11237 research outputs found
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Protecting the protectors: moral injury, coping styles, and mental health of UK police officers and staff investigating child sexual abuse material
No full textPolice officers and staff who investigate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) may be at elevated risk for mental health problems, which may be mitigated or exacerbated by institutional and interpersonal factors. The current work examined mental health in a large sample of UK CSAM investigators (N = 661). Results suggest substantially elevated rates of depression and anxiety but not posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Feeling successful and supported powerfully buffered against negative outcomes, whereas moral injury—particularly feelings of institutional betrayal—predicted worse outcomes. Although exposure to CSAM and contact with victims predicted worse outcomes, these effects were much smaller. Regarding coping styles, self‐blame, rumination, catastrophizing, withdrawal, ignoring, and negative religious coping predicted worse outcomes, whereas positive refocusing, seeking distraction, and social support were effective. These results held controlling for demographics. These results suggest that UK CSAM police officers and staff experience elevated depression and anxiety, but institutional and interpersonal support can buffer outcomes
High prevalence of dysfunctional animal–visitor interactions in 225 southeast Asian zoos and aquariums
No full textHumans have long delighted in being entertained by captive wild animals. In zoos and aquariums, animal–visitor interactions allow visitors to experience direct or indirect contact with animals. Well-managed animal–visitor interactions can help zoos and aquariums contribute to their educational objectives by eliciting pro-conservation behaviours from visitors while providing good animal welfare for the animals involved. However, some interactions are dysfunctional because they cause physical and psychological harm to the animal and reinforce negative values and beliefs towards conservation. We aimed to assess how dysfunctional animal–visitor interactions are and whether accreditation by zoological associations reduced the number of such interactions. We visited Thai zoos in person and conducted online monitoring of facilities in Southeast Asia. We report 1165 animal–visitor interactions in nine Southeast Asian countries in 225 zoos and aquariums. Taking photos with animals (“selfies”) and riding on animals were scored as the animal–visitor interactions that were the most dysfunctional. The number of animal–visitor interactions was not less in accredited zoos, and there was little difference among countries. Behaviour change needs to form a strategy for change, in addition to robust legislation and improved efforts by zoological associations to push members to maintain standards and mentor non-accredited facilities
The main Optimal Post rTpa-Iv Monitoring in Ischemic Stroke Trial (OPTIMISTmain): Protocol for a Pragmatic, Stepped Wedge, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textIntroduction: Careful monitoring of patients who receive intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is resource-intensive, and potentially less relevant in those with mild degrees of neurological impairment who are at low risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) and other complications. Methods: OPTIMISTmain is an international, multicenter, prospective, stepped wedge, cluster randomized, blinded outcome assessed trial aims to determine whether a less-intensity monitoring protocol is at least as effective, safe, and efficient as standard post-IVT monitoring in patients with mild deficits post-AIS. Clinically stable adult patients with mild AIS (defined by a NIHSS </p
National Eye Institute’s (NEI) coordination efforts and current opportunities for sustainability, adaptation, and climate resilience in global eye health – ARVO 2023 session commentary
No full textClimate change represents an urgent and severe threat to global health [1], directly and indirectly driving detrimental physical and mental health. Climate change impacts all countries, but disproportionately affects low- and middle- income countries, exacerbating worldwide health inequalities...</p
The societal economic impact of vision impairment in adults 40 years and above: findings from the National Eye Survey of Trinidad and Tobago
No full textBackground Understanding and mitigating the societal economic impact of vision impairment (VI) is important for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Aim To estimate the prevalent societal economic impact of presenting VI in Trinidad and Tobago using bottom-up cost and utilisation data from the 2014 National Eye Survey of Trinidad and Tobago. Methods We took a societal perspective to combine comprehensive, individual-level cost and utilisation data, with population-based prevalence estimates for VI, and additional data from a contemporaneous national eyecare system survey. We included direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect (productivity loss) costs, and intangible losses in total cost estimates, presented in 2014 Trinidad & Tobago (TT) dollars and UK sterling equivalent. We considered but excluded transfer payments and dead weight losses. Sensitivity analyses explored impact on total cost of parameter uncertainty and assumptions. Results Individual utilisation and cost data were available for 65.5% (n = 2792/4263) and 59.0% (n = 2516/4263) eligible participants aged ≥40 years, respectively. Participant mean age was 58.4(SD 11.8, range 40–103) years, 56.3% were female. We estimated total societal cost of VI in 2014 at UK£365,650,241 (TT1,025,045,399), of which indirect costs accounted for 70.5%, followed by direct medical costs (17.9%), and direct non-medical costs (11.6%). Conclusion This study provides a comprehensive estimate of the economic impact of vision loss in a Caribbean country, and highlights the extent to which affected individuals and their families bear the societal economic cost of vision impairment.</p
PLGA-nano-encapsulated disulfiram inhibits cancer stem cells and targets non-small cell lung cancer in vitro and in vivo
No full textCancer stem cells (CSCs) play a key role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) chemoresistance and metastasis. In this study, we used two NSCLC cell lines to investigate the regulating effect of hypoxia in the induction and maintenance of CSC traits. Our study demonstrated hypoxia-induced stemness and chemoresistance at levels comparable to those in typical CSC sphere culture. Activation of the NF-κB pathway (by transfection of NF-κB-p65) plays a key role in NSCLC CSCs and chemoresistance. Disulfiram (DS), an anti-alcoholism drug, showed a strong in vitro anti-CSC effect. It blocked cancer cell sphere reformation and clonogenicity, synergistically enhanced the cytotoxicity of four anti-NSCLC drugs (doxorubicin, gemcitabine, oxaliplatin and paclitaxel) and reversed hypoxia-induced resistance. The effect of DS on CSCs is copper-dependent. A very short half-life in the bloodstream is the major limitation for the translation of DS into a cancer treatment. Our team previously developed a poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticle encapsulated DS (DS-PLGA) with a long half-life in the bloodstream. Intra venous injection of DS-PLGA in combination with the oral application of copper gluconate has strong anticancer efficacy in a metastatic NSCLC mouse model. Further study may be able to translate DS-PLGA into cancer applications.</p
Assisted reproductive techniques and subsequent risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis in offspring: a nationwide birth cohort study in South Korea
No full textObjective: The relationship between assisted reproductive techniques (ART) and the risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) is controversial. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between ART and the risk of asthma and AR in a nationwide, large-scale birth cohort. Patients and Methods: This study utilized the National Health Insurance Service data in South Korea to conduct a nationwide, large-scale, population-based birth cohort. We included all infants born between 2017 and 2018. AR, asthma, food allergies, and atopic dermatitis were defined using the International Classification of Diseases tenth edition codes. Asthma was classified as allergic or non-allergic based on accompanying allergic diseases (AR, food allergy, or atopic dermatitis). Using 1:10 propensity score matching, we compared infants conceived through ART with those conceived naturally (non-ART). After matching, logistic regression was used to compare the hazard ratio for asthma and AR between the two groups. Results: We included 543,178 infants [male infants, 280,194 (51.38%)]. After matching, 8,925 and 74,229 infants were selected for the ART and non-ART groups, respectively. The ART group showed a decreased risk of asthma in the offspring [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.41-0.48]. Similarly, for AR, being conceived by ART was associated with a decreased risk of AR (aHR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.12-0.37). ART offspring showed a decreased risk of asthma and AR in offspring compared to that observed in non-ART offspring. Conclusions: Our study offers important insights for clinicians, researchers, and parents regarding the health outcomes of ART-conceived infants and enhances our understanding of ART’s impact on respiratory health.</p
Predicting Data Exfiltration using Supervised Machine Learning based on Tactics Mapping from Threat Reports and Event Logs
No full textData breach attacks are unique, especially when attackers exfiltrate data from their target’s systems. Furthermore, as data breaches continue to increase in frequency and severity, they pose a growing risk to society and organizations. Unfortunately, no prior research focused on predicting exfiltration occurrence based on a sequence of tactics identified from low-level logs. In addition, integrating low-level logs with a high-level conceptual framework presents a critical challenge. The need for automation in the mapping process and advanced methods to assist defenders in analyzing the occurrence of exfiltration within their systems is urgent. In this paper, we focus on developing a machine learning (ML) model to predict the occurrence of data exfiltration by analyzing the sequence of tactics employed by an attacker. We propose two main contributions, including addressing the gap level between low-level logs and high-level data breach conceptual steps and integrating collected event logs and ML models to predict exfiltration tactics. Our dataset for the MLmodel is created based on tactics identified in threat reports, cleaned to obtain ten features, and balanced using the SMOTE+ENN technique. The prediction is made using tactics identified from low-level logs that serve as input to the ML model to determine whether the events lead to the occurrence of exfiltration. We benchmarked three resampling methods, five feature selection techniques, and five ML algorithms to achieve optimal ML model performance. A new dataset, comprehensive techniques used to develop the ML model, and the proposed prediction method represent the key contributions of this study compared to existing research. In addition, to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we present case studies using event logs from real-world incidents. The investigation shows that our proposed method effectively predicts the occurrence of exfiltration with higher accuracy than existing studies.</p
Segmenting the Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) investigator workforce: implications for wellbeing and burnout
No full textThere is increasing awareness of police investigators’ wellbeing and the rising prevalence of burnout symptoms, creating long-term difficulties for policing. We utilized Maslach and Leiter’s approach to segment the workforce population for Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) investigators based on a cross-sectional survey of 18 police forces (n = 2,108) across England and Wales. We fitted a Proportional Odds model to analyze the factors associated with the odds of becoming disengaged and burned out. The findings show that RASSO investigators were grouped as ‘effective’ (39%), ‘ineffective’ (26%), ‘overextended’ (24%), ‘disengaged’ (2%) and ‘burned out’ (9%). Strong effects predicting disengagement and burnout were noted for increased stress levels and organizational or self-imposed pressures to work despite being unwell. Higher odds of being disengaged or burned out were related to dissociative views toward victim-survivors, including negative attitudes to specialist training, which we hypothesize were related to the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, where an individual cognitively compensates in emotionally challenging situations. Increased workload, the impact on work-life balance and being mid-career (10–20 years) increased the odds of disengagement and burnout. A supportive learning environment combined with salient and credible health policies were shown to be protective factors, reducing the odds of being disengaged or burned out. Preventative interventions focusing on enhancing the learning environment alongside early identification and treating the build-up of stress to prevent long-term manifestations of burnout are recommended. The linkage between worsening RASSO investigator wellbeing and dissociative attitudes toward victim-survivors is a crucial finding from this study.</p
Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP/ACP5) promotes bone length, regulates cortical and trabecular bone mass, and maintains growth plate architecture and width in a sex- and site-specific manner in mice
No full textTartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) serum levels reflect osteoclast number, bone remodeling activity, and fracture risk. Deletion or loss of function of TRAP results in short stature in mice and man. Yet, the impact and mechanisms of TRAP for the site- and sex-specific development of bone and cartilage is not well understood. Here, we use a global TRAP knockout (TRAPKO) and wildtype littermate control (WT) mice of both sexes to investigate TRAP as a possible sex- and site-specific regulator of bone and growth plate development. TRAPKO mice of both sexes weighed less and had shorter tibial length than their WT, features that were more accentuated in male than female TRAPKO mice. These changes were not associated with a general reduction in growth as not all organs displayed a proportionally lower mass, and serum IGF-1 was unchanged. Using μCT and site-specificity analysis of the cortical bone revealed wider proximal tibia, a higher trabecular thickness, and lower trabecular separation in male TRAPKO compared to WT mice, an effect not seen in female mice. Histomorphometric analysis revealed that the growth plate height as well as height of terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes were markedly increased, and the number of columns was decreased in TRAPKO mice of both sexes. These effects were more accentuated in female mice. Proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow derived macrophages into osteoclasts, as well as C-terminal cross links were normal in TRAPKO mice of both sexes. Collectively, our results show that TRAP regulates bone and cartilage development in a sex-and site-specific manner in mice.</p
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