This annual update reports on developments in the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and draws on the most recent data available to give global and regional estimates of its scope and human toll. This edition also includes a special section on women and AIDS. Findings for 2004 include: the total number of people living with HIV reached its highest ever level of an estimated 39.4 million, with numbers rising in every region; 4.9 million new cases during the year and an estimated 3.1 million deaths; globally, just under half of all people living with HIV are women, with the proportion continuing to rise in most regions, particularly in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

This report presents three hypothetical case studies for how the AIDS epidemic in Africa could evolve over the next 20 years based on policy decisions taken today by African leaders and the rest of the world; and considers the factors likely to drive the future responses of African countries and the international community. The scenarios draw on the age-old tradition of story-telling, rather than using data projections, to explore the wider context of the AIDS epidemic, reflecting the complexity of the subject matter.

This book provides a single source of information on three major bioengineering areas: engineering at the cellular and molecular level; biomedical devices / instrument engineering; and data engineering. It explores the latest strategies that are essential to advancing our understanding of the mechanisms of human diseases, the development of new enzyme-based technologies, diagnostics, prosthetics, high-performance computing platforms for managing huge amounts of biological data, and the use of deep learning methods to create predictive models. The book also highlights the growing importance of integrating chemistry into life sciences research, most notably concerning the development and evaluation of nanomaterials and nanoparticles and their interactions with biological material. The underlying interdisciplinary theme of bioengineering is addressed in a range of multifaceted applications and worked out examples provided in each chapter.

Improvements in health care and quality of life in recent years have led to a marked aging of the world's population, especially in well-developed regions, in the near future, this problem will spread to developing countries. The growing need to promote the health and function of aging workers not only presents new challenges, but also provides exciting, new opportunities. The chapters in this book examine methods for diagnosing and evaluating work ability/employability in response to the changing capacity of employment. They set out the issues addressed by occupational health professionals to improve the work ability of elderly employees, and discuss measures to promote their employment. The book derives from a Conference on Aging and Work, held in Japan in September 2001. It will be of particular interest to professionals and students in the fields of occupational health, ergonomics, mechanical engineering, work physiology and industrial psychology. Book jacket.