‘A lot of the time it’s dealing with victims who don’t want to know, it’s all made up, or they’ve got mental health’: Rape myths in a large English police force

Despite an increase in the reporting of rape, convictions in England and Wales have fallen significantly in recent years. Previous research has found high rape myth acceptance among police officers. Given that the police act as gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, subscribing to rape myths may have significant effects upon victim attrition and conviction rates. This study explores police officers’ use of rape myths and how these may impact investigations and prosecutions. A total of 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with police officers from a large English police force. The interview data were analysed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Although there were instances where officers demonstrated some awareness of the need to dispel or counter rape myths, rape myths were employed by most officers, with the most common relating to (1) victim fabrication (‘women lie’) and (2) victim precipitation (‘women ask for it’). Recommendations are made around screening and training for police officers

Staff experiences of working in a Sexual Assault Referral Centre: the impacts and emotional tolls of working with traumatised people

This study considers the impacts on staff of supporting people who have reported sexual violence and attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). This paper focuses on the staff’s perspectives of the stresses and emotional tolls they experience including the coping mechanisms they utilise. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with 12 staff, and a focus group was held with a further four staff of a SARC. The data were examined using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that staff experienced positive emotions connected to the meaningfulness of the work and team spirit as well as a range of unpleasant emotions. Staff also reported emotional numbing, in connection to the specificity, volume and sometimes unpredictable nature of the work. Coping mechanisms used by staff focused on the supportive connection to family, nature, and other team members; the value of clinical supervision; and the avoidance of topics related to work

Theoretical Engineering of the Gut Micro biome for the Purpose of Creating Superior Soldiers

The purpose of this review is to highlight research raising the possibility of exploiting the host-microbiome gut axis for military purposes. Through optimizing the gut-microbiome environment it is possible to enhance nutritional access to indigestible material, provide local and systemic analgesia, enhance psychological robustness to battlefield stress, produce endogenous steroids, reduce muscle fatigue, and promote peripheral wound healing. However, this approach is still in its early stages and thus has not been explored to its full potential. The challenges that are currently preventing the practical use of gut bacteria include the following: inconsistency of clinical outcomes, transient effects requiring continuous supplementation, the type of regimen selected, the initiation and cessation of regimen, and the broader clinical studies needed to validate this research. This review is intended to shed light on the numerous and varied positive impacts such an approach could have for the military if further developed

The impact of witnessing other people's trauma: the resilience and coping strategies of members of the faculty of forensic and legal medicine

Introduction: The coping strategies, resilience and psychological distress of members of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) were measured in an attempt to establish how they are affected by, and accommodate potentially traumatic encounters with patients. Belief in a just world was also measured as it was deemed to be a mediating factor in the psychological distress exhibited in the medical practitioners who participated in this study. Methods: 120 members of the FFLM (65 females, 54 males and 1 undisclosed) volunteered to complete an online survey. Data was collected using Survey Monkey. Participants filled out the Personal Belief in a Just World Scale and General Belief in a Just World Scale, as well as the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25, the COPE and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Results: A multiple regression with stepwise entry was carried out. Personal belief in a just world, coping strategies and resilience were all identified as having a significant relationship with psychological distress. Conclusions: Although this is only a preliminary study into this phenomenon, findings suggest the personal belief in a just world, coping strategies and resilience are useful predictors of psychological distress amongst forensic medical practitioners. However they did not predict the majority of the variance and as such, so more detailed investigations are needed to identify which other factors are important in order to design interventions and support for members of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine and other forensic medical practitioners

Police officers and post traumatic stress disorder: discussing the deficit in research, identification and prevention in England and Wales

This article will review available literature regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) within policing in England and Wales, with a particular focus on its early identification and prevention. An overview of PTSD will be given as well as an exploration of why police officers are potentially more susceptible to this mental health condition compared to other members of society. Key factors in the early identification and prevention of PTSD will be outlined, with a focus on crisis intervention techniques which have been subject to considerable academic study. There is limited research available from England and Wales that looks specifically at PTSD in policing, this research deficit will be highlighted and key areas of research which need to be explored further will be given so that this problem can be both identified and prevented in officers

Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity

The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. © 2021, The Author(s)

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Neurofilament light levels predict clinical progression and death in multiple system atrophy

Disease-modifying treatments are currently being trialed in multiple system atrophy (MSA). Approaches based solely on clinical measures are challenged by heterogeneity of phenotype and pathogenic complexity. Neurofilament light chain protein has been explored as a reliable biomarker in several neurodegenerative disorders but data in multiple system atrophy have been limited. Therefore, neurofilament light chain is not yet routinely used as an outcome measure in MSA. We aimed to comprehensively investigate the role and dynamics of neurofilament light chain in multiple system atrophy combined with cross-sectional and longitudinal clinical and imaging scales and for subject trial selection. In this cohort study we recruited cross-sectional and longitudinal cases in multicentre European set-up. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light chain concentrations were measured at baseline from 212 multiple system atrophy cases, annually for a mean period of 2 years in 44 multiple system atrophy patients in conjunction with clinical, neuropsychological and MRI brain assessments. Baseline neurofilament light chain characteristics were compared between groups. Cox regression was used to assess survival; ROC analysis to assess the ability of neurofilament light chain to distinguish between multiple system atrophy patients and healthy controls. Multivariate linear mixed effects models were used to analyse longitudinal neurofilament light chain changes and correlated with clinical and imaging parameters. Polynomial models were used to determine the differential trajectories of neurofilament light chain in multiple system atrophy. We estimated sample sizes for trials aiming to decrease NfL levels. We show that in multiple system atrophy, baseline plasma neurofilament light chain levels were better predictors of clinical progression, survival, and degree of brain atrophy than the NfL rate of change. Comparative analysis of multiple system atrophy progression over the course of disease, using plasma neurofilament light chain and clinical rating scales, indicated that neurofilament light chain levels rise as the motor symptoms progress, followed by deceleration in advanced stages. Sample size prediction suggested that significantly lower trial participant numbers would be needed to demonstrate treatment effects when incorporating plasma neurofilament light chain values into multiple system atrophy clinical trials in comparison to clinical measures alone. In conclusion, neurofilament light chain correlates with clinical disease severity, progression, and prognosis in multiple system atrophy. Combined with clinical and imaging analysis, neurofilament light chain can inform patient stratification and serve as a reliable biomarker of treatment response in future multiple system atrophy trials of putative disease-modifying agents.European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programm