562 research outputs found
Raped, beaten and bruised: military institutional abuse, identity wounds and veteran suicide
The Australian government has recently established a Royal Commission on Defence and Veteran Suicide (DVSRC). Veteran suicide rates for those who have left the Australian Defence Force (ADF) are higher than the national average and there has been little success in reducing this over an extended period of time. Veteran suicide is poorly understood, and the collected data is imprecise and incomplete. Deployment trauma and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD i.e. a mental health lens) are taken for granted as the principal causes. This article presents a case study on institutional abuse in the ADF which led to the veteran attempting suicide on numerous occasions. The article draws upon the mental health and moral injury knowledge but questions their centrality and dominance. Military Institutional Abuse (MIA) and its consequent identity wounds are explained as institutional causes of military trauma. We argue that these institutional abuse processes and their consequences, occurring within military moral geographies, lead to suicidal ideation and attempt. These are situated within wider relations of civil society, the state, and the military
Post-traumatic stress disorder: the role of the amygdala and potential therapeutic interventions â a review
IntroductionPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder triggered by exposure to a life-threatening or sexually violent traumatic event, and is characterized by symptoms involving intrusive re-experiencing, persistent avoidance of associated stimuli, emotional and cognitive disturbances, and hyperarousal for long periods after the trauma has occurred. These debilitating symptoms induce occupational and social impairments that contribute to a significant clinical burden for PTSD patients, and substantial socioeconomic costs, reaching approximately $20,000 dollars per individual with PTSD each year in the US. Despite increased translational research focus in the field of PTSD, the development of novel, effective pharmacotherapies for its treatment remains an important unmet clinical need.ObservationsIn this review, we summarize the evidence implicating dysfunctional activity of the amygdala in the pathophysiology of PTSD. We identify the transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) ion channels as promising drug targets given their distribution in the amygdala, and evidence from animal studies demonstrating their role in fear response modulation. We discuss the evidence-based pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatment approaches for PTSD.DiscussionIn view of the prevalence and economic burden associated with PTSD, further investigation is warranted into novel treatment approaches based on our knowledge of the involvement of brain circuitry and the role of the amygdala in PTSD, as well as the potential added value of combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy to better manage PTSD symptoms
Muscle Fatigue Analysis Using OpenSim
In this research, attempts are made to conduct concrete muscle fatigue
analysis of arbitrary motions on OpenSim, a digital human modeling platform. A
plug-in is written on the base of a muscle fatigue model, which makes it
possible to calculate the decline of force-output capability of each muscle
along time. The plug-in is tested on a three-dimensional, 29 degree-of-freedom
human model. Motion data is obtained by motion capturing during an arbitrary
running at a speed of 3.96 m/s. Ten muscles are selected for concrete analysis.
As a result, the force-output capability of these muscles reduced to 60%-70%
after 10 minutes' running, on a general basis. Erector spinae, which loses
39.2% of its maximal capability, is found to be more fatigue-exposed than the
others. The influence of subject attributes (fatigability) is evaluated and
discussed
Racism, anti-racist practice and social work: articulating the teaching and learning experiences of Black social workers
In the mid 1990s a Black practice teacher programme was established in Manchester and Merseyside with the primary aim to increase the number of Black practice teachers in social work organisations, and in turn provide a supportive and encouraging learning environment for Black student social workers whilst on placement. In the northâwest of England research has been undertaken, to establish the quality of the practice teaching and student learning taking place with Black practice teachers and students. This paper is an exploration of the ideas generated within the placement process that particularly focused on the discourse of racism and antâracist practice. Black students and practice teachers explain their understanding of racism and antiâracist practice within social work. From the research, the paper will critique some of the ideas concerning antiâracism. In particular, it will question whether antiâracist social work practice needs to be reâevaluated in the light of a context with new migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. It will concluded, by arguing that whilst the terms antiâracism, Black and Minority Ethnic have resonance as a form of political strategic essentialism, it is important to develop more positive representations in the future
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Irradiation performance of HTGR fuel in HFIR capsule HT-31
The capsule was irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL to peak particle temperatures up to 1600/sup 0/C, fast neutron fluences (0.18 MeV) up to 9 x 10/sup 25/ n/m/sup 2/, and burnups up to 8.9% FIMA for ThO/sub 2/ particles. The oxygen release from plutonium fissions was less than calculated, possibly because of the solid solution of SrO and rare earth oxides in UO/sub 2/. Tentative results show that pyrocarbon permeability decreases with increasing fast neutron fluence. Fission products in sol-gel UO/sub 2/ particles containing natural uranium mostly behaved similarly to those in particles containing highly enriched uranium (HEU). Thus, much of the data base collected on HEU fuel can be applied to low-enriched fuel. Fission product palladium penetrated into the SiC on Triso-coated particles. Also the SiC coating provided some retention of /sup 110m/Ag. Irradiation above about 1200/sup 0/C without an outer pyrocarbon coating degraded the SiC coating on Triso-coated particles
Using Satellite Images of Environmental Changes to Predict Infectious Disease Outbreaks
A strong global satellite imaging system is essential for predicting outbreaks
Prevalence of pelagic dependence among coral reef predators across an atoll seascape
1)Coral reef food webs are complex, vary spatially and remain poorly understood. Certain large predators, notably sharks, are subsidised by pelagic production on outer reef slopes, but how widespread this dependence is across all teleost fishery target species and within atolls is unclear.
2)North MalĂ© Atoll (Maldives) includes oceanic barrier as well as lagoonal reefs. Nine fishery target predators constituting ca. 55% of the local fishery target species biomass at assumed trophic levels 3â5 were selected for analysis. Data were derived from carbon (ÎŽ13C), nitrogen (ÎŽ15N) and sulfur (ÎŽ34S) stable isotopes from predator white dorsal muscle samples, and primary consumer species representing production source endâmembers.
3)Threeâsource Bayesian stable isotope mixing models showed that uptake of pelagic production extends throughout the atoll, with predatory fishes showing equal planktonic reliance between inner and outer edge reefs. Median plankton contribution was 65â80% for all groupers and 68â88% for an emperor, a jack and snappers.
4)Lagoonal and atoll edge predators are equally at risk from anthropogenic and climateâinduced changes which may impact the linkages they construct, highlighting the need for management plans that transcend the boundaries of this threatened ecosystem
Solitary waves in the Nonlinear Dirac Equation
In the present work, we consider the existence, stability, and dynamics of
solitary waves in the nonlinear Dirac equation. We start by introducing the
Soler model of self-interacting spinors, and discuss its localized waveforms in
one, two, and three spatial dimensions and the equations they satisfy. We
present the associated explicit solutions in one dimension and numerically
obtain their analogues in higher dimensions. The stability is subsequently
discussed from a theoretical perspective and then complemented with numerical
computations. Finally, the dynamics of the solutions is explored and compared
to its non-relativistic analogue, which is the nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger
equation. A few special topics are also explored, including the discrete
variant of the nonlinear Dirac equation and its solitary wave properties, as
well as the PT-symmetric variant of the model
Ocean acidification reduces demersal zooplankton that reside in tropical coral reefs
The in situ effects of ocean acidification on zooplankton communities remain largely unexplored. Using natural volcanic CO2
seep sites around tropical coral communities, we show a threefold reduction in the biomass of demersal zooplankton in
high-CO2 sites compared with sites with ambient CO2. Differences were consistent across two reefs and three expeditions.
Abundances were reduced in most taxonomic groups. There were no regime shifts in zooplankton community composition and
no differences in fatty acid composition between CO2 levels, suggesting that ocean acidification affects the food quantity but
not the quality for nocturnal plankton feeders. Emergence trap data show that the observed reduction in demersal plankton
may be partly attributable to altered habitat. Ocean acidification changes coral community composition from branching to
massive bouldering coral species, and our data suggest that bouldering corals represent inferior daytime shelter for demersal
zooplankton. Since zooplankton represent a major source of nutrients for corals, fish and other planktivores, this ecological
feedback may represent an additional mechanism of how coral reefs will be affected by ocean acidification
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