Research has shown child sexual abuse (CSA) within youth-serving organizations (YSOs) often went undetected for decades, which may in part be due to the use of sexual grooming behaviors. One such YSO is the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), with nearly 100,000 individuals alleging CSA within this organization. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of CSA within the BSA and the presence of sexual grooming behaviors as described by the Sexual Grooming Model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a global problem that is preventable. Sexual grooming behaviors have been deemed an integral part of CSA for the purpose of avoiding detection and preventing disclosure. Many of these behaviors are reported more often by adults who experienced CSA as compared to those that did not (Jeglic et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Identifying sexual grooming behaviors holds potential to reduce the occurrence of child sexual abuse (CSA) and increase disclosure rates. Given the influential role parents play in CSA prevention and the lack of previous research examining parent-specific sexual grooming recognition abilities, this study examined both generalized adult (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn sub/tropical waters, benthic foraminifera are among the most abundant epiphytic organisms inhabiting seagrass meadows. This study explored the nature of the association between foraminifera and the tropical seagrass species H. stipulacea, aiming to determine whether these interactions are facilitative or random.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLittle is known about the extent to which youths who commit harmful sexual behaviors (HSBs) against another minor utilize sexual grooming during the offense process. This study examined sexual grooming behaviors reported by adults ( = 250) who experienced HSBs by another minor during their childhood. Participants completed a self-report survey which included the Sexual Grooming Scale - Victim Version (SGS-V).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Mediterranean Sea has been experiencing rapid increases in temperature and salinity triggering its tropicalization. Additionally, its connection with the Red Sea has been favouring the establishment of non-native species. In this study, we investigated the effects of predicted climate change and the introduction of invasive seagrass species (Halophila stipulacea) on the native Mediterranean seagrass community (Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa) by applying a novel ecological and spatial model with different configurations and parameter settings based on a Cellular Automata (CA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChild sexual abuse (CSA) is a pervasive global problem. To date, prevention efforts have largely focused on legislative efforts, parent and child education, and environmental protections. Due to the proliferation of the Internet, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, recent prevention efforts have focused on online CSA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
September 2023
Seagrasses harbour different and rich epiphytic bacterial communities. These microbes may establish intimate and symbiotic relationships with the seagrass plants and change according to host species, environmental conditions, and/or ecophysiological status of their seagrass host. Although Posidonia oceanica is one of the most studied seagrasses in the world, and bacteria associated with seagrasses have been studied for over a decade, P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHalophila stipulacea is a tropical seagrass species, native to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean, while invasive to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. The benthic fauna assemblages associated with H. stipulacea in its native habitats and the potential effects of anthropogenic stressors on these assemblages remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Soil water availability is a key factor in the growth of trees. In arid deserts, tree growth is limited by very dry soil and atmosphere conditions. tree species are distributed in the most arid deserts of the globe, therefore they are well adapted to heat and long droughts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynthetic analogs based on the DNA bis-intercalating natural product peptides sandramycin and quinaldopeptin were investigated as antibody drug conjugate (ADC) payloads. Synthesis, biophysical characterization, and potency of 34 new analogs are described. Conjugation of an initial drug-linker derived from a novel bis-intercalating peptide produced an ADC that was hydrophobic and prone to aggregation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The seagrass is native to the Red Sea. It invaded the Mediterranean over the past century and most of the Caribbean over the last two decades. Understanding the main drivers behind the successful invasiveness of has become crucial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPairing immunostimulatory small molecules with the targeting capability of an antibody has emerged as a novel therapeutic modality with the potential to treat a variety of solid tumors. A series of compounds based on an imidazo-thienopyridine scaffold were synthesized and tested for their ability to agonize the innate immune sensors toll-like receptor 7 and 8 (TLR7/8). Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed that certain simple amino-substituents could enable TLR7 agonism at low nanomolar concentrations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: Sex trafficking is a significant global problem that results in millions of individuals being sexually exploited annually. This paper will provide an overview of recent research in the field of sex trafficking and evaluate findings to provide recommendations for future research and policy work.
Recent Findings: In recent years, there has been an increase in research focused on understanding sex trafficking and how it can be prevented.
The continuous worldwide seagrasses decline calls for immediate actions in order to preserve this precious marine ecosystem. The main stressors that have been linked with decline in seagrasses are 1) the increasing ocean temperature due to climate change and 2) the continuous inputs of nutrients (eutrophication) associated with coastal human activities. To avoid the loss of seagrass populations, an "early warning" system is needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremise: Tree growth is a fundamental biological process that is essential to ecosystem functioning and water and element cycling. Climate exerts a major impact on tree growth, with tree species often requiring a unique set of conditions to initiate and maintain growth throughout the growing season. Still, little is known about the specific climatic factors that enable tree growth in savannah and desert tree species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is evidence that clergy who commit child sexual abuse (CSA) may utilize sexual grooming behaviors in the offense process consistent with a content-validated model (Sexual Grooming Model; SGM). Although research has examined differences in characteristics between clergy with single versus multiple CSA victims, little is known about how sexual grooming behaviors may vary between these groups. The present study utilized a large sample of alleged clergy sexual abuse incidents ( = 10,667) to examine the differences in reported sexual grooming behaviors for victims who experienced abuse by an individual who had a single (V-SVOs) or multiple (V-MVOs) victims.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sexual Grooming is the deceptive process wherein a would-be perpetrator prepares a child for sexual abuse (CSA) and prevents disclosure and detection. It is often difficult to detect sexual grooming because some grooming behaviors resemble normal adult-child interactions. To prevent CSA, it is vital to identify sexual grooming behaviors that can be considered "red flag" behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is little research on treatment for firesetting, especially for those who were incarcerated for their offenses. Of the treatment programs that do exist, there are limitations to feasibly implementing these in correctional settings. We propose a short-term (eight-session) program, Intervention for Firesetting Offenses (INFO), based on techniques that have been empirically supported for this population, including psychoeducation, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy-based strategies, and relapse prevention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Halophila stipulacea seagrass meadows are an ecologically important and threatened component of the ecosystem in the Gulf of Aqaba. Recent studies have demonstrated correlated geographic patterns for leaf epiphytic community composition and leaf morphology, also coinciding with different levels of water turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Based on these observations, workers have suggested an environmental microbial fingerprint, which may reflect various environmental stress factors seagrasses have experienced, and may add a holobiont level of plasticity to seagrasses, assisting their acclimation to changing environments and through range expansion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe prevalence rates of paraphilic interests and disorders in the general population have been understudied, in large part due to the lack of a standardized assessment measure. As a result, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( provides little information regarding the prevalence of paraphilic disorders. The present study involved the development of a self-report measure, (), that can be used to assess for the eight paraphilic interests/disorders in the for use with general population samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn an effort to prevent inpatient violence on forensic psychiatric units, it is necessary to have a feasible and effective measure for nursing to screen for risk of short-term verbal and physical aggression. The Imminent Risk Rating Scale (IRRS; Starzomski & Wilson, 2015) showed promise in an initial validation study. This study aimed to further examine the predictive validity of the IRRS by utilizing clinical pilot data collected from a forensic inpatient unit.
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