After campus climate survey results at a private Southern U.S. university showed unexpectedly high levels of sexual violence experienced by students, a multidisciplinary group of faculty designed a semester-long course for academic credit. The course addressed upstream factors influencing the prevalence of sexual violence in undergraduate populations, with a focus on first-year students. A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group, pre-post survey design evaluated the impact of the curricular intervention, surveying both students enrolled in the intervention course and those in a comparison course. This analysis used a pooled sample (n = 177) from two cohorts of students in the intervention (n = 118) and comparison courses (n = 59). Focal measures analyzed included the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, Sexual Conservatism, Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs, Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance, Bystander Efficacy, Consent Myth Awareness, Sexual Misconduct Apathy, and Campus Resource Awareness. A series of weighted g-computations estimated the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) on students enrolled in the intervention course. Three of the eight measures showed significant changes pre-post in the desired direction. Results indicated significant reductions for intervention students in Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs and increases in both Bystander Efficacy and Campus Resource Awareness. Findings indicate that, for those enrolled in the curricular intervention, the course fostered positive improvements in heteronormative attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding bystander intervention while increasing campus resource knowledge. Findings confirm and extend prior work on the utility of a curricular intervention for improving campus climate.

Sexual violence is a major public health and medico-legal concern, but many cases remain unreported. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, social isolation, restricted services, and psychosocial stress raised concerns about changes in reporting. This study aimed to analyze and compare patterns of officially recorded sexual violence in Lithuania before and during the pandemic. A retrospective, registry-based, repeated cross-sectional study used data from the Departmental Register of Criminal Offences on recorded sexual offenses in Lithuania during 2018 to 2021. Cases were divided into pre-pandemic (2018-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) periods. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and R 4.3.2 with Rcmdr 2.9.2 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). Categorical variables were compared using chi-square or Fisher exact tests, with Monte Carlo simulation where appropriate; quantitative variables using the t-test or Mann-Whitney U test; and population-based recorded case rates using Poisson rate comparison. A total of 736 recorded sexual violence cases were analyzed. Recorded cases decreased from 451 before the pandemic to 285 during the pandemic, and the recorded case rate decreased from 8.01 to 5.07 per 100,000 population (rate ratio 0.63, 95% confidence interval 0.54-0.74, P < .001). Rape was the most frequently recorded offense type. Most recorded victims were female, and most cases involved suspects known to the victim. The proportion of minors among recorded victims slightly increased, but not significantly (64.8% vs 69.0%, P = .255), while the population-based recorded victim rate among minors decreased. Victims were significantly younger than suspects (P < .001). Recorded alcohol involvement slightly decreased, but not significantly. Among cases with documented physical-damage information (48.1%), non-severe health impairment was recorded more frequently during the pandemic period (3.95% vs 18.08%, P < .001). In Lithuania, officially recorded sexual violence cases and their population-based rate decreased during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, while the main recorded victim-suspect profile remained broadly similar. Most recorded cases involved female victims and suspects known to the victim, and minors constituted a large proportion of recorded victims. Among cases with documented physical-damage information, non-severe health impairment was more frequently recorded during the pandemic period.

Winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) production is constrained by a complex of fungal pathogens, including Alternaria alternata, A. brassicicola, Botrytis cinerea, Phoma lingam and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which are conventionally managed with synthetic fungicides such as prothioconazole. This study evaluated the biocontrol and biostimulant potential of two plant extracts (garlic, Allium sativum; Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus) and two bacterial fermentation supernatants (Enterobacter sp. and Paenibacillus sp.) against these pathogens under in vitro, greenhouse and field conditions (2022-2024, two locations: Winna Góra and Rzeszów, Poland). In vitro, the Paenibacillus sp. supernatant showed the broadest and strongest activity, with inhibition of mycelial growth comparable to prothioconazole for several pathogens, particularly A. brassicicola and B. cinerea. Garlic extract was most effective against S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea, with efficacy increasing with concentration and reaching complete inhibition at 10%; because each concentration was analysed in a separate one-way model, this concentration trend is reported descriptively and was not formally tested as a product × concentration interaction. Jerusalem artichoke extract was consistently the most effective agent against P. lingam (88-92% inhibition, largely independent of concentration), while Enterobacter sp. showed a comparatively narrow spectrum, with no measurable activity against B. cinerea and only negligible activity against S. sclerotiorum (≤6% inhibition at all tested concentrations). In the greenhouse, all four bioproducts significantly stimulated seedling growth, with fresh shoot weight increases exceeding 100% relative to the untreated control; fresh root weight showed a similar but non-significant trend. Under field conditions, garlic extract and Paenibacillus sp. gave the most consistent statistically significant and, in several site-years, fungicide-comparable control of Phoma stem canker (Phoma lingam) and Alternaria black spot (Alternaria spp.), occasionally matching the fungicide Protikon 250 EC; on the other hand, Enterobacter sp. was more variable and Jerusalem artichoke extract intermediate. Seed yield was increased over the untreated control at Rzeszów in both seasons, with the exception of Enterobacter sp. in 2023/2024, but not at Winna Góra, and thousand-seed weight was unaffected by treatment.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a signaling metabolite involved in plant stress responses; its role in cadmium (Cd) stress adaptation in oilseed crops remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of exogenous GABA on Cd stress responses in two Brassica species, oilseed rape (Brassica napus, Bn) and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea, Bj). GABA alleviated Cd toxicity, as indicated by improved chlorophyll retention and reduced Cd accumulation by 22-29% across the two species. Moreover, GABA altered Cd subcellular partitioning and was accompanied by elevations in ascorbate (ASA) and glutathione (GSH) contents, respectively, together with reduced superoxide anion radical (O2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation. GABA also altered fatty acid compositions, suggesting changes in membrane lipid metabolism under Cd stress. Transcriptome analysis identified 2502 and 352 upregulated genes under GABA + Cd treatment (relative to the control) in Bn and Bj, respectively, of which 2245 and 219 were uniquely detected in the GABA + Cd treatment groups. Moreover, GABA supplementation was associated with transcriptional changes in genes related to redox metabolism and ABC transporter-associated processes. Collectively, these findings suggest that GABA supplementation was associated with improved Cd tolerance in Brassica species, accompanied by changes in Cd subcellular partitioning, non-enzymatic antioxidant metabolism, fatty acid profiles, and stress-responsive transcriptome reprogramming.

Despite legal provisions allowing for abortion in cases of rape and incest, survivors in West and Central Africa still face many access barriers. Understanding these obstacles is vital for their rights and health. This study looked at barriers to safe and legal abortion services for survivors of sexual violence in five West and Central African countries. We did a comparative case study in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Togo. Data collection included documentary analysis, 164 semi-structured interviews with institutional actors, civil society members, community leaders, and sexual violence survivors, along with 14 focus group discussions and a multi-level analytical framework. We applied a four-phase collaborative qualitative thematic analysis. This helped us identify barriers at macro (policy), meso (organisational), and micro (individual) levels. The analysis reveals how interconnected barriers restrict access. At the macro level, obstacles include unclear laws, missing regulations, and bans on abortion-related communication. Meso-level barriers feature inconsistent institutional practices, unprepared health facilities, and poor coordination. Micro-level challenges involve limited awareness of legal rights, widespread social and religious stigma, and informal conscientious objection practices. For survivors seeking to end the pregnancy, these barriers lead to unsafe abortion or forced continuation of pregnancy. Legal provisions alone do not guarantee survivors' access to safe and legal abortion. Coordinated efforts are needed to address legal, institutional, and social obstacles, transforming legal rights into real access and reducing unsafe abortion practices.

Fanfiction (literature by admirers of works of fiction that incorporate characters or settings from these stories) has gained growing popularity in recent decades, particularly among female readers. While many fanfiction stories contain sexually explicit elements of the original story, some are specifically written, either partially or solely, for pornographic purposes. However, despite its popularity as an alternative form of pornography, sexually explicit fanfiction has garnered much less research attention than visual mainstream pornography or erotic fiction. We conducted a textual analysis of both the most popular fanfiction stories (n = 525) and a random sample of fanfiction stories (n = 360) from AO3, the leading website for fanfiction. Results showed that about half of the stories in the overall sample were marked with tags conveying aggression, while acts of non-consensual aggression or rape were present in almost 20% of the sample. A verification content analysis of the full text for 60 of these stories further suggests that the prevalence of aggression may in fact be substantially higher. We argue that since fanfiction is mostly read by women, our analysis takes an important step toward shedding light on women's sexual preferences.

People living in rural areas in the US may be at elevated risk to experience sexual violence victimization due to structural inequalities. However, our understanding of how often sexual violence occurs within these communities is limited. We conducted a systematic review to examine the prevalence rates of sexual violence victimization in rural communities. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched electronic databases for articles published on sexual violence victimization in rural communities in the US; there was no publication date restriction. Articles were included if they assessed sexual violence victimization within a rural context within the US. Our initial search resulted in 6,170 articles for abstract screening, 16 met inclusion criteria. Most articles were removed because they assessed intimate partner violence, but not sexual violence. Our sample size included 6,369 participants who ranged from 13-64 years old. Articles were published between 1988-2025. Articles included five types of sexual violence: sexual violence over one's lifetime, unwanted touching, sexual coercion, attempted and completed rape. Average prevalence rates ranged from 6.5% - 23.8%. Rates of sexual violence victimization in rural populations mirror the broader literature on sexual violence prevalence rates. However, not all articles provided contextual details about the victimization experiences, such as who the perpetrator was, the time frame, or how often sexual violence had occurred. Moving forward, greater efforts are needed to assess the context of sexual violence victimization within rural communities.

Mild cadmium (Cd) contamination seriously restricts the safe utilization of paddy soils in southern China. Biochar materials can immobilize soil Cd, yet a single biochar often exhibits limited comprehensive improvement effects. At present, field studies systematically revealing how composite biochar amendments regulate soil enzyme activity, microbial biomass, and bacterial communities remain insufficient. This study aims to clarify the responses of soil enzyme activity, microbial biomass, and bacterial community structure to compound biochar amendments under rice-rape rotation field conditions. We hypothesize that composite amendments consisting of biochar, rape organic fertilizer (ROF), calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer (CMPF), and fulvic acid (MFA) can optimize soil microhabitat, reduce Cd bioavailability, activate nutrient cycling-related enzymes, and stabilize soil bacterial community diversity. Three different types of biochar, maize straw biochar, bamboo biochar, and coconut shell activated carbon, were mixed with ROF, CMPF, and MFA according to certain proportions, respectively. The results revealed that biochar-based amendments significantly increased urease activity by 19.95%-42.09% (p < 0.05); however, acid phosphatase activity was reduced. Additionally, sucrase, nitrate reductase, and cellulase activity did not change significantly compared to the control (CK). Biochar-based amendments significantly increased soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) by 30.10%-64.16 and 12.07%-123.68% (p < 0.05), respectively. Maize straw and bamboo biochar amendments significantly increased biomass phosphorus (MBP), but coconut shell activated carbon amendments decreased MBP. Both Chao 1 and Shannon indices of bacterial communities were higher in biochar-based amendments than in CK. Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteriota, and Actinobacteriota dominated across all treatments. Relative abundances of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota slightly increased, whereas Acidobacteriota decreased. Chloroflexi was enriched by maize straw and bamboo biochar amendments but suppressed by coconut shell activated carbon. At the genus level, biochar-based amendments significantly increased the relative abundance of Thiobacillus, with minor influences on other genera. In conclusion, the application of composite biochar-based amendments improves paddy soil quality and promotes the richness and diversity of soil bacterial communities. This study supplements the microecological mechanism of biochar-based amendments technology, offering theoretical support and technical reference for the safe utilization of mildly Cd-polluted paddy soils in Southwest China.

Disproportionate rates of sexual violence occur among university students, with rape culture and misconceptions about consent prevalent. To comprehensively examine rape myth beliefs among different student groups, 417 UK University students enrolled on courses in four distinct disciplinary areas; social sciences (n = 131), applied sciences (n = 101), business and law (n = 96) and arts and humanities (n = 89), completed the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression (AMMSA) scale. Differences in AMMSA scores (small to very large) were observed between students across all disciplinary groupings, with applied science and business and law students scoring highest in rape myth beliefs. Demographic and victimisation differences were also observed; male students, BAME students and students without direct exposure to sexual victimisation, expressed greater rape myth acceptance scores. Regression revealed that gender, ethnicity, students' stage of study, deficits in affective empathy and having a friend or family member that had experienced sexual violence, were significant correlates of student's rape myth beliefs. Findings have important implications for university responses to sexual violence, helping identify those students most likely to benefit from targeted educational interventions designed to improve understanding around consent and debunk rape stereotypes-a priority for Higher Education providers.

The authors present two cases of sexual assaults where the abuse of anabolic steroids by the perpetrator has been documented. The first perpetrator confessed the use of anabolic steroids for three years. He indicated that the abuse of steroids strongly enhanced his libido. In a second case, a specialist of knockout sport assaulted five women and raped another. He claimed his libido was modified due to long term steroids abuse. Because both subjects were bald, pubic hair and beard hair were collected, respectively. Anabolic steroids were tested in body hair by chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The following steroids were identified and measured in case 1: testosterone (0.9 pg/mg), testosterone enanthate (102 pg/mg), trenbolone (9 pg/mg), trenbolone enanthate (0.8 pg/mg) and metandienone (4 pg/mg). In case 2, the following steroids were identified and measured: testosterone (14 pg/mg), testosterone enanthate (48 pg/mg), trenbolone (0.5 pg/mg), and boldenone (0.3 pg/mg). Although literature data are inconclusive concerning the effects of anabolic steroids on libido, the body hair test results support the claim of both subjects about their use. This test should be considered as a piece of evidence to resolve forensic cases where steroids are mentioned.

This article examines the severe and escalating crisis of sexual violence against children in humanitarian settings. It details the specific risks in conflicts and disasters, where weakened protection systems and impunity create environments for rampant abuse. The analysis covers key frameworks, manifestations like rape and sexual slavery, and alarming data trends from the United Nations reports showing a 50% increase in verified cases since 2020. It underscores the critical need for coordinated, trauma-informed interventions between gender-based violence and child protection sectors and highlights persistent knowledge gaps that hinder a fully effective, inclusive response for all child survivors.

Society's empathic response to a rape victim plays a crucial role in her physical and psychological recovery. However, these responses are often hindered by biases shaped by sociocultural norms and gender stereotypes. Such biases may arise from judgements about a woman's clothing, appearance, place of residence or occupation. This study examines a subtle yet impactful form of discriminatory bias formed from facial images of presumed rape victims. The visual characteristics of the female faces were systematically manipulated to represent (a) cultural or traditional prototypical signature ("Bindi" or dot on the forehead and hair tied back) versus atypical features (no dot on the forehead and hair cut short and left loose), (b) varying skin tones (light to dark) and (c) place of residence. In this first-of-its-kind functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging experiment, data from 20 male participants were collected and analysed. The results indicate that faces with traditional or prototypical features and darker skin tones elicited greater activation in neural regions associated with empathy compared to atypical faces, whereas place of residence showed no significant effect. Furthermore, scores on the Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) Questionnaire indicated an overall rejection of rape myths, as expected given the participants' educational background, although two subscales revealed a tendency to extend the benefit of doubt to the perpetrator and to attribute greater blame to the victim. Although neural activations within empathy-related networks and self-report measures of RMA, target empathy, and trait empathy did not reach statistical significance, the observed trends mirror real-world societal responses to rape victims. Despite being preliminary, these findings provide important evidence for the influence of implicit, normalised biases in shaping empathic responses.

Survivors of sexual assault constitute one of the most vulnerable patient populations encountered in the emergency department. Over the past 15 years, sexual assault-related emergency department visits have risen drastically by 1533%. Data from the National Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that approximately 1 in 5 women (21.3%) in the United States have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, with 43.2% of these assaults occurring before age 18. For men, 2.6% have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, with 51.3% of the encounters occurring before 18. In addition, more than one-third of women (37.0%) and one-fifth of men (17.9%) reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact. Data may not accurately reflect the true incidence of rape and sexual assault, as various barriers deter individuals from reporting or seeking medical care, potentially underestimating the actual figures. Survivors may experience covert rape, be assaulted while incapacitated, or encounter drug- or alcohol-facilitated rape. Perceived stigma, blame, disbelief, and fear of retaliation may lead individuals to avoid seeking medical care or reporting to legal authorities. Several factors that increase the likelihood of an individual seeking medical care following sexual assault or rape include acknowledging the assault, sustaining a physical injury, reporting to law enforcement, and fear of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or pregnancy. From a systems perspective, initiatives that encourage survivors to seek medical care after rape or sexual assault include enhancing public health education on the definitions of consent, sexual assault, and rape, as well as ensuring legal protections for survivors who seek care or report incidents. Once survivors pursue care, they should be met by well-trained staff to facilitate medical examinations, evidence collection, and resource delivery. There is a critical need to prioritize staff preparedness and resource availability to address the growing number of sexual assault-related emergency department visits. This effort includes ensuring equitable access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) or Forensic Nurse Examiners (FNEs) in underserved or rural areas. Ongoing initiatives to improve care for this patient population require a multifaceted approach that focuses on reducing barriers, implementing trauma-informed practices, and optimizing resource distribution for those affected.[SAMHSA. Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach]