The impact of childhood abuse on future military sexual assault and PTSD symptomology in Australian veterans

Introduction: The trauma most commonly associated with the military is combat-related trauma. It is increasingly recognised that childhood sexual and physical abuse and military sexual assault may influence or exacerbate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when military members are exposed to combat. Aims: The study aimed to determine whether a history of childhood sexual and physical abuse would increase the likelihood of military sexual assault (MSA) and determine whether a history of sexual abuse (childhood or military) impacted the incidence and severity of post-trauma sequelae compared to veterans without this history. Method: A retrospective correlational analysis was performed on baseline data collected from clinical case records of a cohort of 134 Australian veterans with PTSD who had attended an outpatient Military Service Trauma Recovery Day Programme between October 2020 and May 2022. Results: Almost half (48.5%) of veterans reported a history of abuse. Prevalence rates of military sexual abuse, child sexual abuse and child physical abuse were 14.9%, 13.4% and 23.1% respectively. The relationship between those who experienced childhood abuse and those who experienced military sexual abuse was not significant. No significant differences were observed between those who experienced any sexual abuse and those who did not on intake scores of psychological symptoms. Conclusion: This is the first Australian study to investigate the prevalence of childhood abuse and military sexual abuse and its impact on PTSD and associated psychopathology in a sample of veterans seeking mental health treatment. No additional risks of experiencing military sexual assault were found for those who had survived childhood sexual abuse.</p

The history of the development of the regular straight stem in hip arthroplasty.

Since the middle of the 20th century, total hip arthroplasty has become a very successful treatment for all end-stage diseases of the hip joint. Charnley solved with his low frictional torque arthroplasty the problem of wear and friction with the introduction of a new bearing couple and the reduction of the head size, which set the prerequisite for the further development of stem design. This narrative review presents the major developments of regular straight stems in hip arthroplasty. It does not only provide an overview of the history but also assembles the generally scarce documentation available regarding the rationale of developments and illustrates often-unsuspected links. Charnley's success is based on successfully solving the issue of fixation of the prosthetic components to the bone, using bone cement made of polymethyl-methacrylate. In the field of cemented anchorage of the stem, two principles showing good long-term revision rates emerged over the years: the force-closed and the shape-closed principles. The non-cemented anchorage bases on prosthesis models ensure enough primary stability for osteointegration of the implant to occur. For bone to grow onto the surface, not only sufficient primary stability is required but also a suitable surface structure together with a biocompatible prosthetic material is also necessary

Reversible Photoinduced Ligand Substitution in a Luminescent Chromium(0) Complex

Light-triggered dissociation of ligands forms the basis for many compounds of interest for photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT), in which medicinally active substances are released or “uncaged” from metal complexes upon illumination. Photoinduced ligand dissociation is usually irreversible, and many recent studies performed in the context of PACT focused on ruthenium(II) polypyridines and related heavy metal complexes. Herein, we report a first-row transition metal complex, in which photoinduced dissociation and spontaneous recoordination of a ligand unit occurs. Two scorpionate-type tridentate chelates provide an overall six-coordinate arylisocyanide environment for chromium(0). Photoexcitation causes decoordination of one of these six ligating units and coordination of a solvent molecule, at least in tetrahydrofuran and 1,4-dioxane solvents, but far less in toluene, and below detection limit in cyclohexane. Transient UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemical simulations point to photoinduced ligand dissociation directly from an excited metal-to-ligand charge-transfer state. Owing to the tridentate chelate design and the substitution lability of the first-row transition metal, recoordination of the photodissociated arylisocyanide ligand unit can occur spontaneously on a millisecond time scale. This work provides insight into possible self-healing mechanisms counteracting unwanted photodegradation processes and seems furthermore relevant in the contexts of photoswitching and (photo)chemical information storage

Prediction of acoustic tinnitus suppression using resting-state EEG via explainable AI approach

Tinnitus is defined as the perception of sound without an external source. Its perceptual suppression or on/off states remain poorly understood. This study investigates neural traits linked to brief acoustic tinnitus suppression (BATS) using naive resting-state EEG (closed eyes) from 102 individuals. A set of EEG features (band power, entropy, aperiodic slope and offset of the EEG spectrum, and connectivity) and standard classifiers were applied achieving consistent high accuracy across data splits: 98% for sensor and 86% for source models. The Random Forest model outperformed other classifiers by excelling in robustness and reduction of overfitting. It identified several key EEG features, most prominently alpha and gamma frequency band power. Gamma power was stronger in the left auditory network, while alpha power dominated the right hemisphere. Aperiodic features were normalized in individuals with BATS. Additionally, hyperconnected auditory-limbic networks in BATS suggest sensory gating may aid suppression. These findings demonstrate robust classification of BATS status, revealing distinct neural traits between tinnitus subpopulations. Our work emphasizes the role of neural mechanisms in predicting and managing tinnitus suppression. Moreover, it advances the understanding of effective feature selection, model choice, and validation strategies for analyzing clinical neurophysiological data in general

Methodology of calculation of construction and hydrodynamic parameters of a foam layer apparatus for mass-transfer processes

Промислова реалізація методу стабілізації газорідинного шару дозволяє значно розширити галузь застосування пінних апаратів і відкриває нові можливості інтенсифікації технологічних процесів з одночасним створенням маловідходних технологій. У статті встановлені основні параметри, що впливають на гідродинаміку пінних апаратів, розглянуті основні конструкції та режими роботи пінних апаратів. Виявлено зв'язок гідродинамічних параметрів. Розглянуто гідродинамічні закономірності пінного шару. Вказані фактори, що впливають на процес масообміну, як в газовій, так і в рідкій фазах. Проведений аналіз ряду досліджень показав, що перспективним напрямком інтенсифікації процесу масообміну є розробка апаратів з трифазним псевдозрідженим шаром зрошуваної насадки складних форм із сітчастих матеріалів. Отже, необхідне проведення спеціальних досліджень гідродинамічних режимів роботи апарату з сітчастою насадкою і визначенням параметрів, що впливають на швидкість переходу насадки з одного режиму в інший.Industrial implementation of the stabilization method of the gas-liquid layer can significantly expand the field of use of foaming apparatus and opens up new opportunities for intensifying technological processes with the simultaneous creation of low-waste technologies. The article establishes the basic parameters influencing the hydrodynamics of foam apparatus, considers the basic constructions and operating modes of foam apparatus. The connection of hydrodynamic parameters is revealed. The hydrodynamic laws of the foam layer are considered. The indicated factors affecting the process of mass transfer, both in the gas and in the liquid phases. The conducted analysis of a number of studies showed that the perspective direction of intensification of the mass transfer process is the development of apparatuses with a three-phase fluidized bed of an irrigated nozzle of complex forms with mesh materials

Luminescence and Excited-State Reactivity in a Heteroleptic Tricyanido Fe(III) Complex

Harnessing sunlight via photosensitizing molecules is key for novel optical applications and solar-to-chemical energy conversion. Exploiting abundant metals such as iron is attractive but becomes challenging due to typically fast nonradiative relaxation processes. In this work, we report on the luminescence and excited-state reactivity of the heteroleptic [FeIII(pzTp)(CN)3]− complex (pzTp = tetrakis(pyrazolyl)borate), which incorporates a σ-donating trispyrazolyl chelate ligand and three monodentate σ-donating and π-accepting cyanide ligands. Contrary to the nonemissive [Fe(CN)6]3–, a broad emission band centered at 600 nm at room temperature has been recorded for the heteroleptic analogue attributed to the radiative deactivation from a 2LMCT excited state with a luminescence quantum yield of 0.02% and a lifetime of 80 ps in chloroform at room temperature. Bimolecular reactivity of the 2LMCT excited state was successfully applied to different alcohol photo-oxidation, identifying a cyanide–H bonding as a key reaction intermediate. Finally, this research demonstrated the exciting potential of [Fe(pzTp)(CN)3]− as a photo-oxidant, paving the way for further exploration and development of emissive Fe-based photosensitizers competent for photochemical transformations

Prevalence and treatment implications of ICD-11 complex PTSD in Australian treatment-seeking current and ex-serving military members

Background: Despite growing support for the distinction between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) as separate diagnoses within the ICD-11 psychiatric taxonomy, the prevalence and treatment implications of CPTSD among current and ex-serving military members have not been established. Objective: The study aims were to a) establish the prevalence of provisional ICD-11 CPTSD diagnosis relative to PTSD in an Australian sample of treatment-seeking current and ex-serving military members, and b) examine the implications of CPTSD diagnosis for intake profile and treatment response. Methods: The study analysed data collected routinely from Australian-accredited treatment programmes for military-related PTSD. Participants were 480 current and ex-serving military members in this programmes who received a provisional ICD-11 diagnosis of PTSD or CPTSD at intake using proxy measures. Measures of PTSD symptoms, disturbances in self-organisation, psychological distress, mental health and social relationships were considered at treatment intake, discharge, and 3-month follow-up. Results: Among participants with a provisional ICD-11 diagnosis, 78.2% were classified as having CPTSD, while 21.8% were classified as having PTSD. When compared to ICD-11 PTSD, participants with CPTSD reported greater symptom severity and psychological distress at intake, and lower scores on relationship and mental health dimensions of the quality of life measure. These relative differences persisted at each post-treatment assessment. Decreases in PTSD symptoms between intake and discharge were similar across PTSD (dRM = −0.81) and CPTSD (dRM = −0.76) groups, and there were no significant post-treatment differences between groups when controlling for initial scores. Conclusions: CPTSD is common among treatment-seeking current and ex-serving military members, and is associated with initially higher levels of psychiatric severity, which persist over time. Participants with CPTSD were equally responsive to PTSD treatment; however, the tendency for those with CPTSD to remain highly symptomatic post-treatment suggests additional treatment components should be considered

Mouse Ribosomal RNA Genes Contain Multiple Differentially Regulated Variants

Previous cytogenetic studies suggest that various rDNA chromosomal loci are not equally active in different cell types. Consistent with this variability, rDNA polymorphism is well documented in human and mouse. However, attempts to identify molecularly rDNA variant types, which are regulated individually (i.e., independent of other rDNA variants) and tissue-specifically, have not been successful. We report here the molecular cloning and characterization of seven mouse rDNA variants (v-rDNA). The identification of these v-rDNAs was based on restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), which are conserved among individuals and mouse strains. The total copy number of the identified variants is less than 100 and the copy number of each individual variant ranges from 4 to 15. Sequence analysis of the cloned v-rDNA identified variant-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the transcribed region. These SNPs were used to develop a set of variant-specific PCR assays, which permitted analysis of the v-rDNAs' expression profiles in various tissues. These profiles show that three v-rDNAs are expressed in all tissues (constitutively active), two are expressed in some tissues (selectively active), and two are not expressed (silent). These expression profiles were observed in six individuals from three mouse strains, suggesting the pattern is not randomly determined. Thus, the mouse rDNA array likely consists of genetically distinct variants, and some are regulated tissue-specifically. Our results provide the first molecular evidence for cell-type-specific regulation of a subset of rDNA