No abstract

recently completed her master's degree in the anthropology of health at McMaster University, focusing on anti-vaccination movements on the Internet.

The seasonality and factors associated with Cryptosporidium infection were assessed in a cohort of HIV-infected patients in Los Angeles County to better define the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis among individuals with HIV. Data were analysed from a cohort of 4247 patients > or = 13 years of age with HIV infection enrolled from four outpatient facilities in Los Angeles, 1990-6. Cryptosporidiosis was diagnosed in 120 (2.8%) patients. Among the 1296 individuals with complete follow-up until death, cryptosporidiosis occurred in 69 (5.3%). The seasonal rate of cryptosporidiosis showed a modest bimodal trend with the highest rates occurring in March-May and September-October. There was no difference in the rate of cryptosporidiosis for the periods of heaviest rainfall (December-March) and low rainfall (April-November). Infection rates were higher among males (1.59 per 100 person-years) than females (0.92) and lower in blacks (0.98) than other racial/ethnic groups (1.80). A significant trend of decreasing cryptosporidiosis was observed with increasing age, with the highest rate (2.34) in the 13-34 year age group. A strong association between cryptosporidiosis and CD4+ count was noted. These data suggest that cryptosporidiosis among HIV-infected individuals in Los Angeles County exhibits a modest spring and fall seasonality. This pattern of occurrence of cryptosporidiosis appears temporally unrelated to local rainfall patterns. Our findings suggest that HIV-infected men, individuals in younger age groups and those with CD4+ lymphocyte counts< 100 x 10(6)/l are at increased risk of cryptosporidiosis. Blacks with HIV infection appear less likely than other racial/ethnic groups to be diagnosed with Cryptosporidium infection. These results may provide insight into possible routes of transmission and sources of cryptosporidiosis infection in individuals with HIV.

The concept of complex diversity points at a social and political context in which diversity has become a multidimensional and fluid empirical phenomenon. At the same time, it calls for a thorough discussion of the normative framework we rely upon when we talk about identity politics, integration or recognition. The article focuses on the main ethno-national and cultural expressions of complex diversity in present-day Europe. On this basis, it offers a critical interpretation of the dominant approach towards diverse identities that is connected to the process of European integration. Although diversity is being recurrently celebrated in Europe’s official political discourse, the term tends to be used in a superficial and biased way, which links it rather to the dynamics of the market than to a reflective identity politics. If we want to grasp the emancipatory potential of complex diversity, we have to tackle its challenges from a perspective that avoids essentializing culture yet is still aware of the key importance culturally grounded contexts of praxis have for articulating a politics of recognition.