A Process for Vectoring Offensive Information Warfare as a Primary Weapon Option within the United States Air Force

Consistently and comprehensively using Information Operations (IO) capabilities as primary weapon option within the Air Force is the next step to operationalizing IO within the Air Force. Doctrine and official guidance has set the variables of mission and concepts of operations, organizational structure, and IW players in place. The missing variable to operationalizing IO and probably the most difficult is the \u27how\u27 or process of the equation. This research will introduce a useable process that can be incorporated within the Air Force for integrating offensive IW activities into the current and given environment. The process is the basis for further decomposition and identification of target aim points. In addition, its use of effect points should aid in focusing long-range, deliberate, and crisis action planning on the possible desired effects on an adversary. The research sets the stage by briefly defining the first three variables; organization, mission, and players in which AF IW is practiced and the inherent deliverables required. It will then introduce a view and decomposition of the information battlespace as the basis for offensive IW activities where affecting the information factors in order to induce a desired decision to achieve desired effects is the overall goal

High School Students with Intellectual Disabilities in the School and Workplace: Multiple Perspectives on Inclusion

Data collected from three urban high schools in Ontario captures multiple voices in relation to inclusive practices in secondary schools and transitions into community. Twenty-one students with intellectual disabilities (ID), 54 teachers, 26 educational assistants, 7 job coaches, 22 parents, 23 peers and 19 community employers completed surveys examining: beliefs about inclusion, inclusion of students with ID in school/workplace, the impact of inclusion on individuals without disabilities, and support, socialization and friendships of students with ID. Results indicate agreement in relation to positive perceptions of inclusion and the impact on school/workplace. Cases in which consensus was not attained are also discussed

Walking in Two Worlds: Engaging the Space Between Indigenous Community and Academia

Certainly in the past and even in the present day, the term research for Indigenous people has been fraught with strong, negative, emotional associations; however, de‐ spite the many remaining challenges there is a shifting within the landscape of aca‐ demia to recognize that research on Indigenous issues must cultivate respectful and reciprocal relationships with those communities. In this study, we demonstrate that to conduct research collaboratively based on elements of respect, relationship, relevance, and reciprocity, all collaborators must walk in two worlds to balance the needs of communities with the systemic realities of academia. To illustrate our point, we focus our story on one project that is currently underway between the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Brock University. In our narrative we illustrate how the relationships that were fostered call into question commonly accepted university practices as well as engage community partners in understanding some of the limitations and possibilities in some of those practices. This article focuses on some tough issues; however, the collaborators in this project are in the process of forging some‐ thing new that may serve as one example of how such partnerships can be authentically created. Key words: Indigenous research, Indigenous ways of knowing, community‐based research, power‐sharing research, Hodenosaunee research method, research ethicsPour les peuples autochtones, le mot “recherche” a été et demeure toujours empreint de fortes associations émotives négatives; cependant, malgré les défis importants qui se doivent d’être surmontés, on constate un changement au sein du monde universi‐ taire : la reconnaissance que la recherche sur les thèmes et les réalités des peuples autochtones doit d’abord et avant tout être fondées sur des relations réciproques res‐ pectueuses avec ces communautés. Notre étude démontre que pour mener une re‐ cherche réellement collaborative fondée sur les éléments du respect, de l’entrée en relation, de la pertinence et de la réciprocité, l’ensemble des collaborateurs doivent se situer dans l’entre‐deux assurant ainsi l’équilibre entre les besoins des communautés autochtones et les exigences du monde universitaire. Afin d’illustrer ce constat, nous vous partageons le déroulement et le dénouement d’une collaboration réelle entre les Six Nations de la région de Grand River et des chercheurs de l’Université Brock (On‐ tario). Notre exposé narratif démontre comment la création et le développement de liens authentiques entre les membres de la communauté des Six Nations et les univer‐ sitaires ont remis en question des pratiques courantes de la culture universitaire et permis un espace discursif pour expliquer aux partenaires communautaires les limites et les avantages de certaines de ces pratiques. Cet article aborde donc des thèmes difficiles; cependant, les collaborateurs à ce projet sont à forger de nouveaux proces‐ sus et de nouvelles pratiques de recherche qui peuvent servir d’exemple pour la créa‐ tion de partenariats authentiques en recherche collaborative. Mots‐clés : recherche autochtone, modes de connaissance autochtones, recherches communautaires, recherche fondée sur le partage du pouvoir, méthode de recherche Hodenosaunee, éthique en recherche.

Moving Toward Inclusion: Inclusion Coaches\u27 Reflections and Discussions in Supporting Educators in Practice

When school systems and administrations provide educators with opportunities to engage in transformative learning through reflective practice and provide opportunities to challenge their beliefs, educator pedagogy for inclusive education can be enhanced (Evans, 1997; Pyhältö et al., 2012; Richardson, 1998). Our research examined the experiences of 11 inclusion coaches while they provided support and built capacity for 38 educators during a change in special education service delivery, seeking insight into the effectiveness of this coaching model. Coaches’ experiences were shared during semi-focused group discussions and via an online blog. Qualitative analysis revealed coaches’ roles in this context were influenced by their personal expectations, personal growth, support for one another, and support for respective educators. The findings from this research are pivotal for pedagogy and teaching philosophy in inclusion

Videoconference Fatigue Exploring Changes in Fatigue after Videoconference Meetings during COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 global health pandemic, many employees transitioned to remote work, which included remote meetings. With this sudden shift, workers and the media began discussing videoconference fatigue, a potentially new phenomenon of feeling tired and exhausted attributed to a videoconference. In the present study, we examine the nature of videoconference fatigue, when this phenomenon occurs, and what videoconference characteristics are associated with fatigue using a mixed methods approach. Thematic analysis of qualitative responses indicates that videoconference fatigue exists, often in near temporal proximity to the videoconference, and is affected by various videoconference characteristics. Quantitative data was collected each hour during five workdays from 55 employees who were working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Latent growth modeling results suggest that videoconferences at different times of the day are related to deviations in employee fatigue beyond what is expected based on typical fatigue trajectories. Results from multilevel modeling of 279 videoconference meetings indicate that turning off the microphone and having higher feelings of group belongingness are related to lower post-videoconference fatigue. Additional analyses suggest that higher levels of group belongingness are the most consistent protective factor against videoconference fatigue. Such findings have immediate practical implications for workers and organizations as they continue to navigate the still relatively new terrain of remote work

Associations of First Trimester Co-Use of Tobacco and Cannabis with Prenatal Immune Response and Psychosocial Well-Being

PURPOSE: This study aims to describe the association of first trimester co-use of tobacco and cannabis with maternal immune response and psychosocial well-being, relative to tobacco use only. METHODS: A preliminary midpoint analysis included 138 pregnant women with biologically verified tobacco use, 38 of whom (28%) also tested positive for recent cannabis use. Maternal perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and serum immune markers (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, CRP, MMP8), were collected, although cytokine data were only available for 122 women. RESULTS: Participant average age was 29.1 years, approximately half had a high school education or less, and half were unemployed. Compared to tobacco only users, co-users were more likely to be non-White, younger and more economically disadvantaged. In the adjusted linear regression models, TNF-α levels were significantly lower among co-users relative to tobacco only users, after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, body mass index and tobacco use group (tobacco cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery devices [ENDS] or both). TNF-α was the only immune marker found to be significant in this analysis. Measured stress levels (M = 5.9, SD = 3.3; potential range 0-16) and depression scores (M = 7.8, SD = 5.8; potential range 0-30) were low across all participants and did not differ as a function of co-use. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results suggest women co-using during the first trimester exhibit decreased pro-inflammatory immune responsivity on one out of eight markers. Further research is needed to determine the impact of this immune modulation on fetal health outcomes and the unique contribution of cannabis

Effects of Endotoxaemia on Protein Metabolism in Rat Fast-Twitch Skeletal Muscle and Myocardium

It is unclear if the rat myocardium undergoes the same rapid reductions in protein content that are classically observed in fast-twitch skeletal muscle during endotoxaemia.To investigate this further, and to determine if there is any divergence in the response of skeletal muscle and myocardium in the mechanisms that are thought to be largely responsible for eliciting changes in protein content, Sprague Dawley rats were implanted with vascular catheters and administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 150 microg kg(-1) h(-1)) intravenously for 2 h, 6 h or 24 h (saline administered control animals were also included), after which the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and myocardium were removed under terminal anaesthesia. The protein-to-DNA ratio, a marker of protein content, was significantly reduced in the EDL following 24 h LPS administration (23%; P<0.05), but was no different from controls in the myocardium. At the same time point, a significant increase in MAFbx/atrogin-1 and MuRF1 mRNA (3.7+/-0.7- and 19.5+/-1.9-fold increase vs. controls, respectively; P<0.05), in addition to protein levels of alpha1-3, 5-7 subunits of the 20S proteasome, were observed in EDL but not myocardium. In contrast, elevations in phosphorylation of p70 S6K residues Thr(421)/Ser(424), and 4E-BP1 residues Thr(37)/Thr(46) (P<0.05), consistent with an elevation in translation initiation, were seen exclusively in the myocardium of LPS-treated animals.In summary, these findings suggest that the myocardium does not undergo the same catabolic response as skeletal muscle during early endotoxaemia, partly due to the absence of transcriptional and signalling events in the myocardium typically associated with increased muscle proteolysis and the suppression of protein synthesis

Single molecule analysis indicates stimulation of MUTYH by UV-DDB through enzyme turnover

The oxidative base damage, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) is a highly mutagenic lesion because replicative DNA polymerases insert adenine (A) opposite 8-oxoG. In mammalian cells, the removal of A incorporated across from 8-oxoG is mediated by the glycosylase MUTYH during base excision repair (BER). After A excision, MUTYH binds avidly to the abasic site and is thus product inhibited. We have previously reported that UV-DDB plays a non-canonical role in BER during the removal of 8-oxoG by 8-oxoG glycosylase, OGG1 and presented preliminary data that UV-DDB can also increase MUTYH activity. In this present study we examine the mechanism of how UV-DDB stimulates MUTYH. Bulk kinetic assays show that UV-DDB can stimulate the turnover rate of MUTYH excision of A across from 8-oxoG by 4-5-fold. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and atomic force microscopy suggest transient complex formation between MUTYH and UV-DDB, which displaces MUTYH from abasic sites. Using single molecule fluorescence analysis of MUTYH bound to abasic sites, we show that UV-DDB interacts directly with MUTYH and increases the mobility and dissociation rate of MUTYH. UV-DDB decreases MUTYH half-life on abasic sites in DNA from 8800 to 590 seconds. Together these data suggest that UV-DDB facilitates productive turnover of MUTYH at abasic sites during 8-oxoG:A repair

A hepatitis C avidity test for determining recent and past infections in both plasma and dried blood spots

DBS testing has been used successfully to detect HCV antibody positive individuals. Determining how long someone has been infected is important for surveillance initiatives. Antibody avidity is a method that can be used to calculate recency of infection. A HCV avidity assay was evaluated for both plasma and DBS. Study design: To measure antibody avidity a commercial HCV ELISA was modified using 7 M urea. The plasma samples were split into: group 1 (recently infected N = 19), group 2 (chronic carrier N = 300) and group 3 (resolved infection N = 82). Mock DBS made from group 1 (N = 12), group 2 (N = 50), group 3 (N = 25) and two seroconverter panels were evaluated. 133 DBS taken from patients known to have a resolved infection or be a chronic carrier were also tested. The avidity assay cut-off was set at AI ≤ 30 for a recent infection. Using sequential samples the assay could detect a recent infection in the first 4–5 months from the point of infection. Most of the false positive results (AI < 30 among cases known not to have had recent infection) were detected among known resolved infections, in both the plasma and DBS; as a result, a testing algorithm has been designed incorporating both PCR and two dilution factors. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay on plasma was 100% and 99.3%, respectively, while DBS had 100% sensitivity and 98.3% specificity. The HCV avidity assay can be used to distinguish between chronic and recent infection using either plasma or DBS as the sample type