Health economics study of paliperidone palmitate in the treatment of schizophrenia: a 12-month cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the economic benefits of paliperidone palmitate in the treatment of schizophrenia. METHODS: We collected 546 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia according to the 《International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems,10th》(ICD-10). We gathered general population data such as gender, age, marital status, and education level, then initiated treatment with paliperidone palmitate. Then Follow-up evaluations were conducted at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the start of treatment to assess clinical efficacy, adverse reactions, and injection doses. We also collected information on the economic burden before and after 12 months of treatment, as well as the number of outpatient visits and hospitalizations in the past year to analyze economic benefits. RESULTS: The baseline patients totaled 546, with 239 still receiving treatment with paliperidone palmitate 12 months later. After 12 months of treatment, the number of outpatient visits per year increased compared to before (4 (2,10) vs. 12 (4,12), Z=-5.949, P < 0.001), while the number of hospitalizations decreased (1 (1,3) vs. 1 (1,2), Z = 5.625, P < 0.001). The inpatient costs in the direct medical expenses of patients after 12 months of treatment decreased compared to before (5000(2000,12000) vs. 3000 (1000,8050), P < 0.05), while there was no significant change in outpatient expenses and direct non-medical expenses (transportation, accommodation, meal, and family accompanying expenses, etc.) (P > 0.05); the indirect costs of patients after 12 months of treatment (lost productivity costs for patients and families, economic costs due to destructive behavior, costs of seeking non-medical assistance) decreased compared to before (300(150,600) vs. 150(100,200), P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Palmatine palmitate reduces the number of hospitalizations for patients, as well as their direct and indirect economic burdens, and has good economic benefits.

The clinical performance of ultra-low-dose shoulder CT scans: The assessment on image and physical 3D printing models.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of the clinical performance of ultra-low-dose computed tomography (CT) images of the shoulder joint on image-based diagnosis and three-dimensional (3D) printing surgical planning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 93 patients with displaced shoulder fractures were randomly divided into standard-dose, low-dose, and ultra-low-dose groups. Three-dimensional printing models of all patients' shoulder joints were fabricated. The subjective image quality and 3D-printing model were evaluated by two senior orthopedic surgeons who were blinded to any scanning setting. A 3-point scale system was used to quantitatively assess the image quality and 3D printing model, where more than 2 points meant adequate level for clinical application. RESULTS: Compared with the standard dose protocol, ultra-low-dose technique reduced the radiation dose by 99.29% without loss of key image quality of fracture pattern. Regarding the subjective image quality, the assessment scores for groups of standard, low, and ultra-low doses were 3.00, 2.76, 2.00 points on scapula and humerus, and 3.00, 2.73, 2.44 points on clavicle. Scores of the three groups for the assessment of 3D printing models were 3.00, 2.80, 1.34 on scapula and humerus, and 3.00, 2.90, 2.06 on clavicle. In the ultra-low-dose group, 24 out of 33 (72.7%) 3D printing models of scapula and humerus received lower than 2 points of the evaluation score, while nearly 94% of the clavicle models reached the adequate level. CONCLUSION: An ultra-low-dose protocol is adequate for the diagnosis of either displaced or non-displaced fractures of the shoulder joint even though minor flaws of images are present. Three-dimensional printing models of shoulder joints created from ultra-low-dose CT scans can be used for surgical planning at specific bone like the clavicle but perform insufficiently in the overall surgical planning for shoulder injuries due to the significant geometric flaws.

Groundwater quality assessment and its vulnerability to pollution: a study of district Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Groundwater is the drinking water source for the majority of rural settlements of district Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study aimed to analyze the groundwater quality and its vulnerability to pollution and to develop its spatial distribution mapping. For this purpose, forty-eight groundwater samples were collected from dug wells, tube wells, and hand pumps of sixteen villages and analyzed for physicochemical parameters. The XY coordinates of the sample's sources were marked by Magellan Triton 1500 handheld global positioning system (GPS). The results were compared with WHO and Pak-EPA guidelines. The results of the majority of selected parameters were found within the WHO and Pak-EPA guidelines; however, in certain areas the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), chlorides (Cl-), and alkalinity were higher than the guideline limits. Based on cumulative water quality the excellent water quality prevails over an area of 376 km2 (21% of district area), good water quality 726 km2 (42%), poor 424 km2 (24%), very poor 116 km2 (6%), and unfit for drinking 84 km2 (4%). The water of the Nizampur and Rashaki areas were categorized unfit for drinking. The groundwater quality of nearly one-half of the district varies from poor to very poor, and the soil type and vadose zone sediment/material was found the key reason for groundwater contamination. Based on the infiltration capacity of vadose zone material, the study area was divided into four water pollution vulnerable zones. The low vulnerable zone covers an area of 104 km2, moderate 862 km2, high 667 km2, and very high 93 km2. The most important factor which determines the vulnerability of the groundwater to contamination is the vadose zone material/sediment which in turn determines the soil infiltration capacity. The generated groundwater susceptibility and water quality maps provide critical information for identifying optimal locations for supply wells.

Advancing equity through strengthening research on health and well-being of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.

The National Institutes of Health's Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health Scientific Interest Group (NIH AANHPI-HSIG) provides a viewpoint on developing approaches to enhance research on health and wellbeing for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander ethnic populations, in order to advance racial equity amongst such populations.

Low-cost synthesis of small molecule acceptors makes polymer solar cells commercially viable.

The acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) or A-DA'D-A structured small molecule acceptors (SMAs) have triggered substantial progress for polymer solar cells (PSCs). However, the high-cost of the SMAs impedes the commercial viability of such renewable energy, as their synthesis via the classical pyridine-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation usually suffers from low reaction efficiency and tedious purifying work-up. Herein, we developed a simple and cheap boron trifluoride etherate-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation for addressing this challenge, and found that the coupling of the aldehyde-terminated D unit and the A-end groups could be quantitatively finished in the presence of acetic anhydride within 15 minutes at room temperature. Compared with the conventional method, the high reaction efficiency of our method is related to the germinal diacetate pathway that is thermodynamically favorable to give the final products. For those high performing SMAs (such as ITIC-4F and Y6), the cost could be reduced by 50% compared with conventional preparation. In addition to the application in PSCs, our synthetic approach provides a facile and low-cost access to a wide range of D-A organic semiconductors for emerging technologies.

Assessment of hyperprogression versus the natural course of disease development with nivolumab with or without ipilimumab versus placebo in phase III, randomized, controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Retrospective studies have suggested a potential risk of hyperprogressive disease (HPD) in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We compared the incidence of HPD during treatment with nivolumab±ipilimumab versus natural tumor progression with placebo in post hoc analyses of two randomized, double-blind clinical trials. METHODS: ATTRACTION-2 randomized patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer (GC/GEJC) and progression on ≥2 prior regimens to nivolumab 3 mg/kg Q2W or placebo. CheckMate 451 randomized patients with extensive-disease small cell lung cancer (ED SCLC) and ongoing complete/partial response or stable disease after first-line chemotherapy to nivolumab 240 mg Q2W, nivolumab 1 mg/kg+ipilimumab 3 mg/kg Q3W for four doses then nivolumab 240 mg Q2W, or placebo. Patients receiving ≥1 dose of study drug and with tumor scans at baseline and the first on-treatment evaluation were included in the HPD analyses. HPD definitions were ≥20%, ≥50%, and ≥100% increase in target lesion sum of the longest diameters (SLD) at the first on-treatment assessment. RESULTS: In the ATTRACTION-2 HPD-evaluable population, 243 patients received nivolumab and 115 placebo. Fewer patients receiving nivolumab versus placebo had increases in SLD ≥20% (33.7% vs 46.1%) and ≥50% (6.2% vs 11.3%); similar proportions had increases in SLD ≥100% (1.6% vs 1.7%). In the CheckMate 451 HPD-evaluable population, 177 patients received nivolumab, 179 nivolumab+ipilimumab, and 175 placebo. Fewer patients receiving nivolumab or nivolumab+ipilimumab versus placebo had increases in SLD ≥20% (27.1%, 27.4% vs 45.7%), ≥50% (10.2%, 11.2% vs 22.3%), and ≥100% (2.8%, 2.8% vs 6.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Nivolumab±ipilimumab was not associated with an increased rate of progression versus placebo in patients with GC, GEJC, or ED SCLC, suggesting that previous reports of HPD may reflect the natural disease course in some patients rather than ICI-mediated progression. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02538666; NCT02267343.

Rapid Assessment of Exercise State through Athlete's Urine Using Temperature-Dependent NIRS Technology.

Athletes usually take nutritional supplements and perform the specialized training to improve the performance of sport. A quick assessment of their athletic status will help to understand the current physical function of athletes' status and the effect of nutritional supplementation. Human urine, as one of the most important body indicators, is composed of many metabolites, which can provide effective monitoring information for physical conditions. In this study, temperature-dependent near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology was used to collect the spectra of athlete's urine for evaluating the feasibility of rapidly detecting the exercise state of the basketball player. To obtain the detection results accurately, several chemometrics methods including principal component analysis (PCA), variables selection method of variable importance in projection (VIP), continuous 1D wavelet transform (CWT), and partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were employed to develop a classifier to distinguish the physical status of athletes. The optimal classifying results were obtained by wavelet-PLS-DA classifier, whose average precision, sensitivity, and specificity are all above 0.95, and the overall accuracy of all samples is 0.97. These results demonstrate that temperature-dependent NIRS can be used to rapidly assess the physical function of athlete's status and the effect of nutritional supplementation is feasible. It can be believed that temperature-dependent NIR spectroscopy will obtain applications more widely in the future.

National Institutes of Health social and behavioral research in response to the SARS-CoV2 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been mitigated primarily using social and behavioral intervention strategies, and these strategies have social and economic impacts, as well as potential downstream health impacts that require further study. Digital and community-based interventions are being increasingly relied upon to address these health impacts and bridge the gap in health care access despite insufficient research of these interventions as a replacement for, not an adjunct to, in-person clinical care. As SARS-CoV-2 testing expands, research on encouraging uptake and appropriate interpretation of these test results is needed. All of these issues are disproportionately impacting underserved, vulnerable, and health disparities populations. This commentary describes the various initiatives of the National Institutes of Health to address these social, behavioral, economic, and health disparities impacts of the pandemic, the findings from which can improve our response to the current pandemic and prepare us better for future infectious disease outbreaks.

Ultralow-input single-tube linked-read library method enables short-read second-generation sequencing systems to routinely generate highly accurate and economical long-range sequencing information.

Long-range sequencing information is required for haplotype phasing, de novo assembly, and structural variation detection. Current long-read sequencing technologies can provide valuable long-range information but at a high cost with low accuracy and high DNA input requirements. We have developed a single-tube Transposase Enzyme Linked Long-read Sequencing (TELL-seq) technology, which enables a low-cost, high-accuracy, and high-throughput short-read second-generation sequencer to generate over 100 kb of long-range sequencing information with as little as 0.1 ng input material. In a PCR tube, millions of clonally barcoded beads are used to uniquely barcode long DNA molecules in an open bulk reaction without dilution and compartmentation. The barcoded linked-reads are used to successfully assemble genomes ranging from microbes to human. These linked-reads also generate megabase-long phased blocks and provide a cost-effective tool for detecting structural variants in a genome, which are important to identify compound heterozygosity in recessive Mendelian diseases and discover genetic drivers and diagnostic biomarkers in cancers.

Application of economic plant for remediation of cadmium contaminated soils: Three mulberry (Moms alba L.) varieties cultivated in two polluted fields.

In order to study the role of mulberry (Moms alba L) as an economic crop for remediation of cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil, the transport of Cd from mulberry to silkworm were investigated. Three varieties of mulberry (Yuesang-11, Nongsang-14, and Qiangsang-1) with three planting densities were cultivated in two heavy metal-contaminated fields named Dongkou in Shaoyang city and Linxiang in Yueyang city in Hunan province respectively. The both field soils were contaminated by heavy metals, especially by Cd. The potential risks of heavy metals in Linxiang's soil were higher than those in Dongkou's because of higher concentrations of Cd. Since the promotion of Cd concentrations in aerial parts (stem, branch and leaf) resulted from the increase of planting density, the method of high planting density is beneficial to improve the efficiency of the remediation of Cd contaminated soil. The percentages of average Cd contents of mulberry in Dongkou accounted for 44%, 20%, 18% and 16% in roots, stems, branches and leaves respectively, while the Cd contents were 38%, 27%, 19% and 16% distributed in roots, stems, branches and leaves respectively. Mulberry leaves from contaminated soils was applied in food source of silkworms in this study. Although there is Cd uptake occurred in silkworm growth and its products (cocoons and chrysalis), Cd contents in cocoons are lower than the national standard (100 µg*kg-1) for textile industry of China. Therefore, mulberry can be regarded as an economical crop to control soil contamination with Cd.

Heavy metal distribution, translocation, and human health risk assessment in the soil-rice system around Dongting Lake area, China.

Heavy metals including copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) were investigated in 89 pairs of rice plant and paddy soils around Dongting Lake area, China. Rice plants and soils were collected with GPS device, and heavy metal contents in different rice plant tissues and soils were measured. The aim of the present study was to assess the heavy metal pollution and translocation in the whole soil-rice system, including the consequent human health risk for residents. According to the indices of average geoaccumulation (Igeo) of the studied elements, paddy soils in study area were moderately polluted by Cd, lowly polluted by Pb, and not polluted by Cu, Zn, Cr, and As. Considering the much higher concentrations of studied elements in roots than in other tissues of rice plants, a great mass of these elements was assumed to be confined in the roots. The low translocation factors from root to shoot (Tfroot-shoot) of all the studied heavy metals (0.04-0.74) underpinned this. The high translocation factors from soil to root (Tfsoil-root) of Cd (9.12), As (4.38), and Zn (2.05) indicated the high bioavailability of these heavy metals for rice plant. The health risk assessment using target hazard quotients (THQs) model indicated that Cd (5.17 for adults and 4.49 for children respectively) and As (3.61 for adults and 3.14 for children respectively) could cause human health risk both for adults and children. Further, given the rate of individual THQ values exceeding one, Cu might also be considered as a potential human health dangerous element in the study area. It was worth noting that as one of the main pollutants, Pb did not show human health risk through rice grain consumption due to its low Tf values in soil-rice system. However, the risk identification of As using comparisons of measured concentrations with risk screening value in Chinese paddy soil standard (GB15618-2018) was not consistent with the human health risk assessment result. This might indicate that site-specific risk screening values of As in China is in demand.

Biodistribution and toxicity assessment of intratumorally injected arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptide conjugated to CdSe/ZnS quantum dots in mice bearing pancreatic neoplasm.

Quantum dots (QDs) conjugated with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptides (which are integrin antagonists) are novel nanomaterials with the unique optical property of high molar extinction coefficient, and they have potential utility as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Our group previously demonstrated significant benefits of using PDT with QD-RGD on pancreatic tumor cells. This study aimed to evaluate the biodistribution and toxicity of QD-RGD in mice prior to in vivo application. Mice with pancreatic neoplasms were intratumorally injected with varying doses of QD-RGD, and the biodistribution 0-24 h post injection was compared to that in control mice (intravenously injected with unconjugated QD). Various tissue samples were collected for toxicity analyses, which included inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to assess Cd2+ concentrations and hematoxylin-eosin staining for histopathological examination. Fluorescent imaging revealed relatively sufficient radiant efficiency in mice under specific conditions. The ICP-MS and HE data showed no significant signs of necrosis due to Cd2+ release by QDs. The mice survived well and had no apparent weakness or weight loss during the 4 weeks post injection. These findings provide novel insights into the biodistribution of QD-RGD and encourage profound in vivo studies regardless of safety concerns. These findings alleviate safety concerns and provide novel insights into the biodistribution of QD-RGD, offering a solid foundation for comprehensive in vivo studies.

Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and practices about Human Papilloma Virus vaccine among the nurses working in a tertiary hospital in China: A cross-sectional descriptive study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge about human papilloma virus infection and vaccine, to ascertain the attitude and practices about the vaccine, and to ascertain the determinants preventing people from getting themselves vaccinated. METHODS: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from June to August 2015 in Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, China, and comprised all the nursing staff including nursing students. A piloted semi-structured questionnaire was used for collecting data. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 18. RESULTS: Of the 308 subjects, 190(61.6%) were professional nurses and 118(38.3%) were nursing students. The mean age of the nurses was 36.7±6.2 years and that of the students was 20.4±2.1 years. Overall, 254(82.5%) subjects were aware about the existence of human papilloma virus vaccine; 241(94.9%) thought that the vaccine could effectively prevent the development of cervical cancer; and 108(61.4%) were reluctant to get vaccinated because the vaccine was expensive. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to address the myths and misconceptions associated with vaccines in order to improve the acceptance of human papilloma virus vaccine among them.

The National Cancer Institute R25 Cancer Education Grants Program: A Workshop Report.

Through the R25 Cancer Education Grants Program (CEGP), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been supporting the broad educational needs of the cancer research and cancer healthcare communities since 1974. NCI sponsored a workshop on September 13, 2016 in Bethesda, Maryland, with the objectives of sharing best practices in cancer education, communicating R25 CEGP programmatic information, and gathering ideas to strengthen the R25 CEGP to better meet the emerging needs in cancer education in the face of a rapidly changing landscape in cancer research and cancer care. With 53 leaders in cancer education in attendance, the workshop featured an overview of the R25 CEGP by NCI Program Staff, a showcase of several types of CEGP programs by current R25 grantees, and in-depth discussions on a broad range of questions critical for the continued success of the R25 CEGP. The workshop afforded an opportunity, for the first time, for cancer researchers and clinicians conducting different forms of cancer education activities to gather in one place as leaders of a community of increasing importance. The discussion resulted in a set of suggestions that will benefit the R25 CEGP and cancer education in general. There was a general consensus among the participants that bringing the cancer education community together is a significant achievement of the workshop that will have a long-lasting impact on cancer education.

Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce.

The United States has experienced an unsustainable increase of the biomedical research workforce over the past 3 decades. This expansion has led to a myriad of consequences, including an imbalance in the number of researchers and available tenure-track faculty positions, extended postdoctoral training periods, increasing age of investigators at first U.S. National Institutes of Health R01 grant, and exodus of talented individuals seeking careers beyond traditional academe. Without accurate data on the biomedical research labor market, challenges will remain in resolving these problems and in advising trainees of viable career options and the skills necessary to be productive in their careers. We analyzed workforce trends, integrating both traditional labor market information and real-time job data. We generated a profile of the current biomedical research workforce, performed labor gap analyses of occupations in the workforce at regional and national levels, and assessed skill transferability between core and complementary occupations. We conclude that although supply into the workforce and the number of job postings for occupations within that workforce have grown over the past decade, supply continues to outstrip demand. Moreover, we identify practical skill sets from real-time job postings to optimally equip trainees for an array of careers to effectively meet future workforce demand.-Mason, J. L., Johnston, E., Berndt, S., Segal, K., Lei, M., Wiest, J. S. Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce.

Controlled attenuation parameter for non-invasive assessment of hepatic steatosis in Chinese patients.

AIM: To evaluate the performance of a novel non-invasive controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) to assess liver steatosis. METHODS: This was a multi-center prospective cohort study. Consecutive patients (aged ≥ 18 years) who had undergone percutaneous liver biopsy and CAP measurement were recruited from three Chinese liver centers. Steatosis was categorized as S0: < 5%; S1: 5%-33%; S2: 34%-66%; or S3: ≥ 67%, according to the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score. The FibroScan(®) 502 equipped with the M probe (Echosens, Paris, France) was used to capture both CAP and liver stiffness measurement values simultaneously. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted, and the areas under the curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic efficacy. The accuracy of the CAP values at the optimal thresholds was defined by maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity (maximum Youden index). RESULTS: A total of 152 patients were recruited, including 52 (34.2%) patients with NAFLD and 100 (65.8%) with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection. After adjustment, the steatosis grade (OR = 37.12; 95%CI: 21.63-52.60, P < 0.001) and body mass index (BMI, OR = 6.20; 95%CI: 2.92-9.48, P < 0.001) were found independently associated with CAP by multivariate linear regression analysis. CAP was not influenced by inflammation, fibrosis or aetiology. The median CAP values and interquartile ranges among patients with S0, S1, S2 and S3 steatosis were 211 (181-240) dB/m, 270 (253-305) dB/m, 330 (302-360) dB/m, and 346 (313-363) dB/m, respectively. The cut-offs for the CAP values in all patients with steatosis ≥ 5%, ≥ 34% and ≥ 67% were 253 dB/m, 285 dB/m and 310 dB/m, respectively. The areas under the curves were 0.92, 0.92 and 0.88 for steatosis ≥ 5%, ≥ 34% and ≥ 67%, respectively. No significant differences were found in the CAP values between the NAFLD group and the CHB group in each steatosis grade. CONCLUSION: CAP appears to be a promising tool for the non-invasive detection and quantification of hepatic steatosis, but is limited by BMI.

Assessment of heavy metal contamination and bioaccumulation in soybean plants from mining and smelting areas of southern Hunan Province, China.

Soybean is one of most important dicotyledonous food crops and is widely planted in Hunan Province, China. However, mining activity causes contamination of the soil in which soybean grows. To assess the impact of mining-induced soil contamination on soybean plants, a geoaccumulation index (I(geo)) was used to evaluate 20 soil samples from the mining and smelting areas of southern Hunan Province. The results indicated that Zn ranged from uncontaminated to a moderately contaminated level (I(geo)<1), Pb was at a strongly contaminated level (I(geo)>3), and Cd was at an extremely contaminated level (I(geo)>5) across the whole study area. All of the studied soybean plants were affected by heavy metal Pb and Cd contamination, and the mean concentrations in seeds were 13.9 mg/kg and 2.95 mg/kg, respectively. The estimated bioconcentration factor and translocation factor showed that the soybean roots had a strong Cd bioconcentration capability and the stems had a strong translocation capability in terms of Pb, Cd, and Zn, with preferential transference of metals to the soybean leaves. The bioavailable fraction in the soil was characterized by the exchangeable fraction of heavy metals. In the present study, the bioavailable fractions of Pb, Cd, and Zn were significantly positively correlated with the concentration of these metals in soybean tissues (roots, stems, leaves, husks, and seeds).

Outcome evaluation of the National Cancer Institute career development awards program.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) career development (K) awards program supports investigators to develop their cancer research programs and achieve independence. The NCI Center for Cancer Training conducted a K program evaluation by analyzing outcomes of awardees and individuals who applied to the program but were not funded. The evaluation covered seven NCI mechanisms (K01, K07, K08, K11, K22, K23, and K25) between 1980 and 2008. Descriptive statistics and regression modeling were performed on the full cohort (n = 2,893 individuals, 4,081 K applications) and a comparison cohort described herein. K awardees proportionately received more subsequent NIH grants and authored more publications, and time to first R01 grant was unaffected. Of those not pursuing research, K awardees were more likely to participate in activities signaling continued scientific engagement. The NCI K program had a positive impact, not only on participants' biomedical research careers but also on achieving outcomes significant to the scientific enterprise.

Health promotion messages in entertainment media: crime drama viewership and intentions to intervene in a sexual assault situation.

Popular crime dramas have tackled sensitive issues such as sexual assault with increasing frequency over the past 20 years. These popular programs increasingly demonstrate the emotional and physical effect of sexual assault on its victims, and in some instances they depict individuals being rewarded for intervening to prevent or stop an assault in progress. It is possible that this content could affect attitudes related to sexual assault prevention. However, no previous research has examined this possibility. In the fall 2008 semester, 508 undergraduates at a large northwestern university completed a questionnaire about media use and bystander intervention in a sexual assault situation. Results from hierarchical regressions lend support for the integrative model of behavioral prediction in that instrumentality, rape myth acceptance, perceived social norms, perceived efficacy related to intervening, and exposure to primetime crime dramas were associated with participants' intentions to intervene in a sexual assault. The results suggest that crime dramas may be a useful venue for prevention messages as exposure to crime dramas uniquely contributed to intentions to intervene in a sexual assault.