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Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) display several structural brain differences when compared with healthy individuals. However, findings are particularly inconsistent for soldiers with PTSD. Here, we characterized the brain morphometry of 37 soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces with adulthood war‐related PTSD using structural magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed time since trauma, as well as PTSD, depressive, and anxiety symptoms with the Modified PTSD Symptoms Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Whole‐brain morphometry was extracted with FreeSurfer and compared with a validated normative database of more than 2700 healthy individuals. Volume and thickness from several regions differed from the norms. Frontal regions were smaller and thinner, particularly the superior and rostral middle frontal gyri. Furthermore, smaller left rostral middle frontal gyrus, left pericalcarine cortex, and right fusiform gyrus were associated with more recent trauma. All subcortical structures were bigger, except the hippocampus. These findings suggest a particular brain morphometric signature of PTSD in soldiers. Smaller and thinner frontal and larger subcortical regions support impaired top‐down and/or downregulation of emotional response in PTSD. Finally, the correlation of smaller frontal, temporal, and occipital regions with more recent trauma might inform future therapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Submonomer synthesis in solution and block‐coupling protocols were combined to prepare amphiphilic peptoid hexamers. The amphipathic character arises from the use of hydrophobic aliphatic tert‐butyl side‐chains imposing the cis‐amide backbone conformation and various cationic side‐chains periodically introduced each three residues. Evaluation of the effect on Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial strains as well as the capacity to impair biofilm formation and the toxicity of one selected compound allowed to highlight the potential of a short constrained peptoid carrying triazolium‐type cationic pendant groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of linear peptoid oligomers adopting well-defined secondary structures while mimicking defined peptide primary sequences is a major challenge in the context of drug discovery. To this end, chemists have developed cis-inducing peptoid side chains to build robust polyproline type I helices. However, the number of efficient examples remains scarce and chemical diversity accessible through the use of these side chains is limited. Herein, we introduce an array of NCα- gem-dimethylated peptoid residues mimicking proteinogenic amino acids. Submonomer synthesis and block-coupling approaches were explored to access heterooligomers incorporating these novel types of side chains. NMR studies of monomer and trimer models showed that the NCα- gem-dimethylated groups exert complete cis control on the backbone amide conformation. Lastly, a preliminary molecular modeling study gave an insight into the preferred orientation of the substituents of the NCα-gem-dimethyl side chains relative to the peptoid backbone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the higher number of Muslims in France who are working for the country's security than for the Islamic group Al Qaeda. Topics discussed include the violent attack at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, the status of Muslim politics and culture, and the negative impact of the emergence of Internet on the security of the Muslim community.

This review covers the published literature describing the synthesis of glycopeptoids, a family of glycopeptide mimics. Members of this family are composed of an N-substituted glycine or β-alanine oligomer backbone linked to one or several carbohydrate moieties at the amide nitrogen atoms. The interest in this class of biomimetics lies in their enhanced proteolytic stability and greater conformational flexibility relative to glycopeptides. This Microreview not only describes the different methods for synthesising glycopeptoids but also discusses their application both as glycopeptidomimetics and glycocluster constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the feasibility of improving cross-sectional reflection imaging of the breast using refractive and attenuation corrections derived from ultrasound tomography data. Methods: The authors have adapted the planar Kirchhoff migration method, commonly used in geophysics to reconstruct reflection images, for use in ultrasound tomography imaging of the breast. Furthermore, the authors extended this method to allow for refractive and attenuative corrections. Using clinical data obtained with a breast imaging prototype, the authors applied this method to generate cross-sectional reflection images of the breast that were corrected using known distributions of sound speed and attenuation obtained from the same data. Results: A comparison of images reconstructed with and without the corrections showed varying degrees of improvement. The sound speed correction resulted in sharpening of detail, while the attenuation correction reduced the central darkening caused by path length dependent losses. The improvements appeared to be greatest when dense tissue was involved and the least for fatty tissue. These results are consistent with the expectation that denser tissues lead to both greater refractive effects and greater attenuation. Conclusions: Although conventional ultrasound techniques use time-gain control to correct for attenuation gradients, these corrections lead to artifacts because the true attenuation distribution is not known. The use of constant sound speed leads to additional artifacts that arise from not knowing the sound speed distribution. The authors show that in the context of ultrasound tomography, it is possible to construct reflection images of the breast that correct for inhomogeneous distributions of both sound speed and attenuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

President Barack Obama pledged in his first TV interview—with the Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya—that America under his watch would “listen with respect and not dictate” to the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has further announced that this country will no longer just throw around its military might but will pursue a “smart power” approach by tempering the use of hard weaponry with the “soft power” of persuasion and cultural attraction. Or, as Madame Secretary's husband Bill has put it, America will now lead through the power of example instead of the example of power. The first exceedingly complex test of Obama's smart power strategy will be how to end George W. Bush's misguided “war on terror” in Afghanistan and Pakistan, keeping al-Qaida at bay without being swallowed by the quagmire of tribal politics. An array of experts from New Delhi to Paris offers their views in this section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on what will happen if U.S. troops leave Iraq. He cites the statements of some politicians about the withdrawal of troops in Iraq, and cites instances which show the beneficial effect of anti-war initiatives. He suggests that political solution is the only way to prevent the illegal act of Al-Quaida.

The article features the views of Oliver Roy, writer and Islamic expert, who feels that the war on terror (WOT) is based on wrong assessment, using war as a strategy to occupy territories and not as a metaphor. WOT has increased the tensions, religious radicalism and Arab nationalism. The main purpose of democratization has failed in middle east. However, the mobilization of intelligence and the legal recourse to contain terror networks is effective and is working in the West.

The Great Arab Revolt of 2011 has moved swiftly from the peaceful overthrow of autocrats in the nation-states of Tunisia and Egypt to brutal repression in the tribal societies of Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. Meanwhile, the wired youth bulge of the Middle East that brought change is dissipating into an impotent diaspora while the organized interests of the old regimes and the once-suppressed Islamists charge ahead to power. This section examines the revolt, the reaction and the power struggles in its aftermath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the War on Terrorism and the need to de-globalize it in 2006. It is argued that the wrong use of the metaphor of "war" when fighting the disparate causes of terror has led to Western armies being stuck in protracted conflicts where local issues such as civil wars, territory and nationalism are far more important than global anti-terrorism aims.

Review: [68 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]