TakeCARE, a Video Bystander Program to Help Prevent Sexual Violence on College Campuses: Results of Two Randomized, Controlled Trials

Objective: The present research reports on two randomized controlled trials evaluating TakeCARE, a video bystander program designed to help prevent sexual violence on college campuses. Method: In Study 1, students were recruited from psychology courses at two universities. In Study 2, first-year students were recruited from a required course at one university. In both studies, students were randomly assigned to view one of two videos: TakeCARE or a control video on study skills. Just before viewing the videos, students completed measures of bystander behavior toward friends and ratings of self-efficacy for performing such behaviors. The efficacy measure was administered again after the video, and both the bystander behavior measure and the efficacy measure were administered at either one (Study 1) or two (Study 2) months later. Results: In both studies, students who viewed TakeCARE, compared to students who viewed the control video, reported engaging in more bystander behavior toward friends and greater feelings of efficacy for performing such behavior. In Study 1, feelings of efficacy mediated effects of TakeCARE on bystander behavior; this result did not emerge in Study 2. Conclusions: This research demonstrates that TakeCARE, a video bystander program, can positively influence bystander behavior toward friends. Given its potential to be easily distributed to an entire campus community, TakeCARE might be an effective addition to campus efforts to prevent sexual violence

Measuring Teen Dating Violence Perpetration: A Comparison of Cumulative and Single Assessment Procedures

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a widespread and harmful public health concern. The measurement of TDV has undergone some debate, with some researchers suggesting current measurement methods are suboptimal. The current study evaluates the use of cumulative assessments, a measurement method used previously in research on mental health and TDV victimization, to measure TDV perpetration. We hypothesized prevalence of frequency estimates of TDV perpetration would be higher when measured with cumulative assessments compared to a single report. Additionally, we hypothesized TDV perpetration measured cumulatively would more strongly relate to criterion variables than TDV perpetration measured with a single report. A sample of court-referred adolescents (n = 147, 14-17 years old) was recruited and invited into the lab for a baseline assessment, where they completed demographic questions and measures of criterion variables, including externalizing symptoms, exposure to community violence, and attitudes about dating. Adolescents were invited back to the lab for a 3-month follow-up assessment, where they reported on their TDV perpetration across the past 3 months. Between baseline and the 3-month follow-up, participants were contacted for phone interviews every 2-weeks and reported on their TDV perpetration in the past 2-weeks. All six phone interviews were aggregated to form a cumulative measure of TDV across the 3-month period. Results indicated the cumulative assessments of TDV evidenced greater prevalence for physical and emotional TDV compared to single reports, and greater frequency for all types of TDV compared to single reports. Furthermore, overall TDV was more strongly related to externalizing symptoms when measured cumulatively rather than with a single assessment, and sexual TDV was more strongly related to exposure to community violence when measured cumulatively rather than with a single assessment. Findings from the current study highlight the potential benefits of utilizing cumulative assessments in the measurement of TDV perpetration

Breast Health Teaching in Predominantly African American Rural Mississippi Delta

This study\u27s primary focus was breast health education to rural African American women in Mississippi and training of community members. Through practice in this area, women were found to lack knowledge of breast health which is the third leading cause of death in Mississippi Black women. They were open to education: N = 130, t = -16.6, df = 126, p \u3c .001; 1 year, N = 35; 2-3 year N = 16 and 3 trained. Data suggest knowledge increased, a small percentage continued practices and community members would become trainers. One participant was diagnosed with breast cancer, received treatment and remained cancer-free after two years

TakeCARE, a Video to Promote Bystander Behavior on College Campuses: Replication and Extension

Previous research has demonstrated that college students who view TakeCARE, a video bystander program designed to encourage students to take action to prevent sexual and relationship violence (i.e., bystander behavior), display more bystander behavior relative to students who view a control video. The current study aimed to replicate and extend these findings by testing two different methods of administering TakeCARE and examining moderators of TakeCARE’s effects on bystander behavior. Students at four universities (n = 557) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) view TakeCARE in a monitored computer lab, (b) view TakeCARE at their own convenience after receiving an email link to the video, or (c) view a video about study skills (control group). Participants completed measures of bystander behavior at baseline and at a 1-month follow-up. Participants in both TakeCARE conditions reported more bystander behavior at follow-up assessments, compared with participants in the control condition. The beneficial effect of TakeCARE did not differ significantly across administration methods. However, the effects of TakeCARE on bystander behavior were moderated by students’ perceptions of campus responsiveness to sexual violence, with more potent effects when students perceived their institution as responsive to reports of sexual violence

Shortage of Rural Veterinarians: Real or Perceived?

Concerns about lack of available jobs in rural veterinary practice (RVP) and ironically difficulties attracting new veterinarians are commonly expressed within the veterinary community. Reports on supply and demand for rural veterinarians have produced conflicting results. A 1990\u27s economic study forecasted a 3.0% increase in available veterinarians in large animal private practice and a 1.7% decrease in demand from 1997 to 2015. However, a later study forecasted a shortage of food supply veterinary medicine (FSVM) veterinarians from 2004 to 2016 ranging from 0.1% (poultry veterinarians) to 6.9% (federal animal health), with mixed food animal practice at 6.6%

Hösle\u27s Magnifier: Modelling the Ecological Future of Human Society

Vittorio Hösle suočio se 1990. godine s populacijom moskovskih studenata, suvremenika sloma SSSR-a, na temu osmišljavanja procesa postizanja ekološke održivosti, ne samo u neposrednom društveno-političkom kontekstu nego i u kontekstu globalnoga procesa mijenjanja dotadašnjih obrazaca razvoja. Hösleov predložak razumijevanja i prijedloga rješavanja ekološke krize transponira se u širi povijesni i društveni kontekst i kontinuitet, posebice onaj koji je kronološki uslijedio nakon moskovskih predavanja, uz procjenjivanje njegove kakvoće i relevantnosti s obzirom na realne okolnosti društvenog razvoja i primjene načela čuvanja okoliša. Komentira se i vrednuje Hösleov obrazac slijedom problemsko-tematskih odrednica: povijesno-društvena uvjetovanost ekološke krize; etički okvir i silnice društva ekološke krize; sustav uvjetovanosti ekonomije i ekologije u društvu pogođenom ekološkom krizom; političke okolnosti i posljedice ekološke krize. Cilj je pratiti i analizirati što se zbivalo "nakon Höslea" i koliko je to u suglasju s njegovim rezoniranjem. Zaključuje se da je Hösleov obrazac višestruko primjenjiv, vjerodostojan i aktualan.Vittorio Hösle faced a population of Moscow students, contemporaries of the USSR collapse in 1990. He was expected to discuss the process of designing and achieving environmental sustainability, not only within the immediate socio-political context of his audience, but also within the context of a global reshaping of existing development patterns. In the paper Hösle\u27s template of understanding and proposing solutions for the ecological crisis is transposed into a broader historical and social context and continuity, especially one that chronologically followed after his Moscow lectures. The purpose of this article is to assess and evaluate the quality and relevance of Hösle\u27s template considering the realistic circumstances of social development and the application of environment protection principles. The selected framework is developed through the following thematic options: historical and social conditioning of ecological crisis; ethical framework of society affected by ecological crisis; conditioning system of economy and ecology in society affected by ecological crisis; and political circumstances and consequences of ecological crisis. The goal is to follow and analyze what has happened "after Hösle\u27s \u27Philosophy of Ecological Crisis\u27" and whether this is consistent with his reasoning. The conclusion is that Hösle\u27s template is confirmed as fully applicable, credible and relevant

College Students’ Feelings of Campus Connectedness, Party Safety Behavior and Intervening to Prevent Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence

Objective: This research examines associations between college students’ feelings of campus connectedness and two types of prosocial bystander intervention behavior to prevent sexual assault: party safety behavior and intervening in high-risk situations. Method: Short-term longitudinal associations between college students’ feelings of campus connectedness and bystander intervention behavior were examined in three studies. Study 1 (n = 213) examined these associations over a 1-month period. Study 2 (n = 557) was designed to replicate findings from Study 1 in a larger, more diverse sample. Study 3 (n = 730) was designed to replicate and extend findings with party safety behavior from Studies 1 and 2 over a 2-month period. Study 3 also examined whether frequency of party attendance and feelings of responsibility might help explain the association between campus connectedness and party safety behavior. In each of the three studies, students were recruited from multiple universities; students reported on feelings of campus connectedness at baseline and on bystander behavior at baseline and follow-up assessments. Results: In each study, students’ feelings of campus connectedness predicted party safety behavior at follow-up, controlling for party safety behavior at baseline. Feelings of campus connectedness were not associated with intervening in high-risk situations. In Study 3, frequency of party attendance and feelings of responsibility did not explain the association between campus connectedness and party safety behavior. Conclusion: Feelings of campus connectedness may be important to consider in campus efforts to prevent sexual assault

Microfilariae of Brugia malayi Inhibit the mTOR Pathway and Induce Autophagy in Human Dendritic Cells

Immune modulation is a hallmark of patent filarial infection, including suppression of antigen-presenting cell function and downmodulation of filarial antigen-specific T cell responses. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway has been implicated in immune regulation, not only by suppressing T cell responses but also by regulating autophagy (through mTOR sensing amino acid availability). Global proteomic analysis (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry) of microfilaria (mf)-exposed monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) indicated that multiple components of the mTOR signaling pathway, including mTOR, eIF4A, and eIF4E, are downregulated by mf, suggesting that mf target this pathway for immune modulation in DC. Utilizing Western blot analysis, we demonstrate that similar to rapamycin (a known mTOR inhibitor), mf downregulate the phosphorylation of mTOR and its regulatory proteins, p70S6K1 and 4E-BP1, a process essential for DC protein synthesis. As active mTOR signaling regulates autophagy, we examined whether mf exposure alters autophagy-associated processes. mf-induced autophagy was reflected in marked upregulation of phosphorylated Beclin 1, known to play an important role in both autophagosome formation and autolysosome fusion, in induction of LC3II, a marker of autophagosome formation, and in induced degradation of p62, a ubiquitin-binding protein that aggregates protein in autophagosomes and is degraded upon autophagy that was reduced significantly by mf exposure and by rapamycin. Together, these results suggest that Brugia malayi mf employ mechanisms of metabolic modulation in DC to influence the regulation of the host immune response by downregulating mTOR signaling, resulting in increased autophagy. Whether this is a result of the parasite-secreted rapamycin homolog is currently under study

Human Monocyte Subsets at Homeostasis and Their Perturbation in Numbers and Function in Filarial Infection

To characterize the function and plasticity of the major human circulating monocyte populations and to explore their role in systemic helminth infection, highly purified (by flow-based sorting) human monocyte subsets (CD14(hi)/CD16(neg) [classical], CD14(+ or hi)/CD16(med) [intermediate], and CD14(neg)/CD16(hi) [nonclassical]) were examined at homeostasis and after activation. Among these three subsets the classical and intermediate subsets were found to be the major sources of inflammatory and regulatory cytokines, as well as cytokines/chemokines associated with alternative activation, whereas the nonclassical and classical populations demonstrated an ability to transmigrate through endothelial monolayers. Moreover, it was primarily the classical subset that was the most efficient in promoting autologous T cell proliferation. The distribution of these subsets changed in the context of a systemic helminth (Wuchereria bancrofti) infection such that patent infection altered the frequency and distribution of these monocyte subsets with the nonclassical monocytes being expanded (almost 2-fold) in filarial infection. To understand further the filarial/monocyte interface, in vitro modeling demonstrated that the classical subset internalized filarial antigens more efficiently than the other two subsets but that the parasite-driven regulatory cytokine interleukin-10 was exclusively coming from the intermediate subset. Our data suggest that monocyte subsets have a differential function at homeostasis and in response to helminth parasites