Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education: What are the Arguments? What is the Evidence?

Responding to the continuing health threats of HIV, STIs and unplanned pregnancy among young people, the widely respected Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences recently recommended eliminating congressional, federal, state and local "requirements that public funds be used for abstinence-only education." And surveys consistently show that the public wants schools to deliver strong abstinence messages alongside information about self-protection for young people who find themselves in sexual situations. The vast majority of parents support sex education in the schools, including the provision of information about contraceptive and condom use.Unfortunately, federal policy is grossly out of step with the wishes of most parents and students, as well as the scientific research. Since the early 1980s, Congress has devoted significant resources to abstinence-only programming. Partly as a result of federal policy and funding changes, public schools are increasingly supporting abstinence-only curricula that are less likely to include information about birth control, STD prevention and sexual orientation. The evidence tells us that these trends represent a dangerous disservice to America's younger generation

Designing Primary Prevention for People Living with HIV

Today, there are new reasons for a sharper focus on prevention for people living with HIV. Growing numbers of people with the disease are living more healthy, sexual lives. Recent evidence suggests that risk taking among both HIV-positive and negative people is increasing. After nearly two decades of life in the shadow of AIDS, communities are growing weary of traditional prevention messages and many people are openly grappling with difficult questions of intimacy and sex. Increasingly, people living with HIV also face multiple complex economic and substance abuse challenges that complicate prevention efforts.There is an urgent need -- and sufficient expertise -- to move forward with prevention campaigns focused on helping people living with HIV and AIDS avoid passing their infection along to others. Numerous innovative interventions for people with HIV show promise, including:a social marketing campaign for gay men and a five-session group intervention for women living with HIV in Massachusetts,a chat line for positives and a group session program for Latinas/Latinos in Los Angeles,Internet chat room interventions in Atlanta,a group session for gay Asian American-Pacific Islander Americans living with HIV in San Francisco, andPrevention Case Management programs newly funded by the Centers for Disease Control

APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR MODULAR SOFT ROBOTS

Apparatus, Systems, and methods for providing modular soft robots are disclosed. In particular, the disclosed modular soft robot can include a flexible actuator having a plurality of molded flexible units. Each molded flexible unit can include a mechanical connector configured to provide a physical coupling to another molded flexible unit, and the plurality of molded flexible units are arranged to form an embedded fluidic channel. The modular soft robot can also include an inlet coupled to the embedded fluidic channel, where the inlet is configured to receive pressurized or depressurized fluid to inflate or deflate a portion of the flexible actuator, thereby causing an actuation of the flexible actuator

APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR MODULAR SOFT ROBOTS

Apparatus, Systems, and methods for providing modular soft robots are disclosed. In particular, the disclosed modular soft robot can include a flexible actuator having a plurality of molded flexible units. Each molded flexible unit can include a mechanical connector configured to provide a physical coupling to another molded flexible unit, and the plurality of molded flexible units are arranged to form an embedded fluidic channel. The modular soft robot can also include an inlet coupled to the embedded fluidic channel, where the inlet is configured to receive pressurized or depressurized fluid to inflate or deflate a portion of the flexible actuator, thereby causing an actuation of the flexible actuator

FLEXBLE ROBOTIC ACTUATORS

Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter includes a laminated robotic actuator. The laminated robotic actuator includes a strain-limiting layer comprising a flexible, non extensible material in the form of a sheet or thin film, a flexible inflatable layer in the form of a thin film or sheet in facing relationship with the Strain-limiting layer, wherein the inflatable layer is selectively adhered to the strain-limiting layer, and wherein a portion of an un-adhered region between the strain-limiting layer and the inflatable layer defines a pressurizable channel, and at least one fluid inlet in fluid communication with the pressurizable channel. The first flexible non-extensible material has a stiffness that is greater than the stiffness of the second flexible elastomeric material and the flexible elastomer is non-extensible under actuation conditions

Camouflage and Display for Soft Machines

Synthetic systems cannot easily mimic the color-changing abilities of animals such as cephalopods. Soft machines—machines fabricated from soft polymers and flexible reinforcing sheets—are rapidly increasing in functionality. This manuscript describes simple microfluidic networks that can change the color, contrast, pattern, apparent shape, luminescence, and surface temperature of soft machines for camouflage and display. The color of these microfluidic networks can be changed simultaneously in the visible and infrared—a capability that organisms do not have. These strategies begin to imitate the functions, although not the anatomies, of color-changing animals.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACTUATING SOFT ROBOTIC ACTUATORS

Systems and methods for providing a soft robot is provided. In one system , a robotic device includes a flexible body having a fluid chamber, where a portion of the flexible body includes an elastically extensible material and a portion of the flexible body is strain limiting relative to the elastically extensible material. The robotic device can further include a pressurizing inlet in fluid communication with the fluid chamber, and a pressurizing device in fluid communication with the pressurizing inlet, the pressurizing device including a reaction chamber configured to accommodate a gas producing chemical reaction for providing pressurized gas to the pressurizing inlet

Community Member Perspectives from Transgender Women and Men Who Have Sex with Men on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as an HIV Prevention Strategy: Implications for Implementation

Background: An international randomized clinical trial (RCT) on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-prevention intervention found that taken on a daily basis, PrEP was safe and effective among men who have sex with men (MSM) and male-to-female transgender women. Within the context of the HIV epidemic in the United States (US), MSM and transgender women are the most appropriate groups to target for PrEP implementation at the population level; however, their perspectives on evidenced-based biomedical research and the results of this large trial remain virtually unknown. In this study, we examined the acceptability of individual daily use of PrEP and assessed potential barriers to community uptake. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with an ethnoracially diverse sample of thirty HIV-negative and unknown status MSM (n = 24) and transgender women (n = 6) in three California metropolitan areas. Given the burden of disease among ethnoracial minorities in the US, we purposefully oversampled for these groups. Thematic coding and analysis of data was conducted utilizing an approach rooted in grounded theory. Results: While participants expressed general interest in PrEP availability, results demonstrate: a lack of community awareness and confusion about PrEP; reservations about PrEP utilization, even when informed of efficacious RCT results; and concerns regarding equity and the manner in which a PrEP intervention could be packaged and marketed in their communities. Conclusions: In order to effectively reduce HIV health disparities at the population level, PrEP implementation must take into account the uptake concerns of those groups who would actually access and use this biomedical intervention as a prevention strategy. Recommendations addressing these concerns are provided