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The aim of this study was to gain insight into the perceptions of pig farm and abattoir workers as well as lay citizens regarding (1) sentience and (2) positive (intelligent and friendly) and negative (gluttonous, stubborn and dirty) attributes of pigs. We also aimed to investigate the (3) knowledge and perceptions of pig farm and abattoir workers on tail lesion, ear lesion and lameness in pigs and (4) the opinion of lay citizens regarding the likelihood of tail lesions, ear lesions, and lameness causing suffering in pigs and affecting meat quality. Chilean pig farm workers (n = 116), pig abattoir workers (n = 95), and lay citizens (n = 708) were invited on farm, at the abattoir and in public places, respectively, to participate in a survey. Answers were indicated using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = totally disagree; 4 = totally agree). Data were analysed using generalized linear models, including recruitment place and socio-demographic data as predictor variables. Female and lay citizens attributed pigs a higher capacity to experience feelings than male participants and pig farm and abattoir workers (p < 0.05). Lay citizens and workers recruited on farm described pigs as being more intelligent and friendly than those workers recruited at the abattoir (p < 0.001); recruitment place and sex were not associated with participants’ perception regarding negative attributes of pigs (p > 0.05). Most lay citizens considered that tail lesions, ear lesions and lameness are likely to cause suffering in pigs and older participants had higher odds of agreeing that tail and ear lesions are likely to affect meat quality (p < 0.05). Finally, the risk factors for tail lesion, ear lesions and lameness pointed out by pig farm and abattoir workers is in line with what has been suggested by experts. Our findings contribute to understand the perception and values of all stakeholders regarding animal welfare, as it is crucial to improve the sustainability of animal production systems.

The reasons for black/white disparities in HIV epidemics among men who have sex with men have puzzled researchers for decades. Understanding reasons for these disparities requires looking beyond individual-level behavioral risk to a more comprehensive framework. From July 2010-December 2012, 803 men (454 black, 349 white) were recruited through venue-based and online sampling; consenting men were provided HIV and STI testing, completed a behavioral survey and a sex partner inventory, and provided place of residence for geocoding. HIV prevalence was higher among black (43%) versus white (13% MSM (prevalence ratio (PR) 3.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.5-4.4). Among HIV-positive men, the median CD4 count was significantly lower for black (490 cells/µL) than white (577 cells/µL) MSM; there was no difference in the HIV RNA viral load by race. Black men were younger, more likely to be bisexual and unemployed, had less educational attainment, and reported fewer male sex partners, fewer unprotected anal sex partners, and less non-injection drug use. Black MSM were significantly more likely than white MSM to have rectal chlamydia and gonorrhea, were more likely to have racially concordant partnerships, more likely to have casual (one-time) partners, and less likely to discuss serostatus with partners. The census tracts where black MSM lived had higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and lower median income. They also had lower proportions of male-male households, lower male to female sex ratios, and lower HIV diagnosis rates. Among black and white MSM in Atlanta, disparities in HIV and STI prevalence by race are comparable to those observed nationally. We identified differences between black and white MSM at the individual, dyadic/sexual network, and community levels. The reasons for black/white disparities in HIV prevalence in Atlanta are complex, and will likely require a multilevel framework to understand comprehensively.

Bystander intervention approaches offer promise for reducing rates of sexual violence on college campuses. Most interventions are in-person small-group formats, which limit their reach and reduce their overall public health impact. This study evaluated the efficacy of RealConsent, a Web-based bystander approach to sexual violence prevention, in enhancing prosocial intervening behaviors and preventing sexual violence perpetration. A random probability sample of 743 male undergraduate students (aged 18 to 24 years) attending a large, urban university located in the southeastern United States was recruited online and randomized to either RealConsent (n=376) or a Web-based general health promotion program (n=367). Participants were surveyed online at baseline, postintervention, and 6-months postintervention. RealConsent was delivered via a password-protected Web portal that contained six 30-minute media-based and interactive modules covering knowledge of informed consent, communication skills regarding sex, the role of alcohol and male socialization in sexual violence, empathy for rape victims, and bystander education. Primary outcomes were self-reported prosocial intervening behaviors and sexual violence perpetration. Secondary outcomes were theoretical mediators (eg, knowledge, attitudes). At 6-month follow-up RealConsent participants intervened more often (P=.04) and engaged in less sexual violence perpetration (P=.04) compared to controls. In addition, RealConsent participants reported greater legal knowledge of sexual assault (P<.001), greater knowledge of effective consent (P<.001), less rape myths (P<.001), greater empathy for rape victims (P<.001), less negative date rape attitudes (P<.001), less hostility toward women (P=.01), greater intentions to intervene (P=.04), less hyper-gender ideology (P<.001), less positive outcome expectancies for nonconsensual sex (P=.03), more positive outcome expectancies for intervening (P<.001), and less comfort with other men's inappropriate behaviors (P<.001). Our results support the efficacy of RealConsent. Due to its Web-based format, RealConsent has potential for broad-based dissemination thereby increasing its overall public health impact on sexual violence. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01903876; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01903876 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6S1PXxWKt).

Field studies suggest that the size of potential food items plays an important role in the food selection behavior of nonhuman primates. However, there is only limited knowledge about how good primates are at visually discriminating between the size of three-dimensional objects of the same kind and shape. We therefore conducted two experiments on ten adult spider monkeys: a two-choice test based on spontaneous preferences with differently-sized pieces of food of the same kind and shape, and a two-choice test based on an operant conditioning procedure in which the animals were trained to choose the larger one of two cube-shaped wooden blocks. We found that the spider monkeys displayed a robust and spontaneous preference for the larger one of two simultaneously presented pieces of food of the same kind when the size difference was 11% or larger. This was true with cube-shaped food pieces as well as with ball-shaped and hemisphere-shaped food pieces. Considering that the normal size variation among fully ripe fruits of a given plant species is at least 10% this suggests that spider monkeys are as picky as necessary to make size-based food choices in line with optimal foraging theory. We also found that the spider monkeys successfully discriminated between two simultaneously presented wooden cubes when their edge length differed by only 2 mm which was the smallest size difference tested. Thus, they displayed a well-developed ability to visually discriminate between three-dimensional non-edible objects of the same kind and shape which is at least as good as that of other nonhuman primate species tested previously on similar tasks. Our findings support the notion that frugivory may have favored the evolution of cognitive abilities in the physical domain which may, possibly, include the ability to perform fine visual size discriminations.

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rates are high in Uganda (6.7%), and rates are especially high among at-risk groups such as youth living in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. The objective of this study was to assess the psychosocial correlates, particularly alcohol use, associated with HIV among youth living in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. Methods Analyses are based on cross-sectional survey data collected in Spring of 2014. Participants comprised a convenience sample ( N  = 1134) of urban service-seeking youth living on the streets or in the slums, 12–18 years of age who were participating in a Uganda Youth Development Link drop-in center (56.1% female and 43.9% male). Chi-Square Tests were used to determine differences in the proportions of alcohol use patterns between self-reported HIV-positive and HIV-negative youth. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were conducted to determine the associated risk factors with self-reported HIV. Institutional Review Board approvals were obtained from the Georgia State University and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. Results Among the total sample of youth ( N  = 1103), 10.5% ( n  = 116) reported being HIV-positive. There were statistically significant differences between HIV-positive and HIV-negative youth on ever living on the streets ( χ 2 =10.14, df = 1, p  = 0.002), past 12-month alcohol use ( χ 2 =16.38, df = 1, p  < .0001), ever having sexual intercourse ( χ 2 =14.52, df = 1, p  = 0.0001), ever engaging in sex work ( χ 2 =13.19, df = 1, p  = 0.0003), inconsistent condom use in the past 3 months ( χ 2 =5.03, df = 1, p  = 0.03), and ever being raped ( χ 2 =15.29, df = 1, p  < 0.0001). A higher percentage of HIV-positive youth were classified as problem drinkers, defined by the CAGE scores (21.6% vs. 13.9%, respectively). In the multivariable analysis, previously being raped (OR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.83) and alcohol use without problem drinking (OR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.24, 3.69) was associated with HIV. Conclusion Youth living in the slums of Kampala, Uganda have a high prevalence of HIV. These youth are in dire need of interventions which address both alcohol use behaviors and sexual risk behaviors to reduce further complications of their existing health conditions, including HIV.

Background Transgender women (TGW) in the U.S. experience high rates of stigma, depression, and elevated rates of suicide. This study examined correlates of suicidal ideation and estimated the conditional indirect effects of perceived stigma and psychosocial mediators on suicidal ideation. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, TGW ( N  = 92) were recruited through snowball sampling in Atlanta, Georgia. Structured interviews were conducted. Suicidal ideation was assessed by combining two variables that measured suicidal thoughts. Logistic regression models were performed to identify the potential risk and protective factors for suicidal ideation. We examined hypothesized psychosocial factors, including anxiety, depression, psychosocial impact of gender minority status, and substance use behaviors as potential mediators for the relationship between perceived stigma and suicidal ideation. All models were controlled for age, race, education, and homelessness. Results Suicidal ideation was reported by 33% ( N  = 30) of the study participants. In multivariable analysis, suicidal ideation was associated with sexual abuse (AOR = 3.17, 95% CI = 1.10–9.30), anxiety (AOR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.10–2.73), family verbal abuse (AOR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.10–8.40), stranger verbal abuse (AOR = 3.21, 95% CI = 1.02–10.08), and psychosocial impact of gender minority status (AOR = 3.42, 95% CI = 1.81–6.46). Partner support was found to be the protective factor for suicidal ideation (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.13–0.90) . In the mediation analysis, the psychosocial impact of gender minority status mediated the relationship between perceived stigma and suicidal ideation. The estimated conditional indirect effect was 0.46, (95% CI = 0.12–1.11). Conclusion Interventions that aim to reduce suicidal behaviors among TGW should address stigma, psychosocial impact of gender minority status, and different forms of violence and abuse.

Life Cycle Assessment methodology has been applied to estimate diverse environmental impacts of different usage alternatives for worn-out tires at the end of their useful life in a case study at the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Different real scenarios were compared, which allowed for the assessment of the best environmental option for the management of worn-out tires. A method developed in the Institute of Environmental Sciences at University of Leiden, better known as CML-2001, was used to calculate the environmental impact indicators. The results show that the incineration of whole tires in cement plants, and the activities of grinding and floor manufacturing from granulated rubber, exhibited the best indicators, especially in terms of environmental load avoidance through the recovery of materials. Finally, the categories of depletion of the ozone layer, acidification, global warming potential, depletion of abiotic resources, and photochemical ozone formation revealed that the strongest environmental impacts are associated with retreading and the production of multipart asphalt. This is due to the use of synthetic rubber in the former alternative, and of liquid asphalt, gravel, and diesel consumption in the latter.

Cell and Gene Therapy Products (CGT), regulated as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) in the European Union (EU), represent a novel and varied group of biotherapeutics developed to treat specific conditions for which there are limited or no effective treatments. The novelty and complexity of this product modality demands a regulatory risk-based approach to define a sound development plan, particularly, as most developers aim to target more than one market area simultaneously for clinical development and registration. This regulatory strategy should be built on solid scientific data that also addresses general regulatory recommendations to enable a benefit:risk analysis that is aligned with the particularities of each CGT product. This risk-based approach is especially helpful when no detailed product-specific regulatory guidelines are available. The goal of this article is to orient developers on how to build a combined EU/US regulatory strategy through the assessment of commonly understood quality (CMC), non-clinical, and clinical regulatory risks faced by ATMP/CGT.

This study examined the process by which a web-based sexual violence (SV) prevention program (i.e., RealConsent) prevents SV perpetration and increases bystander behaviors. Data from 743 college men who participated in a randomized controlled trial were analyzed. Simple and multiple-mediation models were estimated, using several theoretical constructs to assess the mechanisms through which RealConsent produced significant effects on SV perpetration and prosocial bystander or intervening behaviors. The results indicated that knowledge of effective consent for sex, hostility toward women, date rape attitudes, and hyper-gender male ideology significantly mediated the effects of RealConsent on SV perpetration in the multiple-mediator model. Furthermore, intentions to intervene significantly mediated the effects of RealConsent on prosocial bystander behaviors in the multiple-mediator model. The results show that the RealConsent program works to prevent SV perpetration and prosocial bystander behaviors via several theoretically proposed mediators central to the development and content of the program. The results also provide strong evidence that SV and bystander education for college men may benefit from including an explicit focus on decreasing negative norms related to women (e.g., hostility, date rape attitudes, hyper-gender ideology) and through increasing college men’s knowledge of consent and intentions to intervene.

This review describes the use of social networking sites (SNS) in the context of primary prevention of HIV. A review was conducted to assess the published literature for HIV interventions using SNS. Sixteen articles describing twelve interventions were included. SNS were instrumental in recruiting hard-to-reach populations within a short amount of time; were able to reach wide audiences beyond the targeted population for HIV prevention campaigns; and helped to significantly reduce sexual risk behaviors and increase HIV testing. SNS are a viable option to recruit hidden populations, engage the target audience, and disseminate HIV prevention messages. Researchers should use SNS to generate sampling frames that can be used to select participants. Practitioners should use SNS to post images of preventive behavior within health promotion campaigns. Researchers should use multiple SNS platforms to engage participants. As more studies are published using SNS for HIV prevention, meta-analyses will be needed.