmission). Screening of blood products for HIV has largely eliminated transmission through blood transfusions or infected blood products in the developed world.
HIV infection in humans is considered pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). From its discovery in 1981 to 2006, AIDS killed more than 25 million people. HIV infects about 0.6% of the world’s population.In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.4–3.3 million lives, of which more than 570,000 were children. A third of these deaths are occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, retarding economic growth and increasing poverty.According to current estimates, HIV is set to infect 90 million people in Africa, resulting in a minimum estimate of 18 million orphans.Antiretroviral treatment reduces both the mortality and the morbidity of HIV infection, but routine access to antiretroviral medication is not available in all countries.
HIV primarily infects vital cells in the human immune system such as helper T cells (specifically CD4+ T cells), macrophages, and dendritic cells. HIV infection leads to low levels of CD4+ T cells through three main mechanisms: firstly, direct viral killing of infected cells; secondly, increased rates of apoptosis in infected cells; and thirdly, killing of infected CD4+ T cells by CD8 cytotoxic lymphocytes that recognize infected cells. When CD4+ T cell numbers decline below a critical level, cell-mediated immunity is lost, and the body becomes progressively more susceptible to opportunistic infections.
Most people infected with HIV eventually develop AIDS. These individuals mostly die from opportunistic infections or malignancies associated with the progressive failure of the immune system.Without treatment, about 9 out of every 10 persons with HIV will progress to AIDS after 10–15 years. Many progress much sooner.Treatment with anti-retrovirals increases the life expectancy of people infected with HIV. Even after HIV has progressed to diagnosable AIDS, the average survival time with antiretroviral therapy was estimated to be more than 5 years as of 2005. Without antiretroviral therapy, someone who has AIDS typically dies within a year.
CD4+: CD4+ T helper cells
Perhaps the best example of the importance of CD4+ T cells is demonstrated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HIV targets cells that express CD4, and can infect macrophages, dendritic cells (both groups express CD4 at low levels) and CD4+ T cells.
It has been proposed that during the non-symptomatic phase of HIV infection, the virus has a relatively low affinity towards T cells (and has a higher affinity for macrophages), resulting in a slow kill rate of CD4+ T cells by the immune system. This is initially compensated for via the production of new helper T cells from the thymus (originally from the bone marrow). Once the virus becomes lymphotropic (or T-tropic) however, it begins to infect CD4+ T cells far more efficiently (likely due to a change in the co-receptors it binds to during infection), and the immune system is overwhelmed.
At this point, functional CD4+ T cell levels begin to decrease, eventually to a point where the CD4+ T cell population is too small to recognize the full range of antigens that could potentially be detected. The lack of full antigen cover results in the core symptoms of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). CD4 T cell depletion during AIDS allows various pathogens to escape T cell recognition, thus allowing opportunistic infections that would normally elicit a helper T cell response to bypass the immune system. While these complete bypass situations only occur when the helper T cell response is absolutely necessary for infection clearance, most infections increase in severity and/or duration because the immune system’s helper T cells provide a weaker contribution to a less efficient immune response.
Two components of the immune system are particularly affected in AIDS, due to its CD4+ T cell dependency:
CD8+ T cells are not stimulated as effectively during the AIDS stage of HIV infection, making AIDS patients very susceptible to most viruses, including HIV itself. This decline in killing of CD4+ T cells results in the virus being produced for a longer period (the infected CD4+ T cells are not killed as quickly), increasing the proliferation of the virus, and accelerating the development of the disease.
Antibody class switching declines significantly once helper T cell function fails. The immune system loses its ability to improve the affinity of their antibodies, and are unable to generate B cells that can produce antibody groups such as IgG and IgA. These effects are primarily due to the loss of any helper T cell that can interact with the B lymphocyte correctly. Another symptom of AIDS is the reduction in antibody levels due to a decrease in Th2 cytokines (and less interactions by helper T cells). All of these complications result in an increased susceptibility to aggressive bacterial infections, especially in areas of the body not accessible by IgM antibodies.
If the patient does not respond to (or does not receive) HIV treatment they will succumb usually to either cancers or infections; the immune system finally reaches a point where it is no longer coordinated or stimulated enough to deal with the disease.
CCR5: Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5
HIV uses CCR5 or another protein, CXCR4, as a co-receptor to enter its target cells. Several chemokine receptors can function as viral coreceptors, but CCR5 is likely the most physiologically important coreceptor during natural infection. The normal ligands for this receptor, RANTES, MIP-1β, and MIP-1α, are able to suppress HIV-1 infection in vitro. In individuals infected with HIV, CCR5-using viruses are the predominant species isolated during the early stages of viral infection, suggesting that these viruses may have a selective advantage during transmission or the acute phase of disease. Moreover, at least half of all infected individuals harbor only CCR5-using viruses throughout the course of infection.
A number of new experimental HIV drugs, called entry inhibitors, have been designed to interfere with the interaction between CCR5 and HIV, including PRO140 (Progenics), Vicriviroc (Schering Plough), Aplaviroc (GW-873140) (GlaxoSmithKline) and Maraviroc (UK-427857) (Pfizer). A potential problem of this approach is that, while CCR5 is the major co-receptor by which HIV infects cells, it is not the only such co-receptor. It is possible that under selective pressure HIV will evolve to use another co-receptor. However, examination of viral resistance to AD101, molecular antagonist of CCR5, indicated that resistant viruses did not switch to another coreceptor (CXCR4) but persisted in using CCR5, either through binding to alternative domains of CCR5, or by binding to the receptor at a higher affinity. Development of Aplaviroc has been terminated due to safety concerns (potential liver toxicity).
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services based in Atlanta, Georgia. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes health through partnerships with state health departments and other organizations. The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease prevention and control (especially infectious diseases), environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, prevention and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
WHO: World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which had been an agency of the League of Nations.
PCP: Pneumocystis pneumonia
Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) or pneumocystosis is a form of pneumonia, caused by the yeast-like fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii. This pathogen is specific to humans. It has not been shown to infect other animals, while other species of Pneumocystis that parasitize other animals (all of which are mammals) have not been shown to infect humans.
Pneumocystis is commonly found in the lungs of healthy people, but being a source of opportunistic infection it can cause a lung infection in people with a weakened immune system. Pneumocystis pneumonia is especially seen in people with cancer, HIV/AIDS and the use of medications that affect the immune system.
TB: Tuberculosis
One–third of the world’s current population has been infected with M. tuberculosis. New infections occur at a rate of one per second.The proportion of people in the general population who become sick with tuberculosis each year is stable or falling worldwide but, because of population growth, the absolute number of new cases is still increasing.
In 2004, mortality and morbidity statistics included 14.6 million chronic active cases, 8.9 million new cases, and 1.6 million deaths, mostly in developing countries. In addition, a rising number of people in the developed world are contracting tuberculosis because their immune systems are compromised by immunosuppressive drugs, substance abuse, or AIDS. The distribution of tuberculosis is not uniform across the globe; about 80% of the population in many Asian and African countries test positive in tuberculin tests, while only 5-10% of the US population test positive. It is estimated that the US has 25,000 new cases of tuberculosis each year, 40% of which occur in immigrants from countries where tuberculosis is endemic.
MTCT: Mother-to-child transmission HAART: Highly active antiretroviral therapy
Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART. The American National Institutes of Health and other organizations recommend offering antiretroviral treatment to all patients with AIDS. Because of the complexity of selecting and following a regimen, the severity of the side-effects and the importance of compliance to prevent viral resistance. However, such organizations emphasize the importance of involving patients in therapy choices, and recommend analyzing the risks and the potential benefits to patients without symptoms.
There are different classes of antiretroviral drugs that act at different stages of the HIV life-cycle.
STI/STD: Sexually transmitted infection/disease
A sexually transmitted disease (STD), also known as sexually transmitted infection (STI) or venereal disease (VD), is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans or animals by means of sexual contact, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex. While in the past, these illnesses have mostly been referred to as STDs or VD, in recent years the term sexually transmitted infection (STI) has been preferred, as it has a broader range of meaning; a person may be infected, and may potentially infect others, without showing signs of disease. Some STIs can also be transmitted via use of an IV drug needle after its use by an infected person, as well as through childbirth or breastfeeding. Sexually transmitted infections have been well known for hundreds of years.
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