This study was undertaken to demonstrate and assess the efficacy of a new outreach education tool, an interactive touch-screen computer (kiosk) for ground squirrel control education. The target audience for the concept is the California agricultural industry and urban members of the public who are dealing with ground squirrel problems. Users of the computer kiosk are able to access various learning tools: a learning library, a quiz, video learning, an interactive decision-making tool, and they are able to print information and certificates. The computer kiosks are available at select California County Agricultural Commissioner offices. They are networked (computer linked) so that the education content is capable of being added to or amended from remote locations. In addition, the kiosks seamlessly gather statistical data and also collect voluntary information from users (i.e. email addresses and comments). The success of the computer kiosks demonstrated their potential for use in statewide continuing education and pesticide applicator certification efforts related to vertebrate pest control.

As a result of increasing concern over rodenticide registration, in 1990, the California Legislature passed a law to collect $0.50 per pound surcharge on all vertebrate pest control materials sold by county agricultural commissioners in the state of California. Monies collected are used to fund research required to maintain the state’s current vertebrate pesticide registrations, to improve existing rodenticides, and to find new materials and methods to solve California’s vertebrate pest problems. A Vertebrate Pest Control Research Advisory Committee was established to administer this fund and set research priorities. To date, the program has raised more than $9 million to meet its objectives. The history, operation, and accomplishments of the surcharge fund are discussed in this report. A summary of projects funded is presented.

This study was undertaken to demonstrate the efficacy of oat and pellet type anticoagulant baits (0.01% diphacinone) when used following an initial treatment of 2% zinc phosphide oat and pellet type baits for controlling California ground squirrels. Both broadcast oat and pellet anticoagulant treatments following zinc phosphide treatments resulted in apparently good control, although the power of our pellet tests was not strong because of failure in the control plots. Anticoagulant bait use, on a per acre basis, was well below the allowed application rate (10 lbs/acre) because it was applied only where active ground squirrel burrows remained after controlling the entire population with zinc phosphide. No non-target species were found affected by the zinc phosphide or anticoagulant treatments. As a baiting strategy, the combination of zinc phosphide combined with the subsequent selective application of anticoagulant baits was successful. This approach will likely lead to significantly fewer squirrel carcasses with anticoagulant residues, since most are killed with zinc phosphide and subsequently do not pose a significant secondary risk to predators, scavengers, or pets. This baiting strategy has the potential to significantly reduce secondary hazards from ground squirrel baiting.

High HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women in Thailand suggest a vital need for targeted interventions. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to examine and compare sexual risk behaviors, and demographic and behavioral correlates of risk, among MSM and transgender women recruited from gay entertainment venue staff and community-based organization (CBO) participants. We used venue-based sampling across nine sites in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Among 260 participants (57.3% gay-identified, 26.9% heterosexual/bisexual-identified, 15.8% transgender; mean age = 26.7 years), nearly one-fifth (18.5%) reported unprotected anal sex (UAS), half (50.4%) sex in exchange for money, and one-fifth (20.0%) STI diagnosis (past year). Nearly one-fourth (23.1%) reported oral erectile dysfunction medication use and nearly one-fifth (19.2%) illicit drug use (past 3 months). Overall, 43.1% indicated that healthcare providers exhibited hostility towards them. Gay entertainment venue staff were significantly more likely to self-identify as heterosexual/bisexual (versus gay or transgender female), and to have less than high school degree education, higher monthly income, to have engaged in sex in exchange for money, sex with women and unprotected vaginal sex, but were significantly less likely to have engaged in UAS than CBO participants. Targeted interventions for younger MSM and transgender women, for non gay-identified men, and strategies to address structural determinants of risk, including low education and discrimination from healthcare providers, may support HIV prevention among MSM and transgender women, and serve broader national HIV prevention efforts in Thailand.

We examined changes and correlates of sexual risk behavior of men who have sex with men (MSM) compared with heterosexual men and women over three time periods. Data from the 1997, 1999, and 2003 Los Angeles County Health Surveys, a population-based telephone survey, were analyzed to examine the association of sociodemographic and health-related factors with sexual risk behaviors among the three groups. In each time period, MSM reported a significantly greater percentage of sexual risk (i.e., both inconsistent condom use and multiple sex partners in the past 12 months) compared with heterosexual men and women. Multivariate analyses indicated that MSM and heterosexual men reported greater sexual risk than heterosexual women. Respondents who were younger, U.S. born, reported heavy alcohol consumption, or had been tested for HIV in the past 24 months were more likely to report sexual risk behavior. The findings suggest the need for continued targeted prevention for MSM and prevention efforts for segments of the general population at elevated risk for HIV.

In 2006, spinach contaminated with Escherichia coli resulted in the death of 3 people and over 200 illnesses. The contaminated spinach was traced to a field in central California. In 2007, produce industry representatives developed safety guidelines (known as the Metrics) for lettuce and other leafy green crops. The Metrics addressed encroachment and crop contamination by wildlife and livestock. Rodents are treated by growers and buyers as suspects in the food-borne illness matrix. This has resulted in many unnecessary, ineffective, and expensive rodent control practices in leafy green crops. The Metrics require periodic monitoring of animal activity in and around the crop fields, but there are no specific guidelines on how to monitor for rodents. In 2009/2010, we conducted field work in the Salinas Valley region of Monterey County. This included surveying iceberg lettuce and spinach fields to identify the rodents present and test rodent monitoring techniques. As a result of this fieldwork, a specific index of abundance calculation was developed to enable growers to accurately assess the rodent population in their fields. We reviewed the Metrics and identified all portions related to rodents and rodent control. Monitoring techniques were evaluated for their practicality and ability to detect rodents. Control strategies from the California Vertebrate Pest Control Handbook (CDFA 2008) were combined with the results of the monitoring program to create a pocket-sized field guide containing relevant monitoring and control information regarding rodents and leafy green production.

Background

Decade-long delays in successful implementation of Hepatitis B vaccines and ongoing obstacles in HPV vaccine roll-out suggest the importance of an implementation science approach to prepare for the effective translation of future HIV vaccines from clinical trials into routine practice. The objective of this study was to test HIV vaccine attitude items to develop reliable scales and to examine their association with HIV vaccine acceptability.

Methods

HIV vaccine attitude items were assessed as part of the L.A. VOICES survey, a large-scale study conducted among underserved residents of Los Angeles, to identify factors that may influence HIV vaccine acceptability. Participants (n=1225) were randomly selected from public STD clinics, needle exchange sites and Latino community clinics using three-stage, venue-based time space sampling.

Results

Exploratory factor analysis across 20 items revealed four distinct factors - mistrust, HIV vaccine social concerns, risk compensation, and altruistic vaccination - with acceptable reliability coefficients for each subscale (Cronbach's α range 0.61-0.84). We found no significant differences in reliability by gender or by vaccine acceptability. Risk compensation (odds ratio (OR)=1.49; 95% CI=[1.18, 1.89]; p=0.001) and altruistic vaccination (OR=1.40; 95% CI=[1.14, 1.71]; p=0.001) were significantly and positively associated with HIV vaccine acceptability.

Conclusions

We identified four HIV vaccine attitude scales with sound internal reliability parameters. In the aftermath of the first candidate vaccine to demonstrate efficacy against HIV infection, these scales may be helpful in bridging expectable research-to-practice gaps in future HIV vaccine dissemination among populations at risk. As HIV vaccine trials progress in the United States and globally, these measures also may be useful as a tool to assess and facilitate effective responses to community concerns about HIV vaccine trials and to target interventions to support recruitment and mitigate risk compensation.

This study examined HIV vaccine acceptability among immigrant Thai residents in Los Angeles, California. We combined a qualitative research method (focus groups) with an innovative market research method (conjoint analysis). Focus groups explored social issues, concerns, barriers and motivators associated with HIV vaccine acceptability. Conjoint analysis was used to assess preferences among eight hypothetical HIV vaccines with varying attribute profiles and the impact of various attributes on acceptability. Five main themes were identified in the focus groups regarding acceptance and utilization of preventive HIV vaccines: (1) vaccine characteristics, such as efficacy, physical side-effects and cost, (2) fear of a vaccine, (3) vaccine acceptability and optimism, (4) social and family responses and (5) behavioral disinhibition. Conjoint analysis revealed HIV vaccine acceptability ranging from 7.4 (SD = 19.4) to 85.2 (SD = 24.3) across eight hypothetical vaccines. The vaccine with the highest acceptability had the following attributes: 99% efficacy, no side-effects, 10 years of protection, protects against one sub-type, free, one dose and given by injection. Vaccine efficacy had the greatest impact on acceptability (51.4, p=.005), followed by side-effects (11.1, p=.005) and duration of protection (8.3, p=.005). Despite some apprehensions and concerns, Thai residents perceived an HIV vaccine as making an important contribution to society and to protecting oneself and one's family from HIV infection. Nevertheless, acceptability of a partially efficacious vaccine may be low, suggesting the need for tailored social marketing interventions that might emphasize a collectivistic rather than an individualistic focus. Assessing HIV vaccine acceptability using a mixed-method approach is feasible with Thai residents and should lend itself to HIV vaccine research with other Asian Pacific Islander populations in the US.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing of every client presenting for services in venues where HIV prevalence is high. Because older adults (aged ≥50 years) have particularly poor prognosis if they receive their diagnosis late in the course of HIV disease, any screening provided to younger adults in these venues should also be provided to older adults. We examined aging-related disparities in recent (past 12 months) and ever HIV testing in a probability sample of at-risk adults (N = 1238) seeking services in needle exchange sites, sexually transmitted disease clinics, and Latino community clinics that provide HIV testing. Using multiple logistic regression with generalized estimating equations, we estimated associations between age category (<50 years vs. ≥50 years) and each HIV testing outcome. Even after controlling for covariates such as recent injection drug use, older adults had 40% lower odds than younger adults did of having tested in the past 12 months (odds ratio [OR] = 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.40-0.90) or ever (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.40-0.90). Aging-related disparities in HIV testing exist among clients of these high HIV prevalence venues and may contribute to known aging-related disparities in late diagnosis of HIV infection and poor long-term prognosis.