Alluring or Alarming? The Polarizing Effect of Forbidden Knowledge in Political Discourse.

"Forbidden knowledge" claims are central to conspiracy theories, yet they have received little systematic study. Forbidden knowledge claims imply that information is censored or suppressed. Theoretically, forbidden knowledge could be alluring alarming, depending on alignment with recipients' political worldviews.

Pathway expression analysis.

This paper introduces a pathway expression framework as an approach for constructing derived biomarkers. The pathway expression framework incorporates the biological connections of genes leading to a biologically relevant model. Using this framework, we distinguish between shedding subjects post-infection and all subjects pre-infection in human blood transcriptomic samples challenged with various respiratory viruses: H1N1, H3N2, HRV (Human Rhinoviruses), and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus).

Biomarker selection and a prospective metabolite-based machine learning diagnostic for lyme disease.

We provide a pipeline for data preprocessing, biomarker selection, and classification of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) serum samples to generate a prospective diagnostic test for Lyme disease. We utilize tools of machine learning (ML), e.g.

Quadratus lumborum block for postoperative analgesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: The goal of the present systematic review is to determine the efficacy of the quadratus lumborum block (QLB) in providing postoperative analgesia for abdominal wall and hip surgeries when compared with placebo or other analgesic techniques.

Methods: Electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central, and Scopus) were searched for keywords and controlled vocabulary terms related to QLB from their inception to November 2019. The included studies compared ultrasound-guided single-injection QLB to placebo and other analgesic techniques in adult patients.

Aspirin compared to enoxaparin or rivaroxaban for thromboprophylaxis following hip and knee replacement.

Background The risk of venous thromboembolism following major orthopaedic surgery is among the highest for all surgical specialties. Our hospital guidelines for thromboprophylaxis following elective primary total hip or knee replacement are based on American College of Chest Physicians guidance. The most recent change to local guidelines was the introduction of the extended aspirin regimen as standard thromboprophylaxis.

Alcohol Use Disorder and Comorbid Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating the Effectiveness of Supportive Text Messages in Aiding Recovery.

Aim: The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the impact of daily supportive text messages over a 6-month treatment period on mood and alcohol consumption in individuals with a dual diagnosis of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression following completion of an inpatient treatment programme.

Method: Ninety-five adult participants with AUD and comorbid depression were recruited into this randomized control trial, which took place after completing a 30-day rehabilitation programme. The intervention group (n = 47) received twice-daily supportive text messages over 6-months while control participants (n = 48) had treatment as usual for a 6-month period, with an added 6-month post-treatment follow-up for both groups.

Development of Cohesion in Mixed-Gender Recruit Training.

Introduction: With the removal in 2016 of restrictions on recruiting women to the combat arms in the all-volunteer Australian Army, a key question has been whether adding women to small combat teams will reduce the sense of cohesion among their members, which entails their subjective bonds with each other, their leader, and wider organization. Despite recent initiatives in Australia and the USA, there are too few women in combat units in any country to answer this question and how these subjective bonds affect a team's ability to stick together under pressure.Men and women recruits in the Australian Army have undertaken basic soldier training in mixed-gender teams since 1995.

Instructor and Trainee Judgments of Cohesion in Mixed-Gender Military Teams.

Introduction: In integrating women into combat roles, one key question has been whether women will reduce the cohesion of small teams, which is their ability to stick together and perform well under pressure. Among other things, team cohesion protects the mental health of military personnel during initial training as well in operational zones. To provide new converging evidence on the cohesion of all-male versus mixed-gender recruit teams at the end of training, cohesion ratings were obtained from both recruits and their instructors.

Character Strengths of Junior Australian Army Officers.

Introduction: Armed forces view their officers' character as foundational to their ability to lead the personnel entrusted to them. The character of junior officers is of particular interest, because they must increasingly make quick, morally-laden decisions while dispersed among civilians without time to consult their commanders. However, little is systematically known about the character of officers.

The effects of training impulse control on simulated driving.

There is growing interest in young driver training that addresses age-related factors, including incompletely developed impulse control. Two studies investigated whether training of response inhibition can reduce risky simulated driving in young drivers (aged 16-24 years). Each study manipulated aspects of response inhibition training then assessed transfer of training using simulated driving measures including speeding, risky passing, and compliance with traffic controls.

Women and Men Together in Recruit Training.

Introduction: Although men and women recruits to the Australian Army have trained in mixed-gender platoons since 1995, restrictions on women joining the combat arms were only removed in 2016. As part of a longitudinal study starting with recruit training, this article examined recruit records collected before 2016 with the aims of delineating (1) the relative performance of women versus men in mixed-gender platoons and (2) the relative performance of men in mixed-gender platoons versus all-male platoons.

Materials And Methods: De-identified instructor ratings for 630 females and 4,505 males who completed training between 2011 and 2015 were obtained.

Disrupted Thalamus White Matter Anatomy and Posterior Default Mode Network Effective Connectivity in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its prodromal state amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are characterized by widespread abnormalities in inter-areal white matter fiber pathways and parallel disruption of default mode network (DMN) resting state functional and effective connectivity. In healthy subjects, DMN and task positive network interaction are modulated by the thalamus suggesting that abnormal task-based DMN deactivation in aMCI may be a consequence of impaired thalamo-cortical white matter circuitry. Thus, this article uses a multimodal approach to assess white matter integrity between thalamus and DMN components and associated effective connectivity in healthy controls (HCs) relative to aMCI patients.

Abnormal fronto-parietal white matter organisation in the superior longitudinal fasciculus branches in autism spectrum disorders.

Core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be underpinned by disrupted functional and structural neural connectivity. Abnormal fronto-parietal functional connectivity has been widely reported in the literature; this may be underpinned by disrupted microstructural organisation of white matter. The superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) is a major fronto-parietal white matter tract, the structure of which has been little studied in ASD.

Quantifying Protein Concentrations Using Smartphone Colorimetry: A New Method for an Established Test.

Proteins are involved in nearly every biological process, which makes them of interest to a range of scientists. Previous work has shown that hand-held cameras can be used to determine the concentration of colored analytes in solution, and this paper extends the approach to reactions involving a color change in order to quantify protein concentration (e.g.

Aging-Related Microstructural Alterations Along the Length of the Cingulum Bundle.

The aim of this study was to investigate the aging-related structural changes of the cingulum, one of the major components of the limbic network, which has a critical role in emotion, attention, and memory. Thirty-five healthy young adults (22.3 ± 2.

Supportive text messages for patients with alcohol use disorder and a comorbid depression: a protocol for a single-blind randomised controlled aftercare trial.

Introduction: Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and mood disorders commonly co-occur, and are associated with a range of negative outcomes for patients. Mobile phone technology has the potential to provide personalised support for such patients and potentially improve outcomes in this difficult-to-treat cohort. The aim of this study is to examine whether receiving supporting SMS text messages, following discharge from an inpatient dual diagnosis treatment programme, has a positive impact on mood and alcohol abstinence in patients with an AUD and a comorbid mood disorder.

An examination of the relationship between measures of impulsivity and risky simulated driving amongst young drivers.

The risky driving of young drivers may owe in part to youthful motivations (such as experience-seeking, authority rebellion, desire for peer approval) combined with incompletely developed impulse control. Although self-reported impulsiveness has been positively associated with self-reports of risky driving, results based on objective measures of response inhibition (e.g.

The Character Strengths of Special Forces Personnel: Insights for Civilian Health Care Practitioners.

Civilian employees, contractors, and private community clinicians are increasingly providing health treatment to currently serving and former military personnel. This study addresses recent calls for evidence-based information to assist civilian practitioners in understanding the perspectives of their military clients. To this end, the self-reported character strengths of military personnel were elicited as an operationalized expression of their underlying personal values that shape their perspectives and conduct as soldiers.

Character Strengths and Hardiness of Australian Army Special Forces Applicants.

Australian Army Special Forces (SF) applicants (N = 95) were asked to rank themselves on 24 character strengths at the start of the selection process. Across all applicants, the character strength of integrity was most frequently assigned a top-four rank (45%), followed by team worker (41%), persistence (36%), and love of learning (25%). Successful applicants assigned a top-four rank to team worker significantly more often than unsuccessful applicants (65% versus 32%).

Fornix White Matter is Correlated with Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Thalamus and Hippocampus in Healthy Aging but Not in Mild Cognitive Impairment - A Preliminary Study.

In this study, we wished to examine the relationship between the structural connectivity of the fornix, a white matter (WM) tract in the limbic system, which is affected in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease, and the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of two key related subcortical structures, the thalamus, and hippocampus. Twenty-two older healthy controls (HC) and 18 older adults with aMCI underwent multi-modal MRI scanning. The fornix was reconstructed using constrained-spherical deconvolution-based tractography.

A prospective study of character strengths as predictors of selection into the Australian army special force.

For entry into the Australian Army Special Forces (SF), applicants undergo a barrage of strenuous physical and psychological assessments. Despite this screening, subsequent attrition rates in the first weeks of initial selection courses are typically high, and entry testing results have had limited success for predicting who will complete these courses. An SF applicant's character is often thought to be a decisive factor; however, this claim has remained untested.

Cognitive dissonance induction in everyday life: An fMRI study.

This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study explored the neural substrates of cognitive dissonance during dissonance "induction." A novel task was developed based on the results of a separate item selection study (n = 125). Items were designed to generate dissonance by prompting participants to reflect on everyday personal experiences that were inconsistent with values they had expressed support for.

Disrupted functional connectivity in dorsal and ventral attention networks during attention orienting in autism spectrum disorders.

Background: Attention orienting is a cognitive process that facilitates the movement of attention focus from one location to another: this may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Dorsal and ventral attention networks (DAN and VAN) sub-serve the process of attention orienting. This study investigated the functional connectivity of attention orienting in these networks in ASD using the Posner Cueing Task.

Advances in MRI biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

With the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) predicted to increase substantially over the coming decades, the development of effective biomarkers for the early detection of the disease is paramount. In this short review, the main neuroimaging techniques which have shown potential as biomarkers for AD are introduced, with a focus on MRI. Structural MRI measures of the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe are still the most clinically validated biomarkers for AD, but newer techniques such as functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging offer great scope in tracking changes in the brain, particularly in functional and structural connectivity, which may precede gray matter atrophy.

Modulation of effective connectivity in the default mode network at rest and during a memory task.

It is known that the default mode network (DMN) may be modulated by a cognitive task and by performance level. Changes in the DMN have been examined by investigating resting-state activation levels, but there have been very few studies examining the modulation of effective connectivity of the DMN during a task in healthy older subjects. In this study, the authors examined how effective connectivity changed in the DMN between rest and during a memory task.