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Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a set of longitudinal methods that researchers can use to understand complex processes (e.g., health, behavior, emotion) in "high resolution." Although technology has made EMA data collection easier, concerns remain about the consistency and quality of data collected from participants who are enrolled and followed online. In this study, we used EMA data from a larger study on HIV-risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM) to explore whether several indicators of data consistency/quality differed across those who elected to enroll in-person and those enrolled online. One hundred MSM (age 18-54) completed a 30-day EMA study. Forty-five of these participants chose to enroll online. There were no statistically significant differences in response rates for any survey type (e.g., daily diary [DD], experience sampling [ES], event-contingent [EC]) across participants who enrolled in-person versus online. DD and ES survey response rates were consistent across the study and did not differ between groups. EC response rates fell sharply across the study, but this pattern was also consistent across groups. Participants' responses on the DD were generally consistent with a poststudy follow-up Timeline Followback (TLFB) with some underreporting on the TLFB, but this pattern was consistent across both groups. In this sample of well-educated, mostly White MSM recruited from urban areas, EMA data collected from participants followed online was as consistent, reliable, and valid as data collected from participants followed in-person. These findings yield important insights about best practices for EMA studies with cautions regarding generalizability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

OBJECTIVE: “Just-in-time” (JIT) interventions delivered via smartphones have considerable potential for reducing HIV-risk behavior by providing pivotal support at key times prior to sex. However, these programs depend on a thorough understanding of when risk behavior is likely to occur to inform the timing of JITs. It is also critical to understand the most important momentary risk factors that may precede HIV-risk behavior, so that interventions can be designed to address them. Applying machine learning (ML) methods to ecological momentary assessment data on HIV-risk behaviors can help answer both questions. METHODS: Eighty HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) who were not on PrEP completed a daily diary survey each morning and an experience sampling survey up to six times per day via a smartphone application for 30-days. RESULTS: Random forests models achieved the highest area under the curve (AUC) values for classifying high-risk condomless anal sex (CAS). These models achieved 80% specificity at a sensitivity value of 74%. Unsurprisingly, the most important contextual risk factors that aided in classification were participants’ plans and intentions for sex, sexual arousal, and positive affective states. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that survey data collected throughout the day can be used to correctly classify about four of every five high-risk CAS events, while incorrectly classifying one of every five days as involving high-risk CAS when no such event occurred. A unique set of risk factors also often emerge prior to high-risk CAS events that may be useful targets for JITs.

This article was published in International Journal of Fashion Studies on 01 April 2017 (online), available at https://doi.org/10.1386/infs.4.1.51_1

Background Geofencing offers new opportunities to study how specific environments affect alcohol use and related behavior. In this study, we examined the feasibility of using geofencing to examine social/environmental factors related to alcohol use and sexual perceptions in a sample of gay and bisexual men (GBM) who engage in heavy drinking and high-risk sex. Methods HIV-negative GBM (N = 76) completed ecological momentary assessments for 30 days via a smartphone application and were prompted to complete surveys when inside general geofences set around popular bars and clubs. A subset (N = 45) were also asked to complete surveys when inside personal geofences, which participants set themselves by identifying locations where they typically drank heavily. Results Approximately 49% of participants received a survey prompted by a general geofence. Among those who identified at least 1 personal drinking location, 62.2% received a personal geofence-prompted survey. Of the 175 total location-based surveys, 40.2% occurred when participants were not at the location that was intended to be captured. Participants reported being most able to openly express themselves at gay bars/clubs and private residences, but these locations were also more "sexualized" than general bars/clubs. Participants did not drink more heavily at gay bars/clubs, but did when in locations with more intoxicated patrons or guests. Conclusions Geofencing has the potential to improve the validity of studies exploring environmental influences on drinking. However, the high number of "false-positive" prompts we observed suggests that geofences should be used carefully until improvements in precision are more widely available.

Alcohol use is a key risk factor for HIV infection among MSM, in part because intoxication may interfere with the use of prevention methods like condoms. However, few studies have examined whether this is due to alcohol’s pharmacological or expectancy effects or explored the specific aspects of sexual decision-making that may be affected. In this study, high-risk, heavy drinking MSM (N = 121) were randomly assigned to receive either (1) alcohol beverages, (2) placebo beverages, or (3) control beverages, before navigating a video-based sexual risk scenario that assessed several aspects of sexual decision-making. Results showed that condom use intentions and negotiation behaviors were lower among alcohol and placebo participants compared with controls, but that few significant differences emerged between the alcohol and placebo groups. These findings contrast with similar past studies, and suggest that alcohol’s expectancy effects may play a role in sexual decision-making.

This paper examines the development of animal welfare in Scotland. Whilst the law developed in tandem with developments across nineteenth century Britain, the paper draws attention to the distinctive Scottish situation. By examining the development from disparate common law protections to the statutory interventions of the nineteenth century the paper charts that development, and begins to place it within nascent 'humanist' movements emerging around this time. The piece examines how the Scottish doctrinal law took a distinctive direction in decisions, and in particular considers contemporary opinion. The paper is the first to take a look at the particular Scottish development and opens up new avenues of research into the nineteenth century, and also frames developments in the modern law which I will pursue in future research.

Henry Home - better known by his judicial title Lord Kames - was an important figure in enlightenment Scotland. Kames published many books and essays across a variety of fields of knowledge. A substantial number of his publications related to his vocation as an advocate, and later a judge, in Scotland. This paper provides an introduction to Lord Kames' rich legal life, particularly the way it was shaped by his experience as a Scottish lawyer in eighteenth-century Edinburgh. The paper is an introduction to a reprint of the third edition of the Principles of Equity, part of the Old Studies in Scots Law series, published by the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust. One of Kames' most important legal works, the Principles of Equity subsequently achieved "institutional" status, that is to say it represents a formal source of law in Scotland. The Principles was the first systematic monograph treatment of equity in English, and contains a sophisticated analysis of the interaction of equity and common law in the abstract, and in relation to Scots law particularly. The paper considers Kames' historically informed account of an evolutionary development of equity, and its underlying justificatory premises, as set out in the Principles. The paper considers how lawyers, and others, in both Scotland and America, cited the Principles in reported cases and doctrinal writing, and how Kames' influence can be sketched through his legal and non-legal works. The final section of the paper considers Kames' subsequent reputation, noting the fluctuating respect accorded to Kames' works, including the Principles, by lawyers. The paper concludes that the on-going development of the meaning and relevance of institutional works in Scotland suggests that a renewed interest in Kames' critical approach is possible.

The authors studied all patients with serologic evidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) that presented at a single hospital from 1982 to 1989. Sixteen patients were identified, all white homosexual men with a mean age of 38.2 years. Lymphoma was the initial presentation of HIV infection in 37.5%. Sixty-two percent of the cases had a high-grade NHL, 31% had intermediate-grade, and 6% (one patient) had a low-grade lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma. Extranodal involvement was present in 43.7%, with the gastrointestinal tract and liver being the most common sites. Actuarial survival was increased by treatment with methotrexate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and bleomycin (MACOP-B). Colorimetric in situ hybridization identified Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in nine of the 14 cases hybridized. A statistically significant association of EBV with diffuse small noncleaved type (i.e., Burkitt's-like) (six of six) compared with other morphologic types (three of eight) was found (P = 0.025).

Hematopoietic cells express TLR, raising the possibility that bacterial/viral products influence blood cell formation. We now show that common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) express functional TLR9, and that dendritic cell production was strongly favored by TLR9 ligation with CpG ODN. TLR9 on CLPs rather than indirect cytokine mediated effects accounted for the shift in dendritic cell production, and CLPs became IL-7 unresponsive in culture. Similarly, CLPs from CpG treated mice had little ability to generate CD19+ cells and augmented competence to produce conventional (cDC), plasmacytoid (pDC) and interferon producing killer dendritic cells (IKDC) even in the absence of TNFα. Finally, lymphopoiesis in mice with active, but not latent HSV-1 infection was very similar to that seen in animals given CpG, and the changes were almost entirely mediated by TLR9. The findings bear on long standing controversies concerning the origins of dendritic cells and show how life-threatening infections may boost their production.

Oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) plus erythromycin (TMZ-E) was tested versus placebo (P) as prophylaxis for bacterial infection in a randomized, double-blind trial in adult cancer patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy expected to result in significant neutropenia. The incidence of adverse reactions attributable to TMZ and/or E was higher in drug-treated episodes (18 of 28 vs 3 of 29 for P, P less than 0.0005) resulting in poorer compliance. The incidence of fever was not significantly different between episodes treated with TMZ-E (18/27) and those treated with P (17/29), nor was there a significant difference in the median interval between the onset of neutropenia and the onset of fever. However, 14 of 18 fevers in TMZ-E recipients were without a documented infectious source compared with only 6 of 17 in P recipients (P less than 0.05). The same patterns were apparent even when episodes in which compliance with the regimen was either excellent or good were considered separately. There was no significant difference in the number of deaths from infection between TMZ-E and P recipients (3/27 vs 1/29). It is concluded that TMZ-E prophylaxis is of no practical benefit, may mask the cause of infection in febrile neutropenic cancer patients, and is associated with substantial toxicity.