Cohabitation and romantic relationship quality among Portuguese lesbian, gay and heterosexual individuals

Lesbian and gay (LG) individuals are perceived as having poorer relationship functioning than heterosexual individuals, but this negative appraisal is not translated into actual relationship experiences. Indeed, relationship quality outcomes do not vary according to sexual orientation. Cohabitation status may play an important role, because it symbolizes relationship commitment and intimacy particularly for LG individuals. A cross-sectional study (N = 425, 52.9% women; Mage = 28.38, SD = 6.89) with romantically involved LG (38.4%) and heterosexual (61.6%) individuals examined how cohabitation was associated with relationship quality outcomes. To isolate the role of cohabitation, cohabiting individuals were compared according to relationship legal status. Results showed that cohabiting (vs. non-cohabiting) LG individuals were more committed, invested and satisfied, but those who legalized (vs. did not legalize) their union were only more committed. Among heterosexual individuals, no differences were observed. Furthermore, LG (vs. heterosexual) individuals were overall more committed, satisfied and invested when cohabiting with their partner (especially in legalized unions), whereas heterosexual (vs. LG) individuals were more committed in non-cohabiting relationships. No other differences were found. This suggests that cohabitation may be used by LG individuals as a strategy to strengthen relationship quality, and that legal recognition further increases relationship commitment.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Perceived parent and friend support for romantic relationships in emerging adults

Positive close relationships with immediate close network members are associated with healthy adjustment among emerging adults (EA). These influence the initiation and maintenance of romantic relationships. A cross-sectional study (N = 630) explored the role of perceived parental and friend support for the current romantic relationship in relationship quality among early EA (EEA; 18-21 years) and middle EA (MEA; 22-25 years) heterosexuals. Structural equation modeling results showed that in EEA, greater friend support was associated with greater commitment, satisfaction, and investments, and less quality of alternatives. Greater parental support was associated with greater commitment, satisfaction, and investments in MEA. This research advances literature by showing different associations between sources of social support and relationship quality in two EA age groups.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Variedades de arroz para o cultivo de sequeiro no Estado do Pará.

bitstream/item/114591/1/COMUNICADO-TECNICO-15.pdfPublicado também na serie Comunicado Técnico do IPEAN, n. 15 em 1972

Knowledge about sugar sources and sugar intake guidelines in portuguese consumers

In this work, we examined knowledge about sugars and guidelines for its consumption and explored the relationship between knowledge and measures related to nutritional information processing as well as sugar consumption. Specifically, we asked participants (n = 1010 Portuguese) to categorize a set of ingredients (e.g., glucose, aspartame) regarding their composition (i.e., intrinsic vs. added/free sugars) and origin (e.g., natural vs. artificial) and if they were aware of the WHO guidelines for sugar intake. Overall, despite using information about sugar frequently and considering attending to such information as very important to stay healthy, most participants were unaware of the WHO guidelines and revealed difficulties in the categorization task. Women, participants with a higher level of education, and those with children in the household reported higher use of sugar content information present in nutritional labels, higher perceived knowledge of nutritional guidelines, and higher hit rates in categorizing sugar sources. Almost one-fourth of the population exceeds the daily limit recommended by the WHO. Therefore, characterizing the knowledge of a Portuguese sample regarding sugar sources and sugar intake guidelines is particularly relevant, and our results emphasize the need to implement effective strategies to reduce sugar intake.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Motivations for sexual behavior and intentions to use condoms: development of the Regulatory Focus in Sexuality (RFS) Scale

Despite recurrent eforts to prevent sexually transmitted diseases through the use of condoms, HIV infections are still prevalent across Europe. Recent research framed by the regulatory focus theory has shown that prevention (vs. promotion)-focused individuals are more likely to adopt strategies to protect their health. Therefore, these individuals should also be more motivated to use condoms, because they are more likely to perceive greater health threats. In two cross-sectional preregistered studies (combined N = 520 Portuguese participants; databases available at https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/nzkmn), we developed the new Regulatory Focus in Sexuality (RFS) scale (Study 1), and tested if the association between prevention focus and intentions to use condoms was mediated by the perception of health threat (Study 2). Results from Study 1 suggested that the scale is valid and reliable. Results from Study 2 showed, as expected, that a predominant focus on prevention was associated with more condom use intentions with casual and regular sexual partners, because individuals perceived greater threat to their health. Additional exploratory analyses further showed that this mediation occurred only for individuals without a romantic relationship and was independent of how salient the condom use norm was. In contrast, for romantically involved individuals, there was no evidence for the mediation by perceived health threat. Instead, a predominant focus on prevention was positively associated with condom use intentions with the regular partner, but only when the condom use norm was more salient. Taken together, these results emphasize the importance of examining individual motivations for safe sex practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Predictors of condomless sex and sexual health behaviors in a sample of Portuguese single adults

Introduction: Several theoretical models and intervention programs overlook the importance of individual motivations for the decision to have condomless sex. For instance, people focused on promotion (ie, eager to pursue pleasure) report less intentions to use condoms, because they perceive a lower risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections. Aim: We aimed at understanding to what extent individual motivations are predictive of condomless sex behavior among single individuals. Methods: A sample of 415 Portuguese individuals (254 women) with ages ranging from 18−46 years (M = 23.30; SD = 5.28) were recruited to a cross-sectional study. All participants were neither dating nor in a romantic relationship at the time of the study. The link to an anonymous web survey was shared in social networking platforms. Main Outcome Measure: The survey included self-reported demographic variables (eg, age and sex), recent condomless sex behavior, and previously validated measures assessing regulatory focus in sexuality, ability in sexual restraint, perceived control over condom use, perceived safety with sex partners, and salience of the condom use norm. Results: More than two-thirds of the sample had recently engaged in condomless sex. A logistic regression showed that condomless sex was more likely for participants predominantly focused on promotion in sexuality. It was also more likely among less educated participants, those with a lower ability to restrain their sexual behavior, those who perceive to have less control over condom use, those for whom the condom use norm was less salient, and those who perceived to be safer with their sex partners. No other results were significant. Clinical Implications: Our results can be informative to sexual health care professionals when planning strategies to increase condom use awareness, by considering the role of specific individual motivations. Strengths & Limitations: This is the first study showing that individual motivations uniquely contribute to the decision to have condomless sex. This study has 2 main limitations that constraint the generalizability of the findings: (a) cross-sectional data prevents us from establishing causality, and (b) individual data does not account for dyadic processes in sexuality (eg, condom use negotiation). Conclusion: Our findings showed that condomless sex results from an individual focus on seeking pleasure, a lack of control in sexual behavior, and a perception of sex partners as more trustworthy. Overall, these findings are likely to help researchers and health care professionals improving theoretical models predicting condom use and preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Bilateral negotiation in a multi-agent supply chain system

A supply chain is a set of organizations directly linked by flows of services from suppliers to customers. Supply chain activities range from the ordering and receipt of raw materials to the production and distribution of finished goods. Supply chain management is the integration of key activities across a supply chain for the purposes of building competitive infrastructures, synchronizing supply with demand, and leveraging worldwide logistics. This paper addresses the challenges created by supply chain management towards improving long-term performance of companies. It presents a multi-agent supply chain system composed of multiple software agents, each responsible for one or more supply chain activities, and each interacting with other agents in the execution of their responsibilities. Additionally, this paper presents the key features of a negotiation model for software agents. The model handles bilateral multi-issue negotiation and incorporates an alternating offers protocol, a set of logrolling strategies, and a set of negotiation tactics

The type of adjuvant in whole inactivated influenza a virus vaccines impacts vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes a disease burden in the swine industry in the US and is a challenge to prevent due to substantial genetic and antigenic diversity of IAV that circulate in pig populations. Whole inactivated virus (WIV) vaccines formulated with oil-in-water (OW) adjuvant are commonly used in swine. However, WIV-OW are associated with vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease (VAERD) when the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase of the vaccine strain are mismatched with the challenge virus. Here, we assessed if different types of adjuvant in WIV vaccine formulations impacted VAERD outcome. WIV vaccines with a swine δ1-H1N2 were formulated with different commercial adjuvants: OW1, OW2, nano-emulsion squalene-based (NE) and gel polymer (GP). Pigs were vaccinated twice by the intramuscular route, 3 weeks apart, then challenged with an H1N1pdm09 three weeks post-boost and necropsied at 5 days post infection. All WIV vaccines elicited antibodies detected using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay against the homologous vaccine virus, but not against the heterologous challenge virus; in contrast, all vaccinated groups had cross-reactive IgG antibody and IFN-γ responses against H1N1pdm09, with a higher magnitude observed in OW groups. Both OW groups demonstrated robust homologous HI titers and cross-reactivity against heterologous H1 viruses in the same genetic lineage. However, both OW groups had severe immunopathology consistent with VAERD after challenge when compared to NE, GP, and non-vaccinated challenge controls. None of the WIV formulations protected pigs from heterologous virus replication in the lungs or nasal cavity. Thus, although the type of adjuvant in the WIV formulation played a significant role in the magnitude of immune response to homologous and antigenically similar H1, none tested here increased the breadth of protection against the antigenically-distinct challenge virus, and some impacted immunopathology after challenge